Family ties vs civic duty Flashcards
Antigone’s first reference to Creon - what she call him ?
Refers to Creon as “the Commander” - disrespectful, impersonal: fails to take into account their family connection
The opening lines of the play, Antigone’s words emphasise the plays concern with familial relationships
“My own flesh…
“My own flesh and blood - dear sister, dear Ismene, how many griefs our father Oedipus handed down!”
We are instantly reminded that she is the daughter of Oedipus and of his story
Ismene expresses the tragedy of their families history when it comes to death. Goes through each of them
Father: “hated, his reputation in ruins”
Mother: “mutilating her life in the twisted noose”
Brothers: “both shedding their own blood, poor suffering boys”
Reminds Antigone of these to emphasise that they are left alone and should “be sensible” and abide by the law to avoid punishment or death.
Creon in his opening speech
introducing him to the people - laying down his policies straight away
“whoever places a friend…
“…whoever places a friend / above the good of his country, he is nothing: / I have no use for him.”
if put in context of describing Antigone, it attributes her with the male pronoun & he calls on “zeus as my witness”, making it more official
Creon places importance on political alliances over family ones
“establish friendships….
(Why might Athenians agree?)
“establish friendships, truer than blood itself”
again setting out his opinions straight away - political alliances are more important than family ones (Athenians might agree with this statement about the city being of highest importance as that is what gives them democracy.
Loyalty to the city is seen as paramount - it would be a STRUGGLE not to
Ismene: “but defy…
“i must obey…
Ismene: “But defy the city? I have no strength for that”
- presenting it as a struggle suggests the forcefulness of C’s power ?
“i must obey the ones who stand in power”
Creon believes people should be acting in a way:
“loyally….
“Loyally submitting to the king” - interesting that he pairs loyalty with submission - casts him as tyrannical - for him to be loyal is to be passive and follow strictly the laws of the city without question
Creon assumes whoever has buried the body must have been bribed
“the whole crew…
“the whole crew bribed to commit this crime”
He thinks the only reason hey would do this is bribery; doesn’t even think to question whether someone might have a strong family connection to Polynices that means they want to honour him
Creon hates anarchy
“Anarchy, show me…
Creon : “Anarchy, show me a greater crime in all earth”
Antigone doesn’t see why Creon can tell her she isn’t allowed to bury her brothers body
“He has no right to…
“He has no right to keep me from my own”
