The Missing Dialogue in Antigone
After reading Antigone, one might feel that there is lacking a dialogue
between Antigone and Haimon before their deaths. Sophocles does not include any
direct communication between the two lovers during this drama. The reader might
assume that such a conversation could have taken place but was not included by
Sophocles; however, it is my belief that if a conversation occurred between
Antigone and Haimon prior to their deaths, Sophocles would have made it a part
of his drama. Since Antigone is a work of fiction, we cannot assume anything
which we are not told. We must take the situation to be exactly as Sophocles
portrays it to us. This leaves the reader to determine the importance of
Antigone and Haimon not speaking together alone before their deaths. When we
look at the nature of the drama, we see that the point Sophocles is trying to
make is a political one. The absence of Antigone and Haimon speaking alone
together adds to this political atmosphere and does not inject the play with a
question of romantic love and/or loyalty. Family bonds and loyalty are the
crucial issues instead.
The central question of this play is a political one. What should have
more power within a society, the divine laws of the gods or the laws of the land
and the mortal rulers? Antigone is a representation of the divine laws of the
gods, and she remains steadfast to her beliefs that the wishes of the gods
should overpower the wishes of the king. Creon, on the other hand, is the
representation of the laws of the land and the mortal ruler of society. He, too,
remains steadfast (until the end of the play when he realizes the divine laws
are stronger) in upholding his laws and trying to overpower the laws of the gods.
This political scenario would be somewhat minimized had Antigone and Haimon
been faced with speaking to each other. A question of romantic loyalty would
have been introduced, and it might have ruined the political point... [continues]
After reading Antigone, one might feel that there is lacking a dialogue
between Antigone and Haimon before their deaths. Sophocles does not include any
direct communication between the two lovers during this drama. The reader might
assume that such a conversation could have taken place but was not included by
Sophocles; however, it is my belief that if a conversation occurred between
Antigone and Haimon prior to their deaths, Sophocles would have made it a part
of his drama. Since Antigone is a work of fiction, we cannot assume anything
which we are not told. We must take the situation to be exactly as Sophocles
portrays it to us. This leaves the reader to determine the importance of
Antigone and Haimon not speaking together alone before their deaths. When we
look at the nature of the drama, we see that the point Sophocles is trying to
make is a political one. The absence of Antigone and Haimon speaking alone
together adds to this political atmosphere and does not inject the play with a
question of romantic love and/or loyalty. Family bonds and loyalty are the
crucial issues instead.
The central question of this play is a political one. What should have
more power within a society, the divine laws of the gods or the laws of the land
and the mortal rulers? Antigone is a representation of the divine laws of the
gods, and she remains steadfast to her beliefs that the wishes of the gods
should overpower the wishes of the king. Creon, on the other hand, is the
representation of the laws of the land and the mortal ruler of society. He, too,
remains steadfast (until the end of the play when he realizes the divine laws
are stronger) in upholding his laws and trying to overpower the laws of the gods.
This political scenario would be somewhat minimized had Antigone and Haimon
been faced with speaking to each other. A question of romantic loyalty would
have been introduced, and it might have ruined the political point... [continues]
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"The Missing Dialogue in Antigone." StudyMode.com. 10, 1999. Accessed 10, 1999. http://www.studymode.com/essays/Missing-Dialogue-Antigone-4718.html.
