Problem 1: Describe Antigone with at least three adjectives. How much do you sympathize with her? Do you consider her morally superior to Creon? Identify specific places that influence your view of her. Do your feelings about her shift during the course of the play? If so, when and how?
Problem 2: Do you feel any sympathy for Creon? For Ismene? Explain your reasoning. What values seem to be in conflict as Antigone argues with each?
Problem 3: Do you see the chorus as expressing wisdom? Do the members of the chorus strike you as imperfect people?
Problem 4: Here is an issue of genre: Ever since the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle analyzed tragedy in his Poetics, a common definition of this kind of play is that its central character has a fatal flaw. How well does this definition fit Antigone? Must it be altered to accommodate Sophocles' play? Explain. Here is another issue of genre: In the Poetics, Aristotle also argued that a tragedy ends in catharsis. After arousing pity and fear in the audience, a tragedy relieves the audience of these feelings. How well do Aristotle's observations apply in the case of Antigone?
Problem 5: As was customary in Greek tragedy, the violent events in this play occur offstage and are merely reported. Had they occurred onstage, how might the audience's reaction have been different? Today, many films and television shows directly confront their audience with violence. Do you prefer this directness to Greek tragedy's way of dealing with violence? Support your answer by comparing some contemporary presentations of violence with Antigone's.