Examples Of Tragic Hero In Creon

In the story of Antigone by Sophocles , the character Creon is the tragic hero. Creon is a Tragic Hero because he was born into nobility, doomed to make a serious error in judgment, and realizes he made an irreversible mistake.

Antigone is an admirable character, for her steady and unwavering determination is something to applaud her on. But this same exact character trait is responsible for her inevitable death. Antigone is a prime example of a tragic hero. A tragic hero is typically a man or woman with an outstanding quality or characteristic, which eventually leads them to their downfall. Antigone’s stubbornness and unrelenting attitude lead her to disobey King Creon, which in turn, leads to her solemn and unfortunate fate.

Despite Creon’s past successful leadership, it often appeared as though Creon’s common choice of decisions and following threats led to his loss as his actions caused his people enough fear to want to either escape his rule. Such examples are seen with the guard who says “you won’t see me coming here again. ”(Sophocles, 286) which clearly showed his loss of loyalty to Creon after he and the other guards had been threatened under false accusations, or Antigone whose main purpose in the story was to cause to incite conflict by defying Creon’s laws. The worst example of his ignorance to other’s opinions was when Creon’s own son Haemon one of the few people who would be in his favor, enraged Creon into a blind fury simply by stating that he disagreed with his choice in “No, not when I see you making a mistake and being unjust” (Sophocles,847/848). Unfortunately for all involved, no matter their intentions or actions, it always seems as though Creon’s judgements were precisely incorrect and poorly

The article “The Tragic Hero in Greek Drama” claims that Sophocles, through the tragic heroes in Antigone and Oedipus the King, suggests, “we could do everything right, act on the best information available, and with the best of intentions, yet still commit unspeakable horrors” (“The Tragic Hero in Greek Drama”). Aristotle, a well-known ancient Greek literary critic, created a definition of a tragic hero. His definition is known as the Aristotelian tragic hero, which has many requirements that the character must possess. Creon is the character that best exemplifies Aristotle’s tragic hero because of his virtue, his hubris, and his realization of his fate; however, others may argue that Antigone is a better example of a tragic hero because of

Living is not easy when you know you caused the death of three loved ones. In the Greek tragedy Antigone, by Sophocles, Creon is the most tragic hero in the play because he has to live with so much guilt and regret which he cannot repent for until he is dead himself, but by then it is too late. Antigone is a tragic hero because her hamartia was getting locked up in a cave by Creon. When Antigone says ”All these men here would praise me Were their lips not frozen shut with fear of you.”

He tries to prove himself as a worthy ruler by making an example out of his niece, Antigone, when she breaks his new decree that her brother is not to be given a proper burial. Creon sentences her to death to prove a point, but it ultimately backfires on him, and his loved ones die because of it. His downfall is excessive for what choices he makes leading up to it, and he even proclaims: “Whatever I touch goes wrong- once more a crushing fate’s come down upon my head!” (Sophocles, Antigone 127); this is a truly tragic fate for a good intentioned

In Sophocles’s play Antigone, the throne of the city of Thebes has fallen into the hands of Creon, Antigone’s uncle, after the sudden and tragic death of Eteocles and Polynices. Under his rule, a new law forbidding anyone from burying Polyneices causes Antigone to decide between staying loyal to her country or to her family. In the play Antigone, the most real tragic hero that prevails is Creon because he embodies all the characteristics that a tragic hero must have while Antigone lacks some important characteristics. To begin, Creon conveys goodness because he chooses to punish Antigone for her crimes to keep Thebes as safe and orderly as possible.

Creon is a very stubborn person, this leads him to make very harsh and rash decisions that he will eventually regret. “The inflexible heart breaks first, the toughest iron cracks first.” This quote is explaining how Creon is very stubborn in his decisions and he will not change his mind. This leads to the fall of creon because him being stubborn causes most of his family to die. Creon eventually ends up sentencing Antigone to death.

“ Mistakes made by a foolish mind, cruel mistakes that bring on death.” (1406 to 1407.) In this quote, King Creon of Thebes is acknowledging that he has made tragic mistakes, because he wanted to the laws of his state, that he put in place, instead of preserving the safety of his family, which consequently lead to suffering for many. In the play Antigone, by Sophocles, the character Creon makes decisions based on what he feels is right, and refuses to pay attention to other’s advice. His stubbornness and selfishness prove fatal, and as a consequence of his moral deficiency, he kills an innocent woman, and loses his son in the aftermath.

As long as I am King, no traitor is going to be honored with the loyal man. But whoever shows by word and deed that he is on the side of the State,––he shall have my respect while he is living and my reverence when he is dead ( Scene 1). Creon’s regards towards his own laws cause him to withdraw from all other beliefs or opinions that others have to offer him. He believes that the people of Thebes should obey his rules if they want his support.

“Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way.” Antigone said this while talking to ismene about her plans to bury her brother. She is saying that Creon, the king of thebes, can not stop her from following her morals and burying her brother. Antigone is the daughter of oedipus who is also her brother. In the story antigone’s suffers the loss of both of her brothers, oedipus and polyneices.

When asked, “Who is the tragic hero in Antigone?,” you might automatically think of the character Antigone. The character’s name is the title of the play like in “Hamlet”. The only difference is that Hamlet was the tragic hero in “Hamlet” moreover Creon is the tragic hero in “Antigone”. It all comes down to the definition of Aristotle’s tragic hero. Aristotle states that a tragic hero is, “a person who must evoke a sense of pity and fear in the audience.

In Sophocles’ play Antigone, Creon, the king of Thebes, best represents a tragic hero. Creon demonstrates goodness in his intentions for Thebes as well as his fragile state due to the fact that he recently lost several family members. Creon, newly named king, finds himself as highest ranking official around, showing superiority. Creon often acts stubborn and prideful, his tragic flaw. And lastly, he must come to terms with the fact that he caused the death of his wife, son, and niece.

The play, Antigone written by Sophocles, presents a tragedy that fits the classical definition, but it is the story of Creon, the king of the main character. Creon starts out as the king of Thebes , Creon’s tragic flaw is his pride and his arrogance which caused him reflecting upon his mistakes making him a broken man, recognizing what he did to his niece, he is a character within Antigone, even though he was portrayed as an antagonist he was the main character since he was. Creon’s tragic flaw, hubris, causes his downfall. Creon will not listen to anyone.

Antigone’s love is so great for her brother that she went against the king and buried him with religious rights. Then Haemon kills himself because Antigone had died and he wanted to be with her. In the end Creon’s wife killed herself because her son had died. Creon is perceived as the tragic hero of the play when he is talking