Annisa Dwi Puspita (1000531)

Aulia Arifaturrochmah (1002709)

Dewi Indah Setyowati (1006366)

7B English Education
10 December, 2013
Exploring Drama

Commentary Writing: The Comparison between Antigone and Macbeth

This analysis will compare two Greek tragedies; Antigone and Macbeth. It covers the summary,
the main theme, the settings and the main characters. The purpose of commenting the plays is to
understand deeply and to find out the similarities and the differences between Antigone and Macbeth.
Antigone is about a young woman who is brave to break the rules made by King Creon. She
demands justice over her brother improper burial but in the end she dies. Macbeth is about a man who is
ambitious to be a king. He kills King Duncan because of the prophecy he heard from the three witches
and his wife, Lady Macbeth. In the end, however, he dies because of his greediness.
Antigone and Macbeth are categorized as tragic drama because both of those dramas end with
death. Both of them bring powerful meaning for the readers that every act has their consequences. And
those consequences should be faced by the characters as a result of their action. So the theme of both
dramas is that people have to learn the hard way from their mistakes. The theme is expressed in the end of
the plays.
In Antigone by Sophocles, King Creon and Antigone have to get their punishments from their
actions. Creon has to lose his family (Haimon and Eurydice) because of his bad decisions over the rules in
Thebes. There is no happiness because there is no wisdom in his decision. Antigone also faces the
consequence because of burying her brothers body and finally she commits suicide. Her death is
followed by Haimon and Eurydice death. The sad ending is the consequence of Creons decision of his
rules.
In Macbeth by Shakespeare, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth get their punishments because of their
ambitions. Lady Macbeth uses her gender to explode her ambitions through Macbeth. She uses Macbeth
to get what she wants by questioning him about his manhood. Lady Macbeth and three witches make
Macbeth becomes powerful person to be a king by killing Duncan. But, ambitions have consequences. It
can be seen in the end, they die. They do not have opportunity to enjoy what they have achieved because
of their bad ways to get it.
If we analyze deeply to the issue of both drama, we can summarize that all of them are related to
the power. The issue of power comes up because of their decision to use power without wisdom or in bad
ways. In Antigone, the power is had by Creon and it involves political issue. Creon explains how he will
be a tough ruler because of his loyalty to Thebes. He always believes that state is supreme in here because
he says It is the city that protects us all. He proves his tough by denying Polyneicess burial because he
is a traitor for Thebes. Antigone as a sister of Polyneices breaks this rule because her belief that the God
law is the highest law in the world, so she has to bury her brothers body. She knows the result of
1

Annisa Dwi Puspita (1000531)

7B English Education
Aulia Arifaturrochmah (1002709)
10 December, 2013
Dewi Indah Setyowati (1006366)
Exploring Drama
breaking his rule, she will cost her life. But at the end, she has no power in here because she faces a man
who has power as a king. Creon uses his power as a king without wisdom, and it results with unhappiness
and loneliness. It is stated in the last play There is no happiness where there is no wisdom; No wisdom
but in submission to the gods. Big words are always punished, and proud men in old age learn to be
wise. It symbolizes that power without wisdom is mistake that will result no happiness.
In Macbeth, the issue of power is also dominant because the three characters: Macbeth, Lady
Macbeth, and three witches. Lady Macbeth and the witches hold this power. They use this power to
manipulate Macbeth. They manipulate Macbeth in different ways. Lady Macbeth uses her gender to
influence Macbeth by asking Macbeths manhood to get what she wants. She influences him to kill
Duncan, so he can be a king. The witches also hold power to manipulate him by telling about the future
and his fate. Through the power from them, Macbeth tries to be the man who holds more power as a king.
But his ambition as a king has consequences because his attitude to get the position in bad ways. His
ambitions cause his death and Lady Macbeth commits with suicide. It means that they who achieve their
goal in bad ways will have no opportunity to enjoy it.