Creon As A Tragic Hero Essay

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Creon: Does He Classify as a Tragic Hero?

Can a person benefit from dying, or how about from losing all one’s influence, fame or fortune? According to Bernard Knox, this is most definitely the aim of tragic dramas (1). There are many characters in ancient Greek plays whose “fall” becomes something of great worth. We call them “tragic heroes.” Basically, their purpose is to fall so we can learn from them. Much has been written on what actually qualifies a character to be a tragic hero. In the play Antigone, there is a character named Creon (or sometimes translated Kreon) who fits many of these qualifications. After researching this topic, I have found that Creon fits the mold of a tragic hero quite nicely. To show this, I will first touch …show more content…

As previously mentioned, the change of fortune should not necessarily be a result of wickedness but of a Hamartia. With this definition one might rule out Creon as a tragic hero by unsympathetically saying that he is pure evil and that he deserves every drop of suffering he receives. However, one could argue that Creon’s actions were not due to his wickedness, but his boldness and firmness in his beliefs. Humphrey Kitto, agrees with this and helps us understand this point of view more clearly. He says “[Creon] is more than the stubborn fool who kills [Antigone] . . . he has his own Honesty, his own justification, and his own sense of responsibility” Here, he argues that Creon has a sound mind when making his decisions. He later goes on to say that the “unwritten laws” in which Antigone believes, “are not for him (creon)” and that he is incapable of making them so, or that “he sincerely feels he has no business to”. Kitto continues by saying Creon is “confident” and experienced (134 emphasis added). This point of view sets a more professional light on Creon. This makes his errors look more like mere misjudgments more than malicious actions and therefore makes the audience capable of feeling more sympathy for him. Kittos words strongly suggest that Creon sincerely felt that he was doing something sensible and noble to the state and that his actions wouldn’t really be taken as evil because of this devotion to the state. Kitto raises the question by saying, “Creon was honouring the gods after his fashion, Antigone after hers. How can you tell beforehand which is the right fashion?”

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