Antigone Test Review

1
Antigone Test Review

• Part 2

2
The Prologue
3
Lines used by Antigone to persuade Ismene to help
her bury Polyneices.

• And now you can prove what you are/A true
  sister, or a traitor to your family. (l 26)
• Apparently the laws of the gods mean nothing to
  you. (l 61)
• You have yourself to consider, after all. (l
  67)
• If that is what you think, I should not want you
  even if you asked to come. (l 52)
• I shall be hating you soon, and the dead will
  too. (l 78)

4
Which lines indicate Ismenes reasons or
arguments for not helping Antigone?

• We are only women, we cannot fight with men,
  Antigone! (l 46)
• Think how much more terrible than these/Our own
  death would be if we should go against Creon. (l
  44)
• The law is strong we must give in to the
  law.(l 48)
• I must yield to those in authority. (l 50)
• I have no strength to break laws that were made
  for the public good. (l 62)
• Impossible things should not be tried at all.
  (l 76)

5
Know the figurative language used in the Parados
(the first song of the chorus) and the effect of
each

• The Parados is a flashback, recounting the battle
  between Thebes and the Argive army.

6
He, the wild eagle, screaming insults above our
land.

• Metaphor
• Shows Polyneices as the attacker.
• Portrays him as the traitor.

7
Unlidded eye of golden day

• Personification
• Informs the audience of the time of day
• Shows that the battle has lasted for a very long
  time

8
Marching light

• Personification
• Lets the audience know that daylight is fading.
• The battle has lasted all day.

9
Famished spears

• More personification
• Portrays the spears as hungry for bloodshed, so
  the audience knows that Polyneices Argive army
  was beginning to win.

10
For God hates utterly the bray of bragging
tongues.

• Personification
• The word God here refers to Zeus
• Polyneices and his army angered Zeus with their
  arrogance and failure to credit Zeus.

11
Scene 1
12
Creons 1st speech to the people

• Similar to the State of the Union address given
  by our president.
• Begins on positive note
• Reassures the citizens about the strength of the
  country.
• Uses formal, serious language.
• Expresses his loyalty and patriotism to the
  country
• Values loyalty to the State over friendship or
  other values.

13
Which lines from the play illustrate Creons
values ?

• Eteocles, who died as a man should die, fighting
  for his country, is to be buried with full
  military honors. (scene 1, l 35)
• Polyneices, whose one idea was to spill the
  blood of his blood and sell his own people into
  slaveryshall lie unburied. (scene 1, l 40)
• no traitor is going to be honored with the
  loyal man. (scene 1, l 47)
• But whoever shows by word and deed that he is on
  the side of the State,--he shall have my respect
  while he is living, and my reverence when he is
  dead. (scene 1, l 48)

14
Lines that indicate Creon believes people are
motivated by financial gain.

• Minor theme
• yet money talks, and the wisest/Have sometimes
  been known to count a few coins too many. (l 59)
• and they have bribed my own guard to do this
  thing. (l 121)
• Theres nothing in the world so demoralizing as
  money. (l 123)
• Sold your soul for some silver (l 142)

15
Lines from the play that illustrate Creons
reaction when the chorus suggests that maybe the
gods had a hand in burying Polyneices.

• Must you doddering wrecks/Go out of your heads
  entirely?
• Is it your senile opinion that the gods love to
  honor bad men?
• and they have bribed my own guard to do this
  thing.

16
Logic vs. Fallacy

• In his conversation with the Choragos, Creon
  assumes that the gods are on his side and that
  they share his value system and his judgment of
  who is right and who is wrong he says,
  therefore, that the gods cannot be responsible
  for burying Polyneices. His assumption that the
  gods agree with his views turns out to be false.

17
What is an ode?

• A poem on a serious topic in a formal, dignified
  style.
• The chorus chants the odes.

18
Line(s) from Ode 1 that express its general topic
and the topics of each of the stanzas.

• General topic
• Stanza 1
• Stanza 2
• Stanza 3
• Stanza 4

• The great accomplishments of man
• How people have learned to use sea and earth
• How man has tamed animals
• How humans have created language, government, and
  shelter
• How destructive humans can be when they dont
  obey laws.

19
With which characters value system does the
chorus seem to agree?

• The importance of obeying the law????
• The dangers of anarchy????
• Never may the anarchic man find rest at my
  hearth.

20
Scene 2
21
Had you heard my proclamation touching this
matter?It was public. Could I help hearing it?

• Creon offers Antigone a way out.
• Antigone is arrogant in her refusal to deny the
  act.

22
Know the reasons Antigone gives for disobeying
Creons law.

• Gods laws take priority over human laws
• According to Gods laws, Polyneices must be
  properly buried
• Life would not be worth living for her if she did
  not show respect for her brother.

23
Know the lines that Creon uses just after
Antigone is arrested to illustrate the negative
effects of stubbornness.

• The inflexible heart breaks first.
• the toughest iron cracks first
• the wildest horses bend their necks at the pull
  of the smallest curb.

24
What reason does the choragos offer for
Antigones actions?

• Like father, like daughter both headstrong,
  deaf to reason! She has never learned to yield.

25
Primary conflict

• Which takes precedence???
• Mans law or Gods law????

26
Know the secondary conflict in the drama.

• Who is the man here, She or I, if this crime
  goes unpunished?
• Guard them well for they are but women, and
  even brave men run/ When they see Death coming.

27
Irony

• What makes Creon the angriest is that Antigone
  not only broke the law, but she boasted about it,
  too! (stubbornness)

28
You, too, Ismene, Snake in my ordered house,
sucking my blood stealthilyand all the time I
never knew.

• Illustrates how evil it is when family takes
  advantage of power
• Creates a negative image of Ismene
• Compares Ismene to the Serpent in the Biblical
  creation story (allusion)

29
Rhetorical question????

• Do you think Antigones attitude is rude and
  rebellious and that she should show more respect
  for Creon, who is after all the king as well as
  her uncle, or do you admire Antigone for strongly
  standing up for what she believes in and for
  expressing her opinions to Creon?

30
Interpersonal skills

• Ah the good fortune of kings,/Licensed to say
  and do whatever they please!
• Go join them, then if you must have your love,/
  Find it in hell!

31
The Ultimate irony

• What more could you want than my death?
• Nothing. That gives me everything.

32
Know the topic of Ode 2 and the view of life it
presents.

• Gods vengeance

33
Fate works most for woe/With Follys fairest
show/Mans little pleasure is the spring of
sorrow.

• People may sometimes feel they are happy, but
  this is a fleeting illusion. Fate is bound to
  bring unhappiness most unhappiness, however, is
  caused by peoples own foolish actions.

34
Zeuss nature according to ancient Greek
religion.

• He is eternal
• He never forgets sins of arrogance by humans
• He will eternally continue punishing those sins.

35
On what does the chorus blame Antigones tragedy?

• Her fathers sins and the tragedy inflicted upon
  the entire family because of them.

36
damnation rises behind each child/Like a wave
cresting out of the black northeast,/When the
long darkness under sea roars up/And bursts
drumming death upon the windwhipped sand.

• The tragedy that befalls the child of a family
  cursed by fate is like a storm at sea that causes
  destructive waves.

Simile
37
Scene 3
38
Lines that illustrate reasons given by Creon to
Haimon for punishing Antigone.

• Of all the people in this city, only she has had
  contempt for my law and broken it. (24-24)
• Do you want me to show myself weak before the
  people? (26)
• If I permit my own family to rebel, how shall I
  earn the worlds obedience? (30-31)
• If we must lose, lets lose to a man, at least!
  Is a woman stronger than we? (47-48)

39
According to Creon, what is the most important
trait for a leader to have?

• The man who knows how to obey, and that man
  only, knows how to give commands when the time
  comes. (38-39)

40
Identifying bias.

• Creon says that his punishment of Antigone is due
  to his strong belief in discipline and the law
  however, he implies that he might be able to give
  in to a mans disagreement with him, but he does
  not want a woman to look stronger than he. Does
  this bias make you doubt Creons true motives?????

41
Haimons persuasive technique

• Polite respectful
• Calm, flattering, reasonable
• Facts
• Verbal irony
• Analogies to illustrate dangers of stubbornness
• Makes concessions
• threats

• (52-53)
• (8-10)(54-55) (79)
• (97-98)
• People disapprove
• (70-72)
• (80-85)
• (88-91)
• (119)

42
Tragic flaw

• A character flaw, such as jealousy, anger, or
  pride, that causes a person to come to grief.
  Haimon seems to think Creons tragic flaw is
  inflexibility, an inability to admit that someone
  besides himself may be right.
• (75-79)

43
More flaws

• Pride
• Arrogance
• Stubbornness
• Bad temper
• Could any of these flaws be a tragic flaw?

44
Another Assumption

• Creon assumes that the older a person is, the
  wiser he or she is.
• (95-96)
• Is this a valid assumption????

45
One man vs. All citizens

• Creon believes one man should be all-powerful.
• (107) The State is the King.
• Haimon believes all citizens should have a voice.
• (106) It is no City if it takes orders from one
  voice.

46
Irony

• Creon thinks Haimon is threatening him, but
  Haimon really means he will commit suicide.

47
More irony

• Piety shown the dead is pity in vain.

48
Topic of Ode 3

• The power of love

49
sea-wanderer, forest visitor

• Love is capable of affecting people everywhere,
  including on the sea and in the forest.

50
Choruss opinion of love

• Love for a woman is capable of making men
  powerless
• It even strikes the gods, so men are particularly
  susceptible to it
• Love can bring even the best men close to ruin
  (Haimon and Creons argument over Haimons
  fiancee.)

51
Scene 4
52
Chorus reaction to Antigones mood.

• It is good to be religious and show reverence for
  God however, in any conflict between religion
  and human law, human law must be obeyed.
• You are responsible for your death.
• (45-48)

53
Lines 37-41

• You have touched it at last that bridal bed
• Unspeakable, horror of son and mother mingling
• Their crime, infection of all our family!
• O Oedipus, father and brother!
• Your marriage strikes from the grave to murder
  mine.

54
Line 58

• O tomb, vaulted bride-bed in eternal rock

55
The curse

• I have done no wrong, I have not sinned before
  God. Or if I have, I shall know the truth in
  death. But if the guilt lies upon Creon who
  judges me, then, I pray, May his punishment equal
  my own.

56
Is Antigone being punished because she would not
transgress the laws of heaven?
57
Topic of Ode 4 and its purpose

• Each legend tells of someone who came to a tragic
  end because of Fate.
• The stories are more tragic because they involve
  kings and gods.
• The chorus compares Antigones tragic situation
  to those of the legends protagonists.
• No one can prevail against untiring Destiny
  neither gods nor mortals, including Antigone, can
  avoid their fate once it has been decreed by the
  gods.

58
Scene 5
59
Teiresiass advice to Creon

• (33-35)
• O my son, These are no trifles! Think all men
  make mistakes, But a good man yields when he
  knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil.
  The only crime is pride.
• Give in to the dead man, then do not fight with
  a corpse.

60
The accusation

• Accuses him of accepting bribes
• (61)
• This generation of prophets has always loved
  gold.

61
Good comeback!

• (62)
• The generation of kings has always loved brass.
• Teiresias implies that Creon seeks ephemeral
  value rather than real value.

62
Lines that illustrate Teiresiass final prophecy
to Creon

• Lines 70-78
• You shall pay back corpse for corpse, flesh of
  your own flesh
• The Furies and the dark gods of Hell are swift
  with terrible punishment for you
• Your house will be full of men and women weeping.

63
Lines that illustrate the reason Creon changes
his mind about Antigone.

• I cannot remember that he was ever false. (91)

64
Literary elements
65
If the guilt lies on Creon..may his punishment
equal my own.

• foreshadowing

66
She has left us without a word. What can this
mean?

• foreshadowing

67
Then she must diebut her death will cause
another.

• Verbal irony

68
Maybe he will learn at last to control a wiser
tongue in a better head.
69
It is hard to deny the heart! But I will do it
I will not fight with destinyBring axes,
servants Come with me to the tomb. I buried
her, I will set her free.

• climax

70
The Resolution

• There is no happiness where there is no wisdom.
  No wisdom but in submission to the gods. Big
  words are always punished. And proud men in old
  age learn to be wise.
• Fate has brought all my pride to a thought of
  dust.