Gw Antigone

Meghan Brockmeyer Mrs. Lake AP Literature, A4 12/7/2008 Group Work on Antigone Part 2, Creon’s Speech: Nature and Progression of the Conflict The speech given by Creon in the First Episode depicts the ensuing conflicts he faces both internally and externally. Creon has just been proclaimed king and ruler of Thebes after his brother Oedipus and Oedipus’ two sons, Eteocles and Polyneices, perished in battle. Because Polyneices was fighting against Thebes, and therefore committed treason, Creon encounters a conflict with the state in which he cannot allow Polyneices a proper burial. He is extraordinarily firm in his command that Polyneices’ body is to remain untouched and left “for dogs to maul and vultures to pick” (350). However, his niece Antigone begs for Polyneices to be allowed a proper burial, as his spirit will never be allowed passage into the underworld without the adequate rituals. Creon here is confronted with a conflict between the state and his own personal affairs. He places the law above all private endeavors, as proclaimed by his statement “never could I make my country’s enemy my private friend,” and therefore will stop at nothing to prevent Anigone’s attempt to obtain the body (350). He is infuriated at the news that the body has been tampered with, and takes the message as a blow to his own pride and competency as a ruler. It is here that his honor is tarnished and he takes outraged action against Antigone, threatening to kill both her and her sister for planning Polyneices’ burial. Because of Creon’s outrageous attempt to enforce the supreme and state law above all other interests, the fight for Anigone’s life and claim that “personal law is that which

is most just” arises amidst the rest of the story.