Discuss the role and function of Teiresias in the play “Antigone”.

The role and function of Teiresias is an exceptional creation in the plot of Sophocles’ drama. It was necessary for Sophocles to introduce Teiresias in “Antigone” as he was a part of the myth. As Greek tragedies are full of Gods, Goddess, divines and prophetic speeches, the introduction of Teiresias is essential to prove the drama as a perfect tragedy.

Teiresias was the blind prophet of Thebes. In Greek mythology he was known as a living oracle (divine) gifted with the power of prophecy. The conversation between Teiresias and Creon is very important for the construction of the plot. The scene shows Creon’s cruelty and his disregard towards the prophet or any religious belief. The audience feel horror (fear) at the prophecy and feel pity (kind) for Creon thinking. Though Teiresias is blind, he can see the truth. On the other hand, Creon can’t see the truth with his eyes. Teiresias says;                                 

                                                             “The time shall come,

And soon your house will be filled lamentation of men and women.”

Sophocles uses the legendary character of Teiresias with great advantages. The plot of the drama is such that it surely needs Teiresias. The prophet is highly respected personality in Thebes. His prophecy is gifted by one of the Gods, Apollo. But another God modified it that nobody will believe his prophecy. However, we can see that his prophecy becomes true at the end of the play, Antigone.

Conflict is the essence of any drama. The play “Antigone” is based on the conflict between patriotic and religious ideals. Creon stands for the patriotic ideal and Antigone stands for the religious ideal. Polynices, son of Oedipus, came to attack his own homeland and wanted to win the throne of Thebes. But Eteocles, another son of Oedipus, came to save the land. They killed each other in the battle. Eteocles is buried with state honour. On the other hand, the dead body of Polynices is forbidden to bury by Creon. Because,the king considers him as a traitor.

 In this sense, Creon is the most blameless nationalist. But Antigone defies (disobey) the order of the king because of two reasons. The first is her sisterly feelings and the second is her obedience to divine law. Meanwhile, we have understood that who is wrong or right. The prophet makes clear the wish of Gods and says that it is obligatory to bury the dead body. Here,the opinion of prophet is conflict between the king and the prophecy and it goes on the side of Antigone. This conflict is absolutely a dramatic point of the play. 

At first, Creon receives cordially the prophet and asks him what news he has brought. Then the prophet replies that he had brought some news and some advice for Creon. The king says that he has never failed to follow the advice of the prophet before. But after that the dialogue becomes serious and alarming. The prophet says that God’s command is to bury a dead body. So the dead body of Polynices should be buried and his blood is of none but Oedipus. The prophet says; 

Creon reacts angrily with the statement that goes against the order of the king. He says that the prophet is moved by his self-will. The old prophet feels very insulting and criticizes the king for his incapability to realize the advice. The king becomes more bitter in his remarks and warns the prophet not to forget that he is speaking in front the king. Then Teiresias reminds Creon that he is the king guided by the prophet.

Thus, Teresias is compelled to make the frightening prophecy. The prophet warns again the king that the death of his son will be the payment of the death of Antigone. Another death will happen due to the dead which is still lying unburied. Creon has no alter it. This is the outcome of Creon’s misdeeds. Teiresias says; 

“You shall have given a son of your own loins

To death, in payment for death – two to pay.”

It is very surprising for the audience that Creon defies the prophet who is an honourable person in the city. The king has no special consideration for the prophet. On the other hand, the prophet is failed to show the humanity.

At last, the impact of the prophet’s uttering resounds around the whole stage. The Chorus and Creon feel afraid of it. The king goes to undo his misdeeds giving honour to Polynices and spare Antigone. By this time, Antigone has already hanged herself, Haemon has stabbed himself and queen committed suicide. All these happened as a result of Creon’s misjudgment. The king realized his errors and wanted to heed the advice. But it was too late.

However, the character of Teiresias serves a dramatic purpose to the play. We could not realize the character of Creon if there was no activities of Teiresias. The prophet’s principle is to always speak the truth. He knows the truth. When the king gets angry, he doesn’t stop the speaking the truth

Discuss Antigone as a Tragic Character

Character is one of the significant aspects or themes of a drama. The greatness of a writer mainly depends on the successful presentation of characters. In this respect, Sophocles is completely successful in describing the character of Antigone. 

Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus, the former king of Thebes. She is the princess of Thebes. Among the four children of Oedipus, she is the last victimized member of the family. Her elder sister is Ismene. Her two brothers are Polynices and Eteocles. Polynices came to attack his own homeland. On the other hand, Eteocles wanted to save the land. The two brothers killed each other in the battle field. The king Creon, their uncle, forbids to bury the dead body of Polynices. Because, according to the king he is a traitor of the country. On the other hand, Eteocles is buried with the state honour. But Antigone wanted to bury Polynices. The play Antigone starts in this point.

The play is named after Antigone. She is the central figure in the drama and the main theme of the play. She is neither a political character nor a philosophical character. She has been described as a common human figure. She is the embodiment of common loss, pain, sorrow, suffering, feelings and love. 

Her presence in the play has made the drama convincing (believable) to the reader. She is a real tragic figure. The identity of Antigone tells that she belongs to the royal family. She is bearing blue blood. We have come to know that she was given death penalty. But it does not mean that she committed any crime.

Antigone is a character who is quite conscious of her own responsibilities. In the play we see that she is guided by her own consideration. According to her a dead body must be buried. She thinks that this is the law of God and every human being should obey it. 

Antigone is determined to bury the dead body of her brother whereas the king forbids it. She is ready to disobey the order of the king to obey the laws of Gods. She is not afraid of death to show her love and responsibility for her brother. So we see that she is lady of complete love and affection to her brother.

 Antigone says;    

                                           “….I will bury my brother,

And if I die for it,what happiness !”

Antigone appears as a dutiful sister. It’s painful for any sister to see her dead brother to be eaten up by animals. It’s inhuman indeed and she can’t do it. So, Antigone revolts against the order of the king. And she promises to bury her brother’s dead body. For this, she wants the help of her sister, Ismene. Though Antigone has been taken to imprison in a rocky (stone) cave, she is strict to her religion and principle. 

In fact, Antigone defies the order of the king for two reasons. The first is her sisterly feelings and the second is her obedience to the divine law. The religious value is more important to her than the laws of the state. Creon says that the patriot and the traitor should not be given equal judgment. Antigone replies that she is not afraid of Creon’s penalty. Death is her choice rather than living in daily torments (tortures). According to Antigone, the laws of Gods are everlasting.  She says;

“They are not yesterday or today but everlasting.”

Like other common ladies, she also dreams for future, dreams for having a husband and children. She falls in love with Haemon, son of the king. Haemon also loves her. He has said that if he dies, does not die alone. Naturally when a woman falls in love, she does not think of any other things. But Antigone is an exceptional girl in this respect. 

According to Aristotle, the tragic character is good but not perfect. It also can be told in case of Antigone. Her sense of divinity is praise-worthy indeed. But there is some lacks in her character.

Antigone fulfils all the characteristics of a tragic character. Inspite of having some weakness, she has many human qualities. With this combination of good and weakness he has been turned into true human character. The dramatist has been totally successful in depicting (describing) the character of Antigone. Moreover, Sophocles’ Antigone inspired the poets and dramatists in posterity (future)

About This Blog

This is my first post in this English Literature based blog "About Literature".Actually I will try to discuss here about English Literature.Its genre,reign,poetry,novel,diction,epitaph etc.I will discuss about some important questions and also its answer,which will help the readers as well as all the students of  English Literature.

English Literature is a literature which is written in English Language., the most popular language in this present world.Actually English Literature is composed by some British writers or poets.From theirs reign its exploit wholly.English Literature is contains Poetry,Prose,Novel,Drama etc.I will discuss in these all subjects in another post.