The play Antigone by Sophocles is a play like no other. There are three major themes or ideas which have a very important role in the play. The first major theme is fate, on how the play comes about and the turn of events that come about throughout it. Another main theme or idea is the pride the characters have and their unwillingness they have to change their minds once they are set on something. The last major theme is loyalty and the practical problem of conduct involving which is a higher law between the divine laws and those of the humans. It is an issue of which law is the “right” law, and if Creon and Antigone’s acts are justifiable or not. The issues that Antigone and Creon have between them are what ties this whole play together. The themes are also developed with the use of their issues between each other and what they believe in. “Freedom of religion was encouraged to be exercised in the city-states and man was focused on more than the Gods or heavenly concerns. These new ideas and beliefs, though good in intention, often conflicted with one another and created complex moral dilemmas. In the play, Antigone and Creon battle a philosophical war concerning their ideas”(Arrowsmith 296). Antigone represents the laws of the Gods while Creon represents those of the humans.The first major theme of fate is what had gotten the family of Oedipus where they were when the play began. Fate is why Oedipus winds up killing his own father and eventually ended up marrying his own mother and then later on he found out about all of this. Fate is also what led Creon to be the new king of Thebes and what led his nephews to be on opposite sides of the war. The fate of the two brothers winds up ultimately killing both of them on opposite sides during the war. Antigone’s ultimate fate was to die trying to honor her dead brother and show loyalty what is most important to her, her family. In the first paragraph of ...
