Answer to Question #299197 in English for Kelsey Jand

Question

Antigone Scene Analysis

Directions: For each day of reading, please complete the following analysis of scenes and odes in complete sentences.

Scene #/Name: Prologue

1. Function & Purpose Where on the plot diagram does this scene fall and what does it contribute to the plot?
2. Summary of Events in complete sentences
3. Important Quote correctly cited (scene#.line#s) and 2 sentence analysis of how it helps us to analyze a character or theme 

Answer 1

In the prologue to Sophocles' ''Antigone'', Oedipus's daughters Antigone and Ismene mourn the deaths of their two brothers. The sisters disagree for several reasons about whether or not they should comply with sacred laws or the orders of the king.

Oedipus's Family, or Setting the Stage

Antigone needs to share horrifying news with her sister Ismene, and so she leads Ismene out of earshot from the palace where they live. Although the palace once belonged to their dead father Oedipus, it now belongs to their uncle Creon, a man whom their father mistrusted. Antigone does not want Creon to hear what she is about to tell her sister.

When Ismene has moved away from the palace doors, Antigone speaks of the misery their family has had to endure because their father's actions. Abandoned at birth, Oedipus later encountered his parents, King Laius of Thebes and his wife Jocasta. Oedipus, unaware that the king and his wife were in fact his parents, first killed Laius in a quarrel and later married Jocasta. She gave birth to Antigone and Ismene, as well as two sons: Eteoclês and Polyneicês.

Polyneicês's Fate and Antigone's Request

It is these two sons who now bring a new tragedy into the lives of Antigone and Ismene. Eteoclês and Polyneicês have battled and killed each other because Polyneicês would not accept Creon as king. As a result, Creon declared that Eteoclês was heroic, honoring him and burying him with 'military honors.' In contrast, Creon denounced Polyneicês as a traitor, ordering that his body be left on the battlefield to decompose and be eaten by birds of prey; furthermore, he ordered that anyone caught attempting to bury the body will be sentenced to stoning in the public square.

After sharing this terrible news, Antigone challenges her sister to help bury their brother. Ismene is shocked; she has just heard Antigone explain the agonizing punishment for such an action. Ismene implores her sister to consider what Creon will do to them if they're caught. Antigone, however, insists that she will not be scared away by Creon.

Ismene's Response, or Echoes of Tragedy

Ismene, horrified, reminds her sister of the past tragedy in their family: their mother Jocasta had strung rope around her neck and taken her own life upon realizing that the father of her children was in fact her own son, while Oedipus had torn out his own eyes when he discovered that his parents were Laius and Jocasta. Now their brothers have slain each other, and Antigone is inviting another tragedy. No, Ismene says. She is unable to help; she has to obey the law.