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Creon In Sophocles Oedipus The King

Decent Essays

Oedipus the King is a play that was written by Sophocles around 430 B.C and was performed during the decline of Athens, shortly after a plague took its course (Kirszner 1466). A main character in this play is Creon who is portrayed as honest, up-front, and even-tempered. Creon is the brother of Oedipus’s wife and practically has all the status of a king, without the stress of ruling. This essay is a character analysis of Creon and how his attributes make him a great ruler. One of Creon’s greatest attributes is his reasonable nature. This quality that is portrayed through his speech is shown during his encounter with Oedipus where he is accused of conspiracy. He calmly explains to Oedipus that he does not want the “anxieties of being king to untroubled sleep—if he has equal power” (Sophocles 590-591). Here Creon is trying to …show more content…

Creon keeps his even-temper when Oedipus does not. The first occasion in which Creon proves that he is the voice of reason is when he suggests that he and Oedipus discuss what he had heard from the god (91-92). He tries to subtly convince Oedipus that they resume the conversation indoors but Oedipus wants to discuss it out in the public. This public occurrence proves that Creon tries not to expose information randomly to the public and would rather discuss issues privately. Another part of the play where Creon shows that he is calm and reasonable is when he coolly revokes any accusations that Oedipus puts forth and remains calm while Oedipus is throwing false claims at him. When Oedipus proclaims out loud to Creon that he is the traitor and traitors should be punished, he refutes the statement by agreeing with it. Creon states that what Oedipus is saying is “perfectly just” (558-59) but entirely wrong. He reasons with Oedipus by putting forth the fact that he has equivalent status to a king and it would make no sense to try to steal the crown or commit a

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