Antigone, the final play in a series including Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, discusses the ideas of leadership, family, and choices. It features two central characters: Antigone, a girl who chooses to illegally bury her brother, and Creon, a king who decrees the burial of the brother to be illegal. Upon the first encounter of the text, it appears that Antigone is the “hero” of the play, but on further analysis, one realizes that the tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle, is actually Creon. The idea of
In Ancient Greek theatre one type of character that was commonly used in plays was the tragic hero. The tragic hero is defined as a character who makes a judgement error that inevitably leads them to his or her own downfall. There are a multitude of different characteristics and traits that applies to the tragic hero in an Ancient Greek theatre story such as a change of fortune called peripeteia, a tragic hero’s inability to see their flaw called hamartia, but hubris, defined as a character having
Finest In the Greek play Antigone, Creon and Antigone can both be claimed the title of Tragic Hero. Creon was made king when Oedipus Rex fled the kingship. Creon is the brother in law of Oedipus, and was giving the kingship only because Oedipus’s sons, Eteocles and Polyneices were killed trying to fight for the thrown. Antigone is Oedipus’s daughter and Creon’s niece. When it comes down to who the tragic hero is, Creon most definitely walks away with the title. A tragic hero by definition is ordinary
Who is the Tragic Hero? Many may say that Creon is the tragic hero of Antigone. Creon and Antigone¡¯s personas are equal-and-opposite throughout this play. The story belongs to both of them. Creon is the one who makes a mistake; his figure is perhaps more tragic. He¡¯s the one that realizes that he¡¯s wrong, and he suffers for it. Antigone walks to her death with her eyes wide open, without shame. Antigone is the true hero of the play
Creon As Tragic Hero of Sophocles’ Antigone Since the play’s inception, there has always existed a contention concerning the true hero of Sophocles’ Antigone. It is a widely held belief that Antigone must be the main character simply because she and the drama share name. This is, of course, a very logical assumption. Certainly Sophocles must have at least meant her to be viewed as the protagonist, else he would not have given her the play’s title. Analytically speaking, however, Creon does
The play Antigone by Sophocles, represents a Greek tragedy, in which the ideal tragic hero is centered around the character Creon. As defined by philosopher Aristotle in his book Poetics, a tragedy is an imitation of a serious action or issue which arouses pity and fear in the viewer. Sophocles accomplishes this act through Creon’s reversal of fortune and psychological development. Regardless of the fact that Antigone’s character appears to be the protagonist as well as experiences suffering,
Tragedy in Antigone Many dramatic theorists have documented their opinions of Sophocles' tragic play Antigone. They have presented their interpretations as to the motives and moral character of Antigone and Creon. I will attempt to encapsulate the basic logic behind the arguments of the critics Brian Vickers, A.C. Bradley (who interprets Hegel), and H. D. F. Kitto, and venture my own humble opinion as to their validity. Brian Vickers clearly favors the character of Antigone. He challenges
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
Both Sophocles and Jean Anouilh use the simple story-line of a girl defying her uncle and king in the face of death to reflect upon the events and attitudes of their days. Sophocles' Antigone models the classical pattern of tragedy by incorporating key elements such as a tragic hero with a fatal flaw and the Man-God-Society triangle. Creon is the tragic hero who disturbs the natural harmony of Thebes by denying Polyneices a funeral. Antigone is the catalyst who forces him to reckon with the consequences
the multi-sided diamond1 that is human psychology. In Sophocles’(n.d.) Antigone, the famous philosopher demonstrates how the mind can be clouded so effortlessly and bear such tragic repercussions when influenced by pride. In this dismal sequel to Oedipus Rex, also written by Sophocles(n.d.), both sides of the moral battle have plenty of justification for their actions. The German philosopher Hegel stated that Antigone represents the tragic collision of right against right, with both sides equally