Why Is Antigone A Tragic Hero

The Tragic hero of Antigone is Creon. Admittedly some people think that Antigone is the tragic hero. They think this because Antigone moves the audience to pity. However, I think Creon is the Hero of this tragic story. I think this because Creon discovers the truth of his wrong choices and accepts responsibility for his actions.

Who starts out at the top, but ends up at the bottom? Who has everything, but ends up with nothing? Who suffers a fate worse that death? That’s right, the tragic hero. Antigone, a play written by Sophoclese has a classically flawed tragic hero.

Brutus’s tragic flaw of being easily swayed made fiendish thoughts over preventing Caesar from being king housed inside of Brutus, thus turning Brutus, a quondam friend into a potential enemy of Caesar. Metaphors were also commonly used in the first act to prove the theme, especially when Marallus and Flavius were trying to disperse the crowd decorating for the return of Caesar as they quite efficiently made the Roman workers back down from celebrating the arrival of Caesar. Marallus, as he conjectures that others have forgotten about the death of Pompey, says “you blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things”, where the commoners are compared to the stones (Marallus I i

Is it justified to kill someone because they have gained too much power and are going to use it for the worse? Brutus has a very bad circumstance on his hands, he can kill Caesar and possibly be executed for his actions or he can let Caesar become king and watch Rome fall. There are many reasons why Brutus should and should not join the conspiracy. Brutus says, “I know no personal reason to spurn at him But for the general.” (II,i,11).

Antony introduces an unprecedented item to the mob, Caesar’s will. Antony initially refuses to read Caesar’s will stating, “O, what would come of it?” (3.2.158) and “I fear I wrong the honorable men” (3.2.163). Without even reading the will Antony implies that it will have damning evidence against Brutus and

Antigone is a play that was written by Sophocles which is about a tragic hero. What is a tragic hero? A tragic hero is a person who has a flawed characteristic which makes him fall; he must try to resolve a conflict but ends up failing. The play Antigone by Sophocles makes it hard for the readers to decide who is the tragic hero. Creon best fits in with the definition of a tragic hero.

In the play “Antigone” by Sophocles there are two people that could be considered a tragic hero. It has been up for debate who the actual hero of this play is, but many people believe that Creon and Antigone could both be a hero. A tragic hero is considered a character who’s known for being worthy of something and doing something right for someone. There are many qualities out there that you have to follow for you to be able to become the official tragic hero. Also in this play there is only aloud to be one tragic character.

The Greek philosopher Aristotle was the first critic of literature to see the differences between moral and visual condition. He described a tragedy as “an imitation of an action of high importance, complete and of some amplitude: in language enhanced by distinct and varying beauties…by means of pity and fear effecting its purgation of these emotions” (qtd. in Kennedy & Gioia 856). This description completely embodies the representation of Shakespeare’s protagonist and play Othello. Aristotle’s recipe for a perfect tragic drama included three main ideas: hamartia, or a tragic flaw in the tragic hero’s character that brings about his downfall; katharsis, or a purgation of the audience’s emotions so that they feel that they have learned something from the play; and anagnorisis, or

The Real Tragic Hero When people think about the meaning of tragedy the first thought that reaches them is that it is an unfortunate event. However, tragedies are a little more complicated than “just an unfortunate event”. In Poetics, Aristotle states, “Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and possessing magnitude; in embellished language, each kind of which is used separately in different parts; in the mode of action and not narrated; and effecting through pitty and fear the catharsis of such emotions.” This means a play must concentrate on an important and severe issue, which will be acted out in an extremely dramatic way, and will lead the audience to feel sorry for the main character who is the tragic hero. For a character to be considered a tragic hero, he must possess certain qualities that classify him as tragic.

The plays Othello and Oedipus the King contain some differences and similarities. In the beginning, the set up of the plot depicts truth to the type of tragedy in the play. The tragedy is mainly shown by the drama whereby the main character is made to bear the excess sorrow as a result of moral weakness or flaw. Othello is the central character in the play Othello while the King is the main character in Oedipus the King. In both contexts, they suffer sorrow as the main consequence of tragic flaws or weakness (Yeats, Clark, & McGuire, 1989).

As seen with the Mytilene debate where Athens decides whether to slaughter the Mytilene’s for their rebellion, Cleon, a demagogue, explicitly states “I have often seen a democracy is incapable of ruling an empire (67).” He goes on to argue “you relent out of compassion, your softness puts you in danger and does not win the affection of your allies (67).” To him, qualities such as sentiment and indulgence hurt an empire. The Athenian empire must be unyielding and forceful to control its subjugated people for the subjects only follow the Athenians because they “exceed them in strength (67).” This goes against the tenants of democracy where the people supposedly discus their issues and not rule each other with force.

However, Machiavelli warns that “a Prince should inspire fear in such a fashion that if he do not win love he may escape hate.” (Machiavelli 44). His ruination of the reputation of the King of Thebes and the father of his household begins when he accuses his subjects and becomes stubborn to make a compromise. For example, Creon accuses the soldier of taking bribe and not following his order. Creon even threatens the guard to execute for the “treasonous gain” if he does not find the real culprit.

By saying “anyone else who wears the king’s crown is a threat,” the document reveals that Alexander doesn 't care that the sailor was trying to help. If anyone is a threat to him, Alexander is willing to kill them so they don 't take his spot as King. This shows that Alexander is greedy because he wants to be powerful and have control over everyone. Also, Alexander did not value

It is wrong to highlight only parts of a person’s life. A person may have done many great things that people know, yet could have done bad things people do not know. If you only know parts of a person you do not know who they truly. It is common to discuss heroes about their flaws and strengths side-by-side, but that should not be the main point of discussion. A hero 's past have many secretes in which it can change a person 's viewpoint on a hero or on villains as well.


D. I disagree, in Julius Caesar the rulers break and bend the rules one after another, Julius Caesar was a powerful man that was seen as a threat, brutus didn’t agree with having Rome as a dictatorship, and in result Brutus kills Caesar in fear of Rome falling apart and becoming a dictatorship instead of a republic. Julius Caesar was a powerful man that was