My brief literary analysis of Antigone…

     Antigone by Sopholes is the first Greek play that I have read or so I thought. After going over the story in class I began to become more familiar with this play. I realized that I have read this story before but never actually dug into it until now. I am analyzing the play in a totally different approach than I had previously taken. Instead of just summarizing I am now analyzing and looking for literary devices Sophocles uses to convey his messages throughout the play to the audience. I will give a brief summary about the play and talk about some of the literary devices I found within the play.

     Antigone opens with Antigone and her sister talking outside palace gates about their two brothers whom went to war, Polyneices and Eteocles .Unfortunately, the worst possible outcome has happened  , the two brothers have tragically killed one another while fighting on opposite sides of the war. Creon who is now the ruler of Thebes has given an honorable burial to Eteocles, but left Polyneices to be left unburied. Polyneices is left to rot in the fields with the other solders until his body is either eaten by animals or disintegrates in to the ground. Needless to say Antigone is not happy about this and will not stand for such inhumane treatment of her brother and his final resting place. Even though Creon has forbid anyone to bury him, Antigone defies her uncle and not to mention the law, goes to the battle fields and retrieves Polyneices’ body to give him the proper burial he deserves.

      Unfortunately Antigone is caught for her crime and is sent to be locked away by Creon. To make the story even more depressing Antigone kills herself in prison, talk about tragic. After Antigone is locked away for her heroic deeds, she is gone but she is not forgotten. The blind prophet Teiresias, Creon’s son and Antigone’s fiancé Haemon all plead with her uncle Creon to release Antigone. After pleading Creon finally agrees to release Antigone, but unfortunately they’re too late and find that she has killed herself. Due to the enormous amount of distress that they were under Haemon and Creon’s wife killed themselves and in an ironic twist leaves Creon in despair and never-ending pain.

      Now that I have given a brief summary of the play I will now talk about some of the literary devices I saw while reading the play. In the beginning of the play the two sisters Ismene and Antigone meet to discuss Antigone wanting to give her brother a proper burial in secrecy. This is a huge deal due to them not being with a man an out by themselves. It is also a foreshadowing for the dramatic events to come. Another turning point in the play was when Antigone forced her sister to make a choice also known as, the roman discremin meaning the moment of decision in lines 43-45, Antigone gives her sister a choice and prays she makes the noble one. Antigone is a strong woman who believes in what’s right. This is a great play and is one that I cannot wait to further analyze.