irony in antigone
... degrading term, his son being obviously much too old to be called a boy. This refusal of any advice by Kreon is the first ground point for the complex Irony that Sophicles is setting up. Kreon’s profession of guilt is the second major point for irony in Antigone. He states, “ Come with me to the tomb. I buried her, I will set her free.” An overview of this quotation is although he does not declare guilt in the quotation, he does reverse his mind concerning the death of Antigone. After instructing his servants to accompany him, he informs the chorus that although he has sentenced her to death in the mountainous crypt, he will release her before it is too late. He shows in the quote that he does not think that his original judgment was correct and that he thinks it better for his sake to reverse his decision and let her live than to risk the calamity predicted by Teiresias. Kreons’ statement he will release Antigone from her death sentence is the second point used for the irony. Kreon ultimately did not think that he was wrong until the very end of the play. The statement made to the audience by the Messenger confirms this theory. “I went with Kreon to the outer plain where Polyneices was lying… When we were done, we ran to the vault where Antigone lay on her couch of stone” The messenger states that he went with Kreon to release Antigone as Kreon instructed. (Quote number 2) The messenger also informs us that instead of rushing to Antigone, Kreon instead changes his mind and decides to bury Polyneices first. They then bury the body. Only after the burial, when they have completed all that is involved in a Greek traditional funeral, they go to free Antigone who was already dead on the floor of the crypt. If Kreon had been truly sorry for his actions and realized which part of his actions should be reversed first, he would have immediately released Antigone and then allowed her to come and help wi...