The Tragedy of the Thane Who Wants It All
“Life’s tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late” (Benjamin Franklin). In Macbeth, by William Shakespeare and “Antigone” from The Three Theban Plays, by Sophocles, the main characters, Macbeth and Creon are both tragic. Macbeth tries to become king and Creon wants to hold on to his title at all costs. Creon is unaware of the consequences of his actions and must live with them. In “Antigone,” Creon makes it clear that he will kill anyone who gives Polynices, a tyrant, a burial. While these reasons explain Creon’s tragedy, Macbeth is more tragic. He kills many people to achieve a prophecy foretold by the witches of becoming king. Macbeth is a more tragic character than Creon because he suffers from manipulation and his
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Macbeth suffers from manipulation several times which causes him to be more tragic. At the beginning of Macbeth, Macbeth is loyal to King Duncan, but because of manipulation, his view on Duncan alters. Macbeth’s first encounter with manipulation is when the witches tell him and Banquo, “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! /All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! /All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (Shakespeare 1.3.51-53). The witches already know that Macbeth is going to be the Thane of Cawdor since the previous Thane was killed for treason which is their way of manipulating Macbeth into believing he will become king as well. The witches manipulating Macbeth makes him more tragic than Creon because he is not in the right state of mind. Macbeth proves to be more tragic when he is manipulated for a second time by Lady Macbeth. She collaborates with him(Macbeth) to devise a plan to kill Duncan after she hears the news the witches foretold. When Macbeth begins to think the plan is wrong, Lady Macbeth manipulates him further. Lady