King Creon : The Tragic Hero In Antigone By Sophocles

“According to Aristotle, the function of tragedy is to arouse pity and fear in audience so that we may be purged or cleansed, of these unsettling emotions.” (“What is” 739) This “purging” is clearly effective in Sophocles’ Antigone which is about a young woman’s will to do what is right by the Gods. Also, according to Aristotle, “a tragedy can arouse twin emotions of pity and fear only if it presents a certain type of hero or heroine who is neither completely good nor completely bad” (“What is” 739). He or she must also be “highly renowned and prosperous,” have a tragic flaw, learn a lesson, and suffer greatly (“What is” 739). Therefore, in Antigone by Sophocles, Creon is the tragic hero because he is a king who has the tragic flaw of

In the play Antigone, Creon starts off as the loyal king of Thebes. He is loyal to the gods and loyal to the welfare of Thebes. However, over the course of the play, Creon degenerates into a tyrant. His degeneration is showing his character development. Creon’s pride about the human law also develops throughout the play, creating conflict with the divine law. When Antigone rebels against his law, he becomes stubborn, and makes myopic decisions and grows into his hamartia. Besides his hamartia, Creon’s position as the king makes him a power hungry man. His power madness degenerates him into becoming a ruthless and vindictive man, even to his family. However, over the course of the play, Creon begins to see that because of the laws of men, he was being blinded of what’s

Second, Creon’s faults brought an endless life of pain upon himself. He carried an easily describable tragic flaw. Of course, this defect is a vital trait of the tragic hero of any work. Creon’s flaw was that he was stubborn. I could not reason what Antigone’s tragic flaw could be. I believe that if Sophocles wanted Antigone to be the tragic heroine, he would have stated it more clearly in the story. I am convinced that she was simply a victim of Creon’s stubbornness, therefore leading her away from the role of the tragic heroine. I would simply consider her as a type of “puppet” character that Sophocles ingenuously used to emphasize Creon’s flaw. Creon’s defect brings misery to his life, for that his stubbornness indirectly kills Antigone, Haemon, and Eurydice. This, of course, fits the definition of a tragic hero. This can be easily reasoned by simply reading the work.

Antigone 's tragic flaw does not lead to her downfall, because of this Antigone does not meet the characteristic of reversal in fate otherwise known as a downfall. Creon’s pride is what causes Antigone 's death. For example when Teiresias tells Creon to let Antigone go and to give Polyneices a proper burial because the gods are upset he does not listen. Instead he says to Teiresias, "doddering fortune tellers...if your birds-if the great eagles of God himself- should carry him bit by bit to heaven, I would not yield"( 44- 47). Creon is insulting Teiresias, a respected prophet, and says that he wouldn 't do as Teiresias says even if the birds carried Polyneices body bit by bit to heaven. It is obvious that Creon is prideful because he has a high opinion of his superiority. This is shown when he refers to Teiresias, a highly respected prophet who has never been wrong, as

Creon orders the guards to take Antigone away not caring for his son's feelings, since she is his fiancée. Creon feels the law should stand despite the fact that Antigone was his niece or how moral her act was. "Bring her [Antigone] out! Let her die before his eyes..." (Scene 3, 130). This quotes shows that Creon took his position as king seriously to the point where in he was willing to sacrifice the feelings of his own son. He was willing to be the cause of son's destruction just to prove that he is the king and always right. "I will go... I buried her, I will set her free" (scene 5, 102,104). Not only does this quote show leadership but also stubbornness he was risking his relationship with his son to prove that he was the leader of Thebes. Creon says another quote which shows his loyalty to his kingdom, "I call to God to witness that if I saw my country headed for ruin, I should not be afraid to speak out plainly," (Sophocles, scene 1,24-26). It shows his strong sense of leadership which catches up with him in the end causing destruction.

Tragedy always involves human suffering, but not everyone who suffers is a Tragic Hero. According to Aristotle, there are five basic criteria that must be met for a character to be considered a Tragic Hero. Aristotle’s ideas about tragedy were recorded in his book of literacy theory titled Poetics. In it he has a great deal to say about the structure, purpose and intended effect of tragedy. His ideas have been adopted, disputed, expanded, and discussed for several centuries. In this essay, I will examine these criteria in regards to Antigone’s Creon, King of Thebes.

Hero. Hero comes from the greek word heros meaning “A person who faces adversity, or demonstrates courage, in the face of danger.” Growing up we have always read stories about heroes coming to save the day; for instance, Captain America. Being that our whole lives we were mostly exposed to heroism, have you ever asked yourself what is the opposite of a hero? A villain is the opposite of a hero, but their is another opposite form of a hero; a tragic hero. A Tragic hero is “A literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction” (“Tragic hero as defined by Aristotle”). For instance, in the play written by Sophocles Antigone, the tragic hero is Creon. Creon who is Antigone’s

In the play, Antigone by Sophocles, at first glance readers assume that Antigone is the tragic hero. However, this is not the case. Although Antigone does display some characteristics of a tragic hero, I believe that Creon is the true tragic hero. For many readers, it may be a challenge to see Creon as the tragic hero; however, when you take a second look at the play, you can see that Creon displays every quality of a tragic hero. Creon’s power and pride as well as going against the gods all lead up to his downfall which in return helps him to become a tragic hero.

Aristotle once said, regarding his principles that a certain character is a tragic hero, "A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall." This quotation is an accurate statement regarding the actions between Creon in the beginning of the play, and at the end once he has lost his family. A tragic hero is defined as a character of noble stature, the hero is imperfect allowing the audience to relate to him, as well as the hero’s downfall is caused by his own fate, leading to the punishment exceeding the crime and the character’s realization leading to the fall. The audience experiences a catharsis at the end of the play, which allows the audience feel that society is “right” again. All six of

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.

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.

There has always been a great debate over who is the true tragic hero in Sophocles' Antigone. Many scholars would stake claim to Antigone possessing all the necessary characteristics of a true tragic hero, but many others would argue that Creon holds many qualities as well. It is hard to discount Antigone as a tragic hero, because in fact, the play bears her name, but from careful reading, Creon meets Aristotle's criteria exactly and fits perfectly into the role. In order to determine whether or not Creon is the true tragic hero, one must answer the question: 'What is a Tragic Hero?' In Aristotle's Poetics, he discusses the basic criteria regarding a tragic hero. Aristotle

As humans, we tend to place both familiar and unfamiliar objects alike in groups, representing certain characteristics specific to that object. This psychological feat is known as categorization. We categorize everything from the food we eat to the clothing we wear, and even the literature that we read. The groups of literary works are known as genres. Within this category of genres are plays, and a subcategory is the tragedy. Though not so romanticized by contemporary authors, tragedies were particularly popular during the ancient times. Through out his lifetime, Sophocles wrote tens of plays, but one in particular, Antigone earned him his esteemed title. In Antigone, there is much debate present about who the tragic character is. A tragic character (sometimes called tragic hero) is a character who undergoes a reversal of fate, essentially hubris. Many opine the Creon is the tragic character as he experiences the ultimate reversal of fortune when his son, wife, and niece die as a result of his own decision.

What is a tragic hero? A tragic hero is someone who was well respected, but their tragic flaw led to their fall. In Sophocles’ Antigone, it could be argued that either Creon or Antigone is the tragic hero. I argue Creon is the tragic hero in this play. Antigone has the main character as Antigone the daughter of the famous Oedipus, who married his mother and killed his father. At the beginning of the play Oedipus has died and Antigone’s power hungry brothers have killed each other, Polynices being made as a traitor and left unburied, worthless. Antigone’s sister, Ismene, is her only sibling left, though she is one to follow the rules. Antigone plans to bury her brother even though Creon has forbid it, this is where the conflict begins.

Creon began as a heroic figure but the certain events showed a scary side of him. Creon was the ruler of Thebes after Oedipus was a refuge, and he wanted his power to be efficient. He made a proclamation saying Polyneices was not to be buried. Since Creon believed Polyneices was a traitor. Antigone believed this was extremely selfish and she did not think it was appropriate to let her brother die without a proper burial. Word comes to Creon from the Sentry that someone did the unspeakable and buried Polyneices. Creon orders the sentry to discover who did this, he eventually returns and tells him it was Antigone. Creon thought he was lying and blamed the Sentry for being paid to lie. This was the same exact treatment Creon received from Oedipus. This event made Creon outrageous, he did not want to allow someone going against him. “Who is the man here, she or I, if if this crime goes unpunished?(209)” , he felt that would decrease his power to the people and he wished to be strong and do just. Creon was stubborn, he did not want to be proved wrong. He abused his power believing he could go against the gods when not allowing a burial for Polyneices. “They are dead. The living are guilty of their death(238)” Creon was too late to free Antigone. She killed herself because she believed she was doing the right thing, her