In Antigone, the chorus represents the elder citizens of Thebes. Sophocles's choruses react to the events of the play. The chorus speaks as one voice, or sometimes through the voice of its leader. It praises, damns, cowers in fear, asks or offers advice, and generally helps the audience interpret the play.
The Chorus Quotes in Antigone
The Antigone quotes below are all either spoken by The Chorus or refer to The Chorus. 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:
).
Lines 1-416
Quotes
And speech and thought, quick as the wind
and the mood and mind for law that rules the city—
all these he has taught himself
and shelter from the arrows of the frost
when there's rough lodging under the cold clear sky
and the shafts of lashing rain—
ready, resourceful man!
Never without resources
never an impasse as he marches on the future—
only Death, from Death alone he will find no rescue
but from desperate plagues ha has plotted his escapes.
and the mood and mind for law that rules the city—
all these he has taught himself
and shelter from the arrows of the frost
when there's rough lodging under the cold clear sky
and the shafts of lashing rain—
ready, resourceful man!
Never without resources
never an impasse as he marches on the future—
only Death, from Death alone he will find no rescue
but from desperate plagues ha has plotted his escapes.
Related Characters:
The Chorus (speaker), Creon
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Lines 417-704
Quotes
Like father like daughter,
passionate, wild…
she hasn't learned to bend before adversity.
passionate, wild…
she hasn't learned to bend before adversity.
Related Characters:
The Chorus (speaker), Antigone
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Blest, they are truly blest who all their lives
have never tasted devastation. For others, once
the gods have rocked a house to its foundations
the ruin will never cease, cresting on and on
from one generation on throughout the race—
like a great mounting tide
driven on by savage northern gales,
surging over the dead black depths
roiling up from the bottom dark heaves of sand
and the headlands, taking the storm's onslaught full-force,
roar, and the low moaning
echoes on and on
have never tasted devastation. For others, once
the gods have rocked a house to its foundations
the ruin will never cease, cresting on and on
from one generation on throughout the race—
like a great mounting tide
driven on by savage northern gales,
surging over the dead black depths
roiling up from the bottom dark heaves of sand
and the headlands, taking the storm's onslaught full-force,
roar, and the low moaning
echoes on and on
Related Characters:
The Chorus (speaker)
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Lines 705-1090
Quotes
Love, you mock us for your sport.
Related Characters:
The Chorus (speaker), Antigone, Haemon
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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?
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
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Still the same rough winds, the wild passion
raging through the girl.
raging through the girl.
Related Characters:
The Chorus (speaker), Antigone
Related Symbols:
Antigone's Tomb
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Lines 1091-1470
Quotes
The mighty words of the proud are paid in full
with mighty blows of fate, and at long last
those blows will teach us wisdom.
with mighty blows of fate, and at long last
those blows will teach us wisdom.
Related Characters:
The Chorus (speaker), Creon
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Antigone LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Chorus Character Timeline in Antigone
The timeline below shows where the character The Chorus appears in Antigone. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Lines 1-416
The chorus enters. They are elder citizens of Thebes. They offer a chant to the rising sun...
(full context)
Creon enters and addresses the chorus. Creon explains that, after the death of Oedipus's two sons, he is now king, and...
(full context)
The leader of the chorus suggests that this might be the work of the gods. This idea sets Creon into...
(full context)
Alone on the stage, the chorus offers a chant on the nature of man. With their capacity for hard work and...
(full context)
Lines 417-704
The leader of the chorus notes that Antigone is as passionate and stubborn as her father. Creon responds that he...
(full context)
...off the marriage. Ismene continues to plead for Antigone. Creon tells the leader of the chorus that Antigone must die. Guards take Antigone and Ismene away.
(full context)
The chorus delivers a lyrical chant about the tragedy and ruin of the house of Oedipus. The...
(full context)
Lines 705-1090
...further reason why she must not be allowed to defy him. The leader of the chorus says that this sounds sensible.
(full context)
The leader of the chorus worries that Haemon may do something violent. Creon doesn't care. He decides to spare Ismene,...
(full context)
The chorus offers a chant about love, a force that can't be conquered, that taunts people and...
(full context)
...experience the joys of marriage. She further laments the horror of her coming death. The chorus tells her she went too far in her protests, and wonders if she is continuing...
(full context)
The chorus chants about other figures of mythology who were entombed alive. All of them were kings...
(full context)
Lines 1091-1470
...prophet's words, but is reluctant to undo his decree. He asks the leader of the chorus for advice. The leader tells him to free Antigone and bury Polynices quickly. Fearful, Creon...
(full context)
The chorus prays to the god Dionysus, asking him to protect and heal the people of Thebes.
(full context)
..."I don't even exist—I'm no one. Nothing." He prays for death. The leader of the chorus tells Creon that he must endure his suffering. Creon says that he has murdered his...
(full context)
