An Ode to the Chorus

The Chorus of Elders, great in its age and wisdom, give voice to the audience’s stream of consciousness in Sophocles’ Antigone. Just as the audience, the Chorus does not escape the experience as bystanders to the conduct of Creon and Antigone. In the Chorus’ “Ode to Man” (332-75), they elucidate thoughts reflecting their aged passage through time and space and offer a central purpose of the play. To debate the assertion of human nature and human law as governed by self-interest over that which is the natural world and natural law as governed by the gods is an argument otherwise forgotten in the doldrums of unconscious living. Also deserving consideration is the notion that human law and natural law are not one in the same. It is these debates that the Chorus addresses, often in criticism of Creon and Antigone.

The initial entrance (100-62) of the Chorus provides a framework to the play, serving as a guide to the audience while revealing the Chorus’ opening bias in favor of Polyneices’ dishonor. “But before his jaws would be sated with our blood, before the fire, pine fed, should capture our crown of towers he went hence” (120-22) remarks on their clear distaste of Polyneices. Despite this bias, the Chorus is careful to note that, upon the Sentry’s mention of Polyneices’ unlawful burial, the gods may be irreverent to Creon’s proclamation and have given proper burial to the fallen enemy (278-279). This instance affords the first evidence to the conflict between human law and natural law.

The Chorus’ most important speech, the “Ode to Man,” opens with and continues on a description of man’s mastery of the natural elements; by sea and by land has his control taken of the animate and inanimate. The Chorus repeatedly reinforces this thought through its speech, “[taking] prisoner the races of savage beasts and the brood of the fish of the sea” (341-42) and “he has a way against everything, and he faces nothing that is to come without contrivance” (358-60). Using the words “prisoner” and “against” foreshadows the Chorus’ more clearly articulated views regarding law and justice that are present later in the text.

As its line of thought progress, the Chorus remarks on man’s ability through contrivance and unfailing will to succeed all natural obstacles but that of mortality. Though their speech does not take question form, the audience is led to ponder—is man’s ultimate aspiration to achieve immortality, if not physically than by some other means? More importantly, is the ideal of the polis reinforced by this pursuit of immortality? To draw on these beliefs with fallacious reasoning as support may reach mixed conclusions, as depicted in the play’s denouement. The Chorus underlines this idea as the “Ode to Man” nears its end, “With some sort of cunning, inventive beyond all expectation he reaches sometimes evil, and sometimes good” (364-67). Mistakes can be made regardless of the intent of the action. Later the Chorus states, “that evil seems good to one whose mind the gods leads to ruin” (621-22), noting that Creon’s misguided efforts are in assumed accordance with the will of the gods when really such will is unknown to mere mortals. Notwithstanding, similar criticism of Antigone is afforded in an exchange of dialogue between the Chorus and Antigone following Creon and Haemon’s argument.

This idea that man can somehow achieve immortality by carrying out the unknown will of the gods may be extended to all of man’s creation. This categorical imperative faced by Antigone and Creon leads to justification of any means to an end. By her respective martyrdom in the name of Polyneices and his respective creation and application of law in supposed defense of the polis do these means take shape. The Chorus sees that both Antigone and Creon confuse hamartia for arête.

As realized in the closing lines by all those who maintain their embrace of living, wisdom and reverence for the Gods are of chief concern above all else. However, the consequences of acting within or without the polis deserve limited attention, certainly if there is wont to measure only that which brings immortality; the polis has brought about great loss through Antigone’s death and the deaths of Creon’s family. The Chorus accepts that its comprehension of law and justice is indecorous to that of the gods’.  As well, death is not escaped in any form of society, organized or otherwise. By the agencies of their existence, human creation and destruction, the polis and human law do not warrant the emphasis they are given. Rather, that which is timeless and independent of human influence is worthy of tribute and attention. The Chorus affirms in the last line of the play that such wisdom comes with old age.

There are some weaknesses to the response which must still be addressed, but its current state offers most ideas with appropriate development.