More handpicked essays just for you.
The impact of Greek mythology on literature
Now and then character analysis
The influence of Greek Mythology on Greek literature
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Antigone Analysis Essay
The Greek tragedy "Antigone" by Sophocles is about two ill fated nobles of Thebes. One is punished for serving the Gods the other, Creon is punished for following mans laws. Both receive penalties for their "tragic flaws" but only one is the tragic hero. Tragic heroes are normally nobles with flaws that lead to their down fall. Creon resembles a tragic hero in "Antigone" because he has excessive pride and paranoia.
In scene one Antigone goes against her uncle and buries her brother, Polynieces. Exhibiting Creon's paranoia because when he learns of the news he starts accusing the sentry of "selling their soul for silver"(line ). He starts to believe that any man who goes against the government is being paid to do so and can't even trust his own
…show more content…
guards. While Creon is being paranoid, Antigone is calm and collected despite her "crime". She doesn't deny that she buried her brother in divine law not Creons', she accepts her death sentence. The defiance from his niece shocks him since she is a woman not only does Antigone take responsible she asks Creon, "a fool convicts me of a folly?". This angers creon and causes him to accuse Antigone of double insolence and sentence her sister ismene along with her. Creon eventually lifts Ismenes' sentence and doesn't send his niece straight to death. Despite these actions Creon has excessive pride because he doesn't want to seem weak he still convicts his niece and condemns her to death.
Despite the warnings from the prophet, Teiresais ; creon continues to believe that " whatever you say you will not change my mind"(line 69). Unlike Creon Antigone showed pride in what was right which was following the divine laws. She refused to "trangress the laws of the heavens" even if the penalty was death. Throughout the play the conflict of his law to punish anyone who buries polynieces distances him from his son. The kings' son Haemon was betrothed to Antigone and was upset that his love was going to die, so he talks to his father who denies his only son's request. Thats when Teiresais warns Creon that he "shall pay back. Corpse for Corpse, flesh of your own flesh" (line 71- 72). After Teiresais leaves the people convince their prideful king to free Antigone but he was too late; Antigone had hung herself in the tomb and with great sadness Haemon " drove half the length into his side" dying next her. Not only did the kings' niece and son die but his wife killed herself after hearing the news
. Therefore, Creon is the tragic hero in the play because he had good intentions but his flaws, pride and paranoia got in his own way. He eventually accepts his own penalty which is to live life full of grief and regret since he indirectly killed his family. This causes the play to ask the audience whether pride punishes the hubris or if it punishes the religous.
Antigone is a Greek tragic piece that stresses the use of power and morality versus the law written by Sophocles. Both Antigone and Creon, the main characters in the play, could represent the tragic hero. A tragic hero is a character who is known for being dignified and has a flaw that assists to his or her downfall. In my opinion, Creon best qualifies for being the tragic hero and fitting the definition read in the previous sentence. The things he said, did, and the comments that were made by those around him show how a man with everything could lose it all due to his own behavior.
The hubris resonating throughout the play, ‘Antigone’ is seen in the characters of Creon and Antigone. Their pride causes them to act impulsively, resulting in their individual downfalls. In his opening speech, Creon makes his motives clear, that “no man who is his country’s enemy shall call himself my friend.” This part of his declaration was kept to the letter, as he refused burial for his nephew, Polynices. However, when the situation arises where it is crucial that Creon takes advice, he neglects the part of the speech where he says “a king... unwilling to seek advice is damned.” This results in Creon’s tragic undoing.
She expresses her allegiance to family by giving her beloved brother, Polyneices, a proper burial despite Creon's orders. She ignores his threats to any citizen of Thebes who buries him will be executed for treason. Antigone, daughter of Oedipus, puts her own life on the line to do what she thinks is right for her brother, and honoring him in death. "He is my brother still, and yours; though you would have it otherwise, but Ii shall not abandon him." (193) She feels that everyone deserves a proper burial regardless of circumstance and in support of the Gods wishes. Antigone pays the ultimate high price for her loyalty to her brother Polyneices because it results in her death when she commits suicide after being locked up by Creon, This which sets up a chain reaction forof the suicides of Haemon and Eurydice. Antigone is also loyal to her sister because she wouldn't let Ismene participate in the burial and share any blame or punishment. She says "I will not press you any more. I would not want you as a partner if you asked" (194) . Regardless of Creon's edict, she decides to do what is right according to a much stronger law, her own personal law of family loyalty. When faced with Creon's anger, Antigone does not deny burying Polyneices' body, showing pride in her decision. Antigone realizes that regardless of what a king or a ruler wants, family loyalty comes
In the play Antigone, created by Sophocles Antigone is a foil to Creon because their personalities contrast. This makes Creon a Tragic Hero because he thinks that he is a god but in reality he is a mortal upsetting the god's and he will eventually meet his demise. At the start of the play the reader is introduced to a character named Creon, who is the king of Thebes, the previous king, Eteocles, was killed by his brother Polyneices. There is a law arranged by Creon, so nobody could bury the body of Polyneices but Antigone, the sister of both Eteocles and Polyneices, wants to bury her brother and is willing to risk her life to bury him. She eventually gets caught and is sentenced to death by Creon.
After being locked up in a dark, damp cave, Antigone was fed up with wallowing in her own pity, and takes her own life by “hang[ing] by the neck in a fine linen noose, strangled in her veils,” (1347–1348). Seeing the graceful young woman embraced in the arms of his own son, Creon immediately swells with anger towards un-masculine Haemon because of his display of love, and the significance of Antigone’s death goes straight over his head. Her strong sense of self – knowing who she is, what she values, and what makes her happy – enables her to make regretless decisions that alter her time to come. One of those decisions instigated Haemon’s fate to be sealed as well, prompting Eurydice, mother of the prince, to join her son in the underworld. Not long after becoming aware of her child’s downfall, Eurydice sacrifices her life at the heart of the palace, and “raised a cry for the noble fate of Megareus, the hero killed in the first assault, then for Haemon, then with her dying breath she called down torments on [Creon’s] head–[Creon] killed her sons,” (1429–1432). Creon’s heart fills with grief, for the fault of these three deaths lies with him, and pathetic self-pities are the only thoughts running through his mind. Despite the three-deceased’s blood lying
Although undenialably couragous, determined, and brave. She has an achilles heel that makes her arrogant. She is unwilling to back off her quest, in burying her beloved brother. No matter if she must work alone and alienate herself in order to do so. To ensure she buries her kin with honor. “I will not press you any more. I would not want you as a partner if you asked. Go to what you please. I go to bury him. How beautiful to die in such pursuit! To rest loved by him whom I have loved, sinner of a holy sin, With longer time to charm the dead than those who live, for I shall abide forever there. So go. And please your fantasy and call it wicked what the gods call good”(Antigone 194). /she goes as far as breaking the law, presenting herself as a uncompromising person, similar to that of King Creon. Sadly her achilles heel is not from her doing. Other characters have influenced her into rushed decisions. For example Creon’s cruel punishments and brutality causes Antigone to want to bury her brother. Ismene’s refusal to help bury their beloved brother makes Antigone more determined and persistent to bury him. Eventually leading to Antigone’s suicide. She had hung herself, when Haemon (her love) saw her he stabbed himself and lied next to her in her pool of blood. Then when Eurydice(Haemon’s mother) found out she cut her throat in her bedroom. Creon was now alone. The chorus notes that if it were not
Of the tragic figures in Antigone, Creon is the most obviously evil because his motives are self-serving and his fate the worst. As the play begins, we learn that Antigone has defied Creon's royal decree by performing sacred burial rites for her exiled brother, Polyneices. Polyneices has been declared an enemy of the state by Creon. The sentence for anyone attempting to bury him is death by stoning.
Antigone, as a character, is extremely strong-willed and loyal to her faith. Creon is similarly loyal, but rather to his homeland, the city of Thebes, instead of the gods. Both characters are dedicated to a fault, a certain stubbornness that effectively blinds them from the repercussions of their actions. Preceding the story, Antigone has been left to deal with the burden of her parents’ and both her brothers’ deaths. Merely a young child, intense grief is to be expected; however, Antigone’s emotional state is portrayed as frivolous when it leads her to directly disobey Creon’s orders. She buries her brother Polynices because of her obedience to family and to the gods, claiming to follow “the gods’ unfailing, unwritten laws” (Sophocles 456-457). CONTINUE
Although Antigone has a bad reputation with Creon, and possibly Ismene, for being insubordinate, she stays true to her values throughout the entire play by following the law of gods, not so that she could appease them, but because she admired its value of honor and respect to loved ones that have passed away. This devotion and determination to give her brother a proper burial shows the true essence of her being: that loyalty to family is in fact hold above all else.
Creon a new king of Thebes, demanded that Antigone shall not bury her brother Polyneices and yet she buried him anyway. Creon thinks that Polyneices is a betrayer and he did not deserve to be buried and should be fed to the animals. Antigone follows orders from the gods, but she does not seem to listen to Creon's laws. This causes Antigone to hang herself and her husband after that, hangs himself too. The only one left of her family is her sister who escapes the curse, but she has to deal with the suffering of her family. After hearing about her son’s death, Eurydice(Creon’s wife) kills herself too. In the end the chorus learned that Creon made a mistake not letting Antigone bury her brother. On page 55 it says, “Future is in greater hands.” This is saying your fate can not be changed and your fate is chosen before you are even
Antigone holds her love of family, and respect to the dead, elevated beyond the laws of Creon, whom she believes, has no righteous justification to close his eyes to the honor of the deceased. In her determination to fulfill Polynices' rights, she runs directly into Creon's attempts to re-establish order. This leads to encounters of severe conflict between the dissimilarities of the two, creating a situation whereby both Creon and Antigone expose their stubbornness and self will.
He anxiously awaits the day when he can call Antigone his wife, but because she defies King Creon, she deprives him of that opportunity. At first, Haemon tries to be loyal to his father. He tells Creon that he supports his decision to execute Antigone. However, as the conversation continues, he reveals that the community members are starting to renounce Creon’s decision. As the pain of potentially losing his fiancé becomes too much, he also renounces his father’s decision, arguing that the Gods would not condone it. In an act against his father, Haemon hurries to the cave Antigone was exiled to, in hopes to save her, but instead finds her hanging from the veil she was supposed to wear on her wedding day. Instantly overwhelmed with grief, Haemon, “[bewails] the loss of his bride” (Sophocles 152). Similarly, to Ismene’s case, Haemon cannot picture himself living on Earth without Antigone by his side, and commits suicide. In Antigone’s desire to appease the Gods, she abandons her loved ones, and causes them great suffering. This could have been avoided has she not pursued her desire to bury
Antigone was caught and death was the price to pay as ordered by Creon, not to her surprise. Death to Antigone seemed wanted, it was the only thing left as honor for her. Haemon, the son of Creon and Antigone’s fiancé has enough respect for his father that he does not interfere with Creon's decision to put Antigone to death.
Antigone risks her own life to bury her brother, therefore, she goes against Kreon’s edict that Polyneices should be left unburied; she believes Polyneices deserves to reach the afterlife. Antigone tells Ismene, “I will bury him myself. If I die for doing that, good: I will stay with him, my brother; and my crime will be devotion” (Sophocles 23). Antigone is willing to risk her own life by disobeying the king’s authority; She stands up for her religious belief that Polyneices should be buried. Kreon tells Antigone before she takes her own life, “I won’t encourage you. You’ve been condemned” (Sophocles 57). Kreon believes that Antigone’s crime is severe, and righteousness should be used to justify her crime. At this point of the play, Antigone realizes she will be put to death, but she does not regret her act of loyalty. In Antigone’s last speech before she takes her own life, she exclaims, “Land of Thebes, city of my fathers… see what I suffer at my mother’s brother’s hand for an act of loyalty and devotion” (Sophocles 57). Here, Antigone addresses the nation’s leaders and declares that they should notice th...
When Antigone is caught and brought to Creon the guard tells him, “I saw her burying the very corpse you / forbade” (412-413). Creon is baffled why his son’s own future spouse would go against his commands. He does not want to punish her like he had promised would happen to anyone who had buried the body, however, he knows that she was the one who defied him. Creon realizes the magnitude of her disloyalty to him when he