Similarities Between Antigone And Creon

Reading famous plays draws our attention to many different aspects of the type of characters, the storyline, and the dialogue between characters. We get wrapped up in the plot and forget to focus on the way the characters are developed through diction. Sophocles does a fine job of demonstrating characteristics through certain phrases said by the characters. In Sophocles’ work, Antigone, set in 400 B.C, aspects of life revolved around the individual’s social status and cultural values. In Antigone, the social classes were: the gods at the top, then the government, and family at the bottom while men were above women. A few cultural social rights women had were burial rights and the right to mourn. These two are specifically important in Antigone

because of its unique storyline. Creon is portrayed as the king of Thebes, who holds the dignity and power of the state entirely within himself.

He rules Thebes with his own will instead of the will of his people. He is full of ambition and pride at the start, but by the end, Creon suffers the wrath of the gods. Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and the sister of Polyneices. She champions the laws of the gods above the laws of the state, has an unbreakable love towards her family, and occupies an ultimate high moral ground. Both Creon and Antigone are critical characters and towards the end of the play; both characters establish a fascinating character development with their final monologues. Sophocles’ incorporation of final monologues said by the two main characters, Antigone and Creon, shows elements of emblematic characterization, rhetoric, and character development which are essential to the work and affect our perspective of

them.
The most important aspect of every story is the character development. Antigone’s character development is vital to the style of the play and helps the audience understand Antigone as a character. Antigone knows where she stands and where her loyalties lie. Antigone's major trait is her fierce loyalty to the gods. Their divine laws are what she abides by most securely. This is established clearly when she says, “it was not Zeus, who ordered it,/ Nor Justice, dweller with the Nether Gods,/ Gave such a law to men; nor did I deem/ Your obedience of so much binding force,/ As that a mortal man could overbear/ The unchangeable unwritten code of Heaven/ This is not of today and yesterday,/ But lives forever, having origin” (17-18). Through emblematic characterization, we are acquainted with her character and where her loyalties lie. Antigone is accustomed to God vs state and makes that her main priority which is an important aspect in Antigone because, during Ancient Greek times, an individual’s main concern was their honor towards the gods. Antigone's character is developed this way at first to convey her emblematic character to us which is important because we get a clear understanding of the type of character Antigone is.
Sophocles’ decision to make Antigone’s final speech so powerful is a stylistic element that causes a contrast of Antigone’s character.

In Antigone’s final speech she says, “O city of Theba! O my country! Gods,/ The fathers of my race! I am led hence/ I linger now no more. Behold me, lords,/”(35). She uses ethos to establish herself which contrasts her character from herself in the beginning of the play. Antigone is directing this speech towards the people and towards the gods, which conveys the purpose of these last couple words she has to say. The audience will remember her last few words more vividly than what she had to say throughout the play because a strong conclusion is a key to a good story. Antigone’s final speech serves as her concluding phrase and the end of her breathtaking emblematic character. Further, in her last speech, she says, “the last of your kings’ house-- what doom is mine,/ And at whose hands, and for what cause-- that I/ Duly performed the dues of piety!/”(35). Antigone is stating her last and final argument through acceptance. She is accepting her fate and punishment for the crime she has committed, which is unlike her for her type of character. This is her way of saying goodbye, and it contrasts her character because she isn't standing up for herself anymore like she usually did with her compelling arguments. Antigone's character is bold and self-led, which contrasts with her character towards the end of the play. Her final words show acceptance

and they show her being in denial of herself.
Creon’s character is established through his use of rhetoric, specifically ethos, throughout the story. Creon rejects the laws of the gods in favor of the rational laws of man. The laws of man emphasize how Creon lives by his own rules. At the beginning of the play Creon establishes himself when he says “him too, who sets a friend/ Before his native land, I prize at nothing./ God, who seest all things always, witness it!/ If I perceive, where safety should have been,/ Mischief advancing toward my citizens,/ I will not sit in silence; nor account/ As friend to me the country’s enemy” (8). Through the use of ethos, Creon establishes credibility and reminds his audience how he got his throne. This is an important aspect because we are familiarized with Creon's character traits and way of thinking. Through character development, we are introduced to Creon and his motives which sets a foundation for the audience.
Adding onto the importance of final words, Creon's last speech is the most significant in terms of style because his character from the beginning of the play contrasts his character at the end of the play. When Creon is informed that his son, Haemon, and wife, Eurydice, have killed themselves, he feels immediate misery. When his messenger accused him of being a child-slayer, he realizes that his actions affected his family. His guilt leads him to state, “lead me forth, cast me out no other/ who did slay, unwitting, thy mother/ And thee, my son!”(51). Through characterization, Creon, infamous for being selfish, is suddenly realizing he isn't an outcast and his actions don't appear unnoticed. This affects Creon's character because throughout the play Creon is prideful and towards the end, he realizes his family suffered because of him. Creon's final words, which also serve as the final words of the play, are, “a doom that is heavy to bear/ is come down on my back”(52). Through the acceptance of his own actions, Creon accepts his doom. Throughout the play, Creon's character is developed as a haughty man who cares only about his role as a leader in his government. However, in the end of the play he is conveyed as a husband and father who is realizing that his family has killed themselves and he couldn’t do anything to stop them because he was too busy being a leader. This contrast of Creon's character from the beginning of the play and the end of the play expands the audience’s comprehension of his character and leaves it with a priceless expression.
Sophocles’ incorporation of final monologues said by the two main characters, Antigone and Creon, shows elements such as emblematic characterization, credibility and character development, which are essential to the development of the story and the characters of the story. In the beginning of the play, Antigone’s character is developed as an emblematic character which makes the story compelling. During Antigone’s final speech her characteristics take a contrasting turn as she accepts her fate. On the other hand, Creon is introduced and established as a selfish, law-following ruler at first. When his final speech is said, his character also takes a contrasting turn and demonstrates him as the loving father he should have been all along. Sophocles’ stylistic decision of ending on a strong note is a strong element of this play. It leaves its audience gasping and reminiscing about their interpretations of Antigone.