When Does Tiresias Tell Creon Analysis

In all works of literature you will find characters that change. From Oedipus the King to Antigone, Creon changes a great deal. In Oedipus the King, Creon has no intention whatsoever of being king. By the end of the play he makes it clear that his intentions have changed and he does want to take Oedipus’s power and become King of Thebes. When we see Creon in Antigone he has become king and he begins to make his mistakes.

In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus believes Tiresias and Creon are working together to overthrow him. During this time Creon gives a prolonged speech, how he doesn’t want to be the King, but in Antigone, Creon is seen as a unswaying sovereign, unwilling to listen to anyone. Creon is likewise blinded by his own corruption. His excessive pride gets the best of him. Antigone, Haemon, and Tiresias warn Creon

Oedipus and Creon in Sophocles' Oedipus the King      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

authority and is incapable of handling the position well. He is a self-conceited man who is also very narrow minded. Creon who only thinks of himself, not the good of

Haemon stated that his father had dishonored the gods by sending Antigone off to her death, but Creon responded by saying, “You, you soul of corruption, rotten through-/ woman’s accomplice!” (836-37) Creon refused to acknowledge his son’s point, therefore, not changing his mind on Antigone’s fate. In another scene, Creon showed his independence by refusing to listen to Tiresias’ prophecy. Knowing that Tiresias’ prophecies were never wrong, Creon still ignored him. Creon stated, “You and the whole breed of seers are mad for money!” (1171) He claimed that Tiresias was wrong, and he was doing the right thing. In this scene Creon showed his independence in a cruel manner by disrespecting Tiresias. Antigone and Creon both showed that they wanted to be independent. Antigone’s will to be independent ultimately caused her death, and Creon’s caused him to lose his son, niece, and wife.

Even after Tiresias explains to Creon of his wrong doing, Creon refuses to change his mind and begins to insult Tiresias by claiming the prophet is only out for money. In anger, Tiresias unleashes a brutal prophecy to Creon, giving him one last warning:

Many people try to warn him and beg him to reconsider. First, Haemon tries to appeal to his father’s sense of reason when he says, “The gods have given men the gift of reason, greatest of all things that we call our own…do not feel your word, and yours alone, must be correct” (line 625). Creon, because of his pride, becomes furious with his young son for trying to teach him wisdom, and says, “One thing is certain: You are going to pay for taunting and insulting me” (line 709). Next, Tiresias comes to warn him that he “stands upon the brink of ruin” (line 918). But Creon refuses to heed his warning and accuses Tiresias of profiteering. Finally, after Tiresias’s doomful prophecy, the Chorus tries to change the King’s mind. At first Creon resists the advisement of the chorus by stating “To yield is bitter. But to resist and bring a curse on my pride is no less bitter” (line

Creon from Antigone A tragedy, as defined by Ms. Tozar, is “the story of a falling from a high place to a lower place by a character.” In other words, a tragedy is a story of an individual who starts in a high position and descends throughout the story to end in a position that is lower than original position. The individual who makes the descent is known as the tragic hero. The tragic hero, as defined by Ms. Tozar, is “the character who falls from grace as a result of fate and/or a weakness. In the drama, Antigone by Sophocles, one could argue that there are many tragic heroes. However, the one who stands above them all is that of the character of Creon. Creon is understood by most as the tragic hero in Antigone as evident in his

The play “Antigone” is a tragedy by Sophocles. One main theme of the play is Religion vs. the state. This theme is seen throughout the play. Antigone is the supporter of religion and following the laws of the gods and the king of Thebes, Creon, is the state.

As is true with characters of many other works of literature, the protagonist of Oedipus the King, must contend with the horrible reality of his past. This protagonist, Oedipus, killed his father and married his mother, and what is worse, is that he is not aware of this. Throughout the

Creon also refuses to listen to the warnings of Tiresias. Teiresias comes to Creon and tells him about the vision that he has seen. Teiresias says "Think: all men make mistakes, But a good man yields when he Knows his course is wrong, And repairs the evil: The Only Crime is pride... Think I beg you: it is for your own good that I speak as I do. You should be able to yield for your own good. (Sophocles,93)" Tiresias warns Creon that what he has done is wrong and that he is on the wrong path. He tells him that no one is perfect and that at one point every single person is bound to make a mistake. The difference between a good man and a bad man is that good men are able to admit when they are wrong and try their hardest to quickly fix the situation.

In one of these question and answer sessions, Oedipus seeks the counsel of the wise Tiresias. During the session, Oedipus starts a heated argument and refuses to believe Tiresias when he accuses Oedipus of murdering the previous king. Tiresias foreshadows the truth in ambiguous riddles, stating that Oedipus is his “own mortal enemy” (). Angry and insulted by this charge, Oedipus mocks Tiresias and lets his emotions get the better of him, preventing him from thinking clearly and making rational decisions. As a result, he creates a barrier between him and Creon, choosing to banish him from Thebes rather than listen to reason: “If you believe that stubbornness without sound cause is a gift, you are not wise” (). His stubbornness made him unable to believe Creon’s logic, only to discover later that is was possible that he had killed the king on his journey to Thebes. Assuming that the convict was to blame for all of Oedipus’ woe, since Oedipus himself turns out to be the murderer, he becomes his own opposition and, therefore, the antagonist of the

Anyone who is familiar with Greek mythology has heard a story about tyrannous Zeus, throwing thunderbolts, turning people into animals, or causing other supernatural events while releasing his wrath. He proves time and time again that he is more powerful than any mortal who tries to compete with him.

Creon especially suspects that Tiresias is greedy and exploiting him to make a profit, seen in the lines where he speaks of his past experience with

Creon, the newly crowned king of Thebes, devotes himself to being an almighty king in Antigone. He obtained the power after both heirs to the throne die, and as time goes on, he becomes hubris about himself. Creon assumes that because he is the king, he has unlimited power to do whatever he wants, such as creating a law. When a well-respected prophet, Tiresias, comes along to try to correct Creon’s ways, Creon is so prideful that he insolences Tiresias. As Tiresias tries to explain the prophecy that beholds Creon’s fate, Creon rebuttals by saying, “No…all men fall, it’s only human, but the wisest fall obscenely when they glorify obscene advice with rhetoric- all for their own gain” (Sophocles, Antigone 113). Creon calls Tiresias’s prophecies a lie and says that Tiresias does not know what he is talking about. He doesn’t have the authority to tell a well-respected prophet what is true versus what is a lie, but Creon