Antigone

**Quiz Question: *Antigone* by Sophocles** What motivates Antigone to go against King Creon's order and try to bury her brother Polynices? A) She wants to take the throne of Thebes for herself. B) She believes she must follow the divine, unwritten laws of the gods rather than the laws of men. C) She is convinced by her sister Ismene to perform the burial. D) She aims to demonstrate that women are equal to men in Theban society. **Correct Answer: B** *Explanation: Antigone makes it clear that the eternal, unwritten laws of the gods are more important than Creon's human decree. She is willing to face death for honoring her religious and familial obligations, which creates the main conflict of the play between divine law and human law.*

ap_lit · ib_lang_lit · aqa · common_core

**Quiz Question — *Antigone* by Sophocles** At the beginning of the play, why does King Creon deny Antigone's brother Polynices a proper burial? A) Polynices killed a member of the royal court. B) Polynices led an invading army against Thebes and is viewed as a traitor to the city. C) Polynices refused to honor the gods of Thebes. D) Polynices tried to kill Creon and take the throne. **Correct Answer: B** *Explanation:* Creon declares that Polynices, who marched against Thebes with the Argive army to take back the throne from his brother Eteocles, will not receive burial rites because he is deemed a traitor to his homeland. This decree creates the central conflict that drives the entire play forward.

ap_lit · ib_lang_lit · aqa · common_core_ela

**Quiz Question: *Antigone* by Sophocles** At the start of the play, what reason does Creon give for forbidding the burial of Polynices? A) Polynices personally betrayed Creon by stealing from the royal treasury. B) Polynices fled the battle before it was over, dying a coward. C) Polynices led an invading army against Thebes and died a traitor to the city. D) The gods instructed Creon to leave Polynices unburied as a sacrifice. **Correct Answer: C** *Explanation: Creon states that Polynices, who attacked his own city with an Argive army, must remain unburied and unmourned as punishment for his betrayal. This decree sets in motion the main conflict of the play, as Antigone chooses to defy it in order to honor her brother.*

ap_lit · ib_lang_lit · common_core_ela · aqa