Antigone before Creon Essay Example for Free

Antigone before Creon Essay In the first scene where Sentry appears he is visiting Creon to inform him of the news of the body of Polynice has been buried. From the moment he arrives on stage, Sentry is petrified even from the stage directions this is shown, as it states ‘struggling he is very frightened’ so to help this to be portrayed to the audience that Sentry is terrified, his body language would be all tense, his shoulders would be raised with his head and neck sinking between his shoulders. His facial expressions would help show that he is worried what Creon will have to say, so his eyes would be squinting with his nose wrinkled and with his eyebrows slightly raised whilst he is changing from biting to licking his lips frequently, this will help express that he’s so unbelievably nervous and worried about breaking this news to Creon even before actually speaking to him. Another moment which would show that Sentry is terrified telling Creon about the burial is when he first speaks to Creon ‘My Lord Creon sir! If I can hardly speak for the lack of breath it’s not ‘cos I ran ’ the use of respecting address ‘My Lord’ and ‘ ’ helps show the worry and anxiety of speaking to Creon. Sentry would perform this so his voice would be quick, but shaky, with extended pause to emphasise the ‘ ’ to help elucidate the nervousness Sentry has and that he’s panicking because of the high authority Creon has. Whilst stuttering these words out, Sentry’s body would still be all tense from entering, but he would now start fidgeting and wringing his hands, to help show that he is feeling uncomfortable and uneasy. When Sentry is rambling on to Creon and when he says ‘So I shouldn’t be punished for it, should I? ’ this shows that Sentry is trying to convince himself that he’s done no wrong, he’s only the messenger of this news, he had no part in the event. So the way Sentry would perform this would be, he’d say ‘So I shouldn’t be punished for it ’ in quite a stern voice, as he’s stating that he shouldn’t be penalized for telling Creon about the incident which has taken place. And whilst saying that, he would lower his head a little, with his eyes looking up at Creon with also raised eyebrows with his mouth slightly to the left pouting vaguely, his body would be leaning forward a little with his shoulders tense and lifted a bit, then with his left arm would be turn in quite tense with his index finger pointing to his chest with him repeating the point movement a few times to help emphasising he’s done no wrong and he is stating this. But then Sentry would realise who he is talking too, and would become more timid when saying ‘ should I? ’ as if he is questioning not just Creon about it but himself, as he would begin to think, should he be punished, has he done wrong. So he would lower his sharp tone in his voice, and make it become more high pitched, to give emphasis to him questioning the situation. His body would then quickly shoot up from the leaning forward his shoulders wouldn’t be raised but his whole body would tense up, with his left foot slightly in front of his right ,he would then freeze with his arms bent in, tucked underneath his armpits, with his hands seemingly flapping inwards to his chest, to help show his uncertainty. Another moment which shows that Sentry is scared stiff is when Creon has shouted at Sentry demanding who has disobeyed his orders, Sentry replies with ‘No way of knowing we’ve no idea! no digging, no spade marks no wheel tracks or anything. ’ he appears to be listing the absence of any possible evidence which suggests how or by whom this incident has taken place, which is emphasising he is in fear of Creon, and is totally ‘panic stricken’. So Sentry would perform this by ‘stating the list’ rapidly, but stuttering to emphasise he is thinking of things to say so Creon doesn’t screech at him. So the tone of Sentry’s voice would be at a high pitch, rushed and shaky, he’d be trembling whilst speaking which would draw attention to his anxiety and fear to this whole situation. Sentry would be all tensed up, his shoulders would be raised with his neck sinking in, his arms would be bent in with his hands close to his chest, but again all fidgeting, wringing his hands, he would also be shaking again, which would show his panic. He would be moving backwards and forwards on the spot but gradually moving slowing further away from Creon to help make the point of his fear of Creon and the situation. Another moments is when Sentry is explaining to Creon when they heard the news that Polynice’s body had been buried and they all suspected each other, who was going to tell Creon and when he states ‘I drew the short straw’ this shows that nobody wanted to do this, none of them wanted to be the person to break this news to Creon, as it ‘scared them all shitless’ and they are ‘scared stiff’ of Creon. So Sentry would perform this by emphasising that no one wanted to break this news to Creon as they feared their own life because they had no clue what Creon would do about the incident or to them even. So Sentry would be slightly more confident when saying this because he’s told Creon about the incident now, so now the anxiety of breaking the news to Creon is over, he would step a little closer to Creon to show that he’s not as petrified as he was at the beginning and to show that he’s only the messenger of the whole situation, he doesn’t want to be there as much as Creon doesn’t want him to be there. Sentry’s posture would be less apprehensive and more relaxed because the deed is done, he wouldn’t feel as up tight, so his arms, hands, shoulders and face wouldn’t be as tense, his eyes would be on Creon, making eye contact with him, much of the anguish in his face would have disappeared, so it would be more relaxed, his eyebrows would be lowered, his mouth would appear less strained, depicting more of a natural look, the tone of his voice would be lowered, and he is a little more confident and stronger which shows his sense of relief that he has broke the news to Creon. The second episode of Sentry contrasts with his first visit to Creon, he approaches him with a friendly address ‘Lord Creon’ rather than respecting address like before ‘My Lord Creon’. This shows that Sentry is no longer petrified of Creon, he has done what he was told to do, and he is freed without conviction. To help show this Sentry would perform with a more confident attitude, the friendly approach he gives to Creon shows a slight hint of sarcasm and arrogance towards Creon because he has brought Creon’s ‘criminal’. So the tone of his voice would be strong and loud, with a bold pitch showing the confidence in Sentry, he would sound calm without stuttering. His posture would be up right, his shoulders would be back, his arms would be by his side slightly away from his body, his hands would be relaxed but strong, in a cup shape position to help emphasise the confidence he has. His facial expressions would be strong, his head would be up slightly, with his chin raised up, his eyes would be bold making eye contact with Creon, his eyebrows would be raised, with his mouth slightly pouting to show assurance and certainty. Another moment is when Sentry says ‘This Job was all mine, I caught her ’ this helps show that in this scene Sentry is glad and is proud of himself, he achieved what Creon ordered him to do, and he’ll tell Creon as much as he pleases because he knows he’s done the right thing and it’s what his King wanted. So to help emphasise this, Sentry would perform confidently with a slight cocky manner. For example in his voice when he says ‘ This job was all mine ’ the tone in his voice would be loud and bold, and slightly high, to help express that he is pleased with himself. Again his posture would be up right, and confident, his shoulders would be back, his head slightly up, his right arm would be up, bent at the elbow and his lower arm and hand facing into him, and he would point to himself with force to show confidence and pride and that he wants take all the credit for it. And when Sentry says ‘I caught her,’ the tone in his voice would lower slightly and become more forceful and a lot louder. His attitude would become a little more aggressive and more arrogant because he wants to show to Creon that he’s not scared of him, he can’t punish him because he’s done what Creon wanted, so he wants to show that he too has authority, he is an independent, strong man, and Creon has nothing to put against him. So his posture would still be very confidence and bold with his shoulders back and head up, his hand gesture pointing to himself would become more aggressive and quicker as he says ‘I caught her,’ to help emphasise that he’s done want he was told and he’s free to go. His face would become a little tense but not because he is scared like before but because he has become more confidence and arrogant so his mouth would tense up, he would grit his teeth together with a tense jaw whilst saying ‘I caught her,’ his eyebrows would lower and would be rounded towards his eyes, his eyes would be slightly scrunched up and would have a sharp stare towards Creon. This shows his arrogance and sort of pride that he manages to capture the ’criminal’ so again he wants all the credit. Another moment which shows the changes of Sentry’s attitude is when he states to Creon ‘By rights, I’m free to go; and well shot of all of it. ’ This shows the relief which Sentry has, he knows he is right and that Creon cannot hold him to anything any longer and the fact that he has found the ‘criminal’ for Creon, he should be praised for doing this deed. To help show that Sentry is relived, his manner would become more relaxed than before, his arm would still be bent at the elbow with his lower arm and hand facing his body pointing, but his posture wouldn’t be up right, most of his weight would be on his right side, with his right hip lifted and with his left leg bent at the knee with his foot turned out, whist saying ‘ By rights, I’m free to go ’ he would still be pointing to himself with force to show his confidence, and when he says ‘ and well shot of all of it’ his whole manner and posture would stay the same but his right arm would lower with a fast rounded movement, and would be placed on his lifted right hip, allowing to show attitude and arrogance in his character. Another moment is when Creon asked did Sentry catch the ‘criminal’ Antigone in the act, Sentry replies with ‘Well, gentlemen, it was like this,’ this shows that Sentry enjoys telling the story, that he is proud of himself finding her, proving to Creon that he’s far better than Creon states him to be. So the way Sentry would perform is, the tone in his voice, would be quite low and soft but quite cocky, to help show that Creon is asking him the questions about how Sentry caught the criminal in the act, on his own, he found her, not Creon or anybody else. So he takes his time when he says it, showing that he is the hero, he’ll make the decisions when and how to tell Creon. So his manner and posture would be quite laid back at this point, he would be one hundred percent relaxed, he has no worry or anxiety like before when telling Creon his story, this time he is the one in control, so his posture again would be slouchy, his weight would be all on one side, but this time on his left to show that he’s been standing there a long time, so in a way he is getting a little bored, even though he wants to show off and tell Creon how it all happened. So he switches sides right to the left, so his left hip lifted all the weight on his left side, his right knee is bent and his right foot turned out, his right hand then is lifted from his hip at which point his left hand is placed on his left hip, his right hand slowly makes its way up to the back of his head slightly to the right and scratches it. Then he lower his arm so his elbow is bent and underneath his armpit with his right hand lifted up to his chest, with his right hand relaxed, and begins to make wringing type hand gestures whilst telling his story. This helps emphasise that Sentry’s attitude towards Creon has completely changed, he is no longer frightened of Creon as he has done a ‘good job’ in Creon’s eyes, he is no longer in the hands of Creon and is free to leave without being punished so compared to the timid, shaky Sentry in the first scene, he is now bold, confident and fearless of his King Creon.