Allusion In Antigone And Cleopatra - 826 Words

By referencing Danaà « and Cleopatra, two royal women who suffered similar fates to Antigone, the chorus sympathizes with her. In the first stanza of the ode, they allude to Danaà «, saying â€Å"even she endured a fate like yours, / (. . .) buried within her tomb† (1036-1040). Through this allusion to Perseus’s mother, who suffered in an underwater tower, the chorus praises Antigone for her fortitude and shows their support for her through their horror for her fate. When they reference â€Å"the princes doomed at birth/ and their mother (. . .)/ walled up in a tomb of stone†, the story of Cleopatra, the chorus likens her to the daughter of the North Wind who was also buried alive (1079-1080). The comparison between Antigone’s suffering and the†¦show more content†¦Here, the chorus warns Creon that the gods always punish those who break their laws, even if they are royalty, like Creon and Lycurgus. Dramatic irony is used here as well, as th is ode tells the audience, but not Creon, the harm of defying the gods, helping Sophocles to enforce his end point that destruction comes to those who break the laws of the gods. The reference to Lycurgus foreshadows how Creon will suffer, and uses dramatic irony to drive the theme that the god’s laws are the most important. Finally, in the fourth stanza, the chorus references Cleopatra and how she tried to avoid fate, foreshadowing the eventual ruin to be brought upon both Antigone and Creon through the theme that fate is inevitable. They state â€Å"even on her, (. . .)/ the Fates rode hard† showing how once fate decides its target, it will not give up (1088-1089). As in scene two, Antigone was condemned to death by Creon, this quotation foreshadows that the event proclaimed will come to pass. Additionally, Antigone cursed Creon at the end of scene four, so this allusion could also apply to the grim fate prophesied for his family as well. The broader theme that fate is inescapable is also seen in this allusion, when the chorus describes that â€Å"[Cleopatra] sprang in her father’s gales† to try to escape her fate, but it still caught up to her. Foreshadowed by this allusion, Creon too tries to forswear his