Antigone: Creon Character Analysis

Antigone said “ I admit I did it. I won’t deny it.”(500) She disobeyed Creon’s law not to give Polyneices a proper burial for being a traitor.

Sophocles’ Antigone is, without a doubt, one of the greatest tragedies ever written. There are many questions that somebody could ask about this work, but this one intrigues me the most: Who is the tragic hero? Could it be Antigone? Or could it be Creon? Antigone might be the name of the tragedy, but I believe that Creon is the winning candidate. His role in the plot of this tragedy, his sensible tragic fault, and his dynamic character are the obvious reasons why I chose him as the tragic hero.

First off, Ismene, Antigone’s sister, actually was the one that incited Antigone's actions that led to everything else that happened in the story. Without Ismene, there would not be a plot. In lines 52-59, Ismene said to Antigone “What? You'd bury him— when a law forbids the city?” Antigone replied “Yes! He is my brother and—deny it as you will—your brother too. No one will ever convict me for a traitor.” Ismene said “So desperate, and Creon has expressly—” and Antigone interrupted with “He has no right to keep me from my own.” Here Ismene is telling Antigone that her actions are not something that are legal and that comply with Creon’s laws. Antigone, being hard-headed, decides that she is not going to let a law determine what she does for

Antigone’s words, actions, and ideas contrast with Creon’s character by his downfall because of Antigone braying her brother, Polyneices. Antigone said, “Let that be your excuse. I’m going now to make a burial mound for my dear brother.”(Line’s 99-100) Antigone is the type of person who thinks if one can get buried than the other deserves to be buried right along

“The gods no longer will accept our sacrifice, our prayers, our thigh bones burned in fire.” (Lines 1133-35) Teiresias explained to the king that a mortal human being was no match, and should not try to match, against the glorious gods. Creon admitted that he stood firmly on the final decision of not burying Polyneices, Antigone’s brother, and that no god had the power to make him to do so. “Even if Zeus’ eagles should choose to seize his festering body and take it up, right to the throne of Zeus, not even then would I, in trembling fear of some defilement, permit that corpse a burial.” (Lines 1160-65) Teiresias, on the other hand, was continuously persuading for Creon to compromise with everyone else, to fix his egotistic actions, with his statement: “Men who put their stubbornness on show invite accusations of stupidity.” (Line 1144-45) To which Creon responds with an insult rather than

The opening events of the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, quickly establish the central conflict between Antigone and Creon. Creon has decreed that the traitor Polynices, who tried to burn down the temple of gods in Thebes, must not be given proper burial. Antigone is the only one who will speak against this decree and insists on the sacredness of family and a symbolic burial for her brother. Whereas Antigone sees no validity in a law that disregards the duty family members owe one another, Creon's point of view is exactly opposite. He has no use for anyone who places private ties above the common good, as he proclaims firmly to the Chorus and the audience as he revels in his victory over Polynices. He sees Polynices as an enemy to

In the prologue of the play, Antigone, by Sophocles, Antigone and Ismene (sisters) are debating between burying their late brother, Polyneices, and the consequences they may end up facing. In Antigone’s eyes, family comes before the law of burying a traitor. When disputing between the burial, Antigone says, “...but Polyneices, who fought bravely and died as miserably, - they say that Creon has sworn no one shall bury him…” (Prologue.17-20) Antigone just wants to put her brother to peace, but Creon refuses to allow anyone who tries to ruin the well-being of his new society to be buried. She believes that Polyneices fought just as bravely as their brother, Eteocles, and his spirit deserves to be put to rest instead of lying in the public square.

What is a tragic hero? A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgement error that inevitably leads to his or her own destruction. In the Greek tragedy Antigone by Sophocles, a king named Creon places a law that makes it illegal to bury Polyneices who is Antigone’s brother. But not being buried in Greek culture is a big deal because it means you don't make it to the afterlife, so then Antigone buries her brother so he can be at peace. The tragedy is about how Antigone and Creon each react to each other's actions, it becomes a battle of law and morality. In the tragedy, there are two possible tragic heroes, Antigone or Creon. I believe that Creon is the tragic hero because his tragic flaw led to the downfall of himself and his loved ones.

Someone once told me that ignorance is bliss, but arrogance leads to destruction. In the play antigone, A character that’s a good example of this quote is Creon, a power hungry king who puts his rules over the rules of the gods by accident. The theme that I’m connecting to the actions of creon is morality. Some of the traits that creon possesses are arrogance, aimlessness, and anger. In the play Antigone, king Creon Believes that his laws surpass the laws of the gods due to his arrogance. In line 324-326 Creon says to the Chorus leader, “Stop now - before what you’re about to say enrages me completely and reveals that you’re not only old but stupid, too”. This shows that Creon portrayed an understanding for his actions when in reality he is

The Summary Is About Antigone Who Lost Her Brother Who Died In The War And She Wants To GIve Him The Right Burial For Her Brother. Antigone Loves Her Brother And Wants To Let The People Know That. She Lost Her Father In The War, Her Mom Hung Her Herself, And Now She Lost Her Brother Like Her Father In The War.

The qualifications of a tragic hero vary between Aristotle and Shakespeare. Aristotle thinks of a tragic hero as someone who is a noble character by choice and makes his/her own destiny, while Shakespeare sees a tragic hero as someone who is born of nobility and born to be important. Although both tragic hero's end in a tragic death that effects many people, not all tragic hero's fit perfectly into both categories. In Sophocles’ Antigone, Creon is considered a tragic hero. Creon follows Aristotle's definition of a tragic hero by being a noble character by choice, having important potential, and falls due to "miscalculations" with circumstances that are beyond control.

A hamartia, a fatal flaw and literary device, allows the character to portray his/herself in a realistic or relatable way; allowing the reader to question how the character arrived at the state they are in; in Creon’s case, loneliness. The state can be interpreted as a mental but also physical state. Creon’s fatal flaw manages to become his extreme pomposity. Napoleon Bonaparte and Creon were both stopped by an act of God. Napoleon attacked Moscow, underestimating the Russian winter which killed a staggering portion of his foot soldiers. Creon was stopped by an act of God, because he went against the Greek culture and ethics. As a leader Creon portrays himself as a prideful, short tempered, and stubborn person. Although Creon initially displayed

“Zeus did not announce those laws to me. And Justice living with the gods sent no such laws for men,” (508-510) said Antigone with frustration towards Creon about the act of her burying her brother, even though it was against the law. Antigone’s words, actions, and ideas contrast with Creon’s character to the point of these two characters having conflicting motivations. These conflicting motivations cause the characteristics of stubbornness, disrespect, and anger to be highlighted within Creon’s character. Ultimately, these conflicting motivations develop Creon as a tragic hero by finding in himself that he is wrong about what should have been done with Polyneices’ corpse and the character interactions advance the plot and/or develop the theme by keeping a conflict between Antigone and Creon about who is right.

A tragedy, as defined by Ms. Tozar, is “the story of a falling from a high place to a lower place by a character.” In other words, a tragedy is a story of an individual who starts in a high position and descends throughout the story to end in a position that is lower than original position. The individual who makes the descent is known as the tragic hero. The tragic hero, as defined by Ms. Tozar, is “the character who falls from grace as a result of fate and/or a weakness. In the drama, Antigone by Sophocles, one could argue that there are many tragic heroes. However, the one who stands above them all is that of the character of Creon. Creon is understood by most as the tragic hero in Antigone as evident in his

Throughout the Greek play Antigone by Sophocles, there exists a dispute as to who should receive the designation of main character. Antigone, the daughter of the cursed King Oedipus, as well as Creon, stately king of Thebes, both appear as the key figures in this historic play. I believe that Creon, king of Thebes, should be considered the main character in this work of Greek theater. Three points can be used to make this argument: Creon suffers greatly, he learns a lesson, and is a tragic hero.