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A discussion of the concept of the tragic hero
The definition of a tragic hero
Tragic hero elements
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Tragic Hero A tragic hero is described as a character who is neither good nor bad, they have tragic flaws, they must be born to royal bloodlines, and they must have a downfall and suffering. In the play Antigone there are two main characters who could be the tragic hero, Antigone and Creon. Antigone because she is the sister of the dead brother and Creon because he is the king of Thebes. The real tragic hero of the pay Antigone is Creon because he portrays all these traits of a tragic hero according to Aristotle. Creon is born of royal bloodlines step one of being a tragic hero, he was the brother of the queen Jocasta and the uncle of the king Eteocles. Creon is neither good no bad. Creon is human he has good moments along with his bad moments. Creons bad moments in the play are contributed to his tragic flaws. The people of Thebes are very loyal to him they will not allow the barrel of Polynices. “What is the duty, then, you lay on us? To side with no one breaking this command. No man is foolish enough to go courting death.” Creon said talking to the chorus (171-173) And to not allow the barrel of a body back then was a big tabu. It was a disgrace to gods. Creon ordering the death on Antigone was his downfall …show more content…
as a tragic hero. His tragic flaws caused him to order her to her death and to be locked in a cave with very little food. He has allot of pride and that caused him to ignore everyone’s advice. The messenger come to Creon to warn him that what he is doing is wrong but Creon's pride wont allow him to change what he has done. Creon also must see his fault in the situation and does but it is to late to save everyone. “Woe for the sins of a darkened soul, the sins of a stubborn pride that played with death. Behold me, the father who was slain, behold the son who has perished! I am punished for the blindness of my counsels. Alas my son, cut down in youth untimely, woe is me!-your spirit fled-not yours the fault and folly, but my own!” Creon says (869-871). This shows that Creon admits that he did not not think of anyone but himself when deciding to put Antigone to death. Also he admitted to having much pride in himself and had no thought of letting himself down or changing his mind until he has a epiphany. Creons suffering is at the end when he is to late to change what he has done do to his tragic flaws of pride. He goes to release Antigone but when he arrives he sees that she has hung herself then he learns about his son killing himself with a sword and also is wife has killed herself, so Creon has become alone and miserable. All of this proves that Antigone is not the tragic hero because she lacks one part of the Tragic hero definition, Antigone never saw her flaws or owned up to them.
She thought she was right and that is was all Creons fault and that she did not care if she was going to die. Antigone says to her sister in the beginning “I will not urge you. No, if you wish to join me now I would not let you. Do you think best. As for me, I will burry him; and if I die for that, I am content. I shall rest like a loved one with whom I have loved, innocent in my guilt.” (59-62) this also foreshadows her death to the audience Most of all she did not realize that because of her action it was a domino affect and it cause her fiance to kill himself along with his
mother. A tragic hero is the biggest part of the plays, to be a tragic hero according to Aristotle the person must be born to a royal bloodline, can be neither good or bad, they must know there faults, they have to suffer and have a downfall and they must have some kind of tragic flaws. Creon showed everyone of them in the play Antigone. Creon was good and bad just like any human being his worst mistake was the death of Antigone and that made him have a major down fall due to his tragic flaws and because of his down fall he had to suffer the lost of his son, his wife and the trust of his people and he also lost Antigone. And due to all that Creon is the tragic hero and not Antigone. Work Cited Fiero, Gloria K. "Ch 4 The Case of Antione." The Humanistic Tradition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2011. 91-98. Print.
Antigone is a great Greek tragedy by Sophocles. The story is about a young woman who has buried her brother by breaking king’s decree, and now she is punished for obeying God’s law. There are many arguments about who is the tragic hero in Sophocles’ Antigone. Some believe that it is Creon because he also has the characteristics of a tragic hero. Others believe that it is Antigone because the play bears her name. Antigone is the perfect hero, to exemplify the meaning of a tragic hero. In order to determine whether Antigone is the tragic hero, one will have to answer the question, what is a tragic hero? According to Aristotle, “The tragic hero is a character of noble stature and has greatness, he/she is not perfect, the hero's downfall and it is partially his/her own fault, and the hero's misfortunate is not wholly deserved.” (Aristotle) Antigone is a tragic hero because she has a high social standing in Thebes, she neither good nor bad, and her suffering appears to be unjust and unfair to the audience.
Antigone, which was written by Sophocles, is possibly the first written play that still exists today (www.imagi... 1). There is much controversy between who the 'tragic hero' is in the play. Some people say Antigone, some say Creon, others even say Heamon. I believe Creon displays all of the characteristics of a 'tragic hero'. He receives compassion through the audience, yet recognizes his weaknesses, and his downfalls from his own self-pride, stubbornness, and controlling demands. He is the true protagonist.
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 tragic hero, Antigone, is the tragic hero because she displays both good and bad throughout the greek tragedy Antigone. A quote that reveals she is good is “ This death of mine is of no importance; but If I had left my brother lying in death unburied, I should have suffered” ( 2. 69-71). This quote shows that Antigone is doing good because she is honoring her family by not leaving her brother unburied. Antigone is also seen as bad because King Creon talks to Antigone and says “ This girl is guilty of a double insolence, breaking the given laws and boasting about it” ( 2. 80-81). That quote shows Antigone is bad because she broke the law and was telling everyone about what she did , which also showed that she had hubris about her actions. Antigone is the tragic hero because
In the play Antigone, I choose Creon to be the tragic hero because he is the King of Thebes and he looses everything he has. Creon being King makes the audience believe that something like that can happen to the King then what can happen to us. Antigone the niece of Creon, The sister of Polyneices was punished by Creon for burying Polyneces after his death, Creon has forbidden anybody to do so. Once Creon punished Antigone the blind prophet Teiresias told him that the Gods will take revenge for his actions, then Creon tried to change everything but he is too late. Creon's tragic flaws were his stubbornness, the abuse of power and the actions he took to cause the downfall of the Thebes.
A tragic hero has many definitions but Creons characteristics fit each single one. He displayed a fatal flaw that drove him mad near the end but also understood that his predicament was caused by him alone. Antigone cannot be the tragic hero because although she possesses several flaws, she experiences no true illumination. She does not met the required the traits for the tragic hero. Creon wanted to protect the state above personal cost, a task that was achieved in a way. Creon is the tragic hero in Sophocles Antigone because he can’t accept a diminished view of himself; he endures great suffering and is enlightened in the end.
In the book Antigone, Creon and Antigone can be considered as the tragic heroes of the play. Antigone is considered the tragic hero because of the characteristics she shows such as her ambition to defeat Creon, Creon shows more of the characteristics clearly. Creon is the king of Thebes. He is also Antigone's uncle. Creon became king after a fight between Eteocles and Polyneices. One may see Creon as a harsh and controlling ruler, but he is not good nor bad because he shows signs of both like when he wanted to give Eteocles a proper burial . Creon is the tragic hero of the Antigone, because of his dominance in society, high rank, tragic flaw; and self-pride.
In the play Antigone, the debate over who is the real tragic hero is and the controversy of Greek ideals in the Antigone continues on to this day. Who is the tragic hero in Antigone? Is it Antigone herself or is it Creon the ruler of Thebes? The belief that Antigone is, is a strong one. Still there are people who think Creon is the tragic hero. Antigone is widely thought as the tragic her. The play is named after her. In addition, she is the antagonist in it. Many people usually associate the antagonist, the good guy as a tragic hero. Look at much television shows, especially cartoons, the good person usually wins. Then there are those who might think Creon was the tragic hero because the gods were against him, and that he truly loved his country. There are five criteria or standards you must meet first in order to be a tragic hero. First, you must be a person of high character or status. The character must not be too overwhelmingly evil or good. Then they must be brought from happiness to misery. Then brought from happiness to misery. Second, the hero enacts a harmartia, "wrong act." This either may be a flaw in judgment or an error. Third, the hero experiences a perpateia, reversal of fortune. This is the tragic downfall or plot twist in the story. Fourth, the hero recognizes his or her responsibility. Fifth, the story ends with a catastrophe. The catastrophe either may be an emotional event, this even may be a death.
Creon highlighted as the tragic figure, initially created decisions he thought was for the welfare and well-being of Thebes; however, Antigone, who rebelled against Creon’s decisions, caused Creon’s rage to cloud his rational way of thinking. When Creon decided to forbid the burial of Polynices, as he believed Polynices was a traitor to Thebes, Antigone was outraged. This decision, viewed through the eyes of Creon, was just and fair; on the other hand, Antigone viewed his decision as cruel and selfish, which resulted into a major conflict between these two characters. When Antigone disobeyed his proclamation, Creon became infuriated towards this rebellious act. Those small events within the play expressed Creon as a ruler doing what he believes is right; on the other hand, Antigone’s rebellion expressed otherwise. Antigone was soon shown to cause an evil spark within Creon. This “spark” caused Creon to intensify his punishments towards Antigone, which in turn caused a chain reaction of events and eventually led to his tragic decline. Being portrayed as a menacing villain throughout the play, Creon began as an honorable man; however, overwhelming events and confrontations caused Creon to evolve in to this monstrous figure.
Creon, in his paranoia was plagued with the feeling of incompetence and need to establish dominance. His decree that no one would bury Polyneices only provoked the people of Thebes into thinking of him as insensitive to their culture. When his ruling was disobeyed, only led him to him to believe that conspiracy was about and that no matter, family or not, he would punish Antigone, causing a chain reaction of events causing the loss of his entire family, except Ismene. Leaving the audience experiencing pity and fear for both characters.
"Ah Creon! Is there no man left in the world” Tiresias Greek theatre played a large role in Greece. The citizens were supposed to learn from the mistakes made in tragedies. The citizens should have learned what not to be like as a citizen or a person. Antigone's words, actions, and ideas contrast with Creon’s character to the point of these two characters having conflicting motivations. These conflicting motivations cause the characteristics of strong, willed, and stubborn to be highlighted within Creon’s character. In the end, these conflicting motivations develop Creon as a tragic hero by being a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy, and the character interactions advance the plot and develops the theme by evaluating the importance of fate.
Throughout literary history, tragic heroes have been defined as a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat. However, philosophers such as Aristotle tried to find connections between tragic heroes in Greek plays. This in-depth analysis of tragic heroes lead Aristotle to create six criteria for a true tragic hero: He or she has to be a Noble figure of royalty and noble in character, has to be imperfect by design, has a flaw or error that is a choice, is punished excessively for this choice flaw, has to undergo a downfall that leads to a realization, and the story of this tragic hero has to make the audience reach a moment of catharsis or purging of emotions. A prime example of a tragic hero that fits all of these criteria is Creon from the play Antigone, written by Sophocles in 441 BC. The story of Antigone is a tragedy that describes a stubborn and proud king named Creon who refuses to allow a burial for the brother of Antigone. Creon’s excessive pride leads to a series of unfortunate events resulting in the death of Antigone, his son Haemon, and his wife Eurydice. Throughout the course of the play, Creon undergoes each standard that is required by Aristotle’s terms to be a tragic hero.
Antigone comes out as the only one in Thebes that will speak up about Polynices burial. Creon has no room in his kingdom for people that put private matters above the other people of the common good. He wants no part of what Antigone is doing t her brother and thinks that what she is doing, she should be put to death for it. “(Chorus) There is a certain reverence for piety. But for him in authority, he cannot see that authority defied; it is own self-willed temper that has destroyed you.” (Sophocles 1587). Creon is used in this play as the bad guy or antagonist. He does not want Antigone’s brother to have the proper burial because he betrayed all the common people when in battle. The twos play use Creon in the same light but with different words and different
George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, a German philosopher during the nineteenth century, proposed a theory for the way Greek tragedy was written it. He said that it is actually a struggle between two good sides. Hegel’s theory aligns with Sophocle’s play, Antigone, in the fact that Antigone and Creon could both be “good” according to differing view points. Both Antigone and Creon were able to make claims that would validate their own personal views, creating a conflict between two “good sides.”
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