Antigone

Scene 1 and 1st Ode

Reading Check

1. That it is illegal to bury the body of Polyneikes, Antigone and Ismene’s brother (Scene 1)

2. She believes it is important to respect the law, especially since she and Antigone are women. (Scene 1)

3. “The law of the gods” (Scene 1), which relates to the theme of God and Man’s Law

4. Keep Antigone’s plan a secret (Scene 1)

5. Polyneikes’s attack on the city of Thebes (Scene 1)

Short-Answer Response

1. Oedipus is the father of Antigone. Prior to this play, he unknowingly killed the man who was his father and married a woman who was his mother, thereby becoming king of Thebes. He left Thebes after learning what he had done, leaving the crown to his two sons, who fought over the throne and ultimately killed each other. (Scene 1)

2. Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus. She believes it is important to bury her brother, even though it is against the law. Her sister, Ismene, disagrees with her and believes it is more important to follow the law. (Scene 1)

Scene 2 and 2nd Ode

Reading Check

1. Oedipus’s brother-in-law, who is now king after Polyneikes’s and Eteokles’s deaths (Scene 2)

2. Not to show support to people who disobey the law (Scene 2)

3. Someone has put a layer of dirt over Polyneikes’s body, and the wildlife has not touched the corpse. (Scene 2)

4. To find who orchestrated the “burial” (Scene 2)

5. God and Man’s Law (Ode 2)

Short-Answer Response

1. Eteokles will receive a burial with full honors, as a “hero,” while Polyneikes’s corpse will be left on the field for the wildlife to eat, without prayers or respectful actions taken, as a “traitor.” Kreon decrees this because Polyneikes attacked the city where he was born and where his ancestors were from. (Scene 2)

2. While the Chorus suggests it was done by the gods, Kreon believes it was a guard who took a bribe from another person questioning his authority. (Scene 2)

Scene 3 and 3rd Ode

Reading Check

1. Because they caught her trying to recover Polyneikes’s body (Scene 3)

2. Her father (Scene 3)

3. “curse” (Scene 3)

Short-Answer Response

1. Kreon believes Ismene took some part in Antigone’s act. When he questions Ismene, she replies that she is also guilty, and despite Antigone’s refusal of her claim, says she wants to die with Antigone. (Scene 3)

2. Kreon has sentenced both Antigone and Ismene to death. This complicates matters further for Kreon’s son, who is engaged to Antigone. (Scene 3)

Scene 4 and 4th Ode

Reading Check

1. Son of Kreon and the fiancé of Antigone (Scene 4)

2. He respects his father’s decision. (Scene 4)

3. “anarchy” (Scene 4)

4. The Chorus feels sorrow for Antigone. (Scene 4)

Short-Answer Response

1. He is concerned about his men losing to women, as opposed to other men. (Scene 4)

2. Haimon states that the public is confused about why her generous act would be punished by death. (Scene 4)

3. Haimon believes that Kreon is going against God’s will, while Kreon believes that Haimon has been seduced by Antigone and has lost his reasoning abilities (Scene 4), which relates to the theme of God and Man’s Law.

Scene 5 and 5th Ode

Reading Check

1. To be taken to the vault (Scene 5)

2. For him to receive an equal punishment (Scene 5)

3. Destiny (Scene 5)

Short-Answer Response

1. While Antigone laments her fate and compares herself to divine figures, the Chorus provides reminders to her that the situation is due to her family history as well as her decision to defy Kreon (Scene 5), which relates to theme of Fate and its Inescapability.

Scene 6 and 6th Ode

Reading Check

1. A blind seer (Scene 6)

2. Death (Scene 6)

3. A boy (Scene 6)

Short-Answer Response

1. He says that Kreon has brought upon the land a “calamity” and that he should admit his mistake of leaving Polyneikes unburied. (Scene 6)

2. The Chorus urges Kreon to listen to Teiresias and release Antigone from prison and to bury Polyneikes. Kreon listens to their advice. (Scene 6)

Scenes 7 and 8

Reading Check

1. That Antigone and Haimon are dead (Scene 7)

2. Kreon’s wife, the queen (Scene 7)

Short-Answer Response

1. The messenger and Kreon went to bury Polyneikes’s body, only to find it destroyed by wildlife. They burn what is left. (Scene 7)

2. Eurydice had killed herself after learning about the death of Antigone and Haimon. (Scene 8)