... (line 238) "First, I want to tell you where I stand". The Watchman's language is more direct and does not attempt to soften the news which Creon is about to receive. Sophocles includes this difference in language between characters to allow the audience to distinguish characters. This would have been important for people sitting near the back of the amphitheatre as the masks of two characters start to look the same from a distance. Language also varies between the chorus and the main characters. Characters talk about issues related to events occurring at that section of the play. An example can be seen when Antigone is about to be banished to death: (line 892) "I'm coming home forever". As Antigone is about to die it is obvious that the topic of conversation should be death. However, when the chorus performs their fourth stasimon, which is linked to and follows Antigone's death ...

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