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Compare And Contrast Antigone And Macbeth

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Two plays alike through tragedy, two kings with different fates. Tragedy is downfall or destruction caused by a character flaw and conflict with an overpowering force. In Antigone the king wants to be right and puts himself higher than the gods which costs him his family. In Macbeth the king wants to stay king, so he kills anyone in his way so he can keep the throne. The difference between the two is, in Antigone the king realizes what's going to happen and tries to stop it, while in Macbeth the king just kills without realizing the consequences that will fall upon him. Although both kings had character flaws causing conflicts with greater powers, leading to downfall, Antigone is more tragic because Creon suffers more for his family and is punished by the gods, while Macbeth dies with no punishment because he has never grieved.

Creon’s pride and Macbeth’s ambition were the character flaws that were the mainspring of their failures. The two plays, Macbeth and Antigone are tragic plays involving much bloodshed. Although in Macbeth there is more bloodshed in Antigone the deaths are more meaningful. Since the two kings had character flaws, those led to the tragedies. The character flaw in Antigone was Creon’s pride while in Macbeth, was Macbeth’s lust for the throne. “Stubbornness brands you for stupidity-- pride is a crime.”(1136-1137) Mad at Creon, Tiresias tells him that his stubbornness causes his stupidity. Most importantly Tiresias, who knows the future, tells Creon that
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