Creon Antigone Analysis

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

The theme of the play Antigone, by Sophocles, is that too much pride and power can result in losing what people love. A battle just took place in Thebes that resulted in two brothers’ deaths. Creon, the king and also the brothers’ uncle, is an example of what happens when pride and power overtake someone’s life. Creon said, “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” (Sophocles, Scene 1, lines 202-209, pg. 20). Creon banned his own nephew from being buried because he didn’t want to appear weak and bury the enemy. He had so much pride that he wouldn’t let his own kin be buried. People tried to warn Creon that his decisions contradicted what the cultural beliefs at the time said about how burial and family are important. His own son, Haemon said “Don’t be so stubborn that you say you and you alone are right” (Sophocles, Scene 3, lines

Teiresias goes on to say “Think: all men make mistakes,But a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, And repairs the evil. The only crime is pride.” (Antigone 1.5.804-806). Creon in this scene at first was still in his stubborn way, “I would not yield.” (Antigone 1.5.818). Later in the scene Creon realizes that he was wrong and that he should be less stubborn, “That is true... . It troubles me. Oh it is hard to give in! but it is worse To risk everything for stubborn pride”(Antigone 1.5.863-866) Choragos is not afraid of Creon and is more open to tell him his opinion, “Go quickly: free Antigone from her vault”(Antigone 1.5.868). He even gave Creon advice, “You must go yourself, you cannot leave it to others.” (Antigone 1.5.874). One major events is that a blind prophet named Teiresias told Creon that he was wrong and that he need to be less stubborn. Creon finally listen and decided free Antigone. Antigone killed herself, so a grief stricken Haiman killed himself too. Creon thinks that the deaths are his fault. Creon’s wife kills herself aswell because of her grief. The author uses an illusion in “ But Hephaistos 12 failed me: instead of bright flame,”(Antigone 1.5.790). The author used a metaphor in the line “He is a walking dead man.”(Antigone 1.5.912). The author used imager and a metaphor when he said “And she fell, and the dark flowed in through her closing eyes.” (Antigone 1.5.1017).The author used a hyperbole to show how much these death meant to him, “Whatever my hands have touched has come to nothing.” (Antigone 1.5.1037) In the last lines of the act the author uses personification “ Big words are always punished,”(Antigone

In addition, Creon also has an inaccurate view of his place in relation to the gods. He believes that man’s laws are more important than the laws of the gods. Antigone tries to defend her decision to bury her brother by proclaiming, “I do not think your edicts have such power that they can override the laws of heaven…If I transgressed these laws because I feared the arrogance of man, how to the god’s could I make satisfaction” (line 408)? Creon’s hubris causes him to think that he must put Antigone to death because she chooses to follow the god’s laws over his.

Until Creon follows the simple burial rites, numerous misfortunes, including the deaths of his loved ones, will occur as a result of his actions. One may think that Creon must challenge the Gods because Antigone challenges his laws; however, fear of the Gods and guilt motivate Antigone to defy Creon. Antigone’s defiance does not lead to the deaths of others because she defies an individual who did not follow the law, while Creon’s disobedience ends in violence.

Creon’s tragedy was being king and having to show a good example to the citizens of Thebes in order to help it stay together after the war. This lead to a struggle between moral beliefs and the maintaining law which was more clearly explored in the film. Antigone felt that it was more important to keep her promise to her brother than following the law that was placed that would endanger her life. Even with many opportunities to save her life she decided to continue in her goal of burying her brother. The ideas expressed by the chorus reveal the characters like Creon and Antigone lead themselves to their own fates through their

The Laws of Tradition are more important than The Laws of the state. Antigone has a choice to break the law of her religion or break the law of Creon. Her religion would say that it is against the law to not bury polyneices but it would be against Creon’s law to bury polyneices. The laws of the gods are more important to Antigone than the laws of Creon. Antigone wants Ismene to go with her to bury their brother, but Ismene doesn’t want to Creon to kill her.

Sophocles utilizes Creon’s hubris when he is face to face with Antigone and harshly states, “Die then, and love the dead if thou must.” Here, Sophocles uses dialogue and syntax to show that he is insensitive and does not care about what happens to Antigone at all. Antigone has the nature of being loving and making things righteous, while Creon does not admire her bravery and civil attitude. This goes to show that Creon believes he is the just law. Another claim that displays how Creon believes a monarchy is more fitting in Greek society takes part during the conversation between Creon and his son, Haemon.

Antigone had explained this to Creon to remind him that the rules of the gods are more greater any of his rules. Furthermore, Creon had achieved a great amount of pride when Antigone had first interacted with him. The way that they both had no fear against each other had also put Creon in a quickness to anger and

Tragedian, Sophocles, in his play, Antigone, illustrates a controversial decision regarding a lack of burial for a former prince of Thebes. Sophocles’ purpose is to convey the idea that, when people are arrogant and only consider one perspective, they do not take other people’s opinions into account because they believe that their own perspective to be superior to any other that anyone else could create. This may render them incapable of understanding any flaws that may exist in their thinking until they have already faced the consequences of those flaws. Sophocles adopts an assertive tone in order to appeal to similar feeling and experiences in his audience, the Greeks of the fifth century BC. In Sophocles’ play, Antigone, Creon demonstrates excessive pride in himself by refusing to listen to the respected elders of Thebes and the renowned wise prophet Tiresias. Creon’s rash decisions throughout the tragedy eventually led to terrible consequences before he was able to make amends to them. These consequences include the deaths of his loved ones, as well as the grief that comes from suffering those losses.

Creon is also considered the most important character in Sophocles’ Antigone, mainly due to the fact that the gods retribution is directed upon him, meaning that he is left alone as his family are all dead, showing his importance as the play revolves around him in the end. Similarly to Antigone, Creon is shown as disobedient, yet to the gods and not the law. This is shown when Haemon, Creons son, tells him "You do not respect it when you trample on the gods' honour" (line 691) which connotes the disobedience as he refuses to respect the gods by burying Polynices, keeping the body for himself. Creon is seen to change as although he is viewed as a tyrannical leader, wanting all power from himself, he is seen to fall before the Chorus, represented by the chorus on line 1060, when he begs the Chorus "So what must i do? Tell me! I will obey.", showing he now is willing to listen to the people, although we know it is too late for things to change for Creon.

Creon has more balance with public law as he the one who enforces the law. Not to be brutal but to set example for his people. He seems to show that he have a feeling of sympathy but he could not go back on his orders knowing the positon he carry. Firm and focus was his personally way of handling thing in the book. Antigone has a more balance view of private morality as she feel like regardless of the law stating she cannot bury her brother she will , being that burying him is the right thing to do. Antigone and Creon beliefs made them had difference and did not understand each other. Tragedy soon unraveled silently.

The hubris resonating throughout the play, ‘Antigone’ is seen in the characters of Creon and Antigone. Their pride causes them to act impulsively, resulting in their individual downfalls. In his opening speech, Creon makes his motives clear, that “no man who is his country’s enemy shall call himself my friend.” This part of his declaration was kept to the letter, as he refused burial for his nephew, Polynices. However, when the situation arises where it is crucial that Creon takes advice, he neglects the part of the speech where he says “a king... unwilling to seek advice is damned.” This results in Creon’s tragic undoing.

He flouts religious law by refusing Polyneices a burial and then forces death upon Antigone by entombing her. The seer Tiresias chastises him for his hubris, telling him “you took one who dwells above and tossed her below/You reject a living soul and peopled a tomb with her./And you took one who belongs down there and kept him/here,/Untouched by gods, unburied, unholy, a corpse exposed” (Sophocles 46). If he was acting with proper reverence towards the power of fate and its embodiment--death--he would have allowed Polyneices to have a proper burial and cross over to the realm of dead, and he would have not taken control of Antigone’s fate by mandating her death. Tiresias further censures Creon, telling him “the dead are no business of yours; not even the gods above/Own any part of them. You’ve committed violence against/them” (Sophocles 46). Tiresias’ statement further crucifies Creon because he emphasizes the gravity of Creon’s crime by noting that not even “the gods above” have power over their fate of the dead. Creon allowed his hubris to guide him and asserted himself above even the

Antigone answers no to all that she finds to be vile, “I have longer to please the dead than please the living here: in the kingdom down below I'll lie forever (Sophocles, 1900. Lines 88-90). These lines show how much personal power she possesses compared to King Creon. Antigone remains consistent, even contentious in her disobedience. By offending the king, it is as if Antigone is leaving him no choice and his prideful ways force him to sustain her sentence. After Creon realizes that fulfilling his order may be a mistake , he also knows that he cannot retract the ordering of her death. He had surrendered his actions to the power of the state, and thus rendering himself to a loathsome state. Unlike Antigone, who finds free will and faith in the laws of the god’s. Playwrights such as Sophocles attempt to understand the meaning of human suffering and reexamine the many traditions and ideals from the past. Greek mythology questions the public and private responsibilities of individuals.