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The role creon played in antigone
Analysis of antigone essay
Oedipus and his fate
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More handpicked essays just for you.
The role creon played in antigone
Analysis of antigone essay
Oedipus and his fate
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The role creon played in antigone
In the story of Antigone, Eteocles and Polyneices are both fighting to be the king of Thebes. They both die in the fight but Eteocles is buried while Polyneices is left to the vultures. Antigone is both Polyneices and Eteocles’ sister, With both brothers dead the throne was given to their uncle Creon, who believes Polyneices is a traitor and should not have a burial. Antigone strongly disagrees with Creon, thus sneaking out and giving him a proper burial. This action was considered punishable by death.
In Antigone: Scene II, a fragment of a play written by a Greek general Sophocles, a story unfolds between a princess by the name of Antigone, a king named Creon, and several other characters. The scene starts off with a few words between Choragos and Sentry, both appear to be in service of Creon. Choragos caught Antigone and is asking to be seen by the King. Antigone was burying her brother against the wishes of the King. She did not deny knowing that she went against the word of the King, that she is guilty and that she is ready to face the punishment of death.
Sophocles’ play, Antigone, sets up Creon as the tragic hero from the beginning. Creon is the tragic hero because his stubbornness is his biggest flaw. He is the tragic hero because he is selfish and he does not listen to others, which causes his downfall. Creon’s stubbornness caused his downfall.
There are several aspects of Greek society that is present in Antigone. One is that the Greeks thought that excessive pride was a sin. The Greeks thought that having pride made one seem to be above the gods. Creon was a very proud person. He is too proud to admit when he is wrong.
”Lead me away. I have been rash and foolish. I have killed my son and wife. I look for comfort; my comfort lies here dead. Whatever my hands have touched has come to nothing.
Almost always, in Greek tragedies a “tragic hero” has a hamartia, or tragic flaw, which will cause their concluding demise. In the Greek playwright, Antigone written by Sophocles, the interesting character, Creon, is a prime example of this. According the Aristotle’s theory, to be a tragic hero you have to have three traits: a flaw, a fall, and acceptance of your current situation. Creon’s flaw is his ego, which blinds him and lures him to do rather profane activities. Due to Creon’s ego, him losing everything caused by that very hamartia, and acceptance of the series of unfortunate events that occurred; Creon is the tragic hero in Antigone
Agamemnon’s pride breeds so much contempt between him and Achilles that Achilles actually wishes to leave the Achaean army and his commander because he simply cannot bear to witness the constant exhibition of Agamemnon’s pride. Agamemnon’s pride is in fact so overbearing that it in fact shames the Achaean army as illustrated through Achilles’s threat of abandonment. In the Greek tragedy Antigone, written by the legendary tragic poet Sophocles, the author describes the many character traits and attributes of Creon that parallel those of Agamemnon’s character in The Illiad. In the tragedy, Creon is the uncle of the protagonist Antigone and the ruler of Thebes.
“Not so self-centered that you never listen to other people” (Hugh Hefner). In the story of Antigone, Creon shows the characteristics of a tragic hero, as he is the king he shows his self-confident and he does not recognize his flaws until the end of the story. All of this leads into his downfall in the tragedy and causes him to realized what he had done. Creon is a tragic hero because of his self-righteousness, his excessive pride, and he does not listen to the opinion of others.
In the play, Antigone, daughter of Oedipus learns about the death of her two brothers (Eteocles and Polynices).Creon, the new king of Thebes passed a decree to the city on the burial of the two brothers. In the decree, Creon declares that Eteocles body should be buried with honor and fame for his courage of saving the city from the enemy. Whiles Polynices body is left unburied and rotting for beasts to feed on because he came to destroy the city and enslave the people. Antigone defies Creon 's decree, buries Polynices body and gets caught. Creon imprisons her
The play Antigone features a deep struggle of power for King Creon. Creon faced several insecurities, during his rule, as king of Thebes. These insecurities, which stemmed from an internal power struggle, went on to, not only affect his rule as king, but his personal relationships, and emotions as well. Other reasons for his actions stem from family matters that have hindered Creon's ability to successfully control and rule by himself.
When all these characteristics of Creon are put together one could undoubtedly say that Creon is the protagonist in this play. One characteristic of a protagonist that is found in Creon is his ability to start a cause and effect process. For example, when the play begins Creon is the King of Thebes and gives a speech to the people, “He who in his country’s cause fought gloriously and laid down his life shall be entombed and graced with every rite… The rest, I have proclaimed to be Thebes that non shall give him funeral honor” (Sophocles 9.194-205).
In Sophocles’ play Antigone, Creon, the king of Thebes, best represents a tragic hero. Creon demonstrates goodness in his intentions for Thebes as well as his fragile state due to the fact that he recently lost several family members. Creon, newly named king, finds himself as highest ranking official around, showing superiority. Creon often acts stubborn and prideful, his tragic flaw. And lastly, he must come to terms with the fact that he caused the death of his wife, son, and niece.
Creon is the protagonist in Antigone, because his motivation throughout Antigone is the stability and wellbeing of Thebes. Moreover, Antigone is the antagonist in Antigone, because her motivation is selfish and deceiving. In Antigone the setting is Thebes post the death of both airs to the throne. Eteocles dies defending his country from his brother Polynieces which died attempting to reclaim his right to the throne. The conflict throughout Antigone is Antigone’s responsibility to bury her brother Polynices and the law created by Creon, the new king of Thebes, which states that “No one shall bury him, no one mourn for him.”
Both brothers killed each other during the feud, making Creon the new king. As a result of Creon becoming king, he made the declaration that Eteocles will be buried with honor but no one shall touch Polynices’s body, or else they will be stoned to death.
In Sophocles's epic play Antigone, Creon is a leader who is too prideful and his hubris is the reason of his downfall. Creon’s fatal flaw is his hubris. Creon’s downfall includes the loss of his family and losing the trust from the people of Thebes. Pride will always be a problem.