Antigone Essay Examples - Argumentative Topics for Research Papers

The Downfall of Antigone and Creon

Antigoner’s stubbornness causes the death of herself when she goes against the law of Creon, the King to bury her brother, Polynices, and readers learn that what one expects it not always the outcome. It is ordered by the gods for each person to be offered a proper burial, so Antigone asks her sister, Ismene, for helping to bury Polynices, but she denies, in fear of getting caught. Antigone is still persistent in burying her brother, despite the warnings from […]

Oedipus Rex and Antigone

Of all the plays we have reviewed Oedipus Rex and Antigone are the only ones with a continuing story with repeating characters and in both stories. This allows characters to grow and change through the stories. For example, Creon plays an important role in both stories. However, due to the passing of time in between the plays, Creon becomes a different type of character at the end of Antigone. At the start of Oedipus Rex, Creon seems like a good […]

Power of Sophocles Antigone Themes

There is an anonymous quote that says, “Family is like fudge – mostly sweet with a few nuts.” I’m sure most of us relate to the intense love and caring we have for our families, as well as the insanity they can sometimes evoke. Because of this, stories about families are not only relatable but they also often feature intense emotions and dynamics, which make for engaging stories. Aristotle believes that the best tragedies revolve around and focus on a […]

Women Role in Antigone

Spencer Mullen Raul Torres IB Literature and Language February 1, 2019 Which social groups are marginalized, excluded or silenced within the text? Introduction The Knight’s Tale is centered around sworn Theban brother knights Arcite and Palamon, both of whom are trying to win over the love of Emily, stepsister of noble Duke Theseus of Athens. Ancient Greece has many instances where women are oppressed and excluded. The Knight takes a lot of inspiration from Greek mythology and Greek epic poetry. […]

Comparing Home Fire to Antigone

The home fire is the updated version of Antigone, which has transported from ancient Greece to todayr’s London and the main characters were British-Pakistanis. This premise forms the basis for Kamila Shamsier’s Home Fire, which updates Sophocles tragedy and sets it in the contemporary context of the War on Terror and the struggle of European countries to deal with their citizens who join the Islamic State. Though ultimately a derivative work one that doesnt stand alone without reference to the […]

Oedipus the King and Antigone

Corey Marvin defines binary oppositions as “simply a pair of theoretical opposites or thematic contrasts” (1). In Oedipus the King and Antigone by Sophocles, there are many binary oppositions, but the most important oppositions are the following: calm versus irascible, male versus female, blind versus sight, and polis (city) versus oikos (family). While calm versus irascible and blind versus sight are only in Oedipus the King, male versus female and polis versus oikos is in Antigone. The binary oppositions in […]

Best Thesis Statement for Antigone Characters

Backround Information on Euripides Around 485 B.C. a man named Euripides was born in Athens, Greece. Euripides mother’s name was Cleito and his father’s name was Mnesarchus. In Athens Euripides father worked as a retailer. Euripides had two marriages that both failed. Euripides is most known for his influential Greek myths which seem to always have dark or alternative meaning. He was also an author of 90 expressive plays. For example, the play of “Medea” contains unfortunate concepts that relate […]

The Reality of Love in Antigone

For many, love is defined by a marriage or a happy family. People picture a high school romance or the affection between their grandparents. Despite these commonly pictured relationships, love is often more complicated than one might think. For some, the path love takes can be travelled at the expense of life altering results. Sophocles explores this idea in his play, Antigone, by creating love and death within one family. Although Haimonr’s affection is never directly shown on stage, he […]

The Difference between Sophocles Antigone and Jean Anouilh Antigone

Reading the two versions of the tragedy of Antigone, it was a really interesting experience. Just to see how different the characters are, to see a similar storyline but it is played out differently. This is a book you should really attempt to compare with the original Greek tragedy Antigone, by Sophocles and the Jean Anouilh version, (Which is the more modern one) about the whole plot of the story and characters. Both of the playwrights have the same storyline, […]

The Adversity One Must Face when Fighting for Justice in Antigone, a Play by Sophocles

Society cannot escape contemporary moral issues. We are continually exposed to situations that bring into question our very system of beliefs. In response to these ethical dilemmas we are forced to adapt and reevaluate our present frame of mind resulting in both positive change and unavoidable struggle. Throughout the play Antigone, Sophocles clearly demonstrates the adversity one must face in the fight against injustice. One need not look very far to find immediate parallels in our own present-day society. The central […]

Oedipus Civil Disobedience

Fate is often said to be inevitable, an adverse outcome, condition, or end and free will is the ability to choose at your own discretion. In our everyday life, we make decisions and are often told that life is about making choices. It is because we have free will that we make choices which may lead to positive consequences if the choice is rational and yet other times our decisions lead to negative consequences. Free will plays an important role […]

Women in Ancient Greece

It is taught throughout history books that women were not in the early stages of Greek theatre. As theatre developed in Greece, the role of women in the theatre was greatly diminished. Scholars believe they were banned from the stages, and even from attending the performances. Is this true, or did women play a bigger role than once thought? Women were once the leaders of multiple religious rituals and ceremonies. What provoked the removal of them? Were they really not […]

Ancient Greece’s Three Types of Heroes

The definition of the word hero is quite skewed. People tend to have their own definitions and interpretations of what the word means. However, people can usually agree on who a hero is and what makes a person a hero. In most cases, a hero can be described as one who shows great courage and is admired for noble achievements and noble qualities. Greek heroes show all of these qualities. They were admired for achieving incredible mythological feats and were […]

The Feminist Theory

The feminist theory is not just all about women, but it’s about the quality of life for people and races. The feminist theory also helps men and women understand the roles that they have been given by their social identities and experiences. The four practitioners that have the greatest impact on the feminist theory, all have an extensive background in working with the theory, making it what it is today. Some issues that can arise when using the feminist theory […]

Civil Disobedience

It’s our responsibility’s as citizens to not only follow the laws in place but to challenge them when we deem them unjust. By doing this we are directly committing civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is a tool that when molested can hurt the system in place but, when used justly to alter the laws inhibiting certain rights in can enlighten the system. One of the most famous proponents of Civil disobedience is Martin Luther King Jr, he saw injustice in our […]

Martin Luther King Civil Rights

The civil rights movement was considered to be one of the greatest key factors that helped African Americans gain their true freedom. Throughout the twentieth century, African Americans faced discrimination and were considered to be less than white Americans. When the civil rights movement got introduced by the government, the African American population saw this as an advantage to fight for the freedom that they sought. The turning point of the civil rights movement didn’t happen until the 1950s & […]

Medea with Masculine Identity

Living in a country that is foreign to oneself can be quite difficult, especially during the 400 B.C.E. era. Now, imagine being a woman. A woman has an even lower rank than a foreign man in the Greek culture. It’s even more burdensome when you’re a foreign woman because this is only one step above slaves and peasants. Medea happens to carry this challenge, plus many more in the self-titled play, Medea by Euripides. Medea is a woman that lives […]

Aristotle States about a Terrible Legend

In Aristotle’s Poetics he portrays an unfortunate legend as a character who is overwhelming and through destiny and a defect they pulverize themselves. Moreover, Aristotle states over the top pride is the hubris of an awful saint. The legend is extremely self-included; they are ignorant concerning their environment and submit a terrible activity. A disaster depicts a story that summons trouble and stunningness, an option that is overwhelming. Moreover, a catastrophe of a play results in the annihilation of a […]

Medea as a Powerful Woman

Sometimes, in life, we do not know what we are capable of until the moment comes. Hiding emotions could be crucial. We live in a society where males and females could do the same act, and the male always comes to the top because he has more dominance. The society we live nowadays tolerates more when a man leaves their spouse for someone else than vice versa. While a woman needs to swallow their pride and keep on going to […]

Medea as an Uncivilized and Wild Medium

Critique of the play ‘MEDEA’ Synopsys In this tragedy Euripides demonstrates Medea as an uncivilized and wild medium who was also princess for her father was a King, from where she came from. Euripides exhibits a play that could be relatable to the humanity, a story that proved pain, hostility, rage and broken promises. Moreover, Medea pledged to reattribute on her husband Jason after he chose to live her and marroed king Creon’s daughter. When Creon heard Medea’s evil words […]

Revenge is in the Blood

1.Background Information on Euripides: Euripides was an amazing author/dramatist, creating many great tragedies. He was born in 480 BC and died 406 BC. He had two wives, one daughter, and three sons. He wrote the famous Medea And Other Plays. He wrote all his plays and stories in Salamis Island. He had a different style to his plays, and they later became very popular throughout Greece and the rest of the world. Euripides didn’t just make tragedies, he made […]

Creon and Moral Obtuseness

Justice is often a set of rules or guidelines, outlining consequences for various actions. Yet, with every situation being individual in some way, there can’t simply just be one set of guidelines which is applicable to all situations. This is why in her book Love’s Knowledge, Martha Nussbaum analyzes phronesis and situationally aware justice. There’s a certain interplay when looking at justice and goodness, which becomes increasingly clear when analyzing our judicial system. Every society has a set guideline, rules […]

Feminism Outline

I. When looking through this story with a feminism view point it is clearly shown that two sisters are two sides of the same coin, complete opposites. A. Antigone strong female 1. “If my present actions strike you as foolish, let’s just say I’ve been accused of folly by a fool,” (657). 2. Antigone clearly shows that she has no respect for Creon in the slightest, she does not care that he’s a powerful male (a king) in a […]

Medea Women Empowerment

His power is derived from gods who are not as powerful as compared to the rule of people. He retaliates to those who are defiant by locking them up. Jackson is seen to be pleading with Medea to have a final touch on the bodies of the children, but Medea doesn’t hear any of his cries as she considers him as an enemy and a betrayer. This betrayal can be considered to be a political motive to ends Medea ambitions […]

Creon is King

Power can can cause a leader to neglect his conscience. In Sophocle’s Antigone, Creon unexpectedly becomes king over Thebes. He opens up his inaugural address by stating three qualities that make a king an efficient leader. He additionally makes a law stating that it is forbidden for anyone to bury Polyneices, the former prince, for he is considered a traitor. Shortly after Creon’s speech, the princess of Thebes, Antigone, defies Creon’s law and buries Polyneices. While Creon is king, he […]

Golden Age of Athens

The beginning of the Golden Age of Greece or Athens started with the Persian war, when the Persian army was defeated by Greeks. One of the main defining features of the Golden Age of Athens are that Law comes from men not the gods as we can see in the book of Antigone, another one is explaining history through the actions of people not the gods, as we can see in the book Odyssey, and the last one is focusing […]

Sophocles Tragedies

There was once a time and a place where the greatest playwrightters in the world existed. That time was ancient Athens. One of the most notable playwrightsters was Sophocles. Sophocles was born in 496 B.C.E and was born into a relatively rich family. This paper will tell about his day-to-day life, how he changed the world and his typical play. Sophocles was an amazing play writer and maybe the greatest theater artist to this day. Sophocles was born into a […]

Women in Sophocles Motifs

As a wise man once said “Asking for help isn’t weak, it’s a great example of how to take care of yourself.” The chorus, of Sophocles’ play “Antigone”, portray this as they sing to the God Dionysus, asking for his help. The Exodus, or ode number 6, use the motifs woman are carriers of the family, yet frail, divine law s city law, as well as repeat the word dance in the last stanza to explain to the Ephebes how […]

Creon’s Stubbornness

CHORUS LEADER Isn’t this action possibly a god’s? … CREON Or have you seen them honor wicked min? It isn’t so. This exchange shows that it is a common opinion that proper honorary burial rites are desired by the gods, even though Creon doesn’t think so. Furthermore, Creon’s response shows his disrespect for both the chorus and the gods and that he believes what he is doing is just. Even though Creon is breaking their cultural traditions and violating the […]

Main Characters of Greek Mythology

While reading and studying Antigone, I believe that Antigone and Creon are both stubborn, self-centered people. They both remind me of how a lot of humans do these days. . Each one is knows they are righteous and is going to stick to that no matter what. The unwillingness to change or compromise is also a trait of them both, and because of their refusal to see anything beyond what they believe. As Antigone states, “You may do as you […]

About Antigone
Playwright:	Sophocles
Chorus:	Theban Elders
Genre:	Tragedy
Date premiered:	c. 441 BCE
Place premiered:	Athens
Original language:	Ancient Greek
Characters:	Creon, Antigone, Ismene, Haemon, Eurydice of Thebes, Tiresias, Sentry, Polynices

Essays on Antigone