Writing About Literature
The introductions and conclusion of your essay reflect the thinking that has developed the writing.
An effective introduction establishes a relationship with the reader. Generally, an introduction should be a paragraph in length and should close with the point of the essay. In shorter essays there is no need to “preview” the argument--i.e. tell the reader what you are going to present.
An effective introduction:
•identifies the title of the work and the author
•sets the tone
•connects to the literature
•establishes the context of the argument
•focuses the argument
•clarifies the point of the essay
Strategies for an effective introduction include:
•the use of a quotation from the literature or from another, relevant source
•the use of an image for dramatic effect
•the use of a thematic connection
•a “funnel” approach to move from the general to the specific case
Examples of introductions to essays on the question: Is Antigone a hero or a fool?
Quotation: In his play, Galileo, Bertolt Brecht writes : “Happy is the country which has no need of heroes.” For Brecht, the need for heroic action means that a country has extraordinary problems which demand that people respond in extraordinary ways. The conflict set up by the tension between the need for action and pressure on individuals to respond often tears apart a land and a people. The truth of this idea is nowhere more clear than in Sophocles’ Antigone. In this play, Antigone challenges the legitimate authority of the state; her action precipitates a crisis which ends only in tragedy. Despite the tragic end, what is important, finally, in the play is Antigone’s heroism in standing up for her conscience.
Image: “Like an angry bird, when it finds its nest left empty and little ones gone. Just like that she screamed, seeing the body naked” (138). The Sentry’s description of Antigone’s burial of Polynices is the only image in Sophocles’ Antigone. The singularity of the image is striking. It shows the deep passion of Antigone’s conviction that her slain brother is entitled to burial. Such passion comes out of Antigone’s belief that no one, not even a King, has the right to deny a person’s religious duty. In defying Creon’s order to the point of death, Antigone asserts her own standard of action and, by so doing, defines herself as a true hero.
Theme: At the close of Antigone, Creon has learned a painful lesson about his responsibility to the gods. His son and wife are both dead. Antigone, the object of his wrath, is also dead. His image of himself as a good king has been shattered. The order he wished to bring to his country has been destroyed. In his agony, Creon has come to know and to accept the lesson which the Chorus articulates: “Of happiness the crown and chiefest part is wisdom, and to hold the gods in awe” (163). If Creon had only taken his own advice and listened to others, tragedy might have been prevented. What remains after the tragedy is the inspiration of Antigone’s heroic defiance of the King. Though Antigone is not without flaws, her willingness to face death to stand up for a principle is a model of action.
Funnel: Literature presents many heroes. Usually, the heroes whose exploits are celebrated in epic poems are warriors who fight in battles for the survival of their people. Beowulf slays Grendel; Sir Gawain confronts the Green Knight; Ulysses outsmarts the Cyclops. Because of the literary focus on war as a medium for heroism, women are rarely portrayed as heroes. Women’s actions are often limited to the sphere of home and family; they have little opportunity to be “heroes.” Because of this limit, Antigone’s heroism in Sophocles’ Antigone is all the more striking. She thinks her duty to bury her brother’s body, a duty rooted in her family responsibilities, is more important than her duty to her country. By defying Creon, Antigone becomes a hero.
An effective conclusion reinforces the unity of the writing by closing the argument of the essay. The conclusion should also be a paragraph in length; it does not need to “review” what has been argued.
Strategies for an effective conclusion include some of the same strategies of an effective introduction. Generally, it is not effective to duplicate strategies. If you use a quotation to begin your essay, then do not use one to conclude. Give the reader something different. Strategies include:
•the use of a quotation from the literature or from another, relevant source
•the use of an image for dramatic effect
•the use of a thematic connection
•a discussion of the implications of the argument
•a discussion of possible effects
Examples of conclusions:
Quotation: In his play about another kind of hero, Galileo, Bertolt Brecht writes : “Unhappy is the country which has no heroes.” Antigone’s heroism in standing up for her conscience is an inspiration to everyone because any one of us can do what she does. That she is young and female in a country ruled by age and men makes no difference to her. She challenges the legitimate authority of the state and reminds us of the power of one person.
Image: In defying Creon’s order to the point of death, Antigone asserts her own standard of action and, by so doing, defines herself as a true hero. The passion of her conviction is celebrated in the play’s only image, the Sentry’s description of Antigone’s burial of Polynices: “Like an angry bird, when it finds its nest left empty and little ones gone. Just like that she screamed, seeing the body naked” (138). Such passion comes out of Antigone’s belief that no one, not even a King, has the right to come between a person and her conscience. Her insistence on the primacy of the individual is a lesson for us today.
Theme: What remains after the tragedy of the play is the inspiration of Antigone’s heroic defiance of the King. Though Antigone is not without flaws, her willingness to face death to stand up for a principle is a reminder of how brave and courageous human beings can be. In celebrating Antigone’s willingness to go to the “the outermost limits of daring,” the play also celebrates the human capacity for noble self-sacrifice.
Textual Support
Using quoted material from the text:
Antigone says to Ismene, “You know how heavy the hand of God is upon us; how we are left must suffer for our father, Oedipus” (126).
She almost wants to die: “I will bury my brother, and if I die for it, what happiness” (128).
By arguing that Creon has “neither the right nor the power to keep my from my own,” she establishes her own standard for action (126).
Creon’s law rests on hate; Antigone’s way is “to share my love, not my hate” (128).
Antigone is willing to “the forbidden thing” for her brother because she will never get another brother (146).
When Antigone argues with Creon, she tells him he “has neither the right nor the power to keep [her] from [her] own” (128).