Antigone
TOPICS
Pick one topic to write about
Make sure you have a clear thesis statement to drive your essay.
Which is more important to Sophocles—family or authority? Look at Antigone, Ismene, Creon, and Haimon, and at what happens to them and their relationships. Be sure to cite specific quotes from the play to support your claims.
2. The play Antigone sometimes seems to have two tragic heroes: two characters make decisions that lead to a tragic conclusion. Use Aristotle’s Theory of Tragedy (Links to an external site.) to explain which character is the true tragic hero, Creon or Antigone.
3. Creon says to his son Haimon that it would be bad enough to yield to a man, but he would never yield to a woman (meaning Antigone). What does the play say about a woman’s place in society? Be sure to cite specific quotes from the play to support your answers.
4. Creon claims that the rule of the king must be obeyed even if it’s wrong in order to avoid anarchy and chaos. Does the play agree or disagree with Creon? Be sure to cite specific quotes from the play to support your answers.
5. What is Creon’s fatal flaw? How does the flaw affect his state? His ability as a leader? His downfall? What does a play that centers on this particular fatal flaw have to say about the qualities that are needed or not needed in a ruler?
6. The German philosopher Hegel stated that the play Antigone represents the tragic collision of right against right, with both sides equally justified. Do you agree with this interpretation? Why or why not?
7. Look at Antigone, Ismene, Creon, and Haimon, and at what happens to them and their relationships. What is the role of family ties in Antigone? Which appears to be more important to Sophocles—family or authority? Why? Be sure to cite specific quotes from the play and use your own explanations to support your answers.
8. Creon says to his son Haimon, “If we must lose, / Let’s lose to a man, at least! Is a woman stronger than we?” How do you think this idea is dealt with throughout the play? What does the play seem to say about a woman’s place in society? What ideas about this topic does the play seem to call into question or not to call into question? How do the two sisters, Antigone and Ismene, offer up different comparison points throughout the play? Be sure to use cite specific quotes from the play and use your own explanations to support your answers.
9. “Whoever is chosen to govern should be obeyed– / Must be obeyed, in all things, great and small, / Just and unjust!”
Creon makes this statement concerning authority when talking to his son, Haimon. What different views about authority and power are expressed in this play and by whom? Which view do you think comes out on top at the end of the play? Why? Be sure to use cite specific quotes from the play and use your own explanations to support your answers.
10. What statement about the intractability and pride of even the noblest humans does Sophocles’ Antigone seem to make? Which character seems the most inflexible in their opinions? Which character seems the most prideful? What does the play reveal about the connection between a person’s pride and their suffering or the suffering of others?
11. What connection between injustice, tyranny, and civil disobedience can be found in Antigone? To uphold the moral law, Antigone breaks the civil law. Down through the ages and into modern times, citizens have used this theme to guide them in redressing their grievances. Can you think of an example? How does it relate to the ideas on this issue expressed in Antigone?
