View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Antigone ask Haemon after her apology in Part 3?

2. After Haemon exits in Part 3, who comes in to talk to Antigone?

3. What does Ismene say Creon has that will drag them to the scaffold?

4. In Part 2, Antigone tells the Nurse that she is too _____________ for what she must do.

5. In Part 3, Antigone tells Ismene that it is too ___________.

Short Essay Questions

1. Ismene uses several arguments in an effort to convince Antigone that her plan to bury Polynices is foolhardy. Choose one of those arguments and describe why the argument might work or why it might not.

2. What methods does Creon use to try to convince Antigone that she is on the wrong path in Part 5?

3. Antigone's unfinished letter is a symbol of what?

4. How does Antigone react to what the Nurse says about Antigone's mother in Part 2?

5. In Part 5, Creon accuses Antigone of being just like her father, playing out destiny's designs and being melodramatic about everything. What does he suggest Antigone do instead?

6. Antigone, the princess, has been reduced to the level of a beggar, filthy and ragged. In Part 4, the guards discuss Antigone and her value to Creon with Antigone well within earshot. Describe the guards' discussion and Antigone's.

7. Explain the convoluted path to the throne from Oedipus to Creon. Detail the characters and the way they became king.

8. As is typical of a tragedy, the lovers die together; their marital bed now serving as their death bed. Do you think Creon is really surprised by Haemon's suicide?

9. Ismene asks Antigone if she has considered some of the possible ramifications of her actions. What were the ramifications that Ismene was asking about, and how does Antigone react to the question?

10. Why do you think that Antigone lies to Creon when he asks if anyone else knows what she is doing in Part 5?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Creon's role in the play represents destiny or fate. He alone holds Antigone's future in his hands, though one might argue that Antigone is a factor in her own destiny. However, Antigone seems to have surrendered herself to whatever may come. Describe situations in the play where Creon's power over Antigone's life or death is played out. What is Creon's rationale for sending Antigone to her death? Why does he feel he has no other option, even though Antigone is engaged to his son? What purpose will her death serve in what he considers his ultimate destiny?

Essay Topic 2

A strong and perhaps puzzling image used to close out the play is the three guards playing cards. On the surface, this seems an odd way to end the play, yet, on another level, it could be viewed as a way to sum up all of the play's dramatic events. Just about everyone in this play is gambling in one manner or another. Using this analogy, compare Creon's, Antigone's, and Haemon's actions in the play to a game of cards. Does the adage, "The house always wins" hold true in each of these characters' situations, or did one or more of them actually walk away a winner? Why?

Essay Topic 3

Creon's choice of execution method appears cruel and extreme. What purpose would such an execution serve? What message do you think Creon was trying to send by walling her up in a cave? Why do you think Creon would choose this instead of possibly more humane methods of execution? What message do you think he was trying to send to Haemon by sentencing his fiancee to such a death?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,161 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample