Mrs. Smith
English II Pre-AP 3
12 November 2009
Sophocles displays elements such as violence and strong emotions throughout his play,
Antigone. One example, Antigone knows that if she buries her dead brother Polyneices, stoning to
death would await her. Creon has warned the Chorus to not aid anybody that would disobey his
commands. Punishment for this- death. When the guards bring Antigone to Creon for going against his
command, Creon sees this as defiance to his authority and therefore, charges her for this.
Another use of violence occurs in the scene when Creon's followers examine Antigone's cell on
Creon's command and found that she hung herself and Haemon embracing his love's corpse. Hearing
his father's voice, Haemon targets his anger and despair on his father and attempts to kill him. However
the plan foils with Haemon's recklessness and Creon's flight. Following what he has planned, he draws
his sword upon himself with his arms embracing Antigone. In this scene, Sophocles also uses imagery
to describe Haemon, who became “mad with rage” and whose eyes “resembled that of a wild animal”
( Johns, 1)
Strong emotions- as mentioned before- occur throughout this play as well. First, the strong
sense of hubris that blinds Creon from the truth. Creon blinds himself with his arrogance, refusing to
hear warnings and pleadings of his son, the Chorus, and Tiresias. The king of Thebes has brought the
whole misfortune of his family by not following the sacred laws of the gods but by his own judgments.
Because of his arrogance as king, Creon abuses his power to give unnecessary punishments for
the expectation of his father because of his feelings for Antigone. Although caught in between
remaining an obedient son to his father and risking his life attempting to save Antigone, Haemon's
feelings for Antigone allows himself to follow her into death without any hesitation.
Sophocles also reflects love through the heroine, Antigone. If it weren't for her sisterly love for
her dead brother, she would not have buried Polyneices and therefore, did not have to die. Her love for
her brother causes her to become strong and to stand for what she believes in, even on the account of
Works Cited:
Johns, Walter H. “Dramatic Effect in Sophocles' Antigone.” The Classical Journal. 43.2 (Nov. 1947):
99-100. Rpt. in Drama for Students. Ed. David M. Galens and Lynn M. Spampinato. Vol. 1.
Detroit: Gale, 1998. 99-100. Literature Resource Center. Gale. KATY ISD. 15 Nov. 2009
<http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=LitRG&u=katy11187>.