Antigone

            The famous television actor Bill Cosby stated, "For two people in a marriage to live together day after day is unquestionably the one miracle the Vatican has overlooked" (Motivational Quotes). Cosby's statement still has meaning today. While the Vatican (the papal government) forbids the Pope and priests to engage in marriage, the people who have experienced the blissfulness of marriage and those who foresee the advantages of getting married would agree with Cosby--marriage offers a delightful experience. This idyllic perception of marriage or the desire to engage in marriage prevails not only in the real world, but also in literature. Many novels, poems, and plays portray this glorious perception of marriage, including the play Antigone written by Sophocles. In one passage of Antigone (lines 1344-1371), a messenger tells the Chorus that a tragic event has taken place: Haemon has killed himself. As the messenger leaves, Eurydice enters from the palace. She has overheard the commotion caused by the messenger's announcement and asks the messenger to tell her what has happened. The sparagmos imagery of death of the young couple corrupts the motif of their ideal marriage. The formal elements identified above convey the tone of pathos toward Antigone and Haemon because Creon's ruling leads the innocent young couple to commit suicide without experiencing their strong dream to marry, thus conveying the universal theme of how one should value intimate relationships over civil law. .
             One could observe the incongruity in Haemon's family values between the selected passage and an earlier excerpt, thus suggesting an ironic tone. Before Antigone commits suicide, Haemon agrees with his father's verdict to kill his bride, Antigone. Haemon tells his father, "I"m your son you in your wisdom set my bearings for me-I obey you", revealing his loyalty to his father and acknowledgment and respect for his father's authority (lines 709-710).