Antigone: A True Tragic Hero

Sophocles tragic play Antigone, in the trilogy Oedipus Rex, presents readers with the perfect example of an Aristotelian tragic hero. Creon’s hubris attitude causes him to be overconfident and very

Like her father and uncle, her flaws are her stubbornness and pride. When Creon asks if she knew of the edict, Antigone states she was aware of it and argues she broke it because she didn’t believe a decree nor a human had the strength to “violate the lawful traditions the gods have not written merely, but made infallibly.” (Antigone, Lines 558-559). To Antigone, the burial of her brother is the most important thing to her, superseding compliance with any human law, including Creon’s. She stubbornly asserts that she is right to have broken the law of an unjust ruler, but it is this same stubbornness that prevents her from seeing more than just her side of the situation. Instead of possibly making a case with Creon to bury Polyneices, Antigone rashly takes matters into her own hands and does it herself, a clear error of judgement on her part. Later on, following a speech Creon gives her after her apprehension, Antigone states, “There is nothing you say that I would like to hear, and there never could be. And obviously there is nothing about me that could please you either. Still where was there a way for me to win greater glory than by taking my own brother to his grave?” (Antigone, Line 608-614). By stating that dying for burying her brother will bring her greater glory, Antigone displays immense pride in what she has

Either way, Antigone and Oedipus’ personalities make them what they are, tragic heroes, as well make them renowned for their story since they were first on the stage to now. Sharing the characteristic of pride and stubbornness, yet being completely different when it come to insight and ignorance, also compassion and being self-absorbed, Antigone and Oedipus are rather alike. Thought this might not seem important, whether make believe character are similar and different, but nearly everything in pop culture, from movies to plays are derived from works of fiction from the past. Tragic heroes exist everywhere even in modern culture for example Tiger Woods, O.J. Simpson, Bill Cosby, Bill Clinton, and Michael Jackson, etc. All people of power once loved by many but due to mistakes they losted fame, fortune, and even love; all with a tragic downfall; and all with a tragic flaw, that got them in the situation they are in or was in. All very similar yet different to the tragic heroes of the past, Antigone and

One day, Oedipus went to the Oracle of Delphi and found out that he was destined to kill his father and sleep with his mother. Oedipus tried to escape his fate by running away from Corinth, leaving who he thought were his real parents. However, he ended up running right into his real father. He saw a group of people riding a chariot at the crossroads and assumed that they were thieves. Laois happened to be one of them, and Oedipus killed him not knowing that he was his real dad. This is important since Oedipus fulfilled part of the prophecy. Oedipus remembered about his encounter with the chariot near the end of the play and said, “But he more than paid for it and soon was struck by the scepter from this very hand, lying on his back, at once thrown out of the car. I killed them all” (Sophocles, 39). Quite soon, he also won the throne of Thebes by answering the riddle of the Sphinx and unknowingly married Iocaste, his real mother.

One has the capability to determine from right and wrong and having the determination to stand up for what one believes in, no matter what the price is. In Sophocles’ Antigone, a written dramatic play, Sophocles portrays the theme that at times of one’s life, it is necessary to follow moral law and ignore political law. In the play, a determined and courageous woman named Antigone is loyal to her beloved brother by granting him a proper burial and having to suffer the consequences for revolting. Throughout Antigone, several incidents occurred where the political law was of no importance to the individual. Conflicts between Antigone and Ismene and then with Creon and Antigone are examples of the theme. The theme also ties with the

A tragic hero is a character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw, which combined with fate, results into a tragedy. The tragic hero must fall from good luck and well being to misery and misfortune. The tragic hero causes a sense of pity through the tragic downfall that weakens the character. In Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone follows her own beliefs by giving her brother a proper burial, even if she has to break the law of King Creon. Because of her innocent actions, Antigone is punished unjustly and unfairly. Through her risky and unselfish actions, ability to follow her own beliefs, and perseverance Antigone is the tragic hero of this play.

Poetics, where he defines what makes a tragic hero. Aristotle suggests that a tragic hero is a

The tragic hero of a story has to have his/her tragic flaw. Creon and Antigone both shared the beliefs of freedom and the protection of personal dignity; those must be their tragic flaws. Creon believed that if he made a direct command he would carry it out all the way and not bend the rules for anyone. That shows how stubborn he was and how heartless and vile he was. Those are the traits of his tragic flaw. Antigone believed that everyone has their equal rights no matter whom they are fighting for, especially if they are part of her family. She would be stubborn and would not bend her ideals for anyone like Creon. She would go as far as it would take for her to get her point across. A tragic hero must realize that he/she has a tragic flaw and must then try to change themselves.

Sophocles, a great tragedian, was the one who gave Greek tragedies their traditional form. An important part of traditional Greek tragedies is the presence of a tragic hero. All tragic heroes should have the characteristics of rank, a tragic flaw, a downfall, and a recognition of mistakes. The seemingly tragic hero is Antigone. She wants to bury her brother Polyneices even though this would be going against Creon, who is her uncle and the king. When Antigone buries Polyneices Creon sentences her to death because of it. In Antigone by Sophocles the tragic hero is not Antigone because she only meets the characteristic of a tragic flaw, hers being pride, but doesn 't meet the other three characteristics of a

In Aristotle’s Poetics, Aristotle gave definition of tragedy as well as a tragic hero. He defined the tragic hero as a man whose misfortunes were coming through his own mistakes, also known as hamartia, not through evils or external conflicts (Aristotle’s Tragic Terms). Ancient Greek tragic heroes were fated by the gods, and experienced their downfalls in different ways. Two classic tragic heroes are Oedipus and Achilles that both of them tied with Apollo’s oracles. Although Oedipus and Achilles have different backgrounds and identities, they both try to escape from their fates, but then prove the God’s

As Oedipus was born into royalty, he started his life in a condemned manner. At only a few days old, Oedipus’ family tried to stop the prophecy that was given by the oracle. Clearly worried about the message, the King took matters into his own hands trying to stop a per-determined fate. “He wasn’t three days old and the boy’s father fastened

Oedipus is one of the most famous tragic heroes in drama history. His bizarre fate leads him to a tragic defeat that leaves the audience and reader feeling emotionally overwhelmed. According to Aristotle’s definition, Oedipus’ story makes him as a tragic hero. Oedipus is the personification of Aristotle’s characterization of a tragic hero through his ability to maintain and keep his virtue and wisdom, despite his shortcomings and situation in life. Aristotle’s observation of a tragic hero does not reveal the lack of morality or the evil of the character, based on an error in judgment. The tragedy and drama fit the Aristotelian characteristics of Oedipus.

Tragic hero could be said to be someone that has had a tragic flaw that leads to the hero's death and also helps the reader to sympathize with the character. Oedipus is a classic example of a tragic hero who had many flaws on the surface, such as the lack of self-knowledge, curiosity and pride, and the wisdom gained at the end.

Tragic Greek dramas featured tragic heroes, mortals who suffered incredible 
losses as a result of an inescapable fate or bad decisions. According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is a character, usually of high birth, which is pre-eminently great, meaning they are not perfect, and whose downfall is brought about
 by a tragic weakness or error in judgment. The three Greek heroes Oedipus, Medea and Agamemnon, who each killed a member of their family, carry most of the qualities that make up a tragic hero: being of noble birth, being surrounded by an extraordinary circumstance, and gaining self-awareness or some kind of knowledge through their downfall. There is an important need for the audience to identify with the Aristotelian hero through

In order to gain a proper perspective on the concept of what a tragic hero is, we must synthesize information from the following play’s, “The Death Of A Salesman”, and “Oedipus The King”. Both plays takes the stance on the idea that validates the ultimate notion,  “tragic hero. From Willy’s hubris personality to his questionable and mysterious death, to Oedipus dynamic and complex choices and kingly personality that determines his fate. A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgement that leads to his/her downfall. In other words, even though both characters made incredible contributions and left a very noble legacy, their choices and decisions determined their ultimate fate. In today’s world tragic heroes are commonly present,