Author: Chelsea Radigan

Mary McDonnellHannah RhodesChelsea Radigan
Script Analysis
September 20, 2010 

 

Aristotelian Analysis- Thought (Idea)- Antigone

I.                   Stated by the characters in plain words:

Gods' Superiority to Humans:

·         "For me it's noble to do this thing, then die€¦ I will commit a holy crime, for I must please those down below for a longer time than those up here, since there I'll lie forever"

·         "At many things – wonders, terrors – we feel awe, but at nothing more than at man"

·         "Nor did I think your proclamation so strong that you, a mortal, could overrule the laws of the gods, that are unwritten and unfailing."

·         "Zeus, what transgression of men could overcome your power? Neither sleep that catches everyone in its nets nor the weariless passing of the months named for gods can overcome it€¦"

·         "No man has the power to stain the gods"

·         "The burden of being mortal – the sad, exhausting burden"

"[Gods] are not of today and yesterday; they live forever."

Negative Effects of Pride/Hubris:

·         "Zeus utterly hates the noise of an arrogant bragging tongue"

·         "Whoever thinks that only he himself owns all good sense, that he and no one else has such a tongue and mind – when men like that are opened up, it's seen that they are empty"

·         "There is no city that belongs to only one man"

·         "Good sense is the first principle of happiness. We must not act disrespectfully toward the gods. Grand words of arrogant men, paid back with great blows, in old age teach good sense"

"There is no reverence in trampling on God's honor."

Family vs. Country Loyalties:

 

  "Any man who feels that someone close to him is more important than his own fatherland – him I count as belonging nowhere"

·         "Knowing that this ship keeps us safe, and only when it sails upright can we choose friends for ourselves"

·         "Honoring the laws of the earth and the justice of the gods, to which men swear, he stands high in his city. But outside any city is he who dares to consort with what is wrong" (also Gods)

·         "He who is a good man in his own house will also be seen to be just in public life"

·         "This is why men pray to bring up dutiful offspring and to keep them at home: so they'll pay back a hated foe with trouble, and giving honor, love the friends of their father as he does. Of him who breeds useless children, what else can you say but that he only begets more burdens for himself, and more mockery among his enemies?"

·         "Whoever is put into power by the city must be obeyed in everything – in small things, and what's just, and the opposite. There is no greater evil that lack of rule"

"Anyone thinking another man more a friend than his country, I rate him nowhere"

"There is nothing worse than disobedience to authority."

Negative Effects of Greed/Corruption:

"For nothing current grows among us worse for men than silver: money ravages the cities, it forces men to leave their homes, it teaches mortals to turn to shameful deeds, it shows men how to commit all crimes, and know all kinds of irreverence"

"Dirty profits make for suffering"

"The mind of those who plan in the dark what is not right will often find itself caught as a thief"

"The gods' swift-footed bringers-of-harm cut down the evil-minded"

"When a man's enjoyment betrays him, I don't think of him as living but as a dead man who can still draw breath"

"Often greed has with its hopes brought men to ruin."

"Do you see the gods as honoring criminals? This is not so."

 "Ill-gotten gains ruin more than they save."

 

"When people plot mischief in the dark, it is the mind which first is convicted of deceit."

"The good man does not seek an equal share only, with the bad."

Human Weakness/Limited Knowledge of Mortals – Stubbornness:

·         "Mortals should not swear anything's impossible! – since later thoughts can prove one's judgment quite mistaken"

·         "For does not someone who, like me, lives on among so many evils, profit by dying?"

·         "Rigid walls are those most apt to fall, and that the hardest iron, forged in fire for greatest strength, you'll see is often broken, shattered"

·         "Good sense that is innate in people deserts them in the midst of troubles"

·         "The trees that bend with the current save themselves and even their twigs, but those that stand straight are annihilated, root and branch"

·         "It's best by far if a man is completely filled with knowledge by his nature€¦ It's also good to learn from what's well said"

·         "To show reverence is indeed some reverence. But power, in him who holds power, is absolutely not to be opposed"

·         "Making bad choices is something shared by all men, but when a man goes wrong, he's not still ill-advised and not ill-situated if he tries to rectify the evil he has fallen into and stops insisting that he will not move. Stubbornness will earn the charge of botching things!"

·         "It's terrible to give way. But to resist – and strike my soul with ruin – is terrible"

 "It's a bad thing if one judges, and judges wrongly."

"No city has he with whom dwells dishonor prompted by recklessness."

 Women Subservient to Men:  

 "We must keep in mind that first, we're born as women, we're not brought into being to war with men; and second, that we are ruled by those whose strength is greater, and we must yield to this"

·         "We must safeguard the orders of the rulers, and we must never be defeated by a woman – better to be overthrown, if we must be, by a man; then we will not be said to have been beaten by the women"

·         "For a woman who has died it is a great thing even to be spoken of as having the same fate as those who are like gods, both when alive and then afterward, when dead"
Predestination – ( also Cyclical Tragedy in Families):

·         "It makes no sense to do things that are futile"

       "Among those whose house the gods shake, no ruin is absent as it creeps over a multitude of generations€¦"

·         "The power of fate – whatever that is – fills us with terror and awe. Neither wealth nor weapons nor high walls nor dark sea-battered ships can escape it"

·         "Don't pray for anything – for from whatever good or ill is destined for mortals, there's no deliverance"

II.        From the action, not the interpretation:

The main themes of Sophocles' Antigone are the importance of honoring the dead, the dangers of greed and pride, the gods' superiority in the face of human weakness, and the power of fate and predestination.  Antigone's actions demonstrate the importance of honoring the dead because she buries her dead brother, according to the gods' laws, despite Kreon's protest.  Kreon is punished for his hubris and unwillingness to bend to the will of the gods when he punishes Antigone for defying his proclamation to leave Polyneikes unburied.  The power of fate is stressed by the Chorus, who reflect on the ultimate sovereignty of the gods regardless of men's laws.  These themes combine to form a play whose purpose is to promote the necessity of living in adherence to the gods' laws rather than the laws of any man or country.

 

III.       Comparison to themes of the author's other works:

Fate- Oedipus and his family cannot escape their fate, no matter how they try to avoid it.

Stubbornness and denial of the truth- Oedipus and Jocasta stubbornly resist the truth because it would be too painful to acknowledge.  Likewise, Kreon is confronted with signs, such as Teirisias' speech, that his method of handling the problem is unwise, but he stubbornly holds to his course.

Honor v. Corruption- Electra and Antigone would rather do what is morally right and suffer for it than act dishonorably for their benefit.

 

IV.       Comparison of themes by other authors of the time period:

Gods are supreme- Both Antigone and Medea illustrate that mortals cannot defy laws or promises set down by the gods and avoid punishment

Family- Even though Kreon initially considers family connections secondary to upholding his laws, he, like Jason in Medea, is devastated when his choice to put political expediency before his family precipitates the death of his new wife and children

Subservience of Women- In both Medea and Antigone, women are said to be inferior to men in a variety of ways.  Medea and Antigone make themselves exceptions to this rule.

Dying honorably- Antigone considers it her top priority to honor her dead brother, regardless of the consequences.  She would rather do the right thing and die for it than sacrifice her beliefs.  Similarly, Alcestis' Admetus demonstrates the importance of giving the dead the respect they deserve.

Heriditary curse- Antigone's ancestry is plagued with unhappiness and violence. In the play Agamemnon, though the violence is more intentional, it is still embedded in the family's nature.

Greed for power- Jason from Medea abandons his family in order to gain power and political standing.  Kreon is also preoccupied with his own power.  The chorus, in Antigone, specifically warns against the dangers of greed.

 

V.        Comparison of themes of plays with similar actions:

King Lear– Similar to the way in which Kreon punishes Antigone for disobeying his orders, Lear exiles his daughter, Cordelia, for not telling him what he wants to hear.  Also, Kreon and Lear handle their power poorly, with one clinging to his authority relentlessly and the other giving it away to his incompetent daughters, resulting in chaos and death. Both kings are foolishly stubborn.

Hamlet– Like Antigone, Hamlet is determined to honor a lost relative, his father, and sacrifices his life in the process.  Claudius' decision to murder his brother in order to gain power parallels Kreon's obsession with his own power.  Both of the power-hungry characters are the uncles of the title character and responsible for their deaths.  Also, in both plays, the loyalty to family conflicts with the loyalty to country.  The themes which connect these plays are honor for the dead, lust for power, and family versus country loyalties.

Gods' Superiority to Humans:

·         "For me it's noble to do this thing, then die€¦ I will commit a holy crime, for I must please those down below for a longer time than those up here, since there I'll lie forever"

·         "At many things – wonders, terrors – we feel awe, but at nothing more than at man"

·         "Nor did I think your proclamation so strong that you, a mortal, could overrule the laws of the gods, that are unwritten and unfailing."

·         "Zeus, what transgression of men could overcome your power? Neither sleep that catches everyone in its nets nor the weariless passing of the months named for gods can overcome it€¦"

·         "No man has the power to stain the gods"

·         "The burden of being mortal – the sad, exhausting burden"

"[Gods] are not of today and yesterday; they live forever."

Negative Effects of Pride/Hubris:

·         "Zeus utterly hates the noise of an arrogant bragging tongue"

·         "Whoever thinks that only he himself owns all good sense, that he and no one else has such a tongue and mind – when men like that are opened up, it's seen that they are empty"

·         "There is no city that belongs to only one man"

·         "Good sense is the first principle of happiness. We must not act disrespectfully toward the gods. Grand words of arrogant men, paid back with great blows, in old age teach good sense"

"There is no reverence in trampling on God's honor."

Family vs. Country Loyalties:·         "Any man who feels that someone close to him is more important than his own fatherland – him I count as belonging nowhere"

·         "Knowing that this ship keeps us safe, and only when it sails upright can we choose friends for ourselves"

·         "Honoring the laws of the earth and the justice of the gods, to which men swear, he stands high in his city. But outside any city is he who dares to consort with what is wrong" (also Gods)

·         "He who is a good man in his own house will also be seen to be just in public life"

·         "This is why men pray to bring up dutiful offspring and to keep them at home: so they'll pay back a hated foe with trouble, and giving honor, love the friends of their father as he does. Of him who breeds useless children, what else can you say but that he only begets more burdens for himself, and more mockery among his enemies?"

·         "Whoever is put into power by the city must be obeyed in everything – in small things, and what's just, and the opposite. There is no greater evil that lack of rule"

"Anyone thinking another man more a friend than his country, I rate him nowhere"

"There is nothing worse than disobedience to authority."

Negative Effects of Greed/Corruption:·         "For nothing current grows among us worse for men than silver: money ravages the cities, it forces men to leave their homes, it teaches mortals to turn to shameful deeds, it shows men how to commit all crimes, and know all kinds of irreverence"

·         "Dirty profits make for suffering"

·         "The mind of those who plan in the dark what is not right will often find itself caught as a thief"

·         "The gods' swift-footed bringers-of-harm cut down the evil-minded"

·         "When a man's enjoyment betrays him, I don't think of him as living but as a dead man who can still draw breath"

"Often greed has with its hopes brought men to ruin."

"Do you see the gods as honoring criminals? This is not so."

 "Ill-gotten gains ruin more than they save."

"When people plot mischief in the dark, it is the mind which first is convicted of deceit."

"The good man does not seek an equal share only, with the bad."

Human Weakness/Limited Knowledge of Mortals – Stubbornness: ·         "Mortals should not swear anything's impossible! – since later thoughts can prove one's judgment quite mistaken"

·         "For does not someone who, like me, lives on among so many evils, profit by dying?"

·         "Rigid walls are those most apt to fall, and that the hardest iron, forged in fire for greatest strength, you'll see is often broken, shattered"

·         "Good sense that is innate in people deserts them in the midst of troubles"

·         "The trees that bend with the current save themselves and even their twigs, but those that stand straight are annihilated, root and branch"

·         "It's best by far if a man is completely filled with knowledge by his nature€¦ It's also good to learn from what's well said"

·         "To show reverence is indeed some reverence. But power, in him who holds power, is absolutely not to be opposed"

·         "Making bad choices is something shared by all men, but when a man goes wrong, he's not still ill-advised and not ill-situated if he tries to rectify the evil he has fallen into and stops insisting that he will not move. Stubbornness will earn the charge of botching things!"

·         "It's terrible to give way. But to resist – and strike my soul with ruin – is terrible"

 "It's a bad thing if one judges, and judges wrongly."

"No city has he with whom dwells dishonor prompted by recklessness." Women Subservient to Men:  

 "We must keep in mind that first, we're born as women, we're not brought into being to war with men; and second, that we are ruled by those whose strength is greater, and we must yield to this"

·         "We must safeguard the orders of the rulers, and we must never be defeated by a woman – better to be overthrown, if we must be, by a man; then we will not be said to have been beaten by the women"

·         "For a woman who has died it is a great thing even to be spoken of as having the same fate as those who are like gods, both when alive and then afterward, when dead"

Predestination – ( also Cyclical Tragedy in Families):

·         "It makes no sense to do things that are futile"

       "Among those whose house the gods shake, no ruin is absent as it creeps over a multitude of generations€¦"

·         "The power of fate – whatever that is – fills us with terror and awe. Neither wealth nor weapons nor high walls nor dark sea-battered ships can escape it"

·         "Don't pray for anything – for from whatever good or ill is destined for mortals, there's no deliverance"