Burial at Thebes Quiz Study Guide and Literary Terms

English

The Chorus

Represents the community; moves the play forward by asking questions and reacting to events.

Sophocles

Wrote Antigone (originally produced around 442 B.C.); wrote plays for competitions.

Tragedy (Tragic Hero)

The main character has high social standing and is relatable; their tragic flaw is often hubris (excessive pride).

Catharsis

A sense of emotional release or relief after experiencing a tragedy.

Oedipus

A foundational Greek tragedy about fate, free will, and the inability to escape prophecy.

Important Names

Oedipus, Jocasta (mother/wife of Oedipus), Creon (brother of Jocasta), Polyneices and Eteocles (sons of Oedipus), Antigone and Ismene (daughters of Oedipus).

Opening: Polyneices and Eteocles Are Dead

Polyneices leads an invading army against Thebes, while Eteocles defends the city. Both die fighting each other in a duel.

Monologue

An extended speech by a single character.

Dialogue

An exchange of spoken words between two or more characters.

Stichomythia

Two characters speak alternating single lines of verse in rapid succession.

Foil

One character highlights the traits of another through contrasting qualities or characteristics.

Apostrophe

Addressing someone or something that is not present or cannot respond, such as a dead person.

Situational Irony

A discrepancy between what is expected to happen and what actually happens.

Dramatic Irony

A discrepancy between what a character believes or knows and what the audience knows to be true.

Verbal Irony

A rhetorical device in which someone says one thing but means the opposite.

Tragic Hero

A literary character whose error in judgment or tragic flaw leads to their downfall, often with catastrophic consequences.

Hamartia

An error in judgment, whether caused by a moral flaw or a lack of knowledge, that brings about a tragic hero’s suffering or downfall.

Hubris

Excessive pride that contributes to a protagonist’s tragic downfall.

Ethos

A mode of persuasion that appeals to an audience through the speaker’s credibility, character, and authority.

Pathos

A mode of persuasion that appeals to an audience’s emotions, values, or imagination.

Logos

A mode of persuasion that uses logic, reasoning, and factual evidence.

Rhetorical Situation

The context surrounding communication between an author or speaker and an audience, including purpose and circumstances.

Antigone

Brave, determined, and loyal to her family and the gods; defies Creon’s law to bury her brother Polyneices because she believes divine law is more important than human law.

Ismene

Cautious, obedient, and fearful of authority; initially refuses to help Antigone because she fears the consequences, but later shows loyalty to her sister.

Creon

Proud, stubborn, and authoritarian; prioritizes order and loyalty to the state, forbids Polyneices’ burial, and refuses to listen to advice, contributing to his downfall.

Jocasta

Oedipus’s mother and wife; caring and concerned, she tries to prevent Oedipus from discovering the truth about his past. Represents the tragic consequences of fate and prophecy.

Polyneices

Son of Oedipus who attacks Thebes with an invading army to reclaim power. His conflict with Eteocles leads to both brothers’ deaths, and his burial becomes the central conflict of Antigone.

Eteocles

Son of Oedipus who defends Thebes against Polyneices and dies fighting his brother. Creon honors him with a proper burial because he defended the city.

What did Greek Drama evolve from

from religious festivals honoring Dionysis

What literary device is used in this quote: "What are Creon's rights / When it comes to me and mine?" -Antigone

rhetorical situation

What literary device is used in this quote: "Personal loyalty always must give way / To patriotic duty." -Creon

Ethos

What literary device is used in this quote: "Until a man has passed this test of office / And proved himself in the exercise of power, / He can't be truly known" -Creon

Anti Hero

What literary device is used in this quote: "And I would know my friend. Where I assist / With love, you set at odds." -Antigone

Stichomytia

What literary device is used in this quote: "I disobeyed because the law was not / The law of Zeus nor the law ordained / By Justice" -Antigone

Hamartia

What literary device is used in this quote: "This is law and order / In the land of good King Creon." -Antigone

Verbal Irony

What literary device is used in this quote: "Eteocles will be buried with full honours" contrasted with "He is forbidden / Any ceremonial whatsoever." -Creon

Situational Irony

What literary device is used in this quote: "This wildness in her comes from Oedipus. / She gets it from her father. She won't relent."-Chorus

Dramatic irony

What literary device is used in this quote: "O Zeus on high, beyond all human reach, / Nothing outwits you and nothing ever will."
-Chorus

Apostrophe

What literary device is used in this quote: "We're weak where they are strong." -Ismene

Foil

What literary device is used in this quote: "The safety of our state depends upon it." -Creon

Logos

What literary device is used in this quote: "The dead in the land of the dead / Are the ones you'll be with longest." -Antigone

Pathos

What literary device is used in this quote: "No woman will dictate the law to me." -Creon

Hubris

What literary device is used in this quote: "I did know. How could I not? Didn't everybody?" -Antigone

Dialogue

What literary device is used in this quote: Worst is the man who has all the good advice / And then because his nerve fails, fails to act" -Creon

Monologue