Invictus And Antigone - 844 Words

â€Å"What people say you cannot do, you try and find out that you can.† - Henry David Thoreau. The poem,12b â€Å"Invictus†,12d tells the story of a man faced with many difficult challenges but always showed perseverance. *While the other poem, â€Å"If We Must Die†,12d by Claude McKay, 12d references the civil rights movement and repeats throughout that if one dies they should die honorably for a cause they support. Both poems are similar to the play Antigone, which retells the myth of a young woman in Ancient Greece, faced with challenging man’s law to uphold God’s law. The poem, â€Å"Invictus†,12d by William Ernest Henley,12d relates more to the play, Antigone,12d by Sophocles,12d due to the common theme of perseverance and the personal tone throughout†¦show more content†¦This tells the reader no matter the challenge one decides whether they succeed or fail. In brief, 12b Antigone and â€Å"Invictus relate through their chara cters facing difficult challenges. *In like manner,12b Sophocles and Henley adopt a personal tone to appeal to the reader in both pieces. Henley approaches this in a more direct fashion,12b by using first person to describe his challenges and how he persevered through. In the second stanza,12b William describes one of these challenges, â€Å"My head is bloody, but unbowed.† (8). This is a compelling verse in the poem that shows the challenge was brutal,12a but Henley was unconquerable. On the flip note, 12b Sophocles develops this tone through family struggles. In the play’s prologue, 12b Sophocles writes, â€Å"He is my brother. And he is your brother too.† (line 33). Here Antigone plans to bury their brother Polyneices, but Ismene is afraid because the law forbids this. This shows not only the loss of family but the tension amongst the living relatives. William also creates this tone through his symbolism. He describes a dark night that covers him in lines one and two, which is really describi ng the hardships he went through when losing his leg. *In essence, 12b both authors use the personal tone to appeal to the readers and deliver their message. *In contrast,12b â€Å"If We Must Die†, by Claude McKay, relates to Antigone through the usage of symbolism. All three works of literature use symbolism, but McKay and SophoclesShow MoreRelatedThe Moon Is Down By John Steinbeck And Antigone : An Analysis992 Words   |  4 Pagesworld, dealing with human rights, violence, money, and people. One person can generate a change that makes a difference. In The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck and Antigone by Sophocles, Mayor Orden, Antigone, and Alex all have the determination to make that change and carry it out until their rights are established. Also, in the poem â€Å"Invictus† the message it sends people provides them with the strength to never give up and to be the start of a better future. The human spirit drives people’s confidence