The life of a citizen of Creon's city - Essay Example

The guard in the first act of the play is an important character because he set everything in motion when he decided to tell Creon about the affair of Polyneices. Moreover, had he not come back to the palace, just as he promised himself, and did not bring Antigone before the king, then the happenings with Antigone which led to the death of the Creon’s son and wife would not have occurred. Hence, I have allowed the guard to narrate the happenings of the past few weeks, so that he can reflect on the part he played in the entire situation.

I have used some dialogs in the play which were not spoken by the guard himself, but I knew would be something he will know because Thebans will speak about it in public. My point in this is that while Creon has made a mistake, it is important to see him as a good king, because he will still rule Thebes and in order to prevent civil war, he must present to be an honorable man. [student’s name][professor’s name][course][date of submission]Rewriting Antigone from the Guard’s Point of View Today our city is in mourning.

We have lost Eurydice, our queen, Haemon, the king’s son and Antigone, daughter of Oedipus because of the foolishness of man. I don’t normally talk this way against our king. I think that he is a wise man and that his plans for the city are great and noble. He is capable of leading our people to glory, the death of his wife and son does not him any less of a king, but it certainly has made him unhappy. The affairs of the last few weeks have definitely taken its toll on our people. The people of Thebes, secretly pining for the release of Antigone, are now asking “By authority is the king mandating the humiliation of Polyneices?

Is the king so powerful that the does not fear the wrath of the gods?” (Sophocles 32). King Creon has refused to give Polyneices, son of Oedipus and bother of Antigone the proper burial rights. He has decreed that his body is left in the streets, for the birds to prey upon and the dogs to take away (Sophocles 6). Thebans gave out an outcry, but this, a silent one. “But [one] can hear these murmurs in the dark; these moanings of the city for this maiden” (Sophocles 34). No one wants to befall the ire of a monarch so they fall silent.

But many in the Thebes feel that “no woman…ever merited her doom less, none ever was to die so shamefully for deeds so glorious as hers” (Sophocles 35). Antigone’s fate was another thing – what mistake has she done except to love and want to pay her respects to her brother? Should she die for performing her religious dutires? Of course I understand that the King has to stand beside his own decree, and Antigone, though a daughter of a King is still subject to the laws of the land. Allowing Antigone to carry on her days after insulting the King will be a precedent to anyone who wishes to transgress the monarch’s orders.

She cannot be allowed to live because of the disrespect she afforded the King. But then again if one looks at it in a different point of view, Antigone was just doing her duty as mandated by the gods.Hence is the nature of our people’s malady – whose laws are more important – is it of gods or of men? While it is true that man was assigned as a custodian of the earth, does he have the power to say that the laws of man takes precedence to those of the Gods? Our people are not as courageous as the king.

Many feels that Creon is being foolish for disobeyingAnd then came the displeasure from the gods. “Our state is sick…our altars and our hearths have been defiled” (Sophocles 47). Dogs and other animals are bringing the rotten flesh of Oedipus’ son in the altars, and then they die afterwards. The gods no longer accepts our sacrifice; no bird would give us a sign (Sophocles 47). The gods have forsaken us, all because of Creon’s policies.Are the people angry? Yes they are. And so I was, until I saw the pain that the king experienced with the death of his family.

I saw in his eyes how much regret he has for the mistake he could’ve avoided, had he listened to counsel. And for this, he has earned my respect again, because no man as powerful as him would dare shed a tear in front of a lowly citizen. No man so powerful will dare accept his mistake. But Creon did, and for this he has proven that he is worthy of our respect.It is a sad affair that our city has lost a great queen, a would-be great queen, and an heir. We will mourn for this loss, and I, who has brought Antigone to Creon, will suffer incessantly for my own errors.

Had I acted like a man and stood up for what I believed in, I wouldn’t have brought Antigone to the king and the culprit would still be nameless, faceless. But I did what I did, and everything that happened, happened. There is not much I can do. Like the king, I must accept my own mistakes and lay humbled in front of the gods and all men.Works CitedsSophocles. Antigone. Ed. Ian Johnston. Arlington: Richer Resources Publication, 2007. Print.