Question

Discuss how these excerpts from the play help to illustrate the theme of morality versus law in Antigone.

Excerpt 1:
ANTIGONE:
A sinless sinner, banned awhile on earth,
But by the dead commended;
and with them I shall abide for ever.

Excerpt 2:
CHORUS (speaking about Antigone):
In thy boldness over-rash
Madly thou thy foot didst dash
'Gainst high Justice' altar stair.
Thou a father's guild dost bear.

Answer 1

In both of the excerpts presented above from the play we can see the theme of morality being compared to the law in Antigone. It gives the conflict of Moral or Divine law versus Human law. Pride is also another theme that can be found in Antigone when we see men creating laws that substitute for divine principles, believing they are made from divine will.

I hope it helps, Regards.

Answer 2

Plato Answer:

In excerpt 1, Antigone thinks of Polyneices as a “sinless sinner” who has been declared a traitor by earthly men but is lauded by the dead. She chooses to honor her dead brother by burying him because she knows that life is transient but death is eternal. Once she dies, she’ll be answerable to her dead brother, with whom she’ll have to spend the afterlife. Therefore, Antigone chooses to fulfill her moral duty of burying her brother and staying true to the divine laws. In doing so, she rejects Creon’s unjust earthly law.  

In excerpt 2, the chorus refers to Oedipus’s “guilt” of committing patricide (killing one’s father) and incest, which the ancient Greeks looked down upon. Incest and patricide are still considered unnatural and seen as transgressing human laws. The chorus wonders whether Antigone is suffering the consequences of her father’s actions. The chorus also notes how Antigone, by boldly defying Creon’s law, has acted against “high Justice” and is now doomed to death. However, the chorus fails to take into account the reason behind Antigone’s act of defiance. She purposefully chooses to break the law so that she can follow a moral and righteous path.