"He tried to raise Haemon to his feet. I could hear him begging Haemon to rise to his feet. Haemon was deaf to his father's voice, till suddenly he stood up of his own accord, his eyes dark and burning. Anguish was in his face, but in the face of a little boy. He stared at his father. Then suddenly he struck him -- hard; and he drew his sword. Creon leaped out of range. Haemon went on staring at him, his eyes full of contempt -- a glance that as like a knife, and that Creaon couldn't escape. The King stood trembling in the far corner of the tomb, and Haemon went on staring. Then, without a word, he stabbed himself and lay down beside Antione, embracing her in a great pool of blood" (51).
Commentary:
The passage immediately starts off with repetition amongst the first two sentences with "raising Haemon to his feet". The second sentence has a much more desperate tone with the word choice "begging". This change in tone makes the reader feel sympathetic for Creon who has just found his son hugging the legs of Antigone's dead body. In the following sentence, Heamon is described as being "deaf" to his father's voice, but he suddenly stands up on "his own accord". This ties in with the theme of individuality versus the government. Haemon does not stand up when his father asks him too. Haemon's father, Creon, symbolizes the government because he is the king. Instead, Haemon stands up on "his own accord" which shows he is following his own decisions and not what the government is asking him to do. Anouilh then uses "face of a little boy" to describe Haemon's pain. This word choice could imply that although Haemon is a grown and athletic man, he displays a look of innocence and loss on his face, like a little boy who just lost his favorite toy. This innocence characterizes Haemon as a soft man. In the next sentence, Haemon's actions are once again described as "sudden". This creates the idea that Haemon is an impulsive man who does not think. The word choice soon becomes much darker once Haemon draws the sword and starts to attack Creon. This is an interesting contrast to the previous sentence that compared Haemon to a little boy. Impulsive behavior can also be classified as a childish trait, although Haemon is longer soft. He has turned into a savage. I found the sentence "The King stood trembling in the far corner" to be ironic. A king, who is supposed to be brave and powerful, is trembling in a corner. In a sense, Creon is depicted as not being a real king because he is cowardly. This could be an allusion to the Vichy government in France. They too were not a real government and lived in fear of the Germans. The very last sentence in the passage creates incredible imagery with "great pool of blood". Having the word "great" is an odd contrast because death and blood is definitely not great. The word choice of "pool" also makes the scene very tragic because it exaggerates how much blood there actually was.
The passage immediately starts off with repetition amongst the first two sentences with "raising Haemon to his feet". The second sentence has a much more desperate tone with the word choice "begging". This change in tone makes the reader feel sympathetic for Creon who has just found his son hugging the legs of Antigone's dead body. In the following sentence, Heamon is described as being "deaf" to his father's voice, but he suddenly stands up on "his own accord". This ties in with the theme of individuality versus the government. Haemon does not stand up when his father asks him too. Haemon's father, Creon, symbolizes the government because he is the king. Instead, Haemon stands up on "his own accord" which shows he is following his own decisions and not what the government is asking him to do. Anouilh then uses "face of a little boy" to describe Haemon's pain. This word choice could imply that although Haemon is a grown and athletic man, he displays a look of innocence and loss on his face, like a little boy who just lost his favorite toy. This innocence characterizes Haemon as a soft man. In the next sentence, Haemon's actions are once again described as "sudden". This creates the idea that Haemon is an impulsive man who does not think. The word choice soon becomes much darker once Haemon draws the sword and starts to attack Creon. This is an interesting contrast to the previous sentence that compared Haemon to a little boy. Impulsive behavior can also be classified as a childish trait, although Haemon is longer soft. He has turned into a savage. I found the sentence "The King stood trembling in the far corner" to be ironic. A king, who is supposed to be brave and powerful, is trembling in a corner. In a sense, Creon is depicted as not being a real king because he is cowardly. This could be an allusion to the Vichy government in France. They too were not a real government and lived in fear of the Germans. The very last sentence in the passage creates incredible imagery with "great pool of blood". Having the word "great" is an odd contrast because death and blood is definitely not great. The word choice of "pool" also makes the scene very tragic because it exaggerates how much blood there actually was.
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