Antigone Vs Macbeth Analysis

Tragedies may all be different stories, but they all end in a similar way. Tragedies often have psychological implications that show what can lead to tragedy, be it fictional or non fictional. The story of Antigone centers around the fall of a prideful ruler who disobeys the gods, while Macbeth is about the fall of an ambitious hero influenced by evil. Creon is a more corrupt character than Macbeth because he is not affected by outside forces and the tragedy of the play is caused by him alone. The combination of Macbeth’s ambition and outside forces creates the tragedy in Macbeth, which is influenced by the supernatural much more than Antigone. Sophocles presents that disobeying the gods will ruin your life and your loved ones, While Shakespeare

“Old man-all of you! So, you shoot your arrows at my head like archers at the target-”(1146-1147). Creon disregards the wishes of all characters in the play, and even decides to ignore the advice from Tiresias until the end of the play. This shows how Creon is more corrupt than Macbeth because he never listened, and continued his ignorant decision making. “Come, let it come!-that best fates for me that brings the final day”(1449-1450)Creon disobeys the gods, which twists his and his family’s fate. Sophocles focuses on Creon’s ignorance to display that disobeying the gods will lead to tragedy no matter what. “Wisdom is by far the greatest part of joy, and reverence towards the gods must be safeguarded”(1466-1467), the last lines of the play reflect the message that ignorance and disobeyal of the gods will lead to disaster, and how proud people are taught lessons by fate. This message is perfectly shown in Creon, as the prideful and ignorant king who tried to defy the gods, and paid the

The ambitious and manipulated Macbeth reflects Shakespeare’s message in Macbeth that too much ambition leads to ruin. “Behold where stands Th’ usurper’s cursed head”(5.8,65-66) Macbeth meets his fated end by the hands of Macduff due to his overconfidence from the prophecy the witches told him. Macbeth is influenced by the witches and his wife, but in the end, his ambition and greed for power brought him to his end. From Macbeth as a character, we know that Shakespeare intended to show that too much ambition is bad. “Reverence toward the gods must be safeguarded. The mighty words of the proud are paid in full with mighty blows of fate”(1467-1470) This quote tells us the downfall of Creon and how disobeying the gods with arrogance are punished by fate. This quote and the corrupt actions of Creon are evidence for the message of the play. Sophocles shows us how the selfish acts of the arrogant king who made these decisions on his own killed his loved ones by defying the gods. In contrast to this, Macbeth is consumed by his ambition after being influenced by the witches and his wife. “I murdered you, my son, against my will- you too, my wife…”(1461-1462) Creon regrets his actions by the end of the play. From these lines Sophocles made it even more clear that if you defy the gods, you will surely regret your actions. “Though Birnam Wood be come to Dunsinane and thou