Syntax
Imagery
More wonderful than man; the storm-grey sea
Yields to his prows; the huge crests bear him high;
Earth, holy and inexhaustible, is graven
With shining furrows where his plows have gone
Year after year, the timeless labor of stallions.
The light-boned birds and beasts that cling to cover,
The lithe fish lightning their reaches of dim water,
All are taken, tamed in the net of his mind;
The lion on the hill, the wild horse windy-maned,
Resign to him; and his blunt yoke has broken
The sultry shoulders of the mountain bull.
Words also, and thought as rapid as air,
He fashions to his good use; statecraft is his
And his the skill that deflects the arrow of snow,
The spears of winter rain: from every wind
He has made himself secure�from all but one:
In the late wind of death he cannot stand.
O clear intelligence, force beyond measure!
O fate of man, working both good and evil!
When the laws are kept, how proudly his city stands!
When the laws are broken, what of his city then?
Never may the anarchic man find rest at my hearth,
Never be it said that my thoughts are his thoughts.
Sophocles' choice of diction portays two different tones about man's achievements and limitations. Words such as "wonderful", "skill", and "intelligence" convey a reverent tone in the ode. The chorus mentions that man is a wonder of the world and that he is the greatest of all. Nothing can stand up to man even the earth with phrases like, "storm-grey seas yeilds at his prows" and "holy and inexhaustible, gravens". The earth and sea are succumbing to man's will even if they have an omniscent sense. The "crests" and "high" show that man is lifted up, but foreshadowing can show the reader that as the sea waves crash so must man at one point crash or die. The earth is "graven' with "shining furrows" or full of noticeable trenches showing that earth has completely submitted to the will of man. Sophocles uses "stallions" instead of mules or horses because it seems so much more to tame a stallion than a mule. The weaker or "light-boned" birds and beasts run from man in fear or "cling" to cover. "All are taken" shows that man may not be able to fly, but takes the birds and tames them, he may not be able to swim as fast as the fish, but can outsmart them and catch them for breeding. The word that is interesting is "resign", Sophocles' shows that the lion and mountain bull were the king of the world until man came along and they backed out. Man also has an enormous intellect, with "thought as rapid as air". He is also the only animal who makes laws or "statecraft". The use of the elements as "arrows" and "spears" to inform that these elements were like weapons to other animals, but man has the "skill" to build sturdy shelter and protect himself. When "intelligence" is brought into the scene man is the supreme on earth. These examples of diction help the chorus explain the tone of reverence towards man's achievements. The second attitude the chorus has is towards man's limitations. As mentioned before the "crests" are bound to crash paralell to man's inevitable doom. He makes himself "secure"to every other wind except death. Other than the unavoidable death all men face there is another limiation on man. He cannot completely control his fellow man. The "anarchic" man symbolizes the lawbreaker and man's gift o free will other than animals who live by instincts. The chorus' attitude towards man's limitations is fear and helplessness.
The syntax in Ode 1 of Antigone is prepared to convey two different tones. The syntax of "--" gives a sense that something new coming from the former statement. It shows that man can conquer any element and stand in the roughest winds except one. That one wind is death and it is the sad part of man's journey through life that there is an unavoidable death or end to hif worldly existence. The exclamatory sentences in the last stanza show an excited tone of awe towards man's achievements, but the question showing his limitation from his fellow man's free will.