Choose Such A Scene From ?Antigone? And Explain What Makes It Dramatic. Essay, Research Paper

‘Antigone´ is based on the age-old conflict between the requirements of human and divine law. This problem is shown in the dispute over the burial of Polynices, in which King Creon´s understanding of political laws is opposed to Antigone´s religious duties and beliefs. The positions of Antigone and Creon are conflicting, but both retain the same stubborn belief that they are right. Based on this, the most dramatic scene is therefore the confrontation between these two characters.

The opening speech by the chorus sets the scene for the conflict in the play. The tension and suspense of ‘Antigone´ is felt immediately. Antigone feels that it is her duty to bury her dead brother, Polynices. The Greek view of death was that a person´s soul could never come to rest unless their body had been buried, otherwise they would remain eternally on Earth. It is Creon´s contrasting views on Polynices´ body´s welfare that makes the play ‘Antigone´ so intriguing. Whilst Creon believes that he has to stand by the edict that he predetermined, Antigone feels the divine law should be carried out and that a state law is inadequate by comparison.

The chorus tells the audience what is going to happen, which is surprising. From this you know the fate of Antigone, from her actions of disregarding the state law. The story is told very factually and unemotionally. The contrast between what is being said and the way it looks from an audience´s point of view evokes emotion. This opening chorus speech alters the way of watching the play. It makes things inevitable, and you watch to see how things happen rather then what will happen. This creates suspense early on in the play, which is continued on throughout, until the fatal confrontation.

A realistic and humane description of the characters´ personalities is given, showing how they seem like ordinary people, instead of the king and princess they really are. Like ordinary people, they are going through the same problems of love, work and relationships. This makes the audience care about them from the beginning. On first impressions, Antigone is childlike and vulnerable, and this is shown by the way that she sits, with her hands clasped around her knees, deep in thought. Creon in contrast is a powerfully built man, acting the part of a strong powerful leader although he seems as though is he carrying the world on his shoulders.

Once you meet Antigone you instantly start to know her. You do not know that she has broken the edict to begin with, but she acts out of character, which may be the initial indication that she has done something out of the ordinary. She comes across as quite romantic and idealistic. When she starts talking to her nurse she seems to be daydreaming. She talks as though she is very aware of everything around her, and was especially appreciative of the colours of the fields, something, which she only noticed earlier that day. When the nurse starts quizzing Antigone, she answers her with idyllic answers, some of which have no relevance to the questions asked. Antigone almost seems to be in a trance. This behaviour is obviously bizarre, and the nurse begins to get worried about Antigone. From this early scene, you can instantly recognise Antigone´s characteristics. By comparing the nurse and Antigone, you can see they have very different personalities. The nurse is practical and conservative whereas Antigone seems to have a free will and acts on impulse. Although Antigone is to get married, she still acts young and vulnerable, and needs to have the nurse picking up after her. This is particularly noticeable when the nurse starts crying, due to the frustration of Antigone´s actions. Antigone admits that she feels like a child again.

At this point in the play, Ismene enters the room. Ismene and Antigone talk about burying their brother´s body, and how they would be put to death. They are reminded of the seriousness of the edict, and the risk of death for defying it. The whole ordeal seems terrifying. Antigone states that they are bound to die. Ismene acts much more maturely and considers her options and the consequences before making a decision on what to do. Ismene remarks that Antigone is impulsive and once an idea is in her head, nothing can deter her from it. It is evident that Antigone and Ismene have distinct personalities. Ismene is able to see more than one point of view on the topic of the edict, whereas Antigone sees only one point of view, which happens to be her point of view. This shows that she is quite stubborn, and will stand by her beliefs

Once Ismene has left, Antigone realises that she will die. It is becoming questionable whether she has already buried Polynices´ body. She acts vulnerable and scared, knowing that she will go through a lot for someone of her age. She starts talking about final things, like the well being of her dog, knowing that she may not be able to care for it for much longer.

When Haemon, her fiancé enters, Antigone makes some very puzzling comments, about the future. She starts talking in a conditional tense, and gives out intriguing signals. She went to Haemon´s house with the intention of sleeping with him, but was laughed away. As a virgin, this indicates that she is aware of what she is going to miss when she dies, although it is not definite that she has done something to deserve the death penalty. Haemon begins to get worried about Antigone, as she begins to talk about how ‘its never going to happen´. Her strange manner has alerted Haemon into thinking something is wrong. All her strange actions and comments build up the tension on whether she will go through with the burial of her brother. This suspense is finally broken when she admits to Ismene that she has in fact, already buried her brother.

The soldier who witnessed the burial is sent as a messenger to tell Creon what has happened. He is worried at the king´s reaction, and although he does eventually tell the king what has happened, he makes the story long-winded and comical. The soldier carries the story on in a trivial way, and stops the flow of the play. This creates tension, as the guard is making jokes and talking about ordinary everyday things, when there is a matter of life and death to deal with. The soldier changes the tone of the play, and a contrast of his humour and the seriousness of what he is saying heighten the tension surrounding the subject of the edict. Creon wearily accepts the news, and has the political obligation to follow this through. You can see that Creon is not a power crazy ruler, but feels he has to portray himself as a powerful king.

Creon leaves the scene, and the chorus comes on, with another speech concerning the welfare of Antigone. They begin to talk about tragedy, linking the scenario of the play, to the theme of a tragedy, using a metaphor:

“The spring is wound up tight. It will uncoil of itself. That is what is so convenient in tragedy. The least little turn of the wrist will do the job.”

The chorus is saying that the spring has a lot of tension ready to be released. The tension of the play concerning death is inevitable and it will take little to unravel the tension. This speech focuses on tragedy and inevitably, both of which are the main focuses of the play. It is making you wait, and as you feel anxious, the tension builds up. The imagery used to talk about all the clues that lead to a tragedy all relate to what has already happened in ‘Antigone´. As it was predetermined, Antigone has been caught. From the chorus´s speech, they explain how tragedy seems calm and this is reflected by how calm Antigone is acting.

Creon´s first response to finding out that Antigone was the culprit is to offer her a way out. Immediately a sense of relief is felt, as you begin to hope that everything is going to be all right. When Antigone declines this offer, you begin to feel frustrated. There is no clue at this point into why she is not taking a way out of her punishment. Creon tries to work out what Antigone is doing, and assumes she did it because she could get away with it, being the niece of the king. She denies this with her response being that even if she were a scullery maid she would do the same thing. Creon then goes on to compare her to her father, Oedipus. He said that Oedipus let his personal feelings get above his ruling, and that he was too headstrong and proud. Creon says that Antigone is also proud, and is similar to her father. He starts describing himself, and that he is very practical and down to earth. He is the king, and that is his trade, so he must take it seriously. Antigone is so different to Creon making it clear that they are going to clash.

Creon again tries to find out the cause of her actions. He asks her about her religious beliefs, and if it is that that caused her to go ahead with the burial. She states that it was her religious beliefs, but eventually admits that it was for herself, and that religion had nothing to do with her actions. With this answer, Creon seems to be in control of this argument. He asks why she wants to die, when she has such a good future ahead of her, and is given the chance to live. Creon is getting frustrated and is desperate to find out. When Creon grabs Antigone´s arm, his frustration is shown by the way that he is lashing out on her. His frustration is echoing the audience´s. Creon admits that he would rather have the body buried, but he had to produce the edict to show that traitors would be punished.

Antigone then starts using personal insults, and the argument is locked into a yes/no argument, each viewing different opinions. Antigone mocks Creon for saying yes to everything, and that he is trapped within the role of being king. Because of that he has no choice but to kill her, as it was his fault for accepting the edict. Creon´s response is to attack Antigone for saying no, as there is no responsibility in saying no. It is easy to see why this argument has been carried on for so long, as Antigone is so idealistic, wanting everything to be perfect, that she forgets that it may not be practical.

Eventually Creon attacks Antigone´s romanticised view of her brother. He says that Polynices was a traitor and a rebel, and killed a great king. Creon is able to make her see some truth about her brother, and soon Antigone starts agreeing with Creon. This is a relief for Creon and Antigone, as at last it seems that she is going to live. As Creon feels that he is on top of everything, he makes a fatal mistake. He says that he used to be like Antigone when he was young. This sets Antigone off. She is frightened of growing up to become like Creon, and other adults around her. It is at this moment that Antigone´s fate has been sealed, and there is no turning back for her. She starts insulting Creon and eventually Creon orders the guards to come in and take her away.

It is this last scene that pulls together the whole play, and it is the result from this confrontation that you have been waiting for. There was so much anticipation circling that scene, and so much hinged on it, as there was a matter of life or death. Tension and anxiety were built up right through the play, leading up to this scene, and it was so dramatic, that it was worth waiting for. There were no distractions during that scene, making it dramatic. The conflict between the Creon and Antigone was not only in their characters, but in their views on what should happen, making the scene itself intense. The tones of voices from the two characters at the end made a big impact, as the raising of voices, and the audience watching it reflected the frustration heard in the characters. There are only two main characters in this scene, so you have to draw your attention towards them, which means that the audience would have a lot of emotions going through them as they heard the opposing arguments. These emotions help to make ‘Antigone´ dramatic.