ANTIGONE STUDY GUIDE
26.03.2013
ANTIGONE AGREEMENT / DISAGREEMENT
“ Creon gives Antigone a harsh punishment simply because
she is a woman; if the law-breaker had been a man, he
would not have been sentenced to death.” Do you agree or
disagree with this statement? Justify your rationale by
referring to the text.
Considering the portrayals of women and men in “Antigone”,
what do you think about the gender roles in a Greek tragedy?
How do you evaluate Antigone’s, Eurydice’s and Ismene’s
attitudes from this perspective?
Key qualities of a tragic hero in a Greek play
•
•
•
•
•
•
Bloodline
Hamartia
Anagnorisis
Peripeteia
Nemesis
Catharsis
Considering these qualities and the processes that
Creon and Antigone have gone through, which one do you think
is the tragic hero of the play?
 Classical Drama
 How Tragic!
 Breaking the Law
 Death
 Quotes
Classical Drama originated in this country.
This group of people would sing and chant on stage.
It is the reversal of a fortune, the downfall of the tragic
hero.
Antigone prefers to follow these laws.
 She is the queen of Thebes who unknowingly married
to her son, Oedipus. She is also Antigone’s mother.
Recognition or discovery on the part of the hero; change
from ignorance to knowledge.
Purgation of emotions of pity and fear which leaves the
viewer both relieved and elated.
The most common tragic flow leading the protagonist
to downfall.
First suspect in burial of Polyneices
Creon sentences Antigone to this, changing his mind
about the original decree.
 “ My spirit was talking to me all the time, saying ‘Fool,
why are you going where you will be punished for your
journey? Wretch, are you wasting time again? If Creon
hears this news from someone else, you’ll be sure to
suffer for it!’ ‘ “
 “For the man who believes that he alone has the ability
to think and speak, that he and no-one else possesses
intelligence- when such men are laid open, they are
seen to be empty.”
 “ Be sure that the most stubborn wills fall hardest; it is
the strongest iron, tempered to hardness in the fire,
that you will most often see shattered and broken to
pieces. I have known wild-tempered horses brought to
order with a tiny bit.”
The reason why Polynieces is not properly buried by
giving rituals.