Antigone Essay

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Antigone Comprehension Questions Pre- Reading 1) How are the main characters (Antigone, Ismene, Creon, Haimon, and Eurydice) related to each other? Draw the family tree. 2) Summarize the Oedipus myth from p. 746-747. Prologue 3) What is the setting of the play? 4) At the opening of the play, what event is revealed that is the catalyst for the action in the play? 5) What conflict exists in the treatment of Antigone and Ismene’s brothers? 6) What does Antigone want to do? 7) Why is this a problem? 8) What does Ismene’s speech in lines 36-53 reveal about her character? 9) Find an example of verbal irony on p. 752. (Give the line, who says it, and its intent) Parados 10) What event is revealed in a flashback? 11) How is Polyneices portrayed? What is he compared to? What does the metaphor say about his character? Scene 1 12) What metaphor is used in lines 8-11? What does this mean? 13) Based on Creon’s first speech, what characteristics does the new king have? 14) How does the beginning of Creon’s speech contrast with the end of his speech? 15) The choragus, which represents the voice of the people, responds to Creon’s speech. Based on these lines, (p. 765 lines 56-65) what can be inferred about the position of the people? 16) Why does the sentry stumble over his words when trying to tell Creon of the burial of Polyneices? 17) Why does the Choragos ask about the possibility of Polyneices being buried by the gods? 18) How does Creon view the Choragos and the Chorus, both representing the Theban elders? 19) Who does Creon believe buried Polyneices? 20) What accusation does the sentry make on line 148? Ode 1 21) Why are human beings the most wonderful of the world’s wonders? 22) What is the one thing humans cannot avoid? 23) In
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