Sophocles Antigone - The Real Tragedy :: Antigone essays

Tragedy of Antigone The fun Antigone by Sophocles displays many qualities that make it a extensive tragedy. A tragedy is defined as a dramatic or literary work in which the principal character engages in a mor everyy significant struggle ending in ruin or profound disappointment. In creating his tragedy Antigone, Sophocles uses many techniques to create the ruleings of terror and forbearance in his reviewers. This in turn creates an excellent tragedy. In order for a play to be considered a tragedy it must achieve the purge of fear and pity. In the play Antigone, Sophocles does a wide job of rescue verboten these two emotions in a reader. At the beginning of the play there is a conversation between Antigone and her sister Ismene. During the conversation the reader learns the two girls lost their father in battle and both of their brothers at the hands of one another. Then the reader learns that one of the brothers, Polynices, has been left out to die without a proper bur ial. At this time the reader begins to feel pity for the two sisters. They have lost their father and their two brothers all at the same time. Later in the conversation the reader learns that Antigone has a plan to bury here brother Polynices and that she wants Ismene to help her. Ismene is scared to do this because the new king, Creon, has issued a decree that says that any person that attempts to bury the em trunk will be sentenced to death. The fact that Antigone is going to attempt to bury the body creates fear in the reader. They are fearful as to what will authorise to Antigone if she is caught. As the play moves on there is a building of this fear and pity that is felt for many of the characters that finally is resolved at the catastrophe. At that point the reader learns that Creon, the king, has lost his wife, his son, and his niece Antigone, all because he was too stroppy to give in as well as to afraid that if he did give in that he would be judged as an easy king. In a way this ending brings the two emotions together. The reader feels pity for Creon because of his great loss, but at the same time he feels a fight of fear because he wouldnt want this type of tragedy to ever occur in his life.