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
Creon cares extremely about his country of Thebes and creates his own laws. He mentions that, “There's been a group of grumblers in this town: men who can hardly abide by my rule, who nod and whisper, chafing beneath my law, who are not in love with it at all,” (Sophocles, 203). He speaks these words with anger towards whoever disobeys him. His extreme love for his country shows his noble stature which causes him to punish those who do not love Thebes as passionately as he does. Creon has the appearance of good, but when he chooses to not bury Polyneices, which goes against the beliefs of the Gods by not honoring him, he shows his tragic flaw.
In the play, Antigone, daughter of Oedipus learns about the death of her two brothers (Eteocles and Polynices).Creon, the new king of Thebes passed a decree to the city on the burial of the two brothers. In the decree, Creon declares that Eteocles body should be buried with honor and fame for his courage of saving the city from the enemy. Whiles Polynices body is left unburied and rotting for beasts to feed on because he came to destroy the city and enslave the people. Antigone defies Creon 's decree, buries Polynices body and gets caught. Creon imprisons her
A story of tragedy is not uncommon with William Shakespeare and his works of prose. In his plays, death and despair is more likely than honor and prosperity. This is an included facet to Macbeth as well, having sinister themes of greed, manipulation, and brutality. Macbeth, by the infamous playwright, Shakespeare, presents us with multiple aspects factoring into whether the main character controls his actions that lead to the tragic events.
He denies Polynices the burial that everyone deserves. Because of this, he is the force that goes against Antigone, making him a rather irritating character throughout the entire play. Not only is denying someone a burial, a cruddy thing to do, but it's the fact that he further forces the body to be unburied after Antigone tries to do the morally correct thing. Defying the Gods’ in this time period was the wrong in the play, not the burial of Polynices by Antigone’s hand. Creon is the one who reacts and that only.
Worse, the body of a traitor is left to rot above ground as food for scavengers. Creon’s law conflicts with Antigone’s loyalty to the gods. She believes the laws of the gods respect the dead and require a proper burial. She does not hesitate to ignore the law of the state and fulfill the laws of the gods. When she turns to her sister, Ismene, to bury their brother, Polyneices, Ismene’s fear consumes her.
I used this quote from Antigone because it properly states Antigone’s viewpoint on Creon’s decree. As told in the story, Creon's decree was that no one could grieve for or bury Polyneices. Creon made this proclamation because when Eteocles and Polyneices fought over Thebes, Eteocles was pronounced king and exiled Polyneices from Thebes. Polyneices, in turn, formed an army to take on the city, ending up with Eteocles and Polyneices killing each other, thus putting Creon in the position of power. Creon then proceeds to label Polyneices a traitor and finally, makes his decree.
His free choice is represented by a quote from the guard surveying Polyneices body, “We saw this girl giving that dead man's corpse full burial rites—an act you’d made illegal” (337). Although Creon's own niece turns out to be the one that went against his word, he still chooses to follow through with the punishment even though the deed Antigone did was morally right. The punishment that he lays upon Antigone is excessive and unjust considering the crime. While in an argument with her, he calls to his guards proclaiming, “Take her and shut her up, as I have ordered, in her tomb’s embrace [...]
The fact that Creon overruled the burial of Polynices did not stop Antigone in the slightest from pursuing what she believed was moral. Respecting her brother in the said afterlife was her mission and she was determined to follow through. Antigone explains: “ I will bury my brother; and if I die for it, what happiness? Convicted of reverence- I shall be content to lie beside a brother whom I love “ (Lines 60-63). Although her actions would defy the commands of her ruler, she follows through with the rebellion to achieve justice for her brother.
Creon is responsible for his own fate when he makes the decision to outlaw Polyneices’ honorable burial. Antigone states to Ismene, “They say that Creon has sworn no one shall bury him. ”(pg.751) Creon’s decision to outlaw Polyneices’ burial has led Antigone to go out and bury Polyneices which ultimately leads to her death showing that Creon a tragic hero for being responsible for his own fate. Creon feels his decision was very right
Antigone broke his law by burying Polyneices and not leaving her own brother out to be eaten by wild animals. This action that Antigone took angered Creon because he did not like the fact that someone disobeyed him. Also the way that Antigone spoke to him contributed to to his anger. Creon reacted to her pride of burying her brother by saying in the play Antigone that “This girl here was already very insolent in contravening laws we had proclaimed. Here she again displays her proud contempt—having done the act, she now boasts of it.”
His pride keeps him from admitting that his actions against Antigone and her brother went against the customs of the gods and were wrong. Upon hearing about the death of his son and wife, he mourns by taking responsibility for their deaths, explaining himself as “the frantic man who killed my son, against my meaning, and you too, my wife”(Ant.1340-1). Through all of his grief and suffering, not once does he acknowledge or make it known that this was all brought about because of his refusal to lay aside his pride and follow the laws of the gods. Creon is in denial about the underlying consequences of his prideful
In contrast to this, in Antigone, Creon is a tyrant-like leader who lacked empathy and care for others. This can be seen as he forbid the burial of Polynices, which defied Greek custom. This act results in the death of Antigone, his son Haemon and his wife Eurydice (“Play Summary Antigone”). Contrary to Oedipus, Creon’s Hubris lead to a series of conscious actions that negatively affect the characters in the story. In the end, Creon can be seen to have learnt his lesson as the chorus states: “Of happiness the crown
In Antigone the new King Creon immediately abuses his power by ruling that Polyneices is to have no interment, even though he is heir of the former King and many believe him to be a warrior with honor. King Creon says, ”Polyneices, I say is to have no burial: no man is to touch him or say the least prayer for him: he shall lie on the plain, unburied: and the birds and the scavenging dogs can do with him whatever they like.” (Lines 43-46) This is an obvious corruption of power and an attempt to rule over others by force. It seems that he is trying to intimidate others to obey his edict to gain control by force.
Macbeth is Foul, Macbeth is Fair: An Analysis of Macbeth as a Tragic Shakespearean Hero In modern-day life, a tragic hero is an ordinary person who makes a grave mistake in judgement which causes his or her downfall, but does not necessarily result in death. However, in Shakespearean tragedies, a tragic hero is defined as a great literary character of high nobility whose tragic flaw and poor decisions lead to his or her unanticipated downfall and destruction. Ajsdhfjdhalsdhf Macbeth, the main character of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, fulfills the role of a tragic hero because of his rising status, the catharsis he provides for the audience, and his tragic flaw which leads to his unforeseen downfall. In every Shakespearean tragedy, the tragic hero is known to be either a war hero or a character of high status before the story turns for the worst; Macbeth covers both of these