Antigone By Sophocles A Moral And Legal Battle - 951 Words

In the play Antigone by Sophocles, the title character is engaged in a moral and legal battle with King Creon. The king has issued a legal verdict against the brother of Antigone. He is to be left to rot in the battlefield, rather than be buried. As such, his body will be eaten by vultures and not be given the honor of burial. This was considered the worst punishment that could be given at the time. Antigone believes that this is wrong. She decides to go against the legal orders of the king, or the law and bury her brother. Mostly, Antigone chooses to listen to a higher order: her moral conscience. In doing so, she commits an act of civil disobedience. While the play is an ancient one, this is an ongoing issue throughout society. Since the play was first performed, there have been numerous episodes of civil disobedience by individuals in society (Leshak 2009). They continue to the present. This paper will discuss the issue between Antigone and the King. It will then dis cuss how this play is still relevant to the modern world through the message of civil disobedience. The play is one of Sophocles’ most famous works. It was written around 441 BCE. In the opening, Thebes is enduring a civil war. Two brothers choose to fight on opposite sides of the war. The new king is Creon. He has opted to recognize one brother for distinction while shaming the other publicly. Eteocles is given public honor and Polyneices has been condemned to rot on the battlefieldShow MoreRelatedA Man Defeated By His Flaws in Sophocles’ play, â€Å"Antigone† 995 Words   |  4 PagesIn Sophocles’ play, â€Å"Antigone† translated by Robert Fitzgerald and Dudley Fitts, Creon believes his laws surpass the laws written by the gods but his real flaw is his belief in masculine superiority and his self-destructive pride. 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