One Act Play

ONE ACT PLAY
(Antigone)
By Sophocles
•CHARACTERS
*Antigone, compared with her beautiful and docile sister, is portrayed as a heroine who
recognizes her familial duty. Her dialogues with Ismene reveal her to be as stubborn as her uncle.
In her, the ideal of the female character is boldly outlined. She defies Ceon's decree despite the
consequences she may face, in order to honor her deceased brother.
*Ismene serves as a foil for Antigone, presenting the contrast in their respective responses to the
royal decree. Considered the beautiful one, she is more lawful and obedient to authority. She
hesitates to bury Polynices because she fears Creon.
*Creon is the current King of Thebes, who views law as the guarantor of personal happiness. He
can also be seen as a tragic hero, losing everything for upholding what he believes is right. Even
when he is forced to amend his decree to please the gods, he first tends to the dead Polynices
before releasing Antigone.
*Eurydice of Thebes is the Queen of Thebes and Creon's wife. She appears towards the end and
only to hear confirmation of her son Haemon's death. In her grief, she dies by suicide, cursing
Creon, whom she blames for her son's death.
*Haemon is the son of Creon and Eurydice, betrothed to Antigone. Proved to be more reasonable
than Creon, he attempts to reason with his father for the sake of Antigone. However, when Creon
refuses to listen to him, Haemon leaves angrily and shouts he will never see him again. He dies
by suicide after finding Antigone dead.
*Koryphaios is the assistant to the King (Creon) and the leader of the Chorus. He is often
interpreted as a close advisor to the King, and therefore a close family friend. This role is
highlighted in the end when Creon chooses to listen to Koryphaios' advice.
*Tiresias is the blind prophet whose prediction brings about the eventual proper burial of
Polynices. Portrayed as wise and full of reason, Tiresias attempts to warn Creon of his
foolishness and tells him the gods are angry. He manages to convince Creon, but is too late to
save the impetuous Antigone.
*The Chorus, a group of elderly Theban men, is at first deferential to the king. Their purpose is
to comment on the action in the play and add to the suspense and emotions, as well as connecting
the story to myths. As the play progresses they counsel Creon to be more moderate. Their
pleading persuades Creon to spare Ismene. They also advise Creon to take Tiresias's advice.
•SETTING
A play's setting refers to the time and place of the action. As discussed above, many ancient
Greek plays had a dramatic simplicity, so the setting changed very little. The setting
in Antigone is in Thebes, in the distant past. Every scene takes place in front of the royal palace.
•THEME
An analysis of Antigone reveals several key themes. Many of these themes can be found in the
conflict between Antigone and Creon. Antigone explores a variety of themes, including pride,
emotion versus reason, destiny versus self-determination, men versus women, individual
decisions versus rules, sight versus blindness, power, and mortality.
•PLOT
*Exposition
The exposition in the play Antigone is the first conversation between Antigone and her sister
Ismene. The two sisters have a conversation about recent events, thus explaining the situation to
the audience. Antigone opens with several rhetorical questions, then asking Ismene if she has
heard the news.
*Rising action
Antigone's rising action is said to occur as Creon imprisons his son's lover to a tomb for breaking
his laws. During her imprisonment, Tiresias warns Creon of his transgressions against the people
and the gods. He urges the king to set his hubris aside and rightfully bury Polyneices' body as per
the gods' commands.
*Climax
The climax of Antigone happens when Creon changes his mind about executing Antigone. He
and others go to free her from the cave in which she was imprisoned. However, he is too late;
Antigone is already dead.
*Falling action
The falling action of Antigone occurs after Creon decides to free Antigone from her tomblike
prison. Creon arrives too late and finds that Antigone has hanged herself. Haemon, Antigone's
fiancé, attempts to kill Creon but ends up killing himself. Creon's wife, Eurydice, stabs herself.
*Resolution
Antigone's death is the turning point in the play. Without it, the conflict could never be resolved,
and the other deaths on stage would never occur. Her choice to take her own life resolves the
external conflict with Creon and forces him to acknowledge his prideful ways, which gives the
audience a resolution.
1st quarter : English 9

School year: 2023-2024
PERFORMANCE TASK
Submitted by: JERIC ANTON T. VERZOSA

Grade 9- NITROGEN
Submitted to: NINA ERICKA MABINI

English teacher

One Act Play

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

One Act Play

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

One Act Play

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

ONE ACT PLAY

1st quarter : English 9

Submitted by: JERIC ANTON T. VERZOSA

Submitted to: NINA ERICKA MABINI

You might also like

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.