Ib_Creative_Essay;_Antigone

Creative Essay Statement of Intent: My creative essay is a monologue where Polynices expresses his thought of what is happening around him, even though he is dead. According to the Ancient Greek, when a person dies their soul wonders in between two worlds; the underworld and the human world. A soul will continue to wonder until he or she is given proper burial rites. Funeral rituals were normally conducted by women, and in most cases relatives of the decease played a major part. In my creative piece I have altered the Greek belief that his soul is lost in between two worlds, but instead stays on the earth as a lost soul and is able to witness major scenes in the play Antigone. The other characters are completely oblivious of his presence. Through out his monologue Polynices is commenting on the other characters actions. I added some scenes to the original plot, specifically when Antigone attempts to bury his body. Due to Polynices’s absence in the play, I have developed him from my own imagination. Originally, the language used in Antigone is formal, but for this monologue Pollynices speaks with informal phraseology. I used quotes from the Antigone to link his monologue to the play and make sure it follows a chronological order. The monologue comments on the quotes and demonstrates my knowledge of the play and of Greek society. Polynices: “ Oh Zues! what has happened to me' I am now dead. My soul, a lone wonderer. I roam around the city of Thebes listening to the citizens talk, trying to grasp any knowledge of my death. Alas, I hear my sister Antigone. As I get closer to her I start to hear her alarmed voice: “...Our own brother’’s burial! Hasn’t Creon graced one with all the rites, disgraced the other' Eteocles, they say, has been given full military honors, rightly so- Creon has laid him in the earth and he goes with glory among the dead. But the body of Polynices, who died miserably why, a city wide proclamation, rumor has it, forbids anyone to bury him, even mourn him. He’s to be left unwept, unburied, a lovely treasure for birds that scan the field and feast to their heart’s content...” Those words hitting me like a wall of ice, I stop dead in my tracks. How dare Creon bring such disgrace to my family! Who is he, that defies the laws of the gods! How am I supposed to leave this world and enter the next without the rites given by a woman' Am I to forever roam these lands, never to enter the underworld' Sister save me from this misery! I focus my attention to hearing what more she has to say: “ ...and he won’t treat the matter lightly. Whoever disobeys in the least will die, his doom is sealed: stoning to death inside the city walls!” Again he dares to challenge the gods! Not only taking away my burial but also ridding my sister of her only rights in life. I curse Eteocles! If it weren’t for his treacherous army then I would still be alive! I do not wish to spend the rest of eternity waiting to enter the underworld! As I am thinking her words caught me by surprise: “ Decide. Will you share the labor, share the work'” Ismene replies with a remorseful tone: “ What work, what’s the risk' What do you mean'” Antigone replies in a harsh tone: “Will you lift up his body with these bare hands and lower it with me'” Will Antigone really do that' Will she break the law to help me, and to gain her own rights as a woman' But what about you Ismene, you are my sister too. Help Antigone bury me! There was a long pause between the sisters conversation but finally Ismene spoke: “What' you’d bury him ---- when the law forbids'” If only she knew what I had to go through without a burial. Ismene never seemed to be the stronger one, and I can understand that she wants to follow mans law. But this is a divine law, that no man should be able to interfere with. Their conversation continued but I did not listen, I had lost hope in both of them burying me together. Antigone was ready to bury me, yet Ismene was not. The law was against me, and the punishment for breaking it was death. No one could hear my mute soul shout. The only person willing to help was Antigone... and so I put all my trust in her. As her conversation continues I headed to the Kings palace... He was speaking with the Leader: “No, no I don’t mean the body--- I’ve posted guards already.” That was all I heard, I did not wish to hear more of this horrid law. But now there are guards protecting my body from getting buried! That night I retreated to my corpse, hoping and waiting for Antigone to bury me. After waiting several hours, she finally appeared, dressed simply in a black gown. She found my body easily and knelt by it. She was breathing heavily, obviously afraid of the surrounding guards. She started mumbling string of melodic words and pouring dust and dirt upon my body. My soul was leaving this world and I could no longer see my corpse, I could make out Hermes in the distance. He was coming closer, and was going to pick me up and bring me to the underworld. I couldn’t talk, due to the coin that had suddenly appeared in my mouth. Instead I reached out to try and grab him, but before I even moved more than an inch everything suddenly stopped. Hermes disappeared, and I could see my corpse again. Antigone had stopped the ritual. She suddenly ran off, leaving me without completing the ritual! A sentry ran towards my corpse, and with a shocked face slowly walked back to his comrades. They all started yelling at each other at once, blaming each other for not paying attention. I had no interest in hearing them quarrel, so after a few minutes I headed after Antigone. The next morning I went straight to the Kings palace. When I got there I had missed most of the talking, but did not miss the climax. There standing in the middle of the court room was the sentry I had seen last night. His intimidated expression seemed to bore the king but his next line didn’t: “... The body--- someone's just buried it, then ran off... sprinkled some dry dust on the flesh, given it proper rites.” This wasn't exactly true, I hadn’t received all my rites. Antigone had run off before she could completely finish the ritual. But as long as they believed that it had been completely done, I would be satisfied. The leader spoke next and softly to try and find a reason for everything: “My King, ever since he began I’ve been debating in my mind, could this possibly be the work of the gods'” At last, some one with common sense. The gods will punish Creon, they support my sister and will bring doom to his reign. I don’t think any king has the right to go against divine laws, he should be sent to Tantalus! The king ignored the chorus leader, and blamed the sentry for committing the crime. I had no reason to see this ruler berate at his court so I left, and roamed around the town. That evening I waited at my corpse again, hoping Antigone would come back and finish the ritual. It was pitch black when I could see her figure kneeling beside my corpse once more. The process continued, and Hermes came to me. This time nothing stopped me; I was picked up and sent straight to Charon, where I waited with the coin from my sister. She had saved my misery, and had gone against man to commit the rituals written by the gods. All I could do now is hope to end up in Elysian Fields and meet Antigone there. Word count: 1,372