Saturday, September 10, 2016

How do the soldiers view Creon in Antigone throughout the play?

To answer this question, it is helpful to look at the scene between Creon and the Sentry. When Creon tells a Sentry that his "very voice distresses" him, the Sentry responds:



SENTRY: Are you sure it is my voice, and not your conscience?



This aggressive response back to Creon is very telling of the soldiers' perspective on Creon and his actions. The soldiers are critical of their new leader and are openly vocal about their dissent. In this example, Creon responds to the Sentry that he "talks too much," but the Sentry responds:



SENTRY: Maybe; but I've done nothing... How dreadful it is when the right judge judges wrong! 



While there are also messengers and a chorus within the play, these characters cannot necessarily represent the soldier perspective. In classical Greek drama, one character often represents the voice of many. In this example, the sentry represents the perspective of the soldiers, and so it can rightly be assumed that the soldiers are not approving of Creon or his decisions. 

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