ANTIGONE
LINES 552-576
By Student 1 and Student 2
Lines
Speaker
“But, in your time Ismene
of trouble, I am
not ashamed to sail
those stormy seas
beside you.” (556557)
Interpretation
Analysis
As you go
through this
hard time, I
have no shame
in standing by
you, to help you
through the
pain.
Ismene has now decided
to not let Antigone face
her punishment alone
and that she will split
Antigone’s punishment.
This shows the motif of
the ship and the captain
because Antigone acts as
the captain by choosing
her path and leading the
way, while Ismene is the
ship, following the lead
of the captain.
Lines
Speaker
“No, sister, do not Ismene
dishonor me, but
let me die with you
and honor him
who died.” (559560)
Interpretation
Analysis
No Antigone,
do not think of
me like that. Let
me die with you
so we can honor
our dead
brother,
Polynices,
together.
Ismene has finally decided
that she believes personal
duty is more important
compared to civic
responsibility. She believes
that honoring her brother
and standing by her sister
is more important than
following Creon’s orders,
which are unfair because
he wants to honor one
brother and abandon and
dishonor the other. She
has now chosen to face
death rather than let one
of her brethren face
punishment alone for
doing what she believes is
right.