The Real Tragic Hero of Antigone In Sophocles’ classic play Antigone the main character Antigone faces the impactful and controversial choice between god’s laws and man’s laws, fate and free-will, and family versus government. With her heroic and ultimately fatal decisions, Antigone would normally be the character everyone defines as a stereotypical tragic hero, however, not many people take into consideration that her counterpart Creon, is the real tragic hero. Creon is often portrayed as the antagonist within the play, yet he has all the qualities that make an ideal tragic hero. To start off, Creon is of noble birth. For anyone who hasn’t read the play Antigone, or its predecessor Oedipus Rex, Creon is the brother of king Oedipus, thus making …show more content…
Nevertheless, he still has his fatal flaw. Creon’s arrogance, egotistical self-centeredness, and lack of humility (read: hubris). When Creon argues with his son Haimon “...You consider it right for a man of my years and experience to go to a school boy?” (Antigone, 3. 97-98). His utter disregard for women and their capabilities is also a major cause of his eventual suffering. Sophocles illustrates this with a statement from Creon about Antigone: “And no woman shall seduce us. If we must lose, Let’s lose to a man, at least! Is a woman stronger than we?” (Antigone, 3. …show more content…
He chooses to lock up Antigone for her crimes against the state. His prophet Teiresias then tries to warn him that he’s made a mistake, “Then take this, and take it to heart... corpse for corpse, flesh of your own flesh... you have thrust the child of this world into living night” he chooses to disregard him. (Antigone, 5. 75-76, 79-82). However, when the Choragos tells him that Teiresias has correctly prophesied what will happen and he's made a mistake in locking away Antigone and leaving her fate up to the Gods, Creon gets his epiphany and states “My mind misgives- The laws of the gods are mighty, and a man must serve them to the last day of his life” (Antigone, 5.
There are certain qualities that a character must posses in order to qualify as a tragic hero. Ideally, the subject is to be a person of high rank, so that they may have much to lose. (Most frequently a monarch is used.) Granted, Antigone is a member of the royal bloodline. But we must not forget that she is the daughter of incest, hardly a glamorous position to start with. In Oedipus Rex, Antigone was indirectly disgraced, while Creon was socially elevated by inheriting kingship from Oedipus. Also, Creon’s being king comparatively trumps Antigone’s lesser status of orphaned princess. While this in itself objectively proves nothing, it does at a minimum make Creon the more likely choice of protagonist.
Antigone is a great Greek tragedy by Sophocles. The story is about a young woman who has buried her brother by breaking king’s decree, and now she is punished for obeying God’s law. There are many arguments about who is the tragic hero in Sophocles’ Antigone. Some believe that it is Creon because he also has the characteristics of a tragic hero. Others believe that it is Antigone because the play bears her name. Antigone is the perfect hero, to exemplify the meaning of a tragic hero. In order to determine whether Antigone is the tragic hero, one will have to answer the question, what is a tragic hero? According to Aristotle, “The tragic hero is a character of noble stature and has greatness, he/she is not perfect, the hero's downfall and it is partially his/her own fault, and the hero's misfortunate is not wholly deserved.” (Aristotle) Antigone is a tragic hero because she has a high social standing in Thebes, she neither good nor bad, and her suffering appears to be unjust and unfair to the audience.
In the beginning of the play Creon is portrayed as King and a leader unwilling to bend the rules in order to protect the city. The way Creon responds to Antigone, “While I’m alive, no woman is going to lord over me”, shows he is stubborn and also his pride. (593-594) While the play continues Creon’s pride grows, and he thinks he can never be wrong and punishes Antigone by locking her up in a cave. However, things turn a different way when the Prophet tells Creon that he must free Antigone or face the wrath of Gods. After hearing this Creon changes his mind, “I shackled her, I’ll set her free myself. I am afraid it’s best to keep the established laws…” (1236-1238) But, as Creon tries to set Antigone free, he is faced with suicides of Antigone and Haemon, and followed by the suicide of his wife, Eurydice. This moment in the play serves as the downfall of Creon. But unlike Antigone, Creon reaches anagnorisis, which is the moment in the play when the tragic character realizes his hubris has led to his downfall. “And the guilt is all mine- can never be fixed…god help me, I admit all!”(1441-1445) Ultimately, Creon is more of a proper tragic character than Antigone because of he has an epiphany, a moment when he realizes his hubris has caused conflicts and deaths in the
Creon believes that he has the upper hand when it comes on making major decisions. When Creon commands some of the guards to take Ismene and Antigone away, “You, there, take them away and guard them well:For they are but women, and even brave men run When they seen Death coming”(1039,L164,S2.) This is the beginning of Creon’s error in judgement. He believes that Antigone is the enemy of Thebes because she is going against his authority, but in reality he is the enemy by making false judgement. The next example of Creon being doomed to make a serious error in judgement is when Creon discusses the plans for Antigone’s fate with Choragus after Haemon leaves, “I will carry her far away, Out there in the wilderness , and lock her Living in a vault of stone. She shall have food, As the custom is, to absolve the state of her death(1045,S3L142.) This is another starting point on the error of Creon’s judgment by adding Haemon into this conflict. Haemon tries his best to protect Antigone from Creon, but still fails because her imprisonment leads to her and Haemon’s death. This event not only kills Antigone and Haemon, but also Eurydice his wife. Creon’s decision in the story causes him to make a serious error in
In Antigone Creon reveals his obstinate nature and how even someone as important as a king is not invulnerable to the problems such a character flaw causes. In the beginning of Antigone the townspeople of Thebes rejoice in their new leader, “Creon,” they call, “the new man for the new day” (174). The repetition of ‘new’ shows how the city is ready to welcome Creon with open arms; this outright praise of Creon shows how highly he is regarded by his people. “You cannot know a man completely…his sense of judgment, not till he’s shown his colors…making laws” (194-197). Here Sophocles is showing the reader not to trust Creon absolutely because even if it seems that it is a new age is dawning, Creon may not be a good leader. In this passage Creon seems determined to prove that he is as strong as Oedipus and Laius to whom Thebes was extremely loyal even through tough times, he is so desperate to prove himself that soon after he sentences Antigone to death. Later, after Antigone has been captured, Creon’s own son, Haemon, comes to him saying, “don’t please, be quite so single-minded” (789). At this point Creon is being directly told of what he is doing. Haemon is someone Creon shou...
Creon is an antagonist in Antigone he is the bad guy and he opposes certain things like the right to burial. An example of his actions is can be seen here: “Polynices, who returned from exile with hopes of burning his native land and ancestral gods from top to bottom, wishing to feast on kindred blood and lead the rest into slavery, it has been decreed that in this city he shall be neither buried nor mourned by anyone, but everyone must leave him unburied, a feast for birds and dogs, an outrage to see” (Sophocles 200-209). Even though he is known for doing bad things he is still considered superior to everyone of Thebes. Antigone was known as the niece of Creon but she did not express herself as a famous and important person. Creon is proud of his position as king and he takes pride in his city and his decisions. “Do you realize you speak these lies to your king?” (Sophocles 1065). Creon shows his dominance in this quote. Antigone, however, is only recognized for being the niece of the former king and committing a crime against her own family member.
Whether they have super powers, capes, or extraordinary mental and physical abilities, heros are among us. Sometimes they’re truly just great people who do amazing things and have a happy ending. But other times they’re just normal people who are flawed and go on to do some heroic deeds. Often times these tragic hero's go unrecognized. Because Sophocles wrote Antigone, we will forever see that Creon is a true tragic hero that we will recognize and read about
Antigone, Sophocles’ classical Greek tragedy, presents tragic flaw as the cause of the destruction of Creon, the king of Thebes. This essay examines that flaw and the critical perspective on it.
In conclusion, Creon is the tragic character of Antigone because of his pride which caused him never ending agony by the end of this tragedy. Although Antigone’s stubbornness concerning the divine law and her brother’s burial lead her to her misfortune, her suffering was cut short by her death. On the other hand, Creon had to live through having his own son and the citizens of Thebes against his decision. Also, Haimon and Eurydices died as a result of his actions, leaving Creon without a family. Hence, Creon is the tragic character of the tragedy due to eternal distress caused by his judgment.
Creon's character possesses an infinite number of glitches in his personality, but his excessive pride was the root of his problems. His pride leads him to make accusations, before he considers the wise advice of others. Creon's pride also fills him not just as a king superior to the Gods, but also a man superior to women. The issue of Antigone being condemned to die becomes more than just a person who disobeys Creon; instead, the punishment is given even more eagerly, because it is a woman who disobeys a man. Creon's intelligent son warns Creon the people of Thebes sympathize with Antigone, but Creon accuses Haemon of being a "woman's slave" (line 756). Even though he is suppose to be loyal to the state and her citizens, he defensively questions if "the town [is] to tell [him] how [he] ought to rule?"(Line 734)The Theban king is too prideful to obey even the wisest of prophets, blind Teresias, insisting that "the whole crew of seers are money-mad" (line 1055). Creon finally puts his pride aside and listens to the Chorus' wise advice. It is difficult even then, and he obeys only because he fears the punishment that he might receive. "To yield [for Creon] is terrible" (line 1095) meaning to swallow his pride and admit that he is wrong is a very difficult thing for him to do. When Creon loses his wife and son, Creon's pride disappears, and he admits that he made a terrible mistake by not listening to anyone's advice.
Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero is someone who makes an improper judgment where their fate leads them to their own destruction. One of the most important and eye-catching tragic heroes in the play is Antigone, a strong woman who is determined to give her brother Polyneices the burial he needs. In the play Antigone, by Sophocles, the reader learns about how Antigone’s loyalty to the gods, her disloyalty to King Creon, and her stubbornness leads to her ruin through her heroic traits and tragic flaws.
The origin of the Sophocles’ Greek tragedy “Antigone” has created much controversy about the definition of a tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle. A literary character that makes a judgment error that leads to his/her own downfall. Both Creon and Antigone challenge each other’s conception of the divine and civic law while each has lawfulness in their argument. It is evidently noted that Antigone is the hero of the tragedy; she was a romantic idealist whose beliefs on family loyalty and religious values could not be condemned by civil laws.
Creon is portrayed as a strict leader who believes in adherence to his laws over those of the gods. He is not a fan of extenuating circumstances, either. His actions can only follow from those of Antigone, so he cannot be the traditional protagonist like
Creon's insecurity blinds his ability to direct order in his country properly. After Antigone buried Polyneices Creon felt he needed to take a strong stand or people would think he would always be lenient toward criminals. However, to achieve this Creon felt he needed to take drastic action against Antigone. He once even said to his son, Haimon, who was about to marry Antigone, "The woman dies. I suppose she'll plead family ties. Well, let her. If I permit my own family to rebel, how shall I earn the world's obedience?" (19) This quote shows that Creon feels that to prove himself to the country he needs to earn the "world's obedience".
The throne of the king of Thebes was passed from King Laius to Oedipus to Creon, making Creon a noble and royal figure. Being a part of the nobility is the first part of the requirement of being a tragic hero involving being a noble and having noble character. Along with having a noble title, Creon possesses the attribute of being noble and honorable. Putting aside Creon’s pride and selfishness for now, he still has the wellbeing and safety of his country, Thebes, at heart. Creon explain...