‘Antigone’ Essay Topics You Will Like

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Antigone Essay Topics for Analytical Papers

1. The effect of character interaction in the play “Antigone.”
2. Which is more important to Sophocles – family or authority? Look at Antigone, Ismene, Creon, and Haimon, and at what happens to them and their relationships.
3. Creon says to his son Haimon that it would be bad enough to yield to a man, but he would never yield to a woman (meaning Antigone). What does the play say about a woman’s place in society?
4. Creon claims that the rule of the king must be obeyed even if it’s wrong in order to avoid anarchy and chaos. Does the play agree or disagree with Creon?
5. What is Creon’s fatal flaw? How does the flaw affect his state? His ability as a leader? His downfall? What does a play that centers on this particular fatal flaw have to say about the qualities that are needed or not needed in a ruler?
6. Look at Antigone, Ismene, Creon, and Haimon, and at what happens to them and their relationships. What is the role of family ties in “Antigone”? Which appears to be more important to Sophocles – family or authority? Why?
7. Choice versus fate in “Antigone.”
8. Punishment, suicide, and the death penalty in “Antigone.”
9. Familial responsibility and respect for subordinates in “Antigone.”
10. Role of women in “Antigone.”
11. Analyze one of the characters of “Antigone” through the lens of psychoanalytic theory.
12. What does “Antigone” say about the different gender roles assigned to men and women in the Ancient Greek city-state? In what ways do some of its characters either exemplify or upset those roles?
13. Analyze the issue of feminism as it relates to “Antigone” and the “Tempest.”
14. Why does Aristotle insist that both virtuous and depraved characters are unsuitable as tragic characters? According to this definition, is the main character of the play “tragic”?
15. Aristotle argues that it is “inappropriate for female characters to be manly or formidable.” Do you think the female lead in the play fits this negative description? Does she seem “inferior” to the men in the play?
16. Theme of pride in the play “Antigone.”
17. How does Antigone demonstrate pre-feminist ethics?

Antigone Paper Topics for Compare and Contrast Writing

1. Compare Antigone and ISIS.
2. Compare and contrast how both Oedipus and Antigone are victims of a god.
3. Compare “Antigone” by Sophocles with “Antigone” by Anouilh, and each play’s characterization of Antigone. Analyze how that difference contributes to the overall altered effect/meaning of Anouilh’s version.
4. Compare Sophocles’ “Oedipus the King” and “Antigone.”
5. Compare and contrast Creon in “Oedipus the King” with Creon in “Antigone.”
6. Human nature on contrasting ideologies using examples from “Antigone” and “Winter’s Bone.”
7. Compare Creon’s speech from “Antigone” and George W. Bush’s speech.
8. Compare “Medea” by Euripides and “Antigone” by Sophocles.
9. Compare and contrast Gilgamesh and Antigone in terms of negative and positive qualities and the difference between an epic hero and a tragic hero.
10. How does the family construct influence the identities of the characters Oedipus, Antigone, and King Lear (comparing plays by Sophocles and Shakespeare)?
11. What do the major dramatic works “Antigone” by Sophocles and “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare suggest the reader about the abuse of power and ambition? Compare and contrast them.
12. Compare and contrast “Antigone” and “Persepolis.”
13. Compare women’s roles in “Trifles” and “Antigone.” What roles do the women play? How are they treated? What is significant about how the stories unfold around their actions?
14. Compare Jocasta to her two daughters Antigone and Ismene.
15. Compare the role of, or relationships between, men and/or women, or husbands and/or wives in “Gilgamesh,” “Odyssey,” “Oedipus the King,” and “Antigone.”
16. Compare “Antigone” and “The Great Gatsby.”

Antigone Topics for Evaluation Papers

1. Evaluate the play of “Antigone” in terms of the view on gender roles.
2. What is a significant difference between “Antigone” and “Lystrata”?
3. Evaluate the background of Antigone arguing this particular character’s guilt or innocence.
4. How does the play “Antigone” engage with its “world”?
5. According to Aristotle’s concept of a tragedy, explain why Creon is viewed as the “tragic hero.”
6. In the Greek play “Antigone,” as the new king of Thebes, Creon has certain obligations to his recently war-torn city and his people. How would you characterize Creon as a ruler, and how well does he fulfill his duty to Thebes?
7. Antigone is a tragic heroine who believes in her moral duty to the gods over her duty to the state and is willing to suffer the consequences in order to do what is morally right. In other words, should we do what is legal or what is right?
8. How are powerful human struggles that are still relevant today represented in “Antigone”?
9. Evaluate death in Sophocles’ play “Antigone.”
10. According to Nelson Mandela, “in life, every man has twin obligations – obligations to his family, to his parents, to his wife and children; and he has an obligation to his people, his community, his country.” How do the characters in Sophocles’ “Antigone” approach these twin obligations?
11. How were Antigone and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. both symbols of paradoxical doom? Include the concepts of individualism, human rights, civil disobedience, and anarchy to prove your claim.
12. Is the drama “Antigone” a tragedy like “Oedipus the King”? If it is, who is the tragic figure: Antigone, Creon, or both?
13. Evaluate the significance of the stillness of tragedy in “Antigone” by Jean Anouilh.
14. Evaluate the major importance of the minor character Leader in “Antigone.”
15. Since Antigone defies Creon, the one who represents the views of the population, how does she exceed her limitations by defying the law of the state?
16. Evaluate sisterhood in the play “Antigone.”

Antigone Essay Topics – Questions for Argumentative Papers

1. Is “Antigone” a study of human actions, with complex emotions? Why?
2. How does “Antigone” demonstrate pre-feminist ethics?
3. What is fate to Sophocles?
4. Who is right – Antigone or Creon – in the play “Antigone”?
5. Was Antigone’s suicide an act of civil disobedience?
6. Is “Antigone” a study of human actions, with complex emotions? Why?
7. What is the role of female characters in drama over the centuries, from “Antigone” to “Trifles”?
8. Is “Antigone” generally a drama of politics, not of fate?
9. How does the play “Antigone” relate to Ancient Greece?
10. Do you like the play? Why or why not?
11. Was Creon from “Antigone” a great king?
12. How do Sophocles’ play “Antigone” and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” address the issue of civil disobedience? How does the gender/race of the disobeying individual impact the meaning of the texts?
13. What is the nature of the conflict between Antigone and Creon?
14. How are light and dark images used in “Antigone”?
15. How are two views of law illustrated and argued in the play? Which view is triumphant?
16. What does “Antigone” tell us about men’s and women’s relationships in classical Greek society?

Persuasive Topics of Antigone

1. Why does Aristotle insist that both virtuous and depraved characters are unsuitable as tragic characters?
2. What is the moral dilemma faced by a major character, and the action taken?
3. What are motives, or reasons, for the character’s action?
4. What are possible alternatives for the character’s action?
5. What is Antigone and Creon’s relationship with the Grecian Gods?
6. Discuss the various aspects of the central conflict in “Antigone” (political, religious, personal). Who is the tragic hero? Why? How is the play relevant today?
7. What is Sophocles’ agenda in his play “Antigone”?
8. According to “Antigone,” which laws should we follow: the laws of God or the laws of man?
9. On what grounds does King Creon defend the establishment of the decree, and upon what grounds does Antigone defend her defiance of it?
10. Consider the role of Ismene in the play. Describe her character. Is her
    passiveness a sign of weakness or real courage? What is her relationship to her
    sister, and how do they interact in bringing the play to a conclusion?
11. “Antigone” is sometimes seen as a statement on government, specifically its role
    as an authority figure in shaping society. How does Creon fit into this role of
    government, and how does Sophocles show that the Greeks saw his position as not
    only outdated but ineffective?
12. Describe the relationship between Creon and Haemon. How did this
    relationship deteriorate in their fateful confrontation? How, specifically, did
    Haemon come to despise his father?
13. Antigone is the towering figure in the play. What do you think of her? Is
    she as great as everyone assumes, or is she selfish, egocentric, and wildly
    possessed in her quest to find justice for her brother?
14. In what ways does a play reflect the theater or performance space for which it was written?
15. Is Antigone right to disobey Creon and his unjust government, which condemns the burial of Polynices, or is Antigone wrong in her actions because the law should always triumph?
16. The differences in the presentation of violence in “Death and the Maiden” and “Antigone.”

Antigone Character’s Story

Antigone is a character of ancient Greek mythology. She is the heroine of the tragedies of Sophocles’ “Antigone” and “Oedipus at Colonus.” She is the eldest daughter of Oedipus, king of Thebes, and Jocasta, wife of Oedipus, who is also the mother of the Theban king. Accordingly, Jocasta is simultaneously the mother and grandmother of Antigone herself. Antigone has a sister, Ismena, and two brothers, Polyneices and Eteocles. Antigone’s uncle is King Creon. Use this information to do my essay wrtiing process easier.

Antigone Main Book Ideas

The play “Antigone” is centered around the following main topics:

1. Conflict between Antigone’s individual conscience and her duty to obey the laws of the state. Antigone defies the orders of her uncle, King Creon, and buries her brother’s body against his edict. She believes that her duty to her family and the gods is greater than her duty to the state.
2. Fate is a recurring theme in Greek tragedy, and “Antigone” is no exception. The play explores the idea that humans are subject to the whims of the gods, and that their destiny is predetermined. Antigone believes that her fate is already sealed, and that she is merely carrying out the will of the gods.
3. The conflict between family loyalty and political allegiance in Antigone’s decision to bury her brother’s body. Creon, on the other hand, believes that his duty as king is to uphold the laws of the state, even if it means going against his own family.
4. The consequences of excessive pride. Creon’s pride and stubbornness lead to his downfall, as he refuses to listen to the advice of his son and the prophet Teiresias. His actions ultimately lead to the deaths of his son, his wife, and Antigone.
5. The role of women in society. “Antigone” is notable for its portrayal of strong and independent women. Antigone and her sister Ismene challenge the traditional gender roles of ancient Greece, and Antigone is portrayed as a brave and heroic figure who defies the authority of the male-dominated state.

History of Creation of Antigone

The image of Antigone embodies the idea of sacred duty to relatives. King Oedipus fell into despair and blinded himself, discovering that unknowingly he had become the murderer of his father, the previous Theban king Laius, and married his own mother. The gods announced that the murderer of King Laius must be expelled from Thebes, otherwise a pestilence would attack the city. Jocasta, who married Oedipus, also not knowing the truth, committed suicide when the truth was revealed.

Blind Oedipus himself moved from the city into exile, and Antigone accompanies him of her own free will in his wanderings, sharing with Oedipus all the difficulties of the journey. Thus, the characterization of Antigone as a devoted daughter is apt. After Oedipus dies in Colonus, near Athens, Antigone returns home to Thebes.

At home, meanwhile, the rivalry for power between the brothers Polyneices and Eteocles begins. The younger brother, Polyneices, marches against Thebes to take power from Eteocles. The myth about this event is recounted in the tragedy of Aeschylus, “Seven Against Thebes.” Both brothers of Antigone die in battle as a result, and Thebes is then ruled by Creon, the uncle of the heroine.

Eteocles, who defended Thebes, is buried as a hero with honors. In the eyes of the new king, Polyneices is a traitor, and Antigone’s uncle prohibits the nephew’s body to be committed to the ground, according to custom. Antigone buries the body of her brother in secret, against the will of Creon. In different versions, Antigone either sprinkles the body of Polyneices in the earth, or drags it to the same fire where the body of Eteocles was burned, and throws it into the fire, making ceremonial libations.

Enraged, Creon orders the sentry to find the “culprit of the forbidden funeral.” Soon Antigone is brought to the king. She does not deny the accusations. She reminds the king of the significance of the laws of the gods, but Creon does not listen to her. As punishment, he decides to wall up the girl in a cave.

Ismena appears. Creon accuses her of helping Antigone. Although Ismena did not help Antigone, she wants to share her sister’s fate and wishes to falsely claim guilt that she too participated in the burial rites for their brother. But Antigone, wanting to save her sister from punishment, will not allow her sister to take blame.

Creon calls his son Haemon and informs that his bride will be buried alive. This leads to an argument between Haemon and Creon..

However, Creon remains true to his word, and Antigone is immured alive in a cave. The girl cries bitterly – this is not how she imagined her fate.

Despite the pain, Antigone stands by her decision, because she acted according to her conscience and according to the laws of the gods. Antigone is mentally prepared to meet her parents in the gloomy realm of Hades.

Antigone commits suicide by hanging herself. Haemon sobs near her body, cursing “the harsh court of his father.” Unable to come to terms with the heavy loss, he attempts to stab Creon. Then failing that, takes his own life.

Upon learning of the death of her beloved son, Creon’s wife Eurydice takes her own life and curses her husband. She blames her “child-killing husband” for all the deaths. Creon remains king, but he is devastated, having lost his family and the respect of his people.

Conclusion

The tragedy emphasizes that, no matter how powerful and influential the individual, they remain powerless before fate and before the court of the gods. The work teaches the reader to honor traditions and to be more merciful and fair towards loved ones.

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