Passages from this character's speech that contain the most distinguishing words for Cluster 22 (broom, tiff, loathsome, snakes, hercles, dismal…). Matches are highlighted.
Thou art too good, Antigone, thy birth Would make me Jove my crimes, but that all sense Of virtue, as of light, is dead in me. If thou wilt guide me, guide me to that high And fatal cliff, from whence unhappy Ino Pursued, leaped
take rest; Nay, most of all, I'll live at thy request. LEt go this wicked hand; o daughter leave me, Leave me while thou art virtuous, before the infection of my crimes do blast thy good ness Or draw some plague upon thee; this dire head Abhorred by heaven and earth, living in Thebes Brought forth a pestilence, which help of art
Full speech
Thou art too good, Antigone, thy birth Would make me Jove my crimes, but that all sense Of virtue, as of light, is dead in me. If thou wilt guide me, guide me to that high And fatal cliff, from whence unhappy Ino Pursued, leaped down into the seas, and met The danger which she fled, there let me lie Concealed for ever from the eye of heaven Ah could I kill my memory as well, That no succeeding ages might relate The name and story of sad Oedipus! How well canst thou, Antigone, that bea 'st, A Magazen of virtuous thoughts within thee, Speak words of comfort, but accursed I Am most uncapable, there's nought in me, But horror, grief, despair and misery. Show me some way of death, or let me go. I never should have had a virtuous child But to afflict me more; nature will work A miracle to make my sufferings greater. The Sun shall bring black night, the Evening star Usher the day, and seas shall meet the sky To make addition to my misery! There's none but thou, has a commanding power Over Oedipus, if thou command me leap Into Sicilian Aetna's scalding throat, I'll gladly doo't; if thou wilt have it so I will, Like Titius, with my liver feed A tiring vulture; more, I will take rest; Nay, most of all, I'll live at thy request. LEt go this wicked hand; o daughter leave me, Leave me while thou art virtuous, before the infection of my crimes do blast thy good ness Or draw some plague upon thee; this dire head Abhorred by heaven and earth, living in Thebes Brought forth a pestilence, which help of art Could never cure, until, by heavens decree, Most hateful I was banished from the City. O Daughter leave me.
Plot summary
Plot — Antigone, the Theban Princess
Self-blinded and banished from Thebes, Oedipus wishes only for death. His daughter Antigone temporarily persuades him to give up such thoughts, but it is not long before he is dead. Thebes itself is at war: Eteocles has dishonoured a power-sharing agreement with his brother Polynices, and seven Greek champions have besieged the city in support of the latter’s claim. After sustaining heavy casualties, Polynices proposes settling the case in single combat with Eteocles. Both are killed. The new King, Creon, decrees that no Theban shall bury any enemy soldier, including Polynices. He also places Antigone under house arrest and refuses his son Haemon permission to marry her. In defiance of Creon, Antigone goes to the battlefield in search of Polynices’ body. There she meets his widow, Argia, and together they convey the corpse past the watchmen and give it a funeral. Creon too comes to the battlefield, to consult the witches who are gathering Parts of the dead bodies for magical use. They make a dead body tell his fortune: he will die soon, and disorder will come to Thebes. Antigone and Argia are arrested. Creon holds Argia, a foreign princess, for ransom, but sentences Antigone to be entombed alive and left to starve to death. By threatening to take his own life, Haemon persuades his father to allow her release, but it is too late: she has taken poison to hasten her death. Haemon kills himself. Thebes is attacked by Theseus, who has been summoned by another widow to intervene for the unburied. Argia is released and Creon killed, but Theseus allows him the burial he denied his enemies.