Antigone Character Analysis in Antigone

Daughter (and half-sister) of Oedipus, sister of Ismene, niece of Creon, and fiancée of Haemon. When her brother Polynices dies attacking Thebes, Antigone defies Creon's order that no citizen of Thebes can give Polynices's body a proper burial, under penalty of death. She believes the burial rituals are the unwritten rules of the gods, and must be obeyed regardless of a ruler's political whims. She is bold in her defiance, believes firmly that she is right, and at times seems eager to die for the cause of burying her brother.

Antigone Quotes in Antigone

The Antigone quotes below are all either spoken by Antigone or refer to Antigone. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

I have longer
to please the dead than please the living here:
in the kingdom down below I'll lie forever.

Related Characters: Antigone (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 88-90

Explanation and Analysis:

Antigone and Ismene have discussed the grief they feel as a result of the death of their two brothers, Polynices and Eteocles, who killed each other in battle. Antigone has announced that she plans to give Polynices proper burial rites, despite the fact that her uncle Creon, the king of Thebes, has forbidden it and decreed that any person who attempts to do so will be killed. Ismene is shocked and frightened by her sister's words, and says she hopes the dead will forgive her, but she won't defy Creon. Antigone replies that honoring the dead is more important than Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate l

I will suffer
nothing as great as death without glory.

Related Characters: Antigone (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 112-113

Explanation and Analysis:

Ismene has told Antigone that she is terrified for her, and has promised not to tell anyone about Antigone's plan to bury Polynices. Antigone, however, dismisses Ismene's promise, exclaiming that Ismene should tell everyone. When Ismene expresses doubt that Antigone will be able to go through with her plan, Antigone declares that she is not afraid to carry it out, even if it means dying, because there is nothing worse than "death without glory." Antigone's words here have a double significance. On one level, they refer to Polynices, who will suffer a "death without glory" unless Antigone intervenes and buries Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas a

Like father like daughter,
passionate, wild…
she hasn't learned to bend before adversity.

Related Characters: The Chorus (speaker), Antigone

Page Number and Citation: 525-527

Explanation and Analysis:

The sentry has brought Antigone to Creon, explaining that it was she who gave Polynices burial rites. Creon, shocked, has asked Antigone if the sentry's claims are true and how she could have dared to break a law. Antigone replies that she does not fear death, and that it would be far worse to not give her brother a proper funeral than to die. Following this exchange, the chorus remarks that Antigone is strong-willed like her father, Oedipus. In some ways, this comparison is flattering to Antigone; despite his flaws and all that befell him, Oedipus was considered a great Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inven

Spit her out,
like a mortal enemy—let the girl go.
Let her find a husband down among the dead.

Related Characters: Creon (speaker), Antigone

Page Number and Citation: 728-730

Explanation and Analysis:

Haemon has arrived, and Creon has checked if Haemon wishes to obey him, to which Haemon replies that he does. Relieved, Creon lectures his son about the importance of obedience, and tells him to reject Antigone and move on. Creon's words show that he takes submission to the authority of the patriarchal family and the state much more seriously than romantic love or the gods. Indeed, his callous statement "Let her find a husband down among the dead" conveys his dismissive attitude toward Antigone's claims about the power of death and the afterlife. Of course, this viewpoint ultimately proves to Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Ape

Love, you mock us for your sport.

Related Characters: The Chorus (speaker), Antigone, Haemon

Page Number and Citation: 894

Explanation and Analysis:

Haemon has exited, telling his father they will never see each other again. Creon has announced that he will spare Ismene, but will exile Antigone to the desert, leaving her food so that the state cannot technically be held responsible for her death. Creon exits, and the chorus delivers a chant about love, which begins by accusing love of mocking humanity. Once again, the Chrous reminds the audience that people, even while they may be convinced and even obsessed by their own power, are in fact controlled by larger forces such as death, the gods, and in this case, love. Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam

I go to wed the lord of the dark waters.

Related Characters: Antigone (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 908

Explanation and Analysis:

Antigone has entered, accompanied by guards. She converses with the chorus, who express pity at the sight of her; Antigone, too, laments her own fate, expressing sadness at the fact that she will never marry. Instead, she will "wed the lord of the dark waters," meaning Hades, god of the underworld. This statement reflects Creon's earlier statement that Antigone's fate would cure her of her love of death. While Antigone's passionate insistence on honoring the dead and the gods is admirable, it has robbed her of the chance to live a normal life, including getting married. Yet it is also Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperi

You went too far, the last limits of daring—
smashing against the high throne of Justice!
Your life's in ruins, child—I wonder…
do you pay for your father's terrible ordeal?

Related Characters: The Chorus (speaker), Antigone

Page Number and Citation: 943-946

Explanation and Analysis:

The chorus have been speaking with Antigone about her tragic fate, implying that she is both noble and that she has defied the natural boundaries of behavior for a mortal woman. In this passage, the chorus tell Antigone that she "went too far," and that her suffering and death could be a kind of retribution for her "father's terrible ordeal." This conversation is important, as it reveals the limitations in the sympathy that the chorus feel for Antigone. Although her intentions to honor her brother and please the gods were good, the chorus emphasize that it is nonetheless inexcusable to Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inv

But if these men are wrong, let them suffer
nothing worse than they mete out to me—
these masters of injustice!

Related Characters: Antigone (speaker), Creon

Related Symbols: Antigone's Tomb

Page Number and Citation: 1019-1021

Explanation and Analysis:

Creon has instructed the guards to build Antigone a tomb and place her in it. Antigone mourns her fate, but has stated that she would not have done anything differently. As she is led away, she exclaims that she is being punished for honoring the gods, and asks the gods to punish those responsible for her death. She calls Creon and his men "masters of injustice," though asks that the gods do nothing worse to them than has been done to her. Antigone's plea to the gods highlights her strong sense of fairness and fundamental belief that she has made Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti

Still the same rough winds, the wild passion
raging through the girl.

Related Characters: The Chorus (speaker), Antigone

Related Symbols: Antigone's Tomb

Page Number and Citation: 1022-1023

Explanation and Analysis:

Antigone has been taken away by the guards to be sealed in her tomb. The chorus delivers a chant about all the people in different myths who were killed by being buried alive in a tomb. All were royalty or the children of gods, but none of them survived their fate. In this passage, the chorus describes how Antigone's "wild passion" was inherited from her father, and that the intensity of this passion is akin to "rough winds." However, this wild and free spirit contrasts with the way in which Antigone is doomed to die: trapped within a tomb from Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea susc

Antigone Character Timeline in Antigone

The timeline below shows where the character Antigone appears in Antigone. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Oedipus's two daughters, Antigone and Ismene, discuss their grief in the palace. The outraged Antigone tells Ismene that Creon... (full context)

Angry and defiant, Antigone challenges Ismene to help her bury their brother Polynices. Ismene is frightened, both of Creon's... (full context)

Antigone responds that she won't let Ismene join in the glory of burying their brother even... (full context)

Ismene continues to plead with Antigone, but Antigone only grows angrier with her and more determined to defy Creon's decree. Antigone... (full context)

The sentry returns, escorting Antigone. He calls for Creon and presents Antigone as the culprit who defied the law and... (full context)

Creon asks Antigone if she denies this charge. She does not. Creon dismisses the sentry and asks Antigone... (full context)

Creon asks why she would dare to break the law. Antigone says that Creon's law was not the law of the gods of the underworld—the gods... (full context)

Antigone says she knows she must die. Since she has already known so much sadness in... (full context)

The leader of the chorus notes that Antigone is as passionate and stubborn as her father. Creon responds that he will break her... (full context)

Antigone is unfazed, and says that to die for the act of bringing honor to her... (full context)

Creon asks how Antigone can honor Polynices, who killed her other brother, the patriotic Eteocles. Antigone responds that all... (full context)

Ismene enters, weeping, and says that she will share Antigone's guilt, but Antigone furiously refuses to let Ismene share in the glory of dying for... (full context)

...turns to Creon and asks him if he'd really kill his son Haemon's intended bride (Antigone is Haemon's fiancée). Creon says his son can find someone new. Ismene pleads that the... (full context)

...importance of not losing one's head over a bad woman. He tells Creon to let Antigone go. (full context)

Creon says that had he not punished Antigone's defiance of the rule of law, it would be like inviting anarchy to destroy the... (full context)

Creon reacts with anger at his son's offering of advice. Again he calls Antigone a traitor. Haemon says the people of Thebes do not see it that way. Creon... (full context)

The king and his son continue to argue. Creon accuses Haemon of supporting Antigone against his father. Haemon responds that he is trying to keep his father from committing... (full context)

...violent. Creon doesn't care. He decides to spare Ismene, but says that he will take Antigone into the wilderness and enclose her in a vault with just a bit of food.... (full context)

...that can't be conquered, that taunts people and makes them do crazy things. Guards bring Antigone from the palace. The chorus is heartbroken at the sight of her. (full context)

Antigone laments her fate, and the fact that she will never experience the joys of marriage.... (full context)

Antigone continues to mourn her life and death. She says that she would not have done... (full context)

As she's led away, Antigone calls out that she is being punished for her devotion to the gods. She then... (full context)

...kings or children of gods, yet even they could not escape their fates, just as Antigone cannot escape hers. (full context)

...and that mortals may rule over the living. He says that as punishment for burying Antigone alive, the gods and the Furies will soon take the life of Creon's own child.... (full context)

...He asks the leader of the chorus for advice. The leader tells him to free Antigone and bury Polynices quickly. Fearful, Creon gives in. He rushes off to free Antigone himself. (full context)

Antigone Character Analysis

Antigone Quotes in Antigone

Lines 1-416 Quotes

Lines 417-704 Quotes

Lines 705-1090 Quotes

Antigone Character Timeline in Antigone