A tragic hero/heroine is a character who meets his or her downfall (usually death) because of a weakness they possess or a judgement in error. In “Antigone” by Sophocles, the king Creon displays the qualities of a tragic hero. Creon has a strong sense of hubris. Hubris is overwhelming pride or arrogance which causes the hero’s transgression against the gods. It is his tragic flaw. In the play, he meets his death because he has way too much pride, he has a fate he does not deserve, and he has an error
shows Creon as just a leader. Creon has good reasons for his laws and his punishments, but by the end of play Creon's excessive pride has taken over him leading to his death. He shows from the beginning he is the tragic hero because he never realizes that he's wrong. He never realized how bad his overpride is, which interfered with dealing with his problems until Teiresias’s prophecy. At that time in the play it is to late for Creon. This is the path of what a tragic character goes on. “A tragic hero
The characteristics of Creon’s personality coincides with the definition of a tragic hero, as well as the decisions that Creon made throughout Antigone which determined the catastrophic ending. Creon takes the role of the tragic hero due to his dogmatic and regulatory ways of handling the rebellion of Antigone. Ultimately, Creon’s pride served as his fatal flaw, which was detrimental to wellbeing of not only himself, but those he most cared about. Creon’s overall intentions for the state of Thebes
written. Most people believe that the tragic hero of the play is Antigone, but the true tragic hero is Creon. Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero is that they must have hamartia, peripeteia, anagnorisis, and hubris. Creon exhibits all of this qualities in this story. According to Wiinington-Ingram ,”Creon has spoken proud words; Creon has suffered great blows; Creon has learnt, too late, that he lacked wisdom. “ (Wiington-Ingram) .Creon is a true tragic hero because he is a good ruler who has a
is set on giving her dead brother a burial but this is restricted by the present king, Creon. Both of them have a tragic story. Many may believe that Antigone is a tragic hero, I think Creon is more of a tragic hero. Creon didn’t give Antigone’s brother Polyneices a burial because he had turned against the kingdom, he caused many deaths including his own brother, Eteocles because of his greed for the throne. Creon stood upon his believes and claimed that “ [he’ll] never act to respect an evil man with
According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is someone who has a few certain traits. These traits include being greater than others by having positions like being a king, a general, or a princess, by having a tragic flaw that eventually causes a reversal of fortune, by causing a feeling of pity and terror in the audience, and by causing the audience to have a catharsis near the climax of the play. When all of these traits are considered, the person who fits the mold of the tragic hero the most is Oedipus. The
Tragic Heroism in Antigone In Greek Literature, there are three types of genres in stories. Those genres would be classified as Romantic, Comedy or Drama. In class, we read Antigone, which would be classified as a Drama because at the end she dies tragically due to her fate. Otherwise known as a tragic hero. One real life example of one would be Martin Luther King Jr, his point of existence to be a strong leader during the Civil Rights Era (1954-1968). Growing in power through speeches, he beat
Aristotle describes a tragic hero as someone with good intentions, high class, and must suffer a fall from grace. Creon, the new King of Thebes, fits this bill quite nicely. While other tragic hero’s have suffered horrible fates, like Hamlet or Antigone, they did it with a selfish pursuit. Creon’s journey involved the country of Thebes scrutinizing all his actions; this influenced his actions and the tragedy he suffered. In literature history, Creon proves to be the most tragic character because he
A tragic hero is noble and has a personal flaw; the one character that fits this is Antigone. She went against the kings rules by burying her brother, she knew her consequence, and as Antigone faced death she wasn’t scared of it at all. On the other hand, Antigone was also impatient. In the story there was a lot of conflicts and many differences, Antigone believed in family honor and divinity of the gods. She believed that anybody that dies in their family should be buried or their whole family
Creon as the Tragic Hero: The Power of Moral Uncertainty The conflict between law and morality has been in existence since the beginning of human society, and to this day still greatly influences people and society. Written by the Greek playwright Sophocles in the 5th century BCE, Antigone is the tragic story of a young girl who goes against the king’s edict and buries her brother, a traitor to the state, sentencing herself to execution. The conflicting ideals of logos - moral, divine, or natural