Period 8, Group 1: Analyze Creon's personality, his style of governance, and his character in this scene. Explain.
Period 8, Group 2: What do you think of Ismene? Is she sincere in her thoughts, actions, and relationships?
Period 8, Group 3: This play is named after Antigone. What did you learn from her character in this scene?
Period 8, Group 4: You will perform this ode as the finale. Share your thoughts about each stanza in Ode 2. Explain how and why each stanza relates to this tragedy.
All: What is the role of the Sentry in this scene? of Choragos? of Haimon (Creon's son)? Explain.
We all find Creon’s personality and character to be very narrow minded and stubborn in Scene 2. We think this because he goes against the law of the gods. Antigone tells Creon that he shouldn’t change the laws of the gods but because of his stubborn personality he does not listen. The gods have their own laws to be followed and Creon disregarded them. The law of the god’s states that everyone should have some type of burial but Creon isn’t following this law of the gods and let Polyneices rot with no burial.
ReplyDeleteCreon’s style of government is based on power, control, and fear. Creon needs everything to be exactly how he wants it to be. If anyone disobeys his laws his consequence is death, which instills fear in many people to obey his laws. We know that people are scared of him because Antigone says to him “I should have praise and honor for what I have done./ All these men here would praise me/ Were their lips not frozen shut with fear of you.” (Page 764/765 Lines 98-100). Antigone is saying that she should be praised for going against Creon and doing what she believes is right because everyone else is too scared of the consequences Creon will give them.
Blaise, Chloe, and Sean. (Hina will post separately)
In Scene 2, Ismene is sincere in her actions and thoughts. In Scene 1, she did not want help Antigone with the burial of their brother. However, in this scene, she changes her mind and decides to take the blame of the crime with Antigone. The reason for this is because she finally realizes everything that Antigone is facing because she tried to help Polyneices. Ismene feels guilty, and she truly wants to accept the punishment with her sister. Ismene sees that Antigone was willing to risk everything for their brother, and when Ismene sees that Antigone is facing death, she decides that she wants to be there besides Antigone. Ismene is sincere because she is loyal to her sister. Because she did not help Antigone from the beginning, she is changing her mind now and is going to stand by Antigone to death.
ReplyDeleteKanoe, Lefanoga, Kepa (Abcde will post separately)
In this scene Antigone displays honorable leadership characteristics, her most prominent quality being integrity. She displays this by choosing to be honest instead of lying when faced with death. Antigone also is completely straight forward when explaining her beliefs and opinions. She also demonstrates her unwavering integrity by taking full responsibility for her actions and willfully submitting to Creon’s punishments without seeking support from Ismene or anyone else. Antigone’s open honesty also shows her respect for Creon both as her king and uncle. However, she is realistic and speaks her mind; for example she says “Ah the good fortune of kings,/Licensed to say and do whatever they please!” (101-102). Here she is chastising Creon for belittling her courage in “unleashing her tongue” and arguing her opinions. Her bitter tone is a result of a lack of recognition that women received during her lifetime, which is why she is often sarcastic and bitter with her comments. Not only is she extremely courageous for acting on her convictions and owning up to her actions, but she also illustrates her loving and caring nature. The Sentry notices this quality in her and describes her as a mother bird. Antigone’s love towards Ismene is hidden behind her constant rejections towards Ismene’s desire to support and stand by her in death. Antigone’s character is both brave and loving, and respectful yet honest.
ReplyDeleteKokia, Kalani, Hope, and Lindsey
STROPHE 1:
ReplyDeleteThe first stanza of Ode 2 explains the nature of vengeance and its unpredictability in life. This stanza compares vengeance to an on-coming wave in the ocean that is crashing onto the sand. This metaphor provides a perspective on the over-whelming powers of vengeance, and its capability of metaphorically smothering one’s life. “Where once the anger of heaven has truck, that house/is shaken” (Page 769 Line 2) may be alluding to a previous catastrophic event, and the effects it had on the people involved. Perhaps the house being referred to is the house of Oedipus. The “anger of heaven” can be the curse that was put forth by the gods, where Oedipus was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. It also may be a general reference implying that the powers of heaven can greatly disturb a person’s life. “For ever: damnation rises behind each child” (Page 768 Line 3) may be referring to the fate of Oedipus’ children, foreshadowing a curse that will continue to haunt Antigone. This stanza may be foreshadowing that once again; the gods will take revenge and bring hardships to Oedipus’ family members. The description of the sea may be a writing technique in order to emphasize the great intensity of the wrath of the gods and provides a visual imagery of the events taking place in Scene 2 and the future happenings in Antigone. In addition the “wind whipped sand” may refer to Oedipus’ line of descent that has already endured the hardship of the previous prophecy and the death of Oedipus, his father, and his mother. This may foreshadow that Oedipus’ relatives (for example, Antigone) will be faced with yet more obstacles and challenges ahead.
Strophe 2:
ReplyDeleteIn strophe 2 it is explaining how Antigone by passes the powers of Zeus (death) because of her persevere and unlimited attitude towards anything shes does. In this situation she has broken a decree set by Creon saying that whoever shall render aid to an enemy of the state then you are certain for death. This strophe is also explaining the wrath of what Zeus can do. His powers and abilities to place certain death upon people. In the line "sleep cannot lull him" means that if you were to make him mad or deceive him for doing a certain thing, his rage will be continuous and unstoppable. The lines 17-19 explain that Zeus contains all knowledge. Past, present and future. This can be related to our religion with God knowing everything about us. We are a reflection of him, and he knows about our deeds and our sins. The following line "No pride on Earth is free of the curse of Heaven" This basically relates to how God judges us. No matter how glorious we may think our lives are on Earth. Or what bad things we do on Earth, everything that is done affects the entry into Heaven. Similar to what line 20 is saying, That all of Antigones work done. From burying her brother to standing up to an unjust king, it will all impact the curse (restrictions from entering) of heaven.
Antistrophe 2:
In antistophe 2 it talks about how men or warriors drowse into their dreams. Men or Warriors could be referring to Antigone and how she'll drowse into a dream when locked away in her death cave. The waking embers or fire could be talking about hell. Hell could be related to this scene because in Scene 3 Creon talks about her being locked away in hell forever. The embers could represent the fires she'll be waking up to in Hell. Line 24 could represent her fears and accepting the fact that she is in Hell. This could foreshadow how Antigone is going to be in the face of death. "The last line Man's little pleasure is the spring of sorrow" talks about how man doesn't like to die. Also foreshadowing how Antigone will be in the face of Death and how she'll be in the problems yet to come.
ANTISTROPHIE 2
ReplyDeleteI feel Antistrophe 2 is directed towards King Creon. “The straying dreams of men/May bring them ghosts of joy” (Page 769 Lines 21-22) may be symbolic of Creon and his evil and unjust laws. The dreams may refer to what he believes to be an ideal society where all the citizens obey his every command. Creon may find pleasure in making unfair laws and not listening to the opinions of Antigone and Haimon and may feel superior to women with divine power to make unfair regulations at this point in the play. “But as they drowse, the waking embers burn them;/Or they walk with fixed eyes, as blind men walk.” (Page 769 Lines 23-24) is symbolic of King Creon’s obliviousness to his wrongdoings. The reference to the waking embers may foreshadow events in the future that will come back and haunt Creon for his unwise choices as the current ruler. This can relate to the Hawaiian concept of utu and “what goes around comes around.” King Creon’s ignorance is compared to the limited awareness of a blind man. “But the ancient wisdom speaks for our own time:/Fate works most for woe/With Folly’s fairest show./Man’s little pleasure is the spring of sorrow.” (Page 769 Lines 29-32) can be a metaphor subtly stating that the actions Creon takes in order to make himself superior to others and his choice to leave Polyneices’ body to rot, will bring grief and sorrow to his life in the long run. In general, this may also be saying that the negative choices made in life in order to have a moment of happiness will bring forth sorrow and hardships later on, and will follow a person similar to the curse that has tortured Oedipus’ family.
Antistrophe 1 of the second Ode to the story Antigone expresses the misfortune of the royal family, while emphasizing Antigone's misfortune the most. The Chorus claims that the misfortune that swept over Oedipus' children has long been foreseen. It goes on to say that each generation, or each progeny of Oedipus has suffered by the wrath of the enemy god. The progeny of Oedipus in this case would be Eteocles, Polyneices, Antigone, and Ismene; all of whom would suffer a gloom of misfortune. The Ode goes on to speak of the last flower or last child of Oedipus' legacy, Antigone. Antigone drank the sunlight, and by doing so she was empowered by the energy of the gods in the heavens from which the sunlight derived, and she grabbed that dirt and laid it upon her brother. Not only did she take action but she spoke up with a wise and moral mouth to attest to her actions in the form of some passionate words, thus ending the beauty of her life.
ReplyDeleteI think that Creon comes across as a malicious and detached personality, explaining why he treats Antigone and the people around him badly. In reality I feel that Creon is actually very insecure about his power, which is why he reacts in such a manner when people defy him. We do not know whether or not Creon knew about the dispute between Antigone’s two brothers, but we do know that he chose sides, in that he buried one brother with honor and the other without. In Scene 2 Antigone points out Creon’s insecurity about power. Antigone curses Creon, hoping that he will soon face the same fait as her. She tells him that although he seems to posses a large amount of power, the men that he thinks follows him only do so out of fear and not reverence. Although the sentry does not directly say so, it can be assumed that he is also aware of Creon’s power obsession. When the sentry is afraid of his reaction to the news of the have buried brother it shows that Creon will be angrier because someone defied his law rather then the crime itself.
ReplyDeleteI think Ismene is sincere in her thoughts, words, and actions because as the saying goes, "Actions speak louder than words," and Ismene proved she can be trusted when coming back for her sister and facing her fears of Creon when it ultimately came down to it. While Ismene demonstrated unfavorable thoughts early in the play,she demonstrates her sincerity when she changes her mind and reasons that she was wrong all along to have chosen life over her family. Her actions spoke louder than her words when she offered to take the path of death with Antigone without being asked but out of the sincerity of her heart. In my opinion, her relationships are sincere because any person who is willing to give their life for another proves true of their love and Ismene achieves this nature in her character. Ismene is a favorable character and surprises readers in the irony that the character who was the most unlikely candidate for reverence comes back to prove herself an impact.
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