Antigone is one of the two central characters of the play, along with Creon. Like Creon, she too has a claim to being the tragic hero of Antigone. Her first qualifying aspect is being introduced as a good, upstanding person. She is kind-hearted and caring, especially for her family as she was willing to defy her uncle’s royal edict forbidding the burial of her fallen brother Polyneices. She is also a person of high-esteem and stature. As the daughter of the late King Oedipus and Queen Jocasta, as well as the current King Creon’s niece, Antigone is well known throughout Thebes. She is also slated to marry Haemon, Creon’s son. Thus, she is essentially seen as a princess and is adored by the Theban people. The next qualifying aspect is her relatability …show more content…
She is willing going to defy a royal edict, knowing full well doing so will lead to her execution and death, in order to uphold her belief in the sacredness of, and the loyalty and duty one should have to their …show more content…
Like her father and uncle, her flaws are her stubbornness and pride. When Creon asks if she knew of the edict, Antigone states she was aware of it and argues she broke it because she didn’t believe a decree nor a human had the strength to “violate the lawful traditions the gods have not written merely, but made infallibly.” (Antigone, Lines 558-559). To Antigone, the burial of her brother is the most important thing to her, superseding compliance with any human law, including Creon’s. She stubbornly asserts that she is right to have broken the law of an unjust ruler, but it is this same stubbornness that prevents her from seeing more than just her side of the situation. Instead of possibly making a case with Creon to bury Polyneices, Antigone rashly takes matters into her own hands and does it herself, a clear error of judgement on her part. Later on, following a speech Creon gives her after her apprehension, Antigone states, “There is nothing you say that I would like to hear, and there never could be. And obviously there is nothing about me that could please you either. Still where was there a way for me to win greater glory than by taking my own brother to his grave?” (Antigone, Line 608-614). By stating that dying for burying her brother will bring her greater glory, Antigone displays immense pride in what she has
The first specification for the tragic hero is one of the few that both Antigone and Creon exhibit; both characters are between the extremes of perfect morality and pure villainy. Antigone’s moral neutrality is illustrated through her noble intentions and the unorthodox way she acts upon them. When she is confronted by Creon and demanded to give an explanation for her disobedience, Antigone says, “For me it was not Zeus who made that order. Nor did that Justice who lives with the gods below mark out such laws to hold among mankind” (Sophocles 207 ll. 450-2). Along with love and loyalty to her brother, Antigone is largely motivated by her desire for justice and appeasement of the gods. While her intentions are noble, Antigone’s actions in the
Being that Antigone is the protagonist, her character is important in the play. She made the decision to bury her brother knowing that it was against Creon’s law. Ismene refused to help Antigone, which left her angry, yet still determined to bury her brother. She knew that burying her brother could lead to her own death, but she continued to show courage, strength, and determination throughout her role. In the beginning, Antigone says, “Dear god, shout it from the rooftops. I’ll hate you all the more for silence/ tell the world!”(17,100-101). This was said to Ismene, when they were discussing burial plans and Ismene was telling Antigone that she was against the plan. Antigone’s dialogue shows that she is not worried about being punished or worried about who knows what she has done. It is clear that Antigone is sincere about honoring the gods, her actions show that she feels that she is pleasing the gods and that is all that matters to her. “These laws/ I was not about to break them, not out of fear of some man’s wounded pride, and face the retribution of the gods.”(30, 509-511). This demonstrates how she feels about man’s law vs. divine law. In the plot, there was not one time where Antigone denied
“Antigone” is a play written by Sophocles. It is a dramatic play that focuses on a feud between a royal family where Antigone, the princess is set on giving her dead brother a burial but this is restricted by the present king, Creon. Both of them have a tragic story. Many may believe that Antigone is a tragic hero, I think Creon is more of a tragic hero.
The qualifications of a tragic hero vary between Aristotle and Shakespeare. Aristotle thinks of a tragic hero as someone who is a noble character by choice and makes his/her own destiny, while Shakespeare sees a tragic hero as someone who is born of nobility and born to be important. Although both tragic hero's end in a tragic death that effects many people, not all tragic hero's fit perfectly into both categories. In Sophocles’ Antigone, Creon is considered a tragic hero. Creon follows Aristotle's definition of a tragic hero by being a noble character by choice, having important potential, and falls due to "miscalculations" with circumstances that are beyond control.
As a main character in Antigone, Creon’s development throughout the play has proved him to be a tragic hero. He is a prestige, well respected man, and the king of Thebes. He was looked up to this was until his actions brought his downfall, allowing pride to be his greater flaw. His pride in which he thrives off of making the ‘right’ choice. Although every person disagrees with the ruling throughout the plot.
“Antigone – Tragic Hero Essay Summative Writing Assessment” “Disaster is linked with disaster./ Woe again must each generation inherit.” (lines 595-596) In the play Antigone by Sophocles’, Creon pridefully rules the town of Thebes, only considering his own thoughts and feelings of being the talk of the town. Doomed to make an error in judgement, Responsible for his fate and fall from great heights and high self-esteem most strongly identifies Creon as the tragic hero in the Sophocles’ Antigone.
How could somebody who carries a ton of tragic flaws be considered to be a tragic hero? The Burial at Thebes: A Version of Sophocles’ Antigone translated by Seamus Heaney is a play about leader Creon creating laws about how to treat the bodies of Eteocles and Polyneices. Eteocles and Polyneices are sons of Oedipus and siblings of Antigone. Polyneices although is known as a traitor which is why Creon makes a law that carries punishments if disobeys to not bury his body with respect. Antigone on the other hand decides to disobey his rules and causes major conflict. Due to Antigone's action with burying Polyneices body, it causes Creon to show many of his tragic flaws that consist of being hubris and very stubborn. Based on Aristotle's definition, Creon is the tragic hero of Antigone because although is had many tragic flaws, he had good, rational reasons for his laws and punishments, he was loyal to his kingdom and was a humble man.
A new born is falling from a window from 10 stories high but Superman swoops in and saves the day. A mother uses herself as a body shield to protect her daughter from gunfire. Akon supplies electricity to 8 million people in Africa. Do each of these individual have the right to be a hero? If so, what characteristics do they each possess to help classify them to be a hero?
Antigone is an important character because she believes in the God's law more than she believes in the men laws. Antigone is considered the hero, she has many characteristic which lead to her downfall. One of her tragic flaws was that she had loyalty to the gods and conversely, her disloyalty to the king. “But all your strength is weakness itself against the immortal unrecorded laws of god. They are not merely now: they were,and shall be,operative forever, beyond man utterly.” She had loyalty to the gods and conversely her disloyalty to the king. Creon is the uncle of Antigone and Ismene he has come to power after the deaths of Eteocles and Polyneices, and has become the king of Thebes. Creon is the men who thinks he is right about
One of the many people affected by Antigone’s behavior was her Uncle Creon who was king. Throughout the story she blatantly disrespected Creon as a king, as her uncle, and as a person in general. She tells Creon to sentence her to death putting him in a position to ultimately give her what she believes in the most the power of the divine gods. Furthermore, when Creon sentenced that Polynices would be left to rot instead of having a proper burial, Antigone took it upon herself to give her brother a proper burial, regardless of Creon’s warning that whoever buried him would be put to death. When Creon asks Antigone about her involvement, she does not deny any of it, but additionally disrespects him in public. She
What is a tragic hero in the stories of old? The story of Antigone written by sophocles is a great story to answer this question. There is some real tragic events that occur during this like the suicidal tendencies of this family. The pride and stubbornness of King Creon of Thebes. He was warned that the gods didn’t approve of his verdict on Antigone's defiance. When he finally realizes the mistake he made. Which could’ve been amended if he wasn’t so stubborn and prideful.The hamartia of King Creon of Thebes which in my opinion was more tragic of a hero than his niece and son’s fiance Antigone. Creon’s first mistake was allowing the burial of Eteocles who died defending the city. Then denying the rights of burial for polynices who was the one
A tragic hero/heroine is a character who meets his or her downfall (usually death) because of a weakness they possess or a judgement in error. In “Antigone” by Sophocles, the king Creon displays the qualities of a tragic hero. Creon has a strong sense of hubris. Hubris is overwhelming pride or arrogance which causes the hero’s transgression against the gods. It is his tragic flaw. In the play, he meets his death because he has way too much pride, he has a fate he does not deserve, and he has an error in judgment.
Antigone chose to give her brother Polyneices a proper burial even though it was against the king’s law. She tried talking her sister Ismene to join her on her quest because Polyneices was both of their brothers, but Ismene did not want to disobey Kreon’s order (Blondell 19-24). This left Antigone to handle this on her own, which takes a lot of courage and dedication to what she believes in. Antigone went on with her plan to bury Polyneices and his body was eventually found by a guard (Blondell 30). When the guard brought the news to Kreon he was furious and the Chorus had suggested it was a Gods doing, which led me to believe that they did not think anyone one else was willing to risk it all by not listening to their kings orders (Blondell 32). A good lesson to learn from Antigone is that even if you break the law you have to admit your doing especially when you know what you did was morally right and what you stand for as an individual. When Antigone was accused of breaking the law and burying Polyneices she did not even hesitate saying, “I don’t deny it; I admit the deed was mine.” (Blondell 38). She even goes on to tell King Kreon that his choice to not allow the burial of Polyneices is morally wrong and how he is disobeying the God Zeus who is offended by improper treatment of a corpse (Blondell 38). Though Antigone knows the consequence for disobeying the king, she continues to fight for her brother’s honor and makes sure to point out the king’s foolish decision. Even in her last words she questions what kind of men can make suffer and then gives her respects to the town, gods, and rulers.
She knows she has done wrong, however finishes her yell with, "yet I am a ruler!" (Sophocles). She knows she has status in her family and is willing to fight Creon for it and for her voice to be tuned in. Basically in light of the way that she is an unwed, young woman of the late 500 BCE, she doesn't acknowledge she should be pushed around and not pondered or tuned in. She acknowledges this should happen before she is hitched to Haemon in light of the fact that her evaluation will be rejected. The past exercises of Antigone show she would be insubordinate even after marriage. She doesn't feel as though she should put herself down for a man. She in like manner is doing what she feels to be right and to serve her father. Antigone acknowledges she has the dedication towards Oedipus to cover Polynices. Her father, as opposed to kicking the basin for his wrong doings, gaged out his eyes. This makes him grieve over the straggling leftovers of his life. Antigone resources how miserable he is, and needs that against Creon. By making the death of everybody with importance and basics throughout Creon's life, he is isolated from other people. His frailty to see anybody or chat with anybody he treasures makes a limit between himself and whatever is left of the world. Since he can't live with himself and standard
Antigone is portrayed as a character who is very proud her pride is one of the elements that causes her downfall. Antigone has her mind set on burying her brother Polyneices and she will stop at nothing until she does what will bring her great glory. Creon remains firm on his decision, anyone who pursues to bury Polyneices, the one who attacked the city, will be punished by death. Antigone is also described as egotistical in the way that she reveals to her sister who won’t become involved with Polyneices’ burial “oh tell it! Tell everyone! Think how they’ll hate you when it all comes out if they learn you knew about it all the time.” She additionally spares her pride and ego as the Choragos comments “Like father, like