After reading Antigone, you might feel that there is a dialogue missing between Antigone and Haimon before their deaths. Sophocles does not foresee any direct communication between the two lovers during this play. The reader might assume that such a conversation could have taken place but was not included by Sophocles; however, I am convinced that if a conversation had occurred between Antigone and Haimon before their deaths, Sophocles would have made it part of his drama. Because Antigone is a work of fiction, we cannot assume anything that we are not told. We must consider the situation exactly as Sophocles presents it to us. This leaves it up to the reader to determine the significance of Antigone and Haimon not speaking together alone before their deaths. When we look at the nature of the drama, we see that the point Sophocles is trying to make is political. The absence of Antigone and Haimon talking to themselves together adds to this political atmosphere and does not introduce a question of romantic love and/or loyalty into the play. Family ties and loyalty are instead the crucial issues. The central issue of this play is political. What should have more power within a society, the divine laws of the gods or the laws of the earth and mortal rulers? Antigone is a representation of the divine laws of the gods and remains true to her belief that the wishes of the gods should prevail over the wishes of the king. Creon, on the other hand, is the representation of the laws of the earth and the mortal ruler of society. He too remains steadfast (until the end of... middle of paper... imon in the position of giving up his loyalty to his father. Furthermore, if there had been a more romantic relationship underlying Haimon's actions, he would have diverted from the political issues that Sophocles is presenting. The issue is not a question of love and whether or not the decisions that Antigone and Haimon make are in accordance with their love for each other, it is of the gods. By not including a dialogue between Antigone and Haimon, Sophocles is able to present his political issues clearly. Works Cited The Oedipus Cycle: Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone, trans. Dudley and Fitzgerald, Robert Harcourt Brace and company: New York, 1949.