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The Real Tragic Hero Of Sophocles ' Antigone

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Brennan Vicker
John Carlberg
English 102
9 December 2014
The Real Tragic Hero in the Play Antigone A tragic hero according to Aristotle is someone who is of high nobility, and has a major internal character flaw. That flaw will eventually by the characters ultimate demise which is most likely death. If their demise doesn’t end in a death the tragic hero usually goes through a catharsis. The most common flaws of a tragic hero are hubris, pride, and stubbornness. Tragic heroes can be found throughout most tragedy themed plays and they can help the audience relate or feel for the character has they go through there ups and downs throughout majority of the play. An example of play that has a definite tragic hero is the play Antigone by Sophocles. Antigone and Creon are both the main characters in this play but only one is the true tragic hero of this play. Creon perfectly fits majority of a tragic hero definition according to Aristotle. Antigone barely meets a few of the aspects of a tragic hero, which is why tragic hero of the play Antigone by Sophocles is Creon the King of Thebes.
Around the fifth century B.C. tragedies were a very new and popular form of playwriting amongst the people of Ancient Greece. One of the first playwrights of Ancient Greece that mastered the art of writing tragedies was the well know Sophocles. One of Sophocles’ famous plays is called Oedipus the King which was the model for the guidelines used in the book Poetics which was written by Aristotle

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