ipl-logo

Creon Characteristics

629 Words3 Pages

Creon; King of Thebes and brother of Jocasta who is given the throne after the death of the two brothers, Polynices and Eteocles, who died in a war against each other. Creon is a character from the Tragic play “Antigone” which was written by playwright Sophocles. Though it may seem that Creon is the antagonist of the play, he would be considered the tragic hero because he displays many of the characteristics of one. Creon is a stubborn character who is disrespectful towards the natural order of things and is prideful; two traits that are also embodied in a tragic hero. In the story, Creon ordered that no one shall bury the body of Polynices because he has committed an act of treachery against the state. When Antigone disobeyed, was brought to Creon, and was sentenced to die because of what she had done, many come to persuade Creon into pardoning Antigone one of which was the blind prophet, Tiresias. He tried to explain to Creon that if he does not listen to him the gods will be angry at him and will send down a punishment. Despite this warning, Creon stood by his command and instead insulted Tiresias saying in line 834 and 836, “You forgot yourself! You are speaking to your king. ” “You have a certain skill; but you are sold out”. Also in line 596, during a conversation with his son, Haemon, he says, “My voice is the only voice …show more content…

Though it may seem that Creon is the antagonist of the play, he would be considered the tragic hero because he displays many of the characteristics of one. In the play, Creon is a character full of pride who shows disrespect toward the natural order of things, has a moment where he realizes his mistake, and has a downfall at the end of the story. Sophocles’ play “Antigone” not only presents an interesting story about the children of Oedipus but also presents a series of events that lead to a dramatic change in Creon’s

Show More
Related

  • Antigone Vs Creon Research Paper

    746 Words  | 3 Pages

    As both Creon and Antigone are royalty, Creon is the king of Thebes which is of higher stature than Antigone, this is a trait of a tragic hero. Creon shows his ignorance by dishonoring the gods and refusing to bury Polyneices. He forgets or ignores that Eteocles and Polyneices shared the throne, and to “attack” Thebes was the only way for Polyneices to obtain his kingship back from his brother. Creon is also ignorant to the fact that Polyneices is his nephew and should be buried alongside his brother and the rest of his family. As Antigone defies Creon's word and buries Polyneices, he is oblivious to the fact that she is to be wed to his

    Read More

  • Antigone Creon Value Analysis

    900 Words  | 4 Pages

    Again this accusation made by Creon was false, however later Ismene was let go after Antigone convinced Creon that Ismene had nothing to do with the burial of Polyneices. In scene five Creon was again letting his untrusting nature impede his judgment. During his conversation with the prophet, Teiresias, he was untrusting of the prophet and verbally accused him of being a “wise man” who “sells his wisdom.” This accusation made after Teiresias had given Creon his prophecy which had not looked to good.

    Read More

  • Creon: Cultural Trauma And Collective Guilt In Three Modern Antigone

    1123 Words  | 5 Pages

    Antigone chronicles the fictional events within the fabled Ancient Greek dynasty of Thebes, Antigone (daughter of the former King Oedipus Rex and late Queen Jocasta) and King Creon (brother of the late Queen Jocasta) after the war of succession between the late Eteocles and Polynices (Antigone’s brothers; Creon’s nephews). The play illustrates the complexities of autocratic rule with Antigone and Creon’s ideological clash, with Creon advocating for an absolute upholding of his own mandate of improper disposal of Polynices’ remains, which he justifies by his own proclaimed divine right. Sophocles portrays King Creon as not only a tyrant but a warning for the inevitable dangers of absolute rule within autocratic, absolute monarchies. This analysis

    Read More

  • How Is Creon Responsible For His Own Downfall

    741 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tiresias is finally coming to Creon about the damage he is causing the city; he tells him that there is no need to hurt Polynices anymore than his own death. On one hand, Creon started off as a good leader, even though he did not want the responsibility; on the other hand, he let

    Read More

  • Antigone: Creon As A Tragic Hero

    1234 Words  | 5 Pages

    “Not so self-centered that you never listen to other people” (Hugh Hefner). In the story of Antigone, Creon shows the characteristics of a tragic hero, as he is the king he shows his self-confident and he does not recognize his flaws until the end of the story. All of this leads into his downfall in the tragedy and causes him to realized what he had done. Creon is a tragic hero because of his self-righteousness, his excessive pride, and he does not listen to the opinion of others.

    Read More

  • Creon's Flaws In Antigone

    195 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the short story titled “Antigone,” the author portrays Creon as a tragic hero by displaying flaws in Creon's character shown throughout the story. Creon’s character contains many flaws which lead to many problems. His decisions end up deciding the fates of his son, his wife, and Antigone. Creon finally realizes that what he has done is sinful to the gods. He has put his own pride over the appreciation of the gods.

    Read More

  • Tragic Hero In Antigone

    904 Words  | 4 Pages

    (Scene 1, Line 114-117) in a very vilely way. By this quote, we can know that Creon’s attitude to Choragos shows his fatal flaw. Another example of Creon’s overconfidence is when Haemon and Creon were having a conversation. When Haemon was talking about what Creon did was wrong, Creon says, “And the

    Read More

  • Creon: A Tragic Hero In Antigone By Sophocles

    1092 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Antigone Quotes About Creon's Downfall

    882 Words  | 4 Pages

    The messenger goes on to say,in lines 1371 to 1380, that Haemon first swings towards his father with a dagger, then pitifully and fatally stabs himself. The messenger agrees that Creon’s inability to give in to another’s point of view and have humility are the causations for Haemon’s suicide in lines 1383 to 1835, “The unfortunate boy has shown all men how, of all the evils which afflict mankind, the most disastrous one is thoughtlessness,” which references Creon’s tragic flaws. Following the death of his son, and eventually his wife, Creon realized the failures in his actions and judgements, and is left to suffer due to his own actions. In lines 1406 to 1407, after the discovery

    Read More

  • King Creon's Negative Effect On Society

    350 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the play, Antigone, King Creon punished Antigone for giving her brother, Polyneices a proper burial. Creon believes Eteocles devers the burl with honor but not Polyneices because Polynices attacked Thebes and his own brother, braking his exile. King Creon is furious upon hearing the news and accuses the sentry of being bribed and demands him to bring who ever broke his decree to him. Creon is a scary king because the sentries throw dice to decide who will tell King Creon this terribly bad news, no one wants to tell the him. Haemen, King Creon’s own son is afraid to confront his own dad that is actions are wrong.

    Read More

  • Creon's Tragic Analysis

    1097 Words  | 5 Pages

    Haimon , Creon’s son warns him that the people of Thebes sympathize with Antigone. Haemon tells his father, I beg you, do not be unchangeable: Do not believe that you alone can be right. The man who thinks that, The man who maintains that only he has the power To reason correctly, the gift to speak, to soul–– A man like that, when you know him, turns out empt.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of Antigone

    967 Words  | 4 Pages

    Jaanvi Shah Mr. Eyre English 9 March, 2015 Literary Analysis of Antigone John Foster says, “pride comes before fall.” As the action of the Sophocles 's Antigone unfolds, it is clear that the protagonist Creon has all the six characteristics of a tragic hero. Teiresias interactions with Creon help to demonstrate three of those typical traits: Creon’s noble stature, his tragic flaw of having pride and arrogance, and his free choice that makes his downfall his own fault. Creon, the King of Thebes, accords with Aristotle’s theory of a tragic hero beginning as powerful distinguished and important person.

    Read More

  • Tiresias In Antigone

    425 Words  | 2 Pages

    . When Tiresias appears in Antigone, Creon accuses the prophet of being a traitor, saying that Tiresias must have been bribed: “T: How far good counsel is the best of goods?/ C: True, as unwisdom is the worst of ills./ T: Thou art infected with that ill thyself./ C: I will not bandy insults with thee, seer./ T: And yet thou say'st my prophesies are frauds./ C: Prophets are all a money-getting tribe./ T: And kings are all a lucre-loving race./ C:

    Read More

  • Tragedy In Antigone

    746 Words  | 3 Pages

    All in all, due to his ruthless personality traits, Creon is the tragic hero in the play, not Antigone. If he didn 't express his anger and aggression it could have prevented many deaths. He could have prevented his wife and son 's death if he would have put his pride to the side, and was not so stubborn. Even though many have reason to believe that Antigone is the tragic hero, Creon is due to his lack of control over his emotions. Creon is most definitely

    Read More

  • Theme Of Love In Antigone

    757 Words  | 4 Pages

    Creon realizes it’s too late his mistakes, and now that he lost his family, he realizes he should of listened. All his family dead, he is now alone because he was blinded by his pride that he didn't listen. He realized too late of all the consequences that his ignorance brought upon him. Throughout the play Antigone by Sophocles Creon is seen as a tragic hero, due to the fact that he is rude to others when they try to talk to him and acts childish when insulting others.

    Read More

More about Creon Characteristics

Open Document