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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 of Nurse when Nurse enters the room?
2. Who is the youth alone on the other side of the stage?
3. When the characters are introduced in Part 1, their basic characteristics are given. What else is revealed about these characters?
4. In Part 2, what does Antigone tell Ismene that she should not forgo?
5. How are Haemon and Creon related?
Short Essay Questions
1. How does Antigone react to what the Nurse says about Antigone's mother in Part 2?
2. Many of Antigone's actions can be defined as either selfish or unselfish. Some may blur the lines. In Part 3, do you think Antigone's treatment of Haemon is selfish or unselfish, or can an argument be made for a bit of both?
3. What is the role of the Messenger, and why is he sitting away from the rest of the group?
4. 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.
5. In Part 4, the Chorus highlights the stillness at the heart of tragedy. What is the significance of stillness in the play?
6. What is the purpose of Antigone's letter to Haemon in Part 6?
7. 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?
8. In Part 2, Antigone is firm in her decision to bury Polynices. Despite Ismene's valid arguments against Antigone's proposed actions, Antigone has no plans to veer from her course. Describe one of Antigone's driving forces for her plan in this section of the play.
9. How do Ismene and Antigone each react to Creon's edict?
10. Explain the convoluted path to the throne from Oedipus to Creon. Detail the characters and the way they became king.
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
The lack of specific setting allows the reader to imagine Antigone's personal struggle occurring in any place and time. Why do you think the author employed this method? Do you think he had other motives for not developing a setting? What might they be? Does the absence of setting enhance or detract from your enjoyment of the story? Why?
Essay Topic 3
After hearing of Haemon's death, Creon's wife commits suicide in dramatic fashion--by slitting her own throat. However, despite the drama in her manner of death, her death itself is an anticlimax. Why? Does her death add anything to the story at all? Why or why not?
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This section contains 1,162 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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