Sophocles' Antigone Lines 417-457: A comparison
Question:
Explain how Sophocles' Antigone’s Lines 417-457 represents a form of dramatic irony.
Dramatic irony is a situation where a particular character in a play speaks in a way which
indicates that he or she is not aware of other contexts or happenings in the play which are already
known by the audience. In the lines 417-457, King Creone is communicating with his son named
Haemon who is affianced to a woman named Antigone. In this discussion, he tells him that men
should not succumb to the whims of women, but should always be strong. In this context, the
audience is fully aware that Antigone had buried her brother a short while against the wishes of
her fiancée and that her determination will eventually make Haemon yield to her desires.
Therefore, King Creone doesn’t know that his son will be controlled by his woman.
In comparing this analysis with that of my colleague, a significant level of contrast is manifested.
The first part of this difference is the definition. While the colleague defines irony as a suspense
used by the author to make the reader interested, my definition is that it is a manner in which a
character speaks and which shows that he or she is not in the knowledge of other circumstances
in the plot. These definitions are contrasting to one another. Furthermore, the colleague supports
his definition using examples of suspense in the play. Nonetheless, the examples he uses are
relevant to his argument. On the other hand, I have used examples of character behavior and
discussions to shows incidences of dramatic irony. However, these arguments are joined together
through the use of similar characters in presenting examples. These characters are Creon,
Haemon, and Antigone.
