Antigone Close Reading and Critical Analysis

Antigone Close Reading and Critical Analysis
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Antigone is a play that centers on the struggles of a woman, Antigone, against the prevailing political system and her determination to make things happen even if it could lead to her ultimate demise. The play captures quite a number of aspects in the ancient Greek society, ranging from the roles of individuals to the general expectations of the society. Going through the various scenes, it becomes more and more clear that this was quite a sophisticated society that had its own system, rules and regulations, and generally its own ways of doing things. This can be seen through the lens of the characters. Paying a close reading to lines 21 to 31 provides quite an insight into the same.
Before delving into that excerpt, it is important to first have a brief buildup into what the play is all about. Antigone has just learnt of the deaths of her two brothers, Polyneices and Eteocles. They died in battle, having fought on opposing sides and even clashing. Eteocles is accorded some decent burial due to the fact that he died fighting on the side that supported the then king, Creon, who was the uncle. As for Polyneices however, things weren’t so straightforward. Having fought on the opposing side, he wasn’t accorded any proper burial and in fact, the king ordered for death by stoning, for anyone who would go against his command and try burying Polyneices properly. Antigone wasn’t for the idea, she wanted to bury him in the proper manner.
The excerpt of much interest from Antigone is as below;
“O clear intelligence, force beyond all measure!
O fate of man, working both good and evil!
When the laws are kept, how proudly his city stands!
When the laws are broken, what of his city then?
Never may the anarchic man find rest at my hearth,
Never be it said that my thoughts are his thoughts.”
This is a chorus. The chorus is perhaps made up of a group of elderly men, most likely due to the assumption that the young men around have either died in battle or are nursing very serious injuries to be part of this. On a bigger picture, it is indicative of the male-dominated society of Thebes at the time. The fact that Antigone stands up to such a society is an accomplishment. The chorus helps bring out the various issues of conflict in the Theban society throughout the play; ranging from the dangers of loving too much to the toxic nature of pride.
When looking at the sentence struct...