Antigone Catharsis Essay - 982 Words

Stressful day or week? Whether a cry or scream, people often take action to release self-pitying emotions. This process of relieving oneself from fear and pity into a sense of renewal and purification is known as catharsis. In the Greek play, Antigone, the author, Sophocles used catharsis to demonstrate situations in which the sense of renewal one is seeking for sometimes can only be reached through tragic ways. The play exhibits these violent ways through struggles and the ultimate aftereffect of three important characters. In Antigone, catharsis is reached by the actions and situations of the characters Antigone, Haemon, and Creon in quite tragic ways. First, in the play, the character, Antigone, came across a situation that sparked her†¦show more content†¦Then, Antigone’s â€Å"supposed-to-be† husband, Haemon, also displayed catharsis in Antigone. Haemon, son of King Creon, was introduced into the play like no other character. He was neither proud or fearful. Instead, he expressed true care and concern toward his father. However, when Creon threatened to kill Antigone, Haemon said, â€Å"Then she must die. But her death will cause another,† (Sophocles 719). Haemon retaliated to a stressful situation by putting his own life at risk as well. He hoped that his father would then be pressured to not kill Antigone so his own son wouldn’t die as well. He also tried to relieve his father from the situation by making the decision of what to do with his prisoner for him. However, Creon disregarded this and planned to kill Antigone anyways. Although, as stated previously, Antigone hastened her fate and H aemon blamed Creon for her doing. Haemon then fulfills his word when with his own knife, â€Å"Against himself, he drove it half its length into his own side, and fell. And as he did he gathered Antigone close in his arms,†(Sophocles 735). Haemon tried to reach peace between his two loves. Although he realized his father was not full of love, his dead fiance was. Haemon then must have decided to â€Å"live† with his true love and not with his spiteful father. Overall, Haemon was trapped in a very conflicting situation and its outcomes, and his only way out of its hecticness in order to achieve catharsis was through his own tragic death.Show MoreRelatedAntigone: Catharsis Analysis Essay1138 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿ Sympathy for Others As stated by Sophocles in Antigone, Numberless are the worlds wonders, but none More wonderful than man (Ode 1 1-2). Landscapes like the grand canyon, the wide expanse of oceans, weather, tall mountains are all magnificent features, but none as great as Man. Man is the only thing in this world, that has free will to think about anything or do anything whenever they want to. If one wants to dance, he or she is free to do so, if one wants to sing he or she can do so. ManRead MoreOedipus Rex Vs. 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