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Hyperbole In Antigone

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An extreme exaggeration can change the entire setting of a play. In plays, a hyperbole pushes the reader to think more about the situation. In Sophocles’s Antigone, there are many instances where a situation is exaggerated. As punishment for burying her brother, Antigone is sentenced to die a slow and painful death locked in a cave with only a small piece of bread. Also, another hyperbolic situation in this book is when the three suicides occur in one day. Such uses of hyperbole make an impact by leading the reader to grow personally as they will feel distressed, deceived , and sympathy.
A proper burial is all that Antigone wants for her brother. Due to her actions of trying to bury Polyneices against the king's order, she is sentenced …show more content…

Before anyone died, Haemon told Creon: “If she dies, / She won’t die alone. There’ll be two deaths, not one” (33). Haemon does not want his fiancée to die, so he tells his father that someone (himself) will die. Once Antigone is locked away, Haemon comes to save her. Not knowing that Haemon is coming to save her, Antigone hangs herself. The messenger informs the reader: “We saw her, strung up by the neck, hanging / From an improvised rope of twisted linen” (51). Antigone commits suicide before she could die the death Creon sentenced her to. Because of her death: “[Haemon] held his sword at arm’s length / And plunged it between his own ribs” (51). The suicide of Creon son already made Creon realize that he made a mistake convicting Antigone. Haemon's death symbolizes Creon's mistake of convicting Antigone. Because of Haemon's death: “Your [Creon] wife [Eurydice] is dead, the mother of this slaughtered son. / Her wound is fresh, but the breath of life is gone” (53). Now Creon's wife and son are dead because of his actions. The death of Haemon emphasizes that Creon's decision to kill Antigone was a mistake. The suicide of both his son and wife exaggerates his misconception.
A hyperbole helps a reader grow. Sophocles Antigone is one of the most read plays in high schools. The play was written thousands of years ago, yet is still popular. Antigone helps readers grow to view situations differently, and

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