Preview

Who Is Creon A Tragic Hero In Antigone

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
955 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Who Is Creon A Tragic Hero In Antigone
Creon and Antigone both have a pretty tragic part in the play, “Antigone”, but who’s the more tragic character? I have an answer for you. With a little bit of evaluation, you’ll find that Antigone is indeed the more tragically doomed of the two, and here’s why. So just to start out, Antigone was indeed of noble birth as most tragic heroes are, but there’s something about her family tree that makes her a little bit different from the rest. Her father, Oedipus, also happens to be her brother. The story is that the King and Queen of Thebes had a son that was supposed to grow older, kill his Dad, and, uhm, “lay” with his Mom. Okay, a little creepy right? So the King and Queen gave their son to a sheppard and said, “go kill this kid, he’s weird.” The problem though, is that he didn’t. What he did do was take poor little Oedie to the next village and let him live. Long story short, Oedipus comes back, kills his Dad, and …show more content…
Some guards notice that he’s been buried and go to tell Creon, who, by the way, freaks the heck out. The guards clear the dirt off of him and continue watching over the body. Antigone comes back the next day and sees him unburied and bursts into tears. Of course, then she buries him again, but this time she gets caught. So the same guard that oh, so narrowly escaped death the first time he went to visit Creon comes back, and this time he has Antigone with him. She happily admits to the “crime” and Creon is just like, “this girl is a crazy anarchist, throw her in a cave with food! The gods can save her if they want!” SO that’s just what they do, and everyone starts flipping out. They know that Antigone was right to bury her brother even though the law forbade it. So Haemon decides that he’s gonna go talk to his insane father and try to tell him that this is a bad idea, but because he’s a paranoid, power crazy lunatic, Creon is just not hearing anything that his poor son

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Creon And Haemon Analysis

    • 775 Words
    • 4 Pages

    A man with many flaws or weaknesses Creon, he has no bigger one than that of his quick-temper. In his heated encounter we see with Haemon he instantly attacks and throws his rage onto Haemon as soon as he feels his son is threatening his judgment. “You’ll never marry her while she’s alive.” (Line 858) Creon announces to Haemon, this is what ultimately pushes Haemon over the edge as he replies back “Then she’ll die—and in her death kill someone else.” (Line 859) Here Creon instantly thinking Haemon is referring to killing him but is actually foreshadowing a threat on his own life if Antigone is killed. At the end of Antigone when the king goes to retrieve Antigone from her stony grave Haemon is already there. When they discover her limp body hanging from her own torn shreds of clothing that is when Haemon takes his own life. This moment is when Creon becomes this tragic hero realizing his mistakes “Aaiii-mistakes made by a foolish mind, cruel mistakes that bring on death.” (Lines 1406-1407) Creon cries out realizing his mistakes and the damages his foolish mind has caused locking in his spot as a tragic…

    • 775 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Antigone, a play written by Sophocles, the characters Creon and Antigone both fit into a few of Aristotle’s criteria. They are both choices of tragic heroes. They both are neither good nor evil in the extreme but just a man like any of us; they are both born of a better social status than most of us, and both have a tragic flaw in their characters. But even though the story is called Antigone, it is not necessary for Antigone to be the tragic hero. Other things that only Creon does that make him the tragic hero should be responsible for his downfall, the misfortune they get should be greater than what he deserves, and should also have recognition of a truth about himself.…

    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the play Antigone, Creon was one of the main characters who had their whole life turned upside down. But, in the mists of Creon having his whole life ruined, he failed to realize that all of the things that happened were his own fault. There were 3 tragic flaws that led Creon to his own downfall.…

    • 299 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The title of this play is Antigone. It was written by Sophocles. Creon is a tragic hero because he suffers a horrible fate,realizes flaw,and learns from his mistake.…

    • 302 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus had a mayor role on Antigone’s life; they were similar in some ways. When Oedipus was king of Thebes he was a noble man in every sense of the word. Surely, he belonged to the high class by being the king, but also he was a nobleman in the sense that he had that special connection with his people and that they also loved and appreciated their King, so he had that special respect from his people. In fact, Antigone had the same thing that his father had. She was appreciated by the people of Thebes and even more by doing something that the people wouldn’t dare but share the same thought and opinion towards the body of Polyneices and deserving a proper burial like everyone else. As a matter a fact, they are hardheaded. At first, because Oedipus didn’t want to listen to Tiresias and after, Antigone didn’t want to listen anything that Ismene had to say. Moreover, they are very loyal with their family, that the most important thing for them. Characteristics like this made Antigone who she is and made her do the decisions that she made and not regret…

    • 1115 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are often a number of characteristics that can be used to describe characters through out literature. The classic mythological hero may be described as having the tragic Greek heroic personality. The tragic Greek heroic personality contains characteristics such as excellence (arête), pride (hubris), blind recklessness (ate), and disastrous retribution (nemesis). Though most mythological heroes contain these qualities, Sophocles developed his own heroic personality. The sophoclean tragic hero is "one whose rigid and courageous loyalty to particular principles invites a disastrous fate" (Antigone Pg.14). Creon acting a classical tragic as well as Antigone, a sophoclean tragic heroes, both personify their personalities through their actions.…

    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Antigone was very courageous, brave and bold. Despite the danger she would be in, and regardless of the consequences she was very loyal to her brother Polyneices and buried him with honor and courage. Even though she knew that she would be in big trouble, she still did it, she did it because he was her brother. “He is my brother, and he is your brother, too.”…

    • 417 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The play “Antigone” conveys the interactions between the King Creon and his niece Antigone. Their interaction is different than a normal conversation between a women and male at the time, especially a man with as much power as Creon. Normally, a woman would surrender to the males wishes and keep her thoughts to herself. Antigone separates herself from this commonality by showing no fear as she admits to burying Polyneices, her brother, when the Creon questions her (Line 411). Creon is shocked by this confession because he doesn’t believe Antigone, or anyone for that matter, would know about his decree and blatantly disobey it (Line 414). She explains that any retribution for burying Polyneices would not pain her. Antigone even goes as far to call the king a fool (Lines 431-432). By performing these actions, she is showing her defiance to the decrees of Creon, making his order look inferior, as well as showing her commitment to perform the actions declared by the Gods. She defends her decision by saying that the dead don’t think their burials are less honorable if a traitor is also buried (Line 476). Antigone states her belief that most people in the kingdom would agree with the…

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The play Antigone supports Creon’s claims that the rule of the king must be obeyed even if it is wrong in order to avoid anarchy and chaos. It is tragic that so many lives had to be lost. It is hard to be a king and maintain the rule of law. King Creon is a strong king that demands to be obeyed no matter what the cost. Tragically he lost so many that he cared for. First his brother dies, then his two nephews fight over the throne and end up killing each other. Eteocles was the king however his brother Polyneices fought to take his place. To no avail they both die. Eteocles was giving a proper burial for a king where Polyneices was just left to rot on the battlefield.…

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the play Antigone, by Sophocles, There a few characters that can be described as tragic heroes. The character that best represents a tragic hero is Creon. Creon is the uncle of Antigone, the main character of the story. Creon is very powerful and many people of the town answer to him. Many times in the play he refers to the Gods for counsel and guidance. His main purpose in life is to answer to them. All of this power leads to his downfall as a tragic hero. He sentences Antigone and her sister, Ismene, to death. Some would say this is misuse of his power. He realizes this, but it is too late. Antigone has already passed.…

    • 245 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    What would happen if one were to witness a wealthy, powerful leader who could wish for nothing more in his life? Sounds like everything a man could dream of, right? What if this mighty leader had flaws that brought him to commit a grave mistake that led him to a road of misery? How would that same witness feel towards him now? In Sophocles’ Greek tragedy, Antigone, the antagonist, King Creon, undergoes this exact scenario. Another word for a character that experiences the following events is known as a tragic hero. Creon is the tragic hero of this play because of his flaw of hubris, his hamartia, and because of his rapid transition from being a great…

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Antigone is an award winning play by Sophocles, one of the three best Greek dramatists of all time. Antigone is a mythical princess of Thebes. She is the product of the accidental incestuous marriage between King Oedipus and Jocasta, whom is Oedipus’ mother as well. Antigone had two brothers and a sister: Polynices, Eteocles, and her sister, Ismene. After Oedipus discovered that he had married his mother, he fled, leaving Thebes to be ruled by his sons. Polynices and Eteocles had their differences arguing over the throne. Polynices left Thebes and returned with an army to declare war on Thebes. The two brothers killed each other during the war, leaving Thebes to be ruled by Jocasta’s brother Creon,…

    • 626 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, "show me a hero, and I'll write you a tragedy." This quote is based on the definition of a tragedy, a story of a person who starts in a high position in society and falls throughout the story to end in a state worse-off than where he began. This person is known as the tragic hero. The tragic hero is the character who falls from grace due to fate and a weakness. In Sophocles play, Antigone, one could argue that there are many tragic heroes, however, the one who stands above them all as the hero is the character of Creon, the present King of Thebes, Creon is undeniably the tragic hero in Antigone as shown by his fall from grace as a result of fate and his own flaws.…

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As the Greek philosopher, Aristotle, once said in the Poetics, a tragic hero should be “between these two extremes—that of a man who is not eminently good and just, yet whose misfortune is brought about not by vice or depravity, but by some error or frailty.” The ultimate purpose of a tragic hero is to construct catharsis. Doing this by making the audience commiserate with the protagonist producing emotions by having a rise and a plummeting downfall in the character’s life. Some would quarrel that Antigone is certainly the tragic hero because her fate is undoubtedly tragic; but however, she doesn’t experience an uplifting or rise, nor is she noble, it was clear from the beginning that she was indeed commencing towards her death. As for Creon,…

    • 939 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Antigone, by Sophocles, is a story about the struggle between Antigone, who represents the laws of the gods and Creon, who represents the laws of the state. The play takes place circa 442 B.C. in the city-state of Thebes. The story revolves around the burial of Polyneices. Polyneices led an army against his brother, Etocles, the King of Thebes. They killed each other in battle and the new king, Creon, made a decree that only Etocles was to be buried because Polyneices was his rival. Antigone, sister of Polyneices and Etocles, feels that she needs to bury Polyneices in accordance to Zeus ' law, but this went against Creon 's decree. Also, Antigone has to bury Polyneices without the help of her sister Ismene. Since Antigone decided to follow Zeus ' law, which states that all bodies must be buried, she defied Creon 's decree and buried Polyneices anyway. Caught by the guards, while burying her brother, Antigone was sent to a rocky chamber as punishment by Creon. Creon 's son, Haemon, was engaged to marry Antigone, but he along with the rest of the city thought Antigone 's death was unjust. Even after Teirsias, the blind prophet, warned Creon to release Antigone and bury Polyneices, Creon remained reluctant. Finally, Teirsias told Creon that the gods were going to punish him and Creon became worried. By the time he got to the rocky chamber, it was too late: Antigone already hung herself. Creon found his son sobbing next to her and when he told Haemon to come back with him, Haemon spat in his face and pulled out his sword. In the struggle to save Haemon, Creon opened the way for Haemon to impale himself. After Creon 's wife, Eurydice, found out her son was dead, she stabbed herself to death.…

    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays