Antigone - Creon's Fatal Flaw A master artisan and innovator of the Greek tragedy, Sophocles' insightful plays have held their value throughout countless time periods and societies. Through the use of common literary techniques, Sophocles was able to express themes and ideas that reflect all of humankind. On particular idea was that Sophocles believed that hubris is destructive and will eventually lead to one's demise. Creon, the proud king of Thebes has such a fatal flaw. His hubris alienates
It is clear that Creon's tragic flaw was his pride, arrogance and beliefs of a leader that cause his downfall. His downfall began when he denied the burial of Polyneices and was firm when he condemned Antigone for her objection to his law. Creon represents the laws of the land and the divine ruler of society. He remains loyal in upholding his laws and trying to overpower the laws of the gods, until the end when he realizes that the divine laws are stronger than his own. His regards for the laws of
Fatal Flaws in Hamlet In the ending to Shakespeare's Hamlet, each of the main characters fatal flaws leads them inevitably to their destruction. The process of the play could not lead one anywhere else but to their ultimate fate. Claudius is basically an opportunist whose blind ambition erases his moral sense. Gertrude, through the eyes of Hamlet, is to eager to remarry her husbands brother. Hamlet himself, driven both by his need for vengeance and his inability to act was perhaps
from palace to heath, of William Shakespeare, the dark, sinister Italy of John Webster, and the perfumed lady's chambers of Ben Jonson and Robert Herrick. The tragic hero of Shakespeare's King Lear is brought down, like all tragic heroes, by one fatal flaw, in this case pride, as well as pride's sister, folly. It is the King's egotistical demand for total love and, what's more, protestations of such from the daughter who loves him most, that set the stage for his downfall, as well as calling to the
The Tragic Hero in Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness A tragic hero could be considered a "noble person with a fatal flaw" or "an opponent of society who is willing to take action that 'sensible people' might applaud but never perform themselves". In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and Joseph Conrads's Heart of Darkness, two characters, Okonkwo and Kurtz, have some qualities which could categorize them as tragic heroes. However, only the reader's interpretation of the characters'
Yet, there is certainly potential for viewing Ahab as heroic despite unfavorable responses to him by the reader. In the original formula coming from the Greeks, the tragic hero had to be a high-born individual of elevated status possessed of a fatal flaw which resulted in their downfall. With Othello Shakespeare redefined elevated status to include position alone rather than being linked to societal or birth status. In this way it was possible for Othello as the military leader to be the tragic
Macbeth is displaying some good intent by stating that he hopes that without him having to force the prophecies to come true they will indeed eventuate. In blatant contrast however are clear examples of Macbeth's ill-intentions motivated by his fatal flaw, vaulting ambition. Macbeth surely reveals his true intent when he states, "Stars hide your fires! Let not light see my black and deep desires" and further convinces that he is ill-intentioned. Another definite example of Macbeth's inner struggle
suffers with the recognition and realization of his tragic flaw. Although this short story is titled after Antigone, Creon is the main character and he provides the moral significance in the play. First, Creon withholds the respect of his citizens but it is clear to them he is not perfect through his pride (tragic flaw). Secondly, his radical reversal of fortune is made clear after he struggles with the recognition of his fatal flaw. Thirdly and lastly, his pity and fear flowers into an understanding
Dr Freud and his Oedipus complex, in which the process of growing up male is bound up with competition for the mother and the symbolic overthrow and supplanting, or ``killing'', of the father. The play can be read as a traditional study of the "fatal flaw'' theory of tragedy, in which Oedipus is brought down by hubris. Or as an object lesson in cautious, wise, mindful living, playing with the imagery of light and sight. Or a statement about the nature of reality and truth, and the place of uncertainty
one’s personal sense of justice; others’ perception of justice; the justice of the monarchy that supports Shakespeare’s craft. Through this, the audience realizes that a just person is not always a humble one, a condition that may turn out to be a fatal flaw in the end. When a man decides to play God by taking justice into his own hands, the world can unravel much more quickly than he had ever imagined. Justice in Hamlet is a conflict between two Bible teachings: The Old Testament says, "An eye
Antigone and Ismene Tragic heroes are generally people of high social stature with a tragic flaw that usually manifests itself in the form of poor judgment and arrogance, condemning the hero to a disastrous end and establishing the character’s destiny. Antigone is a tragic heroine deeply conflicted between her virtue and her hubris, personifying courage in her civil disobedience against criminal "leadership." A product of incest, her very existence is shameful, but perhaps this is why Antigone
dream of such a person, but sadly, everyone has flaws. These flaws are what make us human. Something else that makes us human is our need for heroes. We attribute 'perfect' qualities to our heroes. In reality even our heroes are flawed. The closest thing to the idealized person, or hero, is the Shakespearean tragic hero. The tragic hero is someone of high standing, good character, and a flaw. While it may be only one flaw, it is often fatal. An example of a tragic hero can be best seen
A tragedy typically deals with the downfall of an important character, in a serious play, via a fatal flaw. The audience would feel upset for the character as his weakness is not his fault and his in his nature. A tragedy has an unhappy ending or ongoing poignant events and during Act 5 sc3 and Act 3 sc3 in Shakespeare?s Coriolanus many of these take place. Coriolanus? weakness is his honesty. As we see later others know how to manipulate this which in turn brings him to his demise. Although he
Relationships In Hamlet In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, the character of Hamlet has many relationships with all characters. The theme of relationships is very strong in this play. A relationship is an association between two or more people. Hamlet has many of these associations with , Claudius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Many of his relationships are just and unjust according to the character's feelings. The relationship between Claudius and Hamlet had many hidden meanings. The first
actions of destruction. Macbeth succumbs to evil through his fatal flaw, greed, and it causes him to disrupt the chain of being. When Macbeth willingly murders, massacres, lies and deceives, he loses his heath and sanity. Evil corrupts everything it touches, and Macbeth decides to be evil's servant. But, when Macbeth embraces evil, it corrupts him, and it ultimately destroys him as well. Lady Macbeth is a victim of Macbeth's fatal flaw, since she is drawn in, and becomes greedy for power herself
rendered imperfect. When the quest for human achievement opposes divine design it has no chance of succeeding. This key element in Aylmer's twisted love leads to the demise of what he seeks so desperately to perfect, his beautiful wife. Georgianna's "fatal flaw of humanity" (Hawthorne 167), the birthmark, blocks her from perfection in his eyes, and thus blemishes Aylmer's prideful ideals. Her alleged inferiority to science leads to her death and Aylmer's complete failure as both a scientist and a spouse
almost constant references to the gods and to matters of fate. And it was the ever-present chorus who made a great deal of these references. One of the most important characteristics of the Greek tragedy was that the hero of the play always had a fatal flaw which proved not only to be their downfall but the cause of destruction of all those around them. Sophocles play “Antigone” is a wonderful example of the Greek tragedy because it encompasses all these characteristics. The major characters in the
play “Antigone”, we should first consider both the elements present in Greek tragedies and what characteristics define a tragic hero. Aristotle’s definition of tragedy is: “Tragedy is a story taking the hero from happiness to misery because of a fatal flaw or mistake on his part. To be a true tragic hero he must also elicit a strong emotional response of pity and fear from the audience. This is known as catharsis or purging of emotion.” In most cases the tragic hero begins the play with high status
successful and now unemployed salesman unable to find a reason for continued life - was so general a quality of American life that he (Willy) was victimized "by our being what we are (Karl, p. 330)." According to Perkins (p. 710), Willy Loman's "fatal flaw" has been variously interpreted as a pitiable blindness to the realities of the American Dream, as the unrealistic hope of a doting father for his son's advancement to l... ... middle of paper ... ... Willy Loman stands in, so to speak, for
relate to the downfall of the central character. To set the character up for a downfall, Aristotle thought he or she should be of the middle class. This was because he felt the poor had nothing to lose. He also felt the downfall should be caused by a fatal flaw. Another characteristic Aristotle believed was important, was a conflict between the central character and a close friend or relative. According to him, the main character should also have an enlightenment at the moment of his or her downfall. Aristotle