Classical Literature Essay Question - 20 marks

What is the question all about?

The essay is designed to make you think about the themes you have been studying while exploring classical text(s) i.e. leadership, heroism, fate vs free will, women in society and conflict. The question will be based around one of these themes and you are required to use your knowledge of the text(s) you have studied to make connections and reach conclusions about these themes. A good way to do this is by looking at the actions of the characters and analysing and evaluating what this tells us about how the theme was viewed in the ancient world.

You have a choice of essays in the form of an (A) option and a (B) option and you must answer one of these.

What marks are available?

The question is worth 20 marks and this is subdivided as follows:

Introduction = 2 marks.

In this section you need to give some context (background/setting/perspective) to the issue. This only needs to be a sentence or two. This will get you 1 mark. You then must outline the structure or development of your essay. This is called “signposting” and you could do this by outlining the arguments you will be making in your paragraphs.

Use of knowledge = 8 marks. In your paragraphs you must use what happens in the text to support your argument. You should do this by making a point and then supporting it with detailed, relevant and accurate examples from the play. This should absolutely be tied into the interpretations (analysis and evaluation) of the theme as you are arguing. You are not awarded marks for each point you make, the marker will use a scale from 1-8 and judge the quality of your knowledge within your essay as a whole.

Analysis and evaluation = 8 marks. Your analysis and evaluation are your explanations and the conclusions you reach on how the theme can be interpreted in the text. You will be able to show the importance of aspects of the text, make connections between parts of the text to show links between aspects or contradictions or inconsistencies and alternative interpretations. This final part is key. To access 6-8 marks, you must show that at least two key aspects of your essay could be interpreted in different ways. For example, you may have explored how a conflict between characters is on the face of it a simple family conflict over an issue, however, it might involve a female family member fighting with her male guardian and could also be seen as an example of gender conflict which you could explore and is arguably a much bigger conflict. Again, you are not awarded marks for each point you make, the marker will use a scale from 1-8 and judge the quality of your analysis and evaluation within your essay as a whole.

Conclusion = 2 marks To gain both marks, your conclusion must be relative, based on the evidence presented and give reasons for why you reached that conclusion. In other words, you must show why you chose to reach that conclusion over other possible interpretations and the evidence and reasoning that supports that. For example, if you think that in the ancient world, fate seemed much more responsible for determining what happened to people than their own free choices, then you need to explain why you reached that conclusion and show why you think fate is more important than free will. If you simply state what you think at the end, then that’s only a summary and will not get you both marks.

What does the question look like?

Let’s walk you through an example question and I’ll show you how to answer one of these questions and I’ll make comments on my thinking as we go through it. Below is a typical example of what one of these questions looks like.

CLASSICAL LITERATURE — 30 marks

Attempt either question 1(a) OR 1(b) AND question 2

1. (a) Discuss the view that family conflict in the ancient world is the most important type of conflict.

20

In your answer you should reference any classical text(s) you have studied.

OR

b) Discuss the view that heroes are far from perfect

20

In your answer you should reference any classical text(s) you have studied.

What do I do?

It’s good practise to divide your answer up into an introduction, 3 paragraphs where you will explore aspects of the theme (usually using characters or events) and a conclusion. In this example I like the look of the question on family conflict as I can use my knowledge of Antigone and the large number of conflicts that take place to explore how the theme can be interpreted. I’m going to base my 3 paragraphs around different conflicts in order to provide a structure and then use detailed examples from the text to explore different ways these conflicts could be interpreted. In terms of the conflicts I will explore, I’m going to examine.

Step 1:

Introduction

I need to give some context for my issue and outline the direction my essay will go and the arguments I will make. Here goes:

“The classical world was a violent place and its literature reflected this with conflict taking place between individuals, families, governments, heroes and gods, all of which are featured in Sophocles’ Antigone. We see Creon decree that Polyneices body be left unburied after his traitorous actions, a move which causes conflict between many characters. There is conflict between sisters, uncle and nieces, and father and son which ultimately results in tragedy. However, these clashes represent bigger conflicts such as gender conflict, the conflict of an individual versus the state, and religious conflict. The last point is the most important as it is Creon’s defiance of the will of the gods that brings about his family’s downfall.”

This introduction works well because in the underlined section it gives a bit of context to the issue and the text that will be used. The rest of the introduction outlines a basic structure i.e. the conflicts that will be examined as well as their possible interpretations before arguing that religious conflict will be the most important interpretation. This also sets us up nicely for making a relative judgment in the conclusion.

Step 2:

My Main Arguments

I know that I need to outline the initial argument between Antigone and Ismene using lots of wide-ranging, detailed and accurate examples from the play and then explore them from the perspective of a family conflict. I also want to access the top analysis and evaluation marks so I’m going to ensure that here I show at least one different way that this argument could be interpreted. Here goes:

“The first conflict we witness in the play is between Antigone, who wants to defy Creon’s order and bury her brother Polyneices’ body, and her sister Ismene. When Antigone hears that Creon has forbidden her brother’s burial, she is furious and turns to her sister for help to bury him herself. Antigone gives her reasons for wanting to do this; namely that it is her right as a woman to bury her brother, it is the gods’ will that she does so and he deserves to be honoured. She points out that Creon has no right to deny her this, saying “it is not for him to keep me from my own.” Antigone believes that she has the moral high ground, and that her sister should agree with her. However, Ismene disagrees with Antigone, and conflict breaks out which at its most basic can be viewed as a simple conflict about divided family loyalties; should the girls stay loyal to their dead brother or uncle and guardian. The punishment for defiance is death, Ismene is not willing to risk this as her family have suffered enough and she also believes in loyalty to Creon as her nearest male relative. She refuses to help Antigone, who doesn’t accept this lightly. She is enraged at Ismene and disowns her, then goes off to bury the body of Polyneices. This conflict between sisters initiates Antigone’s defiance against Creon, and thus what will eventually bring about the family’s downfall. However, there are other ways to view this conflict. Firstly, it is quite clearly a gender conflict addressing the role of women in their society. The girls meet outside of their household unescorted by a male guardian, which puts them in a position of defiance from the beginning. Ismene argues that how they feel about Creon’s decree is irrelevant, and that it is not their place to defy the law or men. “We must remember that we were born women, not to fight against men; and that since we are ruled by stronger hands, we must listen in this matter, and in others still more painful.” Here Ismene represents the traditional views of a woman’s role, and is correct about not defying men, as women across Classical Greece were subservient to men. However, although Antigone is willing to break rules to do so, her goal is still to have her traditional right as a woman to bury her brother’s body, and therefore she also has a point. What should she do when confronted by opposing positions? Their different views on the role of women are highlighted when Ismene heads back indoors, while Antigone heads out to the battlefield to bury her brother. This initial family conflict can also be interpreted as one of religious authority vs political authority. Antigone is driven by the will of the gods, and although hot tempered, is just trying to please the gods, who she knows have more power than Creon. His decree denies the traditional demands of the gods, and while Ismene is willing to obey him, Antigone believes it is far more important to obey the gods. Although her cause may be just, her temper and unwillingness to compromise will feed conflicts that ultimately destroy her and her family.”

Now this is a longer paragraph than you could write in the time allocated (about 50 minutes) but it is deliberately so in order to show you some possible approaches. It does the following things:

We now need to look at Antigone’s fight with her uncle, guardian and ruler Creon to see what that tells us about conflict in the text. We will examine the significance of this conflict and the different ways it can be interpreted. Here goes:

“Another conflict within the play is between Antigone and Creon, a family conflict between uncle and niece. Conflict arises because, in a disagreement, neither family member behaves well or tries to understand the other’s perspective. This is a family conflict concerning how to deal with a dead relative, each with their own reasons. Creon decided to leave Polyneices’ body unburied as he wanted to show strong leadership and ensure the city’s safety, proving that loyalty to the state comes before loyalty to family. He says “a man who considers someone he loves to be more important than his country, I say that he is nothing.” However, Antigone argues her right as a woman to bury her brother, pointing out that the gods' will is more important than any man’s. “Nor did I think that your human proclamation had sufficient power to override the unwritten, unassailable laws of the gods.” During their conflict there are no attempts made by either to understand the other’s point of view. As king, Creon should have behaved in a better way and listened to Antigone, trying to understand her views. Antigone also should have acted better towards Creon, who was her king and was trying to protect the city from future traitors and violence. However, neither made any effort to listen to each other or compromise, and as a result conflict occurs and once again, this conflict is going to spiral uncontrollably until . Although this is a family conflict, it can also be seen as a gender conflict, as Antigone’s defiance is a clear example of a woman in conflict with her nearest male relative. It is being challenged by a woman, especially a family member that causes Creon to react so aggressively and spiral into unjust punishment of Antigone, even when warned by his son that his actions are not wise. Antigone’s clashes with Creon are also seen as an attack on the power of the state. Creon’s decree has not only defied the rights of an individual, but clashes with the laws of the gods. For Antigone, this gives her a reason to challenge Creon, calling him a fool and a tyrant, and argues that the citizens of Thebes agree with her and do not support his decree law but are too scared of his tyrannical behaviour to speak out. This is a clear attack on not only the legitimacy of the law passed by Creon, but also on him as king but the fact that it is a woman and his own family who is attacking him so is what goads Creon down a reckless path.”

Again this paragraph uses detailed, accurate and relevant examples from the text including quotes to examine another family conflict and then analysing the significance of this fight. It also looks at this conflict through the lens of gender and political conflict and so again could access higher analysis/evaluation marks for examining alternative interpretations. We would now look at a third aspect of family conflict which would be Creon’s clash with his son Haemon and his subsequent clash with Tiresias, but you’re not getting a whole essay out of this guide! ;) Suffice to say given that we stressed the importance of the religious aspect of these conflicts in our introduction, you would want to examine the important religious aspect of these conflicts and how in particular it was Creon’s final refusal to heed Tiresias’ warning that led to such a tragic outcome.

Step 3

Conclusion

Now we need to write a conclusion that follows through on the arguments that we outlined in the introduction, namely that although family conflict is important, it is the religious elements of conflict that spell tragedy for all concerned. Here goes:

“In conclusion, it is clear that family conflicts are very important in the classical world. In Antigone, Creon’s proclamation on the treatment of Polyneices sparks conflict between sisters, between him and his niece, and between him and his son. These conflicts build in intensity and eventually lead to the destruction of the family. These conflicts were caused by anger and a refusal to listen to one another despite being close family. However, the most important conflict in the play is not between family members but between humans and the gods. Throughout the entire play Creon clashed with his family, but it was ultimately his hubristic attitude which would bring about his downfall. Creon was warned by both Antigone and Tiresias to consider the will of the gods, and by choosing to ignore this he had sealed his fate. His conflict with the gods is punished with the destruction of his family. Therefore, religious conflict is far more important than family conflict.”