Analysis of Creon and Antigone in Sophocles' Antigone: A Close Reading

This essay offers a close reading of Sophocles' Antigone, focusing on the conflict between Creon and Antigone. The analysis examines the characters' motivations, actions, and the play's central themes, including the clash between divine law and human authority. The essay highlights Antigone's defiance of Creon's edict regarding the burial of her brother Polyneices, emphasizing her devotion to family and religious duty. It explores Creon's rigid adherence to state law and the consequences of his actions. The analysis draws upon Rayor's translation to support its arguments, illustrating Antigone's internal struggles, her piety, and her unwavering commitment to her beliefs, while also exposing Creon's lack of humanity. The essay concludes that Antigone's actions are justified by her love for her brother and her reverence for the gods, while Creon's actions are presented as cruel and devoid of compassion.

Running Head: CLOSE READING OF ANTIGONE
CLOSE READING OF ANTIGONE
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Author Note

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Antigone is one of the beautiful literary creations of Sophocles, written before 441 BC.
This play tells a tale of two brothers, Polyneices and Eteocles, killed in the battle of Thebes and
the controversy regarding their burial entwined with the lives of their sisters- Antigone and
Ismene. The thesis statement for this close reading is to analyze two conflicting characters of the
play- Creon and Antigone.
According to Rayor (2011), the plot of the play was the civil war of Thebes, in which
Polyneices and Eteocles were defeated and died. After the battle, Creon ascended the throne as
the new ruler, and decided not to bury Polyneices’s dead body. Antigone one of the sisters of
Polyneices and Eteocles, buried Polyneices secretly violating the edict of Creon. She was caught
by the Sentry and imprisoned. Haemon, the son of Creon urged to spare his fiancé Antigone.
This became the reason behind deteriorating relationship between Creon and his son Haemon. As
a final consequence of this Antigone received a life-time imprisonment inside a cave.
According to Rayor (2011), the lines “with no marriage bed, no wedding song/ not
destined to marry”………../but deserted by loved ones…../alive I enter the cave of dead”, depicts
the heart-rending pain of Antigone prior to her entry to the cave for a life-time imprisonment.
Like other common maiden, Antigone was also about to Haemon, but a single act of burying her
own brother transformed her position from a woman who was about to enter her married life to a
woman who was about to enter a dense dark cave for lifetime imprisonment. The lines that
immediately follows “What divine law have I transgressed?/ Why should I, ill fated, still look to
the gods?”, reflects Antigone’s commotion developed inside Antigone for not being able to
understand why she had to suffer in spite of following the path of morality. “Still look to the
God” reflects Antigone’s faith and hope and urge to God to be by her side. “What ally can I
invoke/ When I acted piously I was called impious” This evidenced Antigone’s astonishment as

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she was considered ‘impious’ as she prioritized morality more than the decrees of a dominating
king. “If….., this is truly good, though suffering, I will know I erred./ But if these men err, may
they suffer no more/……..unjustly to me”. These lines indicate to the strength of Antigone’s
wounded mind. Antigone did not curse Creon and his supporters for doing unjust to her, rather
she exhibited a submissive attitude towards God. If God made her suffer more she would know
that she erred. This is evident of Antigone’s kind, fearless, pious and devoted mind.
Finally, according to the argument put forward by Rayor (2011), it can be concluded that,
Antigone’s action can be justified from two points of views. Firstly, irrespective of the fact that
both her brothers Polyneices and Eteocles were rivals in the battlefield of Thebes, Antigone
loved them equally as a part of her family. Hence, Antigone’s determination to bury her brother
Polyneices, was the reflection of her true love and respect for her brother. Antigone used to
believe that, creon’s act to bury Eteocles with the military honor, while leaving the dead body of
Polyneices disgracefully for the food of the carrion animals, would be injustice to a brave soldier
like Polyneices. Further Antigone’s merciful attitude to Creon and his supporter and submission
to the God adds to the justification of her actions. On the other hand, Creon’s decision of not to
bury Polyneices and abandoning Antigone into a dense cave for burying her brother, evidenced
that Creon was devoid of humanity and relentlessly cruel.

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References
Rayor, Diane J. Sophocles' Antigone: a new translation. Cambridge University Press, 2011.

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