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.
Embedded Assessment: The Foil of Tragic Hero Creon Foils are characters that contrast with one another to highlight particular qualities of those specific characters. Tiresias, the blind prophet of Thebes, functions as a foil throughout Sophocles’s Antigone, by telling Creon he is doomed and will not be able to escape fate. In the Oedipus the King along with Antigone , Tiresias reveals unwanted truths about Creon and Oedipus. Although he is the blind prophet, his ability to “see” beyond the present, Tiresias first accuses Oedipus of killing his father in Oedipus Rex and proceeds to tell Creon in Antigone that his laws will cause more harm to his land and death to his family. However, instead of learning from Oedipus’s mistakes, Creon rejects
Creon is first off born of nobility. Creon was the son of Menoeceus and the brother of Jocasta. He is also the uncle and brother-in-law of Oedipus. Creon becomes king after Oedipus was banished, being the King of Thebes, Creon can be considered a tragic hero. Creon’s tragic flaw is that he is too stubborn and lets his pride obscure his decision making.
Polyneices brings massacre to Thebes, killed the king and other soldiers of Thebes. If he permits the burial, it may be disloyalty to the city. Creon says to Antigone “An enemy can’t be a friend, even when he is dead” (Antigone). It is a hint that Creon believes one should be devoted to the city more than family. The most important of Creon’s argument is the political crises of Thebes.
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. He is stubborn, and his pride is so great, he cannot bring himself to acknowledge that he could ever wrong.
He expresses this by stating,”Unfortunately...the prince Eteocles and Polyneices, have killed each other...I, as next blood, have… full power of… throne...no traitor is honored...whoever shows by word or deed...shall have...my reverence when he is dead.” Creon is informing the people of Thebes not only that he has been crown king fairly but also that whoever goes against the law that was enforced will suffer the consequences. He uses fear as a way for the people of Thebes to understand that he is serious about what he says. He does not directly tell the consequence but people know that it is
This quote shows that he wants everyone to obey him and anyone who disobeys him will get in trouble. The last support can be found when Creon said, “But he who crosses law, or forces it, or hopes to bring the ruler under him, shall never have a word of praise from me.” (Antigone 23). This means that Creon is “madly in love” with his power and thinks that he can do anything because he is the king. The second tragic fall of Creon
His fate and disastrous downfall were caused by disobeying the gods, mainly through his tragic flaw of pride and cruelty. He is considered as the tragic hero of “Antigone” because of his ill intentions and fated decline as king of Thebes. Creon is the tragic hero of the Greek Tragedy, Antigone, by Sophocles, because he is important to society, has a tragic flaw, and is faces major consequences as a result of his flaw. As aforementioned, Creon is deemed a tragic hero because in the beginning of Antigone, he is important to society. Since Oedipus’s exile, and Eteocles and Polynices’ deaths, Creon, as the brother of Oedipus, was considered next in line
Sometimes a person 's mistakes can lead them to the right path, others are lead to their own degradation. Sophocles ' play Antigone puts out a dramatic take on Greek tragedy as they tell the story of a dysfunctional family and their fates. Thrown into the throne of the royal family of Thebes, new King Creon waltzed the palace with a large chip on his shoulder. He ruled his kingdom out of fear with an iron fist and a heavy temper. Creon had his chance at a 'Happily Ever After ' if he could only control his obstinacy.
The chorus stated about Creon,”That furious king, bore the god’s prisoning anger for his pride.” (Sophocles 779) Anger for his pride shows he posses a tragic flaw of pride because he has anger for people who cross him such as Antigone for burying her brother and shows his pride by punishing her to death. Also his anger brings him to showing his pride by when he makes the about law about no one being able to bury Polyneices. Also Creon shows he has a tragic flaw of pride when he says to Teiresias, the prophet, “I would not yield. I am not afraid of pollution.”(Sophocles 781) Creon not being afraid of pollution shows he would show his pride over all people and thing because he is not afraid to ruin the town to show he is in charge and his law is first and people are second. These two quotes in the end show he has a tragic flaw of pride leading to him being a tragic