What did Sophocles think about the laws of man, and the laws of God? Which did he think was more important? What does Sophocles have to say about 'Man' (in general, and specifically?) Did Sophocles hate women? And more importantly, HOW DO WE KNOW THIS? (since we can't ask him personally!)
If these questions sound familiar, the only person who would be surprised is me, since I am marking your SAC essays and you haven't actually answered these questions in your response.
Hows about you have a shot at it now, and then when I see you later in the week (I'll do my darndest) we can discuss what to do about it.
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2 comments:
personally i think sophocles thought that the law of the gods was superior to that of men. in his play sophocles positions the audience in a way that they see divine law as overriding human law, indicated by the ending, in which creon meets his demise due to the fact that he ignored the laws of the gods and instead followed the laws of the state. in regards to man, sophocles has written the first stasimon, otherwise known as the "ode to man" in which he lists all the things man is capable of, as opposed to any other living creature ( and, regardless of Michelle's belief, man is known the only living organism that can reproduce). but at the same time as praising man, sophocles also acknowledges that man has many flaws. i do not believe that sophocles was a misygonist, i think that creon was, and the fact that creon's demise was a result of not listening to antigone ( a woman) and not obeying the laws of the gods.
Sophocles thought that the law of the gods were more important than man-made laws. In almost every stasimon, the immortaliy and greatness of the gods is emphasised, particularly in the ode on fate, where evidence is used to support the claim that people who have crossed the gods die a terrible, terrible death. Also, the Invocation to Dionysus suggests that Sophocles would have regarded the law of the gods above the law of mn, as he included a tribute to a god in his play. Also, the "words of pity for the girl" from the people of Thebes suggests that Sophocles was trying to manipulate the audience to feel the same way, to sympathise with Antigone and agree with her point of view. The downfall of Creon is due to the fact that he ignored the laws of the gods and followed his own.
I must agree with Taryn when refering to the "Ode To Man", Sophocles did praise man for shaping the earth to his will, but he also acknowledges that man is mortal and has flaws, and that gods are immortal and all powerful, again enforcing that the will of the gods is more important than the laws of man, as the gods themselves are more powerful than man.
Sophocles was not the woman-hater, it was Creon. Sophocles made sure that the woman-hater, Creon, played the role of a villan to emphasise that his point of view is wrong. Again, Taryn is right in pointing out that Creon met his downfall by punishing a woman.
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