Antigone - Paper 7

Antigone, by Sophocles, is a play with many themes. So, I will be talking about , what some critics have said about the themes, state laws versus Individual rights, Morals, stubborness and Love. Antigone and her values line up with the first entity in each pair, while Creon and his values line up with the second. Ismene chooses to do nothing under the threat of the law whereas Antigone chooses to act despite the possible penalties. Antigone and Creon are both championing what is right, but they define rightness through different sets of values. In Antigone, Creon finally recognized that he has been misguided and that his actions have led to the death of his wife and son.
Antigone decides that she must disobey Creons orders arguing that a law of man, which violates religious law, is no law at all. The moral focus of the play Antigone is the conflict between physis (nature) and nomos (law), with physis ultimately presiding over nomos. “Throughout Antigone, King Creon is the symbol for nomos, while Antigone stands on the side of physis. To portray these ideas, light and dark images are used as a recurring motif to reinforce the theme. As the play is carried out, the chorus is constantly changing its opinions, first believing in the actions of Creon with respect to nomos, then unsure of what to believe, and finally seeing that Antigone’s actions are more consistent with the morality of the gods and the truths of physis. Light and darkness are used to support in an emotional way the action of whoever the chorus is siding with at these various stages of the play” (Wilf 1). In the first scenes, these light and dark images show the reign of Creon. These are followed by the indistinct and ironic middle scenes, and ending with the gods choosing Antigone’s actions over Creon’s, leaving Creon spiritually dead and paying for his poor choices and conduct.
Antigone’s determination and persistence challenge the status quo and Antigone continues to be a