Similarities Between Antigone And Macbeth

Two plays alike through tragedy, two kings with different fates. Tragedy is downfall or destruction caused by a character flaw and conflict with an overpowering force. In Antigone the king wants to be right and puts himself higher than the gods which costs him his family. In Macbeth the king wants to stay king so he kills anyone in his way so he can keep the throne. The difference between the two is, in Antigone the king realizes what's going to happen and tries to stop it, while in Macbeth the king just kills without realizing the consequences he will get. Although both kings had character flaws causing conflicts with greater powers, leading to downfall, Antigone is more tragic because Creon suffers more for his family and is punished by

At this point the pride becomes the problem, rather than the wrong he committed in the first place. This is Creon’s problem, that leads to his life long guilt. Even when Creon’s own son is going to be sacrificed if he doesn’t free Antigone, he is still hesitant. He is being faced with the dilemma of giving up his pride, “My pride bare to blows of ruin.”(1220) If he lets Antigone go his pride will be blown to pieces.Creon imprisoned Antigone, and doing so is proud of the way he rules. Creon makes it illegal to bury Polyneices because he’s a criminal. Creon is too prideful to realize that he himself is a criminal for making a city law that violates a religious law. For him freeing her will let her “win”, and the thought of that will morally downgrade his pride. Trying to enforce the law the way he thought was right, killed his wife son and Antigone. Macbeth’s character flaw is his ambition for keeping the throne. In his conversation with KIng Duncan Macbeth asides tells himself “ … Let not light see my black and deep desires … .”(I iv 58) Here Macbeth [aside], admits his ambitions, said in the quote as desires. They are black and deep, giving the

In Antigone the the greater power was the Gods that communicated through Tiresias the seer. Before Creon had a conflict with Tiresias, he was proposed the idea that Polynesis's burial was the work of the gods. This didn’t go very well, for Creon exploded in anger, “… Could this possibly be the work of the gods? Stop---before you make me choke with anger---the gods!”(316-318) Creon here puts himself higher than the gods. He says this can’t be their doing and that it’s insane. Creon is angry, and says the gods don’t care about this dead body because Polyneices had come to burn the temples of Thebes. Though it’s not like this, the gods are angry because Polynesis didn’t get the burial he was supposed to get under religious law. Creon had put his city laws above the religious ones and that angered the gods. Creon sees the forbidden burial as rebellion against his authority and assumes someone did it for money. This conflict was the beginning of the series of conflicts that later lead to Creon's punishment and the deaths of his son and wife. An argument that came later was with Tiresias. Since tiresias was a seer which the gods communicated through, he was trying to warn Creon. Even with the war given warnings, Creon largely offended Tiresias by saying he took bribes. Tiresias's reply to Creon was “These arrows for your heart!