Copy of Antigone Plot Graph

Climax

-Antigone commits suicide by hanging before Creon can release her while Haemon dies out of grief caused by Antigone

Antigone Plot Graph

By: Julia Kim

The speed in which Fate punished Creon, even as he buried Polyneices', would alarm the audience and press upon them

the strength and tolerance of

Heaven.

Rising Action

-Antigone confronts Creon about the laws of Heaven (admitting to burying Polyneices')

-Creon imprisons Antigone

-Haemon (engaged to Antigone) attempts to persuade Creon to release Antigone

-Teiresias warns Creon about the swiftness of Fate and the impending death of his son, Haemon

-Creon eventually relents and buries Polyneices' body himself before leaving to free Antigone

This scene would rather surprise the audience toward Antigone's actions of blatantly stating the eternal law of Heaven at Creon as well as her obstinate refusal to repent before Creon for disobeying his law.

Back Story

-Polyneices (son of Oedipus) gathers an army to gain the throne of Thebes from Creon

-Eteocles (Son of Oedipus) supported Creon and so fought against his brother Polyneices' army with the Thebes' defenders

-The defenders of Thebes won the war in which Eteocles and Polyneices kill each other

Inciting Incident

Antigone buries her brother, Polyneices' against Creon's order

Resolution

This allows the reader to understand that Thebes is not stable or completely united while showing the source of Creon's animosity toward Polyneices even after his death.

-The Queen dies out of grief by Haemon's death

-Creon repents for the deaths he unknowingly caused

-Creon wishes death unto himself and sees no way out of his situation with Fate over him

Antigone following Heaven's law would have provided the audience with relief though apprehension to what Creon may do to Antigone even though they are related

Setting-dependent vs. Setting-independent

The play Antigone by Sophocles, is setting-dependent. Creon decrees that Polyneices is to be left unburied and those who try to bury him, will be stoned to death (Sophocles). Polyneices was left unburied for his betrayal of Thebes making the setting to be after the war brought around by Polyneices. The setting being after the war, explains the reason for Polyneices' punishment after death--the war caused by Polyneices would have had to have occurred before the setting of the play, in order for the audience to understand the tension. Creon states, "Now if she thus can flout authority/Unpunished, I am a woman, she the man"(Sophocles). The time period in which Antigone was written shows the inequality in standing between men and women, in this case Sophocles uses a women to undermine Creon's rule. In a different setting, such as the 21st Century in North America, women are more similar in standing to men than in Antigone making Creon's reaction to Antigone's defiance extreme and unrealistic. Thus, Antigone by Sophocles, is setting-dependent.

The audience would feel disturbed about how little time Fate gave Creon to repent before the deaths of Antigone, Haemon, and the Queen resulted. Even more disturbing, would be to see how fast Fate

broke a king so confident in his laws as to

defy heaven.

Exposition

-Creon orders that Polyneices' body will left unburied while Eteocles' body would be buried with honors

-Anyone who buries Polyneices' body would be stoned to death

-Polyneices' spirit is unable to find rest when his body is left unburied

Denying a spirit rest by refusing to burying it, goes against the laws of Heaven hinting to the reader of the immanent danger of Fate to Creon