نمايشنامه هاي انگليسي Antigone

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Creon promises that he will not “keep silence” if any danger threatens his citizens. He will not befriend anyone who does not love Thebes. In order to rebuild Thebes as a great city, Creon proclaims his new decree regarding the two sons of Oedipus. Creon considers one of them a hero and accords him a proper burial: Eteocles, who had fought on the Theban side. By contrast, he considers Polynices to be a traitor who wanted to destroy Thebes. Accordingly, he orders that there will be no burial for Polynices’ corpse; the body shall lie in the open for dogs and carrion to feed on. Creon swears that he will never let a crime against the state go unpued. At the same time, he promises to honor all those who love the state.
The Chorus accepts Creon’s laws as all-powerful. Creon asks the Chorus of elders to support and maintain his law. When the Chorus asks Creon if he wants them to watch over the corpse, he replies in the negative. He wishes only that they do not show favor to anyone who breaks the law of the state. The Chorus responds by saying that it is not “in love with death.” Creon believes that some man in the Chorus, hoping for financial retribution, may betray him by breaking his law.

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Notes
In this scene Creon, the antagonist of the play, is introduced. He is Antigone’s uncle and has now become King of Thebes following Eteocles’ death. Creon is an expert at political maneuvering. Comparing the state of Thebes to “a noble vessel” (a ship), he positions himself firmly at the helm.
Creon calls a conference among the elders of Thebes in order to make known to them his decree. He favors Eteocles. He tells the Chorus of elders that he is not unwilling to use force to curb any threat to the state. He brands Polynices a traitor to the state and refuses to give him a decent burial.

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In this scene Creon portrays himself as a just and noble ruler, who is willing to go to any extent to protect the state. In acceptance of Creon’s edict, the Chorus asks, “Who is so fond as to be in love with death?” This rhetorical question underscores the absolute authority of the king.
Creon’s speech appears to be a veiled threat to the elders. He does not want any of them to aid potential subverters of his law. The Chorus promises obedience to Creon: “And sure, ’tis thine to enforce what law thou wilt/ Both on the dead and all of us who live.”

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Lines 226-331
The Watchmen and Creon
Summary
A watchman (guard) enters. He has come unwillingly to meet Creon. He curses his fate and tells Creon of his reluctance to come to the palace. The watchman keeps babbling until Creon demands that he express himself clearly. The watchman tells Creon that the corpse of Polynices has been given a burial by some unknown person, who had crept up to it, even though it was guarded by soldiers, during the night. The next morning, the watchman and his companions discovered that the body had been covered with a fine layer of dust, and that certain religious rites had been performed over it. The sentinels then fought amongst themselves and accused each other of committing the deed. There were no signs that any animals had disturbed the body during the night. The sentinels had decided to draw lots to select someone to inform King Creon about the burial. The watchman now speaking is the unlucky one who was chosen to bring the bad news.

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The Chorus tells Creon that some divine power may be at work; it has caused Polynices to be buried without leaving a trace of human involvement. Creon admonishes the Chorus of elders, describing them as foolish old men. Once again, Creon asserts that Polynices was a destroyer and traitor who came to lay waste to the land of Thebes and its temples. Creon believes that the gods cannot honor such villainy. Creon angrily accuses the watchman of accepting a bribe from some “malcontents of Thebes” to bury Polynices’ body. He rants against the evil influence of money. Money, according to Creon, brings cities to their doom and turns honest men into thieves and villains. It has taught mankind to be wicked. Creon asserts that whoever has buried Polynices’ body will surely be punished, and he threatens the watchman with death, unless he (the watchman) can manage to bring to the court the person who has buried Polynices. The watchman vehemently denies having anything to do with the burial and tells Creon that he (Creon) has erred in his judgment. Creon orders the watchman to leave. The watchman predicts that he will never again be seen in Creon’s presence. He thanks heaven for his escape this time and exits.

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Notes
In this scene, the plot of the tragedy truly begins to unfold. A major event has occurred which will affect all further action in the play. True to the principles of Greek tragedy, the major event (the burial of Polynices’ body by Antigone) has taken place off-stage. Therefore, it needs to be reported by means of a messenger. Here, the messenger is the unhappy watchman. His reluctance to meet Creon is partly amusing and partly pathetic. His fears are quite reasonable. He knows that being the bearer of “unwelcome news,” he is likely to face Creon’s wrath, as indeed he does. The watchman gives the audience (or reader) a detailed, first-hand account of how he and his fellow sentinels had discovered that the body of Polynices was given a swift and incomplete burial. The person who committed this deed was obviously in a great hurry, as the corpse was only partly covered by dust.

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Sophocles creates suspense by delaying the watchman’s description of the night burial until he (the watchman) has overcome his initial fears. Once again, the element of fate or destiny appears to play a part here: the watchman is selected by a draw of lots to convey the news to Creon. The superstitious nature of the Chorus is revealed when it states that the burial must be the work of a divine being, as there is no trace of the guilty person.
Creon, having no one else to turn his wrath upon, berates the watchman. Creon also deliberately mentions the gods in his speech. He wants the people of Thebes to believe that the gods support his (Creon’s) law. The Chorus has already suggested that the gods may be against Creon by stating that some divine power has been the cause of the burial.
Creon puts on a false show of being just and laments that people will do anything for money. He is aware that there are malcontents within Thebes who will not accept his rule and are turning restless. He believes that one of these malcontents has bribed the watchman with gold to bury the body. Creon seems to be well aware of weakness in others but does not realize that he, too, has his faults

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Lines 332-380
The First Stasimon
The Chorus: “Many a wonder lives...”
Summary
The Chorus sings an ode to man, praising him as the wonder of all things that live and move. Men have built vessels in which they travel “the gray ocean” and “high-swelling seas.” The Chorus asserts that man has even subdued the earth by means of farming: his ploughs turn the earth year by year. He has learned to hunt for his food by catching birds, fish and animals in “woven coils of nets.” Man, according to the Chorus, is thus “craftywise.”
Man, says the Chorus, has been able to tame the wild horse and the tireless mountain bull by means of his extreme intelligence. He uses these beasts to farm the land. Man has learned to create shelters against all kinds of weather, against “biting frost” and “sharp, roof- penetrating rain.” Man, continues the Chorus, is inventive and imaginative, endowed with many skills. He meets each new challenge with a new device. The only thing that mankind cannot vanquish is Death. However, the Chorus praises the fact that man has been able to discover cures for the most baffling and dangerous diseases.

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Man, the Chorus believes, moves toward either evil or good, depending on whether he loves his land and fears the gods above. If he follows the laws of the land and remains true to heaven, the Chorus maintains, then man will keep his high position in the state. But if he acts dishonorably by committing crimes against the state as well as against the gods, he will become an outcast, shunned by all.
Now the leader of the Chorus speaks. He notices a sign of evil, an ill-omen from the gods. He sees that Antigone, the “hapless child of hapless sire” has been arrested. He assumes that she has recklessly broken Creon’s law and has now been caught in the act.

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Notes
This choral interlude serves to reduce the tension created in the previous scene. It is the only respite that the audience (or reader) will have for a long time. After this point, the drama moves headlong into tragedy.
The Chorus’ song in praise of man is highly musical and rich with images from agriculture, sailing, fishing, and hunting. Man is shown as noble and all-powerful. He triumphs over both earth and sea, over birds, animals and fish. He is resourceful and is able to find solutions to almost every problem he faces. Only Death stands in his way. Yet the Chorus does not praise man blindly. Towards the end of the song, man is shown to have a capacity for good as well as evil. The good man is one who follows the laws of the state and of heaven, whereas the bad man breaks these laws. The Chorus accepts the good man as a respectable member of society, but the bad man becomes a social outcast. Thus, the Chorus predicts the general reaction to Antigone’s act of rebellion when it becomes public.