| Antigone: “should not want you” | Antigone is really manipulating Ismene because she wants her help in burying Polynieces. |
| Creon: “You dazzle me.” | Creon is actually saying that the Choragos is dumb because Creon said that death will do his job, and Choragos just repeated him. |
| Antigone: “our good Creon” | Antigone refers to “our good Creon” though she has already made clear to Ismene that she thinks that Creon is anything but “good” for commanding that Polyneices’ body be left to rot. |
| Creon: “As long as I am king…” | The audience recognizes that Creon won’t be king for long, as they are already familiar with his story. This line produces a tension because the audience anticipates a different outcome than Creon regarding his rule over Thebes. |
| Creon: “…the man who dared to do this?” | Creon thinks that only a man would have the guts to do this, but the reader/audience knows that it was a woman who did this. |
| Chorus: “When the laws are kept, how proudly his city stands! When the laws are broken, what of his city then?” | The Chorus is saying that if laws are enforced well, a city and its people are happier. But, we know that this has already made a citizen (Antigone) because of a law Creon made. |
| Chorus: “both good and evil” | The audience thinks that good things will happen, but only bad things happen afterwards. |
| Sentry: “to bring death to a friend” | Sentry is saying that she is a popular friend in Thebes, but we learn later that Creon does not like Antigone. |
| Creon: “The inflexible heart breaks first…” | Creon is saying that the people who refuse to listen to others’ hearts break first. But, we find out later that Creon breaks down before Antigone. |
| Creon: “I accuse her equally” | The reader would expect Creon to only accuse Antigone, but he drags Ismene into the conversation. |
| Antigone: “praise and honor for what I have done.” | Antigone thinks that she should be rewarded for her actions but we learn later that she is put to death, rather than applauded. |
| What is situational irony? | an event occurs that directly contradicts the expectations of the characters, the readers, or the audience; unexpected outcomes |
| What is verbal irony? | words that are used to suggest the opposite of what is said, such as sarcasm |
| What is dramatic irony? | a contradiction between what a character thinks and what the reader or audience knows to be true; when the audience knows what character doesn’t |
Antigone Irony
February 15, 2020