Moral
Law Vs. Written Law in “Antigone”
In the famous work by Sophocles known as “Antigone” (441
B.C.E), there can be multiple themes and conflicts found coursing through this piece
of work. One of the more prevalent conflicts that are seen in this play is moral
law vs. written law. In other words, moral law is known as god’s law, to obey and
stand by the religious will, unwritten and not of this world. Written law is
part of this world, it is a ruleset made by a ruler, and bounds the people who
are ruled. It is found in the play in the way that Antigone, a character that
stands by moral law, is conflicted by the written laws that were set by a king
known as Creon.
The play starts off with Antigone and Ismene, seen
contemplating the burial of their brother Polyneices. The trouble starts here
since one of the rules that are set by Creon would forbid the burial of
Polyneices. Antigone, despite Creon’s order, feels she must shout out her
commencement of the burial. She does this to challenge Creon, to let him know
that not everybody fears him. She is seen speaking about this during the
execution, “No, these do, too, but keep their mouths shut for the fear of you”
(Sophocles 1143). Creon’s way of ruling is known as a totalitarian
dictatorship, which would lead to the citizens under his rule to fear Creon and
obey his every word. Except for Antigone, her morals and worldwide views makes
her prioritize the moral law over the written law. During her execution, she
says “The time in which I must please those that are dead is longer than I must
please those of this world.” (Sophocles 1132). When Antigone says she must
please the dead, she is referring to Polyneices, who she buried. This confident
and bold statement from Antigone directly tells us that when it comes to
Creon’s word and God’s word, she will choose the latter.
Not only will she choose the divine law, but she is proud
to do so as well. She proudly makes the following statement, “I shall be a
criminal- but a religious one” (1132). She says this during the burial, in
which she knows it will criminalize her. But the fact that she is standing by her
religion and obeying god’s law is more than enough for her to go through with
the burial. Not only does she disregard Creon’s rulings, but she also slanders
them. During her execution, she boldly says “I did not believe your
proclamation had such power to enable one who will someday die to override
God’s ordinances, unwritten and secure.” (Sophocles 1142). Simply put, Antigone
speaks to Creon, and calls his ruling to be far inferiors to that of a God’s. Creon’s
word has no support from the ruled, and no morality, which means there cannot
be a god that would lead by these rulings.
Although
“Antigone” by Sophocles was written in 441 B.C.E, Creon’s ruling of a
totalitarian dictatorship can still be seen to this day. He directly compares
to the ruler of North Korea, Kim Jong-Un. His way of ruling was passed by his
grandfather down to his father, then his father to himself. Within the past
decade, he has ordered the execution of hundreds of rivals, bureaucrats, and
military officers that he perceived as a threat to his dynasty. Similar to
Creon, he also instills fear in others, using methods such as nuclear tests and
dozens of missile flights to neighboring countries. He even forbids “watching or distributing
South Korean video” (Daily
beast) in which case there can be 23 executions traced back
to this. Kim Jong-Un has also made countless speech laws that even prohibit the
public slander on himself. Just like Creon, anybody who does not obey Kim
Jong-Un’s word can expect an execution.
To sum everything up, one of the main conflicts seen in
“Antigone” by Sophocles is God’s Law vs. Civil Law. Antigone, who stands and
obeys her religion and god’s word, challenges the rulings set by Creon. When it
came to illegally burying her dead brother Polyneices, she chose to go through
with it. She wanted to send him off nobly, standing by her religion. This
causes her to get executed, but she does so proudly.
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