Creon's Dynamic Character In Sophocles Antigone
Creon, a Dynamic Character who Instigates Emotions Sophocles is one of the three most revered Ancient Greek playwrights. His works are complex, captivating, and are still studied to this day, over 2400 years after his death. In Antigone, Sophocles manages to make Creon a complex character that evokes emotional responses in the readers and forms an emotional attachment with them. It is unusual to go through different feelings about characters as most characters are not developed enough to exhibit human-like characteristics. This allows the readers to easily connect with Creon as they imagine him as being a living person. Creon is a dynamic character that is not only complete but one that arouses distinct and changing emotions from the audience
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Tiresias, the blind prophet, is the only person in the whole of Thebes that is able to alter Creon’s stern view on the situation with Antigone. He says “You plunged a child of light into the dark” (239) implying that he wrongfully sentenced Antigone, and she will die because of Creon’s mistake and hubris. When Creon’s eyes are opened to the truth, he is horrified and quickly rushes to open the tomb in which Antigone is sealed. However, he is too late, Antigone is found to be dead and Haemon, upon seeing this, stabs himself. When Eurydice, Creon’s wife, hears of the death of her son, she too kills herself. The reader feels sympathy for Creon because the arrogant ruler realizes his mistake and wants to free Antigone from her sealed tomb, but he is too late. In the past, Creon is arrogant, selfish and cruel, but here he realizes his mistakes and tries to right his wrongs. This allows the audience to feel pity and sorrow for his misfortunes. After Creon learns of his wife’s suicide he says: “Kill me? Will you kill me? … Must you bring me words that crush me utterly. I was dead and still you kill me.” (249) This provokes sympathy for Creon as he is completed shattered and broken by his wife’s death so soon after his son’s death that he asks to be killed so he does not have to continue living with the guilt that he ultimately killed his wife and son. The news of his wife’s suicide mentally destroys Creon as he is says that he is dead from the guilt and yet they kill him again. We feel even more sympathetic for Creon because he loses two of the most important things in his life - his wife and son. At the end Creon is left “a rash weak foolish man” (252) who did not deserve to lose his wife and child for having excessive
Tiresias, the blind prophet, is the only person in the whole of Thebes that is able to alter Creon’s stern view on the situation with Antigone. He says “You plunged a child of light into the dark” (239) implying that he wrongfully sentenced Antigone, and she will die because of Creon’s mistake and hubris. When Creon’s eyes are opened to the truth, he is horrified and quickly rushes to open the tomb in which Antigone is sealed. However, he is too late, Antigone is found to be dead and Haemon, upon seeing this, stabs himself. When Eurydice, Creon’s wife, hears of the death of her son, she too kills herself. The reader feels sympathy for Creon because the arrogant ruler realizes his mistake and wants to free Antigone from her sealed tomb, but he is too late. In the past, Creon is arrogant, selfish and cruel, but here he realizes his mistakes and tries to right his wrongs. This allows the audience to feel pity and sorrow for his misfortunes. After Creon learns of his wife’s suicide he says: “Kill me? Will you kill me? … Must you bring me words that crush me utterly. I was dead and still you kill me.” (249) This provokes sympathy for Creon as he is completed shattered and broken by his wife’s death so soon after his son’s death that he asks to be killed so he does not have to continue living with the guilt that he ultimately killed his wife and son. The news of his wife’s suicide mentally destroys Creon as he is says that he is dead from the guilt and yet they kill him again. We feel even more sympathetic for Creon because he loses two of the most important things in his life - his wife and son. At the end Creon is left “a rash weak foolish man” (252) who did not deserve to lose his wife and child for having excessive