Heroes emotional state can hinder the effects of their heroic characteristics, which in turn will manipulate their self-confidence. Every hero shares similar and different emotional tragedies, but these poignant feelings can turn heroes into epic legends. These influential heroes, such as Odysseus, Aeneas, and Antigone were faced with emotional defeat, but they evolved their heroic characteristic traits through their mental challenges. Emotional qualities not only built these stories, but built these heroes. While these poetic stories differ, each of these heroes were cultivated by their personal emotional events in their lives.
First, emotions effected how heroes handle their quest, and of course, build their heroic attributes along the way. Odysseus, Aeneas, and Antigone were intertwined within their heroic qualities, and as a result, their political issues, religious testimony, and social challenges empowered their unique heroic traits. These struggles were life changing, and built the strength they needed to become heroes. Odysseus, Aeneas, and Antigone accepted their emotions to better themselves, and not to weaken their character. These emotional breakdowns allowed those heroes to conquer, and thrived to develop their fortitude.
To explore this further, each character experienced emotional distress from the
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beginning of their stories, which lead them to heroic courage and perseverance. For example, Odysseus was blindsided with anger when Poseidon would not let him return home. Aeneas feared he no longer has a home, and many great losses for his country. Also, the heroin Antigone experienced anguish that her brother would never get a proper burial because of her uncle King Creon laws. These emotional trepidations manifested these heroes to take charge of their destiny, and established their courage and perseverance through their anger, fear, and anguish. Furthermore, as the poetic heroes discovered their strengths through these emotional tribulations, in turn each of their unique experiences gave them different heroic characteristics. Odysseus demonstrated frustrations throughout his journey, and each destination prolonged him from reaching home. Out of Odysseus frustrations he developed his heroic quick-wit to overcome his encounters with the cyclops, or the sirens to escape and continue home. On the other hand, Aeneas experienced a great sense of hopelessness since he has lost his home to a vicious war. Aeneas took on the responsibility to find a new home for his people, and his hopelessness motivated his character to become a honorable leader for his people. Unlike the other heroes, Antigone is emotional impulsive and passionate girl over her religious beliefs. She believed strongly in her traditions and rituals for her brother's burial despite her uncles political stance. Antigone impulsiveness passion allocated her a virtuous heroine, as well as never giving up on her convictions. Despite their differences, each character found themselves pursuing their own heroic qualities derived from their own afflictions. Finally, to come to a full understanding of these heroic traits, heroes must first recognize their emotional state of mind.
These emotional traumas originated epic heroes such as Odysseus, Aeneas, and Antigone to prosper and obtain their valiant attributes. Emotions motivated these heroes to mature stronger, and flourish personally because of their tragedies. These ancient literary characters has shown they were not defeated by their sentiments. Odysseus, Aeneas, and Antigone were not born heroes, but they are self-made from their emotional tribulations, which allowed them to achieve their own essential heroic
qualities.
Odysseus is unique among epic heroes in that his strength comes not from inhuman powers or exceptional physical ability, but mainly from his mind. Odysseus, regularly uses cunning, guile, and superiority of intellect to overcome obstacles. In this paper I will compare Odysseus to other epic heroes, both in terms of character and in terms of responses to crises, comparing his reactions with those of other heroes placed in similar situations.
Antigone is one of the famous plays written by Sophocles in around 441 B.C.E. This play is a dramatic and eye-opening play that really shocks the characters in the play as well as the readers. Sophocles wrote this play in no chronological order but it is better to understand the story is Oedipus the King is read before Antigone, that way it gives readers an understanding of how the time changed the characters.
In the greek tragedy Antigone , the author Sophocles conveys Antigone as the tragic hero because she arouses the most fear, she shows both good and bad which is a tragic hero characteristic and Antigone has the tragic flaw of loyalty to her family and to the gods.
Odysseus is a hero because he acts courageously while facing the many challenges he encounters. Odysseus’s shows great bravery when he engages in physical challenges. Odysseus daringly fights against the suitors, while significantly outnumbered: “For I must tell you this is no affair / of ten or even twice ten men, but scores, throngs of them” (XVI, 291 – 293). Even though Odysseus is facing hundreds of men, his bravery keeps him confident that he can win the battle. Odysseus must use his physical strength when Poseidon punishes him with turbulent waves: “Odysseus’s knees grew slack, his heart / sickened, and he said within himself / Rag of man that I am, is this the end of me?” (V, 307 – 309). Odysseus is exhausted from the torrential sea, yet refuses to give up because of enormous courage and his unwillingness to surrender. Odysseus must also cope with emotional challenges throughout his journey. His emotions are tested when he ventures to the underworld, Hades, and must confront his greatest fear, death: “From every side they came and sought the pit / with rustling cries; and I grew sick with fear. / But presently I gave command to my officers” (XI, 45 -47). Although Odysseus is deeply fearful when he comes face to face with the dead, his mental f...
knew full well that what she was doing was wrong. She knew that if she buried
Odysseus’ journey is one that features much emotional pain. Pain for being away from his home, wife and son, but in Aeneas’ journey he is a warrior, and he goes through physical pain. Unlike Odysseus, Aeneas begins his journey after the Greeks have burned his home to the ground. He does not have the pleasure of long comfortable “holdups” Odysseus has and he also has to deal with his father dying—the ultimate blow.
Antigone’s ability to follow her beliefs, to make the proper actions, and to follow through her actions with courage make Antigone the perfect tragic hero. It is important to follow one’s own beliefs and to pursue the right things, so the outcome will turn well. Without having courage and perseverance it is very easy to be challenged and stopped from the goals being pursued. The tragic hero of a story has al these qualities and the ability to do what they want. A tragic hero must be someone who follows his or her beliefs no matter what the outcome is. Although sometimes the outcome may involve death, a tragic hero can be anyone that follows their own beliefs, has the ability to learn to persevere, and can do the right thing under any circumstance.
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.
Sophocles' play "Antigone" examines the age-old conflict between civil and divine law, including the ominous life or death consequences of putting one system above the other. In this piece of literature we can read to what extremes someone can enforce both of these kinds of laws while also comparing and contrasting Creon and Antigones’ views on the subject.
Through the investigation of the writing of a culture, the peruser can find what was of genuine worry to the nationals. The tale of Antigone is an account of a young ladys search for importance to her life inside within the guidelines set around her the grown-up, the administration, in the individual of King Creon. In Julius Caesar, as translated in the English Renaissance by Shakespeare, is the tale of a gathering of nationals who question the get for control by one man. Both plays manage the idea of individual flexibility and activity versus laws to secure the welfare of the gathering in the city or state.
George Bernard Shaw said, "Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." While analyzing Sophocles's play "Antigone", we studied the different characters to discover which character we relate to most. We learned about their trials and values; we read about their lives in ancient Greece around 430 B.C. They had an evil, cruel leader whose laws prohibited them to bury their beloved family and friends after an intense, gory battle. Throughout this play, Antigone refers to her pure morals and breaks the law to bury her brother. She confronts death but does so honorably. She becomes a role model and a great example to the town of Thebes. She becomes a hero in her sister's eyes! I have found that I am most similar to Antigone. I've evaluated my life and her story and have discovered that Antigone and I have complementary physical capabilities, personalities, backgrounds, and responsibilities.
Loyalty to the household is one of the foundational values of Grecian cultures. Both Antigone and the Odyssey portray the benefits of this devotion to kin, yet also expose the tensions that can arise while keeping an allegiance to a household. Polis, the city-state, was grounded in the concept of oikos, or households. Ancient Hellenic women were expected to uphold certain standards within society, such as burying the dead family members, pledging allegiance to the household of the betrothed, or marrying into a new household following the death of a husband. Consequently, massive repercussions, even death, could arise if a woman did not fully pledge allegiance to a betrothed household or abandoned her current family without justifiable cause.
Throughout your life you will meet some people that are so similar to each other, you think they could be the same person. They possess most, if not all of the same characteristics. This happens quite frequently in literature. The book The Odyssey is a 303 page book by Homer, that has a character named Odysseus that is very similar to a character named Othello. Othello is the main character in a 314 page play called Othello by William Shakespeare. Both of these characters go through similar hardships throughout both of the stories. Characters are often portrayed similar to other characters in other stories, and share the same traits. Othello and Odysseus are very similar characters and go through some of the same battles throughout the two
As a director I intend to show the contrast between Antigone and Esmene, in the opening scene, by the way they deliver their lines, movement, facial expression and body language.
Courageous and admirable with noble qualities defines a heroine. In Aristotle’s Poetics he describes a tragic hero as a character who is larger than life and through fate and a flaw they destroy themselves. Additionally, Aristotle states excessive pride is the hubris of a tragic hero. The hero is very self-involved; they are blind to their surroundings and commit a tragic action. A tragedy describes a story that evokes sadness and awe, something larger than life. Furthermore, a tragedy of a play results in the destruction of a hero, evoking catharsis and feelings of pity and fear among the audience. Aristotle states, "It should, moreover, imitate actions which excite pity and fear, this being the distinctive mark of tragic imitation." (18) For a tragedy to arouse fear, the audience believes similar fate might happen to them and the sight of the suffering of others arouses pity. A tragedy's plot includes peripeteia, anagnorisis, hamartia and catharsis. Using Aristotle’s criteria, both characters in Oedipus The King and The Medea share similar qualities that define a tragic hero such as being of noble birth, having excessive pride, and making poor choices. They both gain recognition through their downfall and the audience feels pity and fear.