Creon’s hamartia. What is Antigone?

In the play “Antigone”, protagonist  Antigone and her uncle Creon could claim the title of the tragic hero.  The two characters with are portrayed with tragic flaws upon which the play is developed. Creon is initially portrayed as a leader (king) with good rational reasons for his laws and punishments. He is described as a proud leader and this pride eventually leads to his downfall. Creon’s pride could not allow him to acknowledge that he could be wrong about ‘’Antigone’’. He regards himself as very superior, and not even the gods would match his superiority when he says “The State is King!”. Creon is against the Antigone’s intentions of giving her two brothers a decent burial. The young lady is given a death sentence for insisting on burying her two brothers. Creon’s stubbornness increases and irritates the gods when showing hubris. His continuous ignorance of the laws of the gods and insisting on the laws of the land makes him being brought down by the gods. He ends up losing his wife and son leaving him a broken man.

On the other hand, Antigone’s tragic flaw cannot be underestimated. She is portrayed as a headstrong woman whose loyalty to the gods, brothers and policies cannot be swayed even if it means risking her life. She decides to defy the laws of the land and give her brother a decent send-off. This defiance leads to her being imprisoned alive in a tomb and consequently commits suicide.  Though the two characters have hermatia, Creon is seen as the most tragic character in the play. Most of the tribulations he faces in the play are as a result of his stubbornness. We are left sympathizing with him as he carries the body of his son from the palace. Creon is left regretting his actions while Antigone is already dead. Creon has chances to make up for his wrongs and let Antigone free, but he chooses not to because of his pride. Nevertheless, Creon’s wakeup call comes late when the damage is already done. He is the real tragic hero of the play.

The purposes of the Chorus

The chorus in Greek tragedy has several purposes to fulfill.  It is a composition of the elderly people who are regarded as the council of elders with a political mindset. They are the victims of the civil wars and look forward to peace and stability in the society. In essence, they are the voice of the elders of the city of Thebes. Besides the civil role of the chorus, it is also its responsibility to serve as the conscience of reason. They should provide insights to the leadership in making decisions affecting the community. The old men are initially loyal to the king Creon as is through them that the king decides against sentencing Ismene to death along with Antigone. It is also wise to note that it is through their influence that the king takes prophet Teireseas’s advice to free Antigone although the decision is ill-timed. Sophocles have used the chorus to fulfill several functions such as making comments on the action of the play, give back story and connect the play to other myths. The chorus has also been used artistically in the play to expand the play’s central themes such as dangers of pride and hazards of love.

Teiresias a ‘’seer.”

Tereisias is a critical character in the play ‘’Antigone’’.  Despite his old age and blindness, he is portrayed as a character who can ‘’see’’ better than all the others surrounding him.  The reader can also see that the character is not pleased with what he sees. Teiresias is in tune with the mind of Apollo, and he also receives visions for the future. Also, the blind man is also gifted in the magic art of augury.  For instance, when the gods are irritated with Creon’s stubbornness, Teiresias can tell this from the behavior of birds when they mean that King Creon was doomed. In essence, Teiresias blindness is used metaphorically to refer to those people who refuse to believe the truth about themselves when they hear it spoken.

Aristotelian unities in Antigone

Aristotle identified three unities that should be in a drama. He calls for a drama to have unity of time, place, and action. The play ‘’Antigone seems to follow the Aristotelian unities. For instance, the play adheres to the unity of place as the entire happenings take place in Thebes. It is, however, wise to note that the unity of time seems not to be very clear as the happenings seem to happen for the unspecified period. The unity of action is also evident in the play ‘’Antigone. ‘’ this is apparent because all the action is centered on Antigone’s actions.

Catharsis

According to Aristotle, catharsis is a distinctive experience of art. The word has a Greek origin that refers to purification and getting rid of body impurities. However, the concept is used metaphorically in a drama set up to release emotions of fear and pity in dramatic performances. In the play ’’Antigone”, it is evident that there are emotions of fear and pity. It is evident that Creon understands his wrong doings when it is quite late. At the end of the play, a messenger brings a report of the death of Antigone and Haemon. His wife also commits suicide leaving Creon, a broken man. This creates an emotional experience especially when he carries the body of his son out of the palace. We can see pity as Creon blames himself for all these happenings that happened to him. The chorus closes“The Crown of happiness is to be wise, Honour the gods and gods’ edicts prize, the wisdom we learn at last when we are old” (line 1410).

A DOLL’S HOUSE

Fourth wall

A doll’s house is one of the most fascinating plays by Henrik Isben. The play revolves around the main character Nora who is a ‘’doll’’ throughout the story until when the ‘’fourth wall’’ is broken. She lives a rebellious life that is against the societal norms. Also, she lives in a world with complete sham. The issue of the walls of her doll house is essential to developing the story.  At the beginning of the story, the house has three walls. The fourth wall is seemingly open to the audience, and it is through this wall that the reader gets more of Nora and the other characters in the play. By the end of the story, all the walls are razed off, and Nora is a free person again. The issue of the wall has developed the story from being a doll character to distinct personality.

Character surprise

Nora Helmer is the main character in the play ‘’ Doll’s House’’. The character lives a life that is a full contrast of societal expectations.  She is childish and romps freely with her three children. She is a ‘’doll’’ to her husband. The husband refers to him as ‘’dearest property” which is an implication that she is a doll.  She looks naïve, playful and childish in the early stages of the play. Torvald calls her pet names “little lark”, “little squirrel”, and “Little Miss Extravagant”. Nora is being treated like a cute little girl, and she happily accepts the epithets. Torvald finds himself having to restrain Nora with rules, much as a father would have to inhibit a child, forbidding her from pursuing candy and other temporal pleasures. However, as the story develops, she is portrayed as a character that is getting exposed to the outside world. Her rebellion acts are a surprise to the reader since it indicates that she is not as innocent and happy as we supposedly thought. As the story comes to an end and the fourth wall getting razed off, she finds her position in marriage with clarity and strength to free herself from the oppressive position.

Doll’s House as an interpretation

It is true that every production of ‘’Doll’s House’’ is an interpretation.  For instance, from Nora the principal character in this story, one is left to interpret what exactly the playwright intends to communicate. The doll-like situation by Nora brings about the difficulty of maintaining an individual personality. One can interpret it as an advocate of male chauvinism as the play treats females as dolls. The society seems to contradict with her behavior in the male dominated world. There are also several instances of love, marriage, and home. In all these themes, one needs to be very good in interpretation.

Mrs. Linde’s

Mrs. Linde is an essential character in the play’’ Doll’s House’’. She is a childhood friend of Nora the main character in the play. She is a humble woman, and her sensible worldview is essential to bring out the naïve and ignorant nature of Nora. Her engagement with Krogstad is critical to the development of the story.  She tells Krogstad, “I have learned to act prudently. Life and hard, bitter necessity have taught me that” (332). It is through her interaction with Krogstad that the reader gets to know that she had to sacrifice love for the sake of the family.  She gets married to a rich man to ensure that she would take care of her sick mother. She brings comparison with Nora as she is portrayed as an intelligent, capable and self-sufficient woman who is total contrast to Nora. It is wise to note that Christine is not making this decision from a place of ignorance. Unlike Nora, Christine is well aware of what life is like without men. Their relationship with Krogstad is a relationship of equals unlike that of Nora and Trovald.

TRIFFLES

Meaning and characteristics of the French origins

Playwright Susan Graspel is one of the most prominent playwrights of her time.  Most of her work are influenced by the European culture and more so in the play ‘’Triffles’’. There is strong sense of place, such as the mid western local color. The choice of character names in the play is also a clear indication of the European tradition.

Questions to author

If given an opportunity to ask the author of the play’’Triffles’’, I would first like to know what inspired her to write such a thrilling play. The playwright seems to work from personal experiences since she lived in a male dominated the place. I would also seek answers from her what exactly she wanted to speak to the community. I see the story demonizing the males and making the females look naïve and innocent. It would also be essential to understanding whether the play had fulfilled her intentions.

Overview

The semester has been productive since we have been able to learn about poetry, fiction, and drama. We have managed to learn and discuss large quantity of poetry, many pieces of fiction and only two pieces of drama. The explanation of the huge differences in these quantities can be as a result of the many sub-topics involved in poetry and fiction. For instance, there are narratives, monolog, dialogue and several other forms of poems. Nevertheless, the drama has little concepts and thus no need for several examples. There has been a positive influence on my understanding of literature and would encourage others to carry this experience to another level.

Works Cited

Galens, D. M. Ed. “Trifles.” Drama for Students. 8(2000): 216-233. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 3 Feb. 2016.

Mays, Kelly J. Ed. The Norton Introduction to Literature: Shorter 11th Edition. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2013. Print

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