Creon Foil in Sophocles Plays

THESIS: In Sophocles’s Antigone, Creon is shown as an immoral character through his actions towards his family; however in the end, he realizes his faults, so the audience empathizes with him.

Through looking at the history of the era, the intentions of the playwright, and the critical analysis and commentary offered on the play, it is in my opinion that Sophocles intended Creon to be the character who was in the right, not Antigone.

Creon came into power when Oedipus was exiled and died. Throughout the play, Antigone, Creon exemplifies many characteristics. Some are selfishness, stubbornness, and pride. He is selfish because he does only want he wants to do and listens to no one else. He shows his stubbornness when he is unwilling to let Antigone live even

Creon starts off in the play as the king of Thebes, which I found ironic because in Oedipus King he pretty much said he would never want to be king because there is too much

     At first glance, Oedipus and Creon are two very different people. But as time progresses their personalities and even their fates grow more and more similar. In Sophocles’s play “Oedipus the King”, Oedipus and Creon are two completely opposite people. Oedipus is brash and thoughtless, whilst Creon is wise and prudent. In “Oedipus the King”, Oedipus effectively portrays the idea of the classic “flawed hero”. He becomes arrogant and brash. He accuses Creon and Tiresias of treachery. Even worse however, Oedipus goes against the gods. This causes them to punish him severely. Creon is the exact antithesis of Oedipus. He thinks before he acts. Creon is wise and loyal. In Sophocles’ other

Every Greek tragedy must have a tragic hero. In Sophocle’s play, Antigone, the most tragic hero is Creon. He is an essentially good man of high position who takes pride in his role as king. He possesses the tragic flaws of excessive pride and an oversized ego. This causes the tragic reversal that leads to his emotional ruin and eventual remorse and repentance.

In the play Antigone by Sophocles, Creon is a foil to Antigone. A foil is when one character contrasts with another character. Antigone and Creon are complete opposites (besides them both being very stubborn). Antigone is very loyal to her family, and buries Polyneices even though she knew she would be punished. Antigone is also very independent. She stood for what she believed in on her own, while those around her were too scared. Creon has no loyalty to his family, and refuses to honor Polyneices because he sees him as a traitor. He also revolves around power and believes his laws comes over God's laws. Creon suffers from too much pride. Antigone and Creon come in contrast with each other, therefore this is a foil relationship.

Sophocles Playwright, The Three Plebian Plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus written by Sophocles, is one of the many plays that shows the audience heroic figures and the outcome of being exposed to fate. Creon and Anitgone both show nobility throughout the play showing that they are both admirable and human. Antigone copes with the situation she has fallen in. She rebels the governments decree so she could have a proper burial for her deceased brother. Doing this Antigone did not only prove that she is brave and showed great fortitude, but in the process Antigone also defends her faithfulness for her family. This makes Antigone the

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.

In the plays Oedipus Rex and Antigone by Sophocles, Oedipus and Creon exert similar characteristics as leaders that ultimately result in their characterization as tragic heroes. They take a similar course throughout their stories, which leads to a similar fate, resulting in tragedy. Both characters tried to revive a city in need, but in the process, the hubris they possessed got in the way. Both men had the chance to see that their actions would lead to a tragic ending, but neither one could see around their pride. Because of their tragic flaws, these two rulers caused great pain to themselves, their family and the people of Thebes. Although Oedipus and Creon ruled over Thebes at different times, the truth

In Sophocles’ play Antigone, Creon embodies the three traits of a tragic hero. Creon is good and portrays this by doing everything he can for the people of Thebes. He is shown to be lifelike though his stubbornness and arrogance. Creon is also consistent in accusing others of having been bribed, and believing his opinion is more justified than any other.

In Shakespeare’s plays of Antigone and Julius Caesar, Creon and Caesar are two characters that are unique in each of their relative plays but are similar to each other in a variety of ways. Both display clear traits of arrogance, superiority, and stubbornness, as well as evidence of manipulation. Yet another clear correlation connecting the two is their positions of power and their own hand in their downfalls.

Oedipus is a leader who cares for his own interests above the interests of his people, illuminated when he announces to his people that he “shall rid [them] of this pollution, not for the same of a distant relative but for [his] own sake” (12). Oedipus wanted to keep his power and not be murdered, so he searched for the truth of Laius’ death for his own sake rather than focusing on the real issue of the disease in his land. He pursues his own affairs ahead of Thebe’s issues, going off of impulse instead of the people’s ideas, personifying a bad leader. Through a foil character, Creon, Sophocles demonstrates the concept of standing up against an arrogant leader. Creon represents a well thought-out approach to leadership, establishing a leadership style that focuses on the people through his own moral compass.

Oedipus Rex is a play that works on extremes. First of all, Oedipus, the protagonist of the play inadvertently kills father, Laius and performs the act of incest with his mother Jocasta. He lives in ignorance until his deeds necessitates consequences which is when Thebes is in turmoil. The tension that is built throughout the play goes through a cathartic moment when Oedipus goes on a self imposed exile. Aristotle uses this play to show how it meets the requirements of being an ideal triagedy. Aristotle, provides many requirements, but for the purpose of this essay I will be focusing on the plot, character and suffering aspects of the play.

In the play Antigone, Creon’s admirable personality, noble stature, and tragic flaw makes him one of the main tragic characters in this particular play. In the beginning, Sophocles reveals Creon as only a leader. He has legitimate reasons for all of his punishments. Creon’s hubris by the end of the play has completely taken over him, in conclusion, this leads him to his death. Once Creon finally realizes the effect his hubris has on his problems, it is far too late. Creon lost his son, wife, his kingdom, and even his will to live. This is the journey of a tragic character.