Antigone And Oedipus Essay, Research Paper

Antigone and Oedipus, written by Sophocles, are dramatic plays with a tragic

ending. The main theme for Antigone is that people sometimes have to learn the

hard way from their mistakes. This theme is expressed in the final four lines of

the play. They read, There is no happiness where there is no wisdom; No wisdom

but in submission to the gods. Big words are always punished, And proud men in

old age learn to be wise. These lines are an important part of the play. They

symbolize Creon?s bad decisions he made, his defiance to the gods, the

punishment he went through because of his edict, and the wisdom he gained

because of all his mistakes. ?There is no happiness where there is no

wisdom? demonstrates how Creon not using wisdom in his decision affected him.

By declaring that Polyneices could not have a proper burial, he went against the

gods and the other citizens of Thebes?s beliefs. This was not a wise decision

on his part, and because of it he lost his wife, his son, and his happiness.

Creon also defied the laws of the gods. This is what is expressed in the line,

?No wisdom but in submission to the gods.? In Antigone, the edict and

decisions that Creon made demonstrated that his law was more important then the

gods laws. His defiance of the laws eventually made him believe, by talking to

Teirisias, that something bad would happen to him, so he gave in to his

decision. When he gave into the gods he gained wisdom and learned that his

actions would be punished. Creons edict is considered his big words. In the

third line it says, ?Big words are always punished.? Creons edict was

punished by his loss of happiness. He proclaimed to his city that Polyneices may

not be buried, when he did this he was very proud and demanding about his

decision. He was determined not to change his mind for anything. These big words

that he proclaimed would bring his downfall. Because Creon locked Antigone up,

for burying Polyneices, she killed herself. Creon?s son Haimon, who was

engaged to Antigone, also committed suicide upon seeing his beloved Antigone

dead. Also Creon’s wife took her own life. If Creon hadn’t gone against what was

right, by making his laws more important then the god?s laws, and issuing his

edict, he would not have suffered the way he did. By getting involved in

stopping Polyneices burial by his edict he brought upon his own terrible

punishment. The last line, "Proud men in old age learn to be wise"

explains the main theme of Antigone. The proud man is Creon, the King of Thebes.

By all the mistakes he makes he learns to be wiser. As a ruler he was a very

proud man. He didn’t seem to care about anything as long as his commands were

carried out. By losing his son and wife and probably the respect of many

citizens of Thebes he grew wiser. Creon’s bad decisions he made, his defiance to

the gods, the punishment he went through because of his edict, and the wisdom he

gained because of all his mistakes, all contribute to the main theme of Antigone,

that people sometimes have to learn the hard from their mistakes. The

explication of the final four lines of the play really give a better

understanding of the theme that Sophocles was trying to get across to his

audience.