Flashcards on Antigone Quizlet
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1. A major conflict between _____ and _____ as well as between _____ and _____ is revealed in the Prologue.
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Creon and Antigone, Ismene and Antigone
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In the short paragraph that describes the setting of the play, the reader learns of the events that led to the recent deaths of Eteocles and Polynices. Why did the two brothers kill each other?
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They both wanted the power to be king
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As the play opens, Antigone tells her sister, Ismene, that an edict has been placed over the city of Thebes. What is this edict, and who has commanded it?
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No one can bury Polynices, Creon announced it
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What is the punishment for disobeying the edict?
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Death by public stoning
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What does Antigone ask Ismene to do, and how does Ismene respond?
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To bury the corpse of Polynices, Ismene thinks Antigone is crazy and shouldn't do it
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In her response to Antigone's request, Ismene alludes to the tragic history of their family. According to Ismene, what happened to the sisters' parents?
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They died
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What point is Ismene trying to make in the following statement? By the words, "those below," to whom might she be referring? ...we are ruled by more powerful people And must obey them, even in more painful things. Therefore I ask forgiveness from those below, As I am forced to in these matters, and yield To those who walk with authority. For to do excessive things is nonsense.
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She is questioning Antigone's plan, and she is talking about her dead parents
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When Ismene refuses to help bury Polynices, Antigone angrily responds that she will do it herself. She then says: It seems fair to me to die doing it. I will lie dear to him, with one dear to me, A holy outlaw, since I must please those Below a longer time than people here, For I shall lie there forever. You, though, Dishonor the gods' commands, if you wish. According to her reasoning, why is Antigone willing to die for burying her brother?
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Because she wants to die next to her family and she will be there dead forever
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Write the line that show how Antigone now feels about Ismene.
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"Then go, if this seems best to you, but know that your friends truly love you, however foolish"
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The Chorus uses figurative language to describe the Argive army as it attacked Thebes. What simile does the Chorus use to describe the invading army?
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With a wing as white as snow
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The Chorus in a Greek drama is often made up of a group of people whose identity is relevant to the story being told. What group of people comprises the Chorus in Antigone?
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14 old men
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During Creon's first speech, he explains that he is the new king of Thebes. According to him, how did he become king?
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Because he is the closest relative to Oedipus
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Creon uses a metaphor to describe his country. What is it? What role does Creon see himself playing in the metaphor?
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My country is safety itself, and only when she is upright can our sailing find friends. The country is a boat and he is the captain of the ship.
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Creon discusses the edict and explains his reasons for it. What are his reasons? Do they seem to be valid?
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He says whoever is friendly to the city will in life and death be equally honored by him and they seem to be valid
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The Chorus tries to assure Creon that no one is foolish enough to disobey his edict and risk death. However, Creon seems unconvinced and says, "...but often profit has destroyed men through their hopes." What does he mean by this statement?
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People have convinced other people to die for their dreams
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What news does the guard bring to Creon?
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Someone has buried the corpse and disappeared
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How does the Chorus respond to this news?
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They say it was god's work
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How does Creon respond to the Chorus' theory?
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He gets very angry
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What does Creon accuse the guards of? Does his accusation seem reasonable?
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He accuses them of being bribed
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How does Creon feel about money? Write the lines from the play that support your answer.
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He thinks it creates evil,"It's destroyed even cities, it has expelled men from their homes; it teaches the minds of honest men to deviate and take up foul things. It has shown men how to be villainous and to know every sort of godlessness
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According to Creon, what will happen to the guards if they do not find the person who buried Polynices? Does this decision seem justified?
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Unless they find the person who buried the body, they will be hanged alive
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As the Chorus begins Ode 1, what adjective does it use to describe humanity?
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Wondrous
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The Chorus describes the many ways in which humanity has triumphed over nature. However, there is one thing that humanity has not been able to conquer, according to the Chorus. What is it?
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Immortality
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Who brings Antigone in front of Creon, and why?
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A guard, because Creon told the guards to look for the person who buried the body
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When the guard explains the events that led up to the capture of Antigone, he begins by describing what he and the other guards did to the body of Polynices. What did they do, and why?
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They brushed off all the dust and left it there because it smelled very bad
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The guard recounts a strange and dramatic event that occurred just moments before Antigone returned to the site of the body. What was the event?
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A cyclone lifted up from the ground in a storm of dirt
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According to the guard, how did Antigone react upon seeing the uncovered body of Polynices? What simile does he use to describe her reaction?
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She was wailing bitterly like the shrill voice of a bird who sees her empty nest, stripped of its nurslings
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What did Antigone do to the body as the guards watched?
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She covered the corpse in libations
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What is Antigone's response when Creon asks her if she is guilty of burying Polynices in defiance of the edict?
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She admits to being guilty
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How does Antigone explain to Creon her reason for breaking the law?
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She says it was the gods law to bury the body
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How does Antigone feel about dying? Use a quote from the play to support your answer.
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She feels that without Polynices buying buried, she is living a life of sorrow, so if she were to die, it wouldn't matter. "Anyone who lives a life of sorrow as I do, how could they not count a blessing to die?"
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What is Ismene's involvement?
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She says she did it too even though she did not do it
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What two topics is Ode 2 about?
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It is about praising Zeus and the family's curse
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What advice does Creon give to Haemon concerning Antigone?
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Never give up your wits for a woman because of the pleasure
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What reason does Creon give for having to kill Antigone?
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No evil is worse than disobedience
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According to Creon, "whomever the city chooses must be _________________________" and "no evil is worse than _________________________."
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Obeyed, disobedience
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According to Haemon, what are the people of the city saying about Antigone?
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The city weeps for her
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Haemon uses two metaphors to explain to his father that being stubborn is irrational and often harmful. What are these two metaphors?
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Whoever thinks that he is the only one who can think or use his tongue or soul and these men, when you open them up, are seen to be hollow
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How is Haemon's view of the city different from Creon's?
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He says the city does not belong to one man
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Near the end of their argument, Creon forbids Haemon to marry Antigone, declaring, "You cannot marry her while alive." Haemon replies with an ominous statement, which hints at something to come later in the plot. What does Haemon say, and what literary device does his statement demonstrate?
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Then she will die and, dying destroys another, foreshadowing
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When Haemon leaves Creon at the end of their argument, what does he say?
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Antigone will not die beside me and you will never see me again
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Creon tells the Chorus that he will not kill Ismene but he will still punish Antigone. How does Creon intend to punish Antigone? Why does he decide on this particular type of punishment?
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He will leave her on an island, so that the city will escape all pollution
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In Ode 3, the Chorus employs personification to describe love. Cite at least two examples from the ode in which the idea of love is given human characteristics.
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A. Love, unconquered in battle B. Love, who attacks wealth
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How does the Chorus react upon seeing Antigone being led in by the guards?
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They cry
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Whose bride does Antigone say she will be?
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The bride of death
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Antigone claims that she has no friends and that no one will mourn her. Is this true?
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No, she has Ismene
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Who does Antigone blame for her impending death?
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She blames her brother
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Antigone states that she would not have defied the edict if the dead person had been her husband or child. What is her reasoning behind this statement? Does it make sense?
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Because why would she bury it if it was not part of her family, yes it makes sense
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Ode 4 describes three myths of others who have been buried alive in tombs. Name these three people.
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Lycurgus, Danae, Cleopatra (mother of Phineas's sons)
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Tiresias receives omens from birds. How have the birds been acting recently? How else have Tiresias' omens failed?
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Tiresias is a very famous blind prophet, he usually gets omens from the birds. The birds have been screaming with evil. Tiresias' omens have also failed because there was no fire burning for people to make sacrifices to the gods
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Tiresias tells Creon, "The city is sick because of your counsel..." In what ways is the city sick, and how are the gods responding?
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The altars and hearths are defiled by birds and dogs with carrion (flesh) from the corpse of the unlucky son of Oedipis (Polynesis). They are spreading rotting flesh around the city and making everyone sick. Gods refuse people's offerings and prayers
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Tiresias advises Creon that the terrible situation can be remedied if Creon will stop being so stubborn. How does Creon respond to this advice?
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"Go ahead, old man; all of you can shoot your arrows at me like archers at targets. I am not even left untouched by the seers! By your kind I was brought and sold and carried home a long time ago." He doesn't care and refuses to bury Polynesis's body. Says that he was bribed and that is why he is saying all that nonsense.
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What prediction does Tiresias make? According to him, why will Creon receive this punishment?
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Haemon is going to die (an exchange, corpse for corpse). This is because he didn't bury Polynesis (the dead person), but he did bury Antigone (who is alive). The gods are not happy with this
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What does the Chorus have to say about Tiresias' predictions?
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He has never been wrong, he is always right
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Whose advice does Creon finally take? What is he advised to do?
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He takes the chorus's advice to release Antigone and bury Polynesis
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What is Ode 5 about?
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It anticipates that Creon will remedy the situation and save the day. It is a prayer to Dionisis
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What news does the messenger bring to the Chorus?
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Haemon killed himself
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The messenger explains to Eurydice (Creon's Wife, mother of Haemon) that, after burying Polynices, he and Creon went to the cave where Antigone had been taken. What did they see upon entering the cave?
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Antigone hanged herself and Haemon was holding her "We did observe; and in the last part of the tomb, we saw her hanged by the neck, fastened by a noose of fine linen, and him wrapped around her, clinging to her around the waist, bewailing the destruction of his lost pride and the deeds of his father and his unhappy marriage bed."
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What did Haemon do as Creon approached him, and why?
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He spits at Creon and then tries to stab him, but misses. Then Haemon stabs himself
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Who does Creon blame for Haemon's death?
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Himself
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What news does the second messenger reveal to Creon?
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Creon's wife is dead
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According to the messenger, how did Eurydice die? What did she say immediately before her death?
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She stabbed herself in the heart. She curses him
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What is Creon's only wish at the end of the play?
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He wishes to die. The Chorus is saying that his punishment is saying that he has to remember what he did and live with it
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Tell what the Chorus says in the last six lines of the play, in your own words.
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It is saying that knowledge is the most powerful thing you can have, but never use it for evil uses. It is also saying that the older we get, the wiser we get; and the more knowledge we get.
