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Recommended: Free will vs fate Greek mythology
In ancient Thebes, where Oedipus and his family have demolished any sense of peace, the esteemed elder Teiresias has served as an assistant and protector of the city’s royalty by exposing their fate since the times of Oedipus’ rule. This venerable prophet, physically blind but spiritually enlightened, moves the story by informing Creon, and the readers, of the deaths of several characters in the play. Not only does Teiresias affect the final act, but his presence ultimately cements the character development of Creon’s character, and is the theme’s major connection with fate and free will. In Sophocles’ Antigone, Teiresias’s character functions as a catalyst for the third act and serves an overall embodiment of the theme. Primarily, Teiresias influences Creon’s character development by prophesying Thebes’ oncoming plagues. “I tell you, Creon, you yourself have brought this new calamity upon us...corpse for corpse, flesh of your own flesh...the Furies and the dark gods of hell are swift with terrible punishment for you...your house will be full of men and women weeping, and curses will be hurled at you …show more content…
After his fate is revealed, Creon lingers with his revelation. The understanding Creon experienced after Teiresias’s prophecy is promptly followed by the play’s falling action: King Creon’s thwarted attempt of unburying Antigone, Haemon’s consequent suicide, subsequently succeeded by the self-annihilation (due to maternal grievance) of Queen Eurydice. This amassed carnage leaves Creon alone, jaded, and inundated with guilt: “Lead me away. I have been rash and foolish…. Whatever my hands have touched has come to nothing. Fate has brought all my pride to dust,” (Exodos, 134-137, 1006). While Antigone, Haemon, and Eurydice would still face their own demise, Teiresias’ swift presence in the play allows for Creon’s attempt to save his niece, thus establishing his character
...se Creon was not yet the king of Thebes during the period of Oedipus’s ruling, and Antigone who was not yet a renowned figure acting independently in her own will without any dilemmas. It is until the story of Antigone when Antoine’s rights are desecrated by the might of Creon’s rule and that it led Antigone to bail and revolt against it. This is the dynamic that Sophocles sees in Antigone within the society of Thebes, and through the perception of Antigone’s heroic deeds, equal to that against the behavior of Creon, Sophocles exemplify to the audience the unbalance nature in society.
...ut her son’s death, she goes and slits her throat. Creon then feels Antigone’s direct action when he is all alone at the end of the play. His edict caused so much pain in suffering for his family, he led them all to suicide.
In the awe-inspiring play of Antigone, Sophocles introduces two remarkable characters, Antigone and Creon. A conflict between these two obstinate characters leads to fatal consequences for themselves and their kindred. The firm stances of Creon and Antigone stem from two great imperatives: his loyalty to the state and her dedication to her family, her religion but most of all her conscience. The identity of the tragic hero of this play is still heavily debated. This tragedy could have been prevented if it had not been for Creon's pitiful mistakes.
In the Antigone, unlike the Oedipus Tyrannus, paradoxically, the hero who is left in agony at the end of the play is not the title role. Instead King Creon, the newly appointed and tyrannical ruler, is left all alone in his empty palace with his wife's corpse in his hands, having just seen the suicide of his son. However, despite this pitiable fate for the character, his actions and behavior earlier in the play leave the final scene evoking more satisfaction than pity at his torment. The way the martyr Antigone went against the King and the city of Thebes was not entirely honorable or without ulterior motives of fulfilling pious concerns but it is difficult to lose sight of the fact that this passionate and pious young woman was condemned to living imprisonment.
Antigone, a tragic drama written by Sophocles explores the different ranges of characters: static and dynamic or flat and round. Creon, King of Thebes in the dramatic play Antigone takes on the role that of a static character. Throughout the whole play Creon believed the idea that he was above the law of the Gods and his decrees cannot be disputed. Unknowingly, who would think that Creon’s sense of pride would cause him the life of his wife, son, and niece? However, at the very end of the play Creon returns to the palace, holding his son’s lifeless body, where he finds out that his wife has killed herself as well. Overwhelmed with grief about the death of his loved ones, Creon turns to the Chorus and says, “Lead me away. I have been rash and foolish. I have killed my son and wife. I look for comfort; my comfort lies here dead. Whatever my hands have touched come to nothing. Fate has brought all my pride to thought of dust” (1833). Creon takes responsibility of the death of his son and wife by calling himself a “rash” man and this is where Creon undergoes the changes of a dynamic character by admitting that he was wrong.
Antigone is a play about the tension caused when two individuals have conflicting claims regarding law. In this case, the moral superiority of the laws of the city, represented by Creon, and the laws of the gods, represented bt Antigone. In contrast, Oedipus The King is driven by the tensions within Oedipus himself. That play both begins and concludes within the public domain, the plot being driven by the plague that troubles the city, and which is so graphically brought to life by the Priest. In both Antigone (ll179-82) and Oedipus The King (ll29-31) the city is likened to a storm tossed ship, and it cannot be merely coincidence that Oedipus The King was written at the beginning of the Peloponnesian War, a time when Athens itself was suffering the effects of plague. Oedipus The King reaches its climax with a now blinded Oedipus daring to show himself to the people of Thebes, forgetting that he is no longer the leader of the state. In Antigone, it is Creons abuse of absolute power that leads to his tragic downfall. Whilst Oedipus determinedly tried to get to the root of his peoples ills, ultimately discovering that he was in fact the cause of them, Creon morphs from a supposedly caring leader into a tyrannical despot, eager to take the law into his own hands. It is the actions of Antigone that helps to bring about Creons fall from grace, as her steadfast refusal to accept th...
Antigone utilizes her moral foundations, her religious roots, and the events of her past to form a sophisticated argument. Despite being unable to convince Creon to reverse her punishment, Antigone is able to convince the people of Thebes that she was right in her actions. After Antigone’s death, and the deaths of several others, Creon reflects on this monologue and realizes the honest truth behind Antigone’s actions and words.
This play, Antigone, was titled after one of the play’s main characters; however, the title could have been “Creon”, due to Creon’s influence throughout the play. Creon was a major influence to the play’s plot as it involves Creon within a majority of the scenes, from beginning to end. Throughout the play Creon’s tragic countdown is expressed, beginning with him as king of Thebes to the death of his beloved family. Antigone is merely portrayed as a rebellious nephew, as she consistently defies Creon. Antigone is expressed within the play consistently; however, the play portrays decisions proclaimed by Creon, which displays Creon’s tragic flow. Being titled “Antigone”, does not accurately express the play’s content as Creon’s tragic fate is actually being described and represented.
... for his mistakes in the denouement. Devastated by Antigone’s death, Haimon ends up committing suicide. Creon then realizes how wrong he was, however it is too late. This is not the only karma that Creon receives though. Creon’s beloved wife, Eurydice, also met her death when she was told the fate of her son. Creon finally realizes how blinded he was, and how he was continuously making foolish decisions. Two losses in one day- Creon is filled with great remorse and regret. Like the ‘Sun King’, all the sunlight in Creon’s life has faded. The world no longer revolves around Creon, as all his valued things in life have vanished. If you attain power, use it wisely. Otherwise you will end up heartbroken and repentant, just like Creon.
Antigone if she is caught. As the play moves on there is a building of this fear and pity that is felt for many of the characters that finally is resolved at the catastrophe. At that point the reader learns that Creon, the king, has lost his wife, his son, and his niece Antigone, all because he was too stubborn to give in as well as to afraid that if he did give in that he would be judged as an easy king. In a way this ending brings the two emotions together. The reader feels pity for Creon because of his great loss, but at the same time he feels a bit of fear because he wouldn’t want this type of tragedy to ever occur in his life.
At this point in Sophocles’ Antigone the character Teiresias is introduced. There is a conversation between Teiresias and Creon which shows the intentions and values Teiresias has. Teiresias is brutally honest with Creon when stating his prophecy, that because of Creon’s actions the gods will not accept any sacrifice and subsequently, Thebes is polluted (Lines 985, 987-989). Teiresias is a seer who can interpret the actions of the gods. He values the decrees that the gods have imposed on mortals so he tells Creon his wrongdoings without fear of retribution. Teiresias explains to Creon that it is just to let the actions of a man die with him, good or bad, and that there is no valour in punishing a dead body (Line 998). Teiresias believes that because Creon did not bury Polyneices, and punished Antigone for doing so, the gods are angered and will seek retribution.
“Antigone” is a play in which Sophocles, the author, explains the story of a prosperous character with a fatal flaw. Creon, the main character, saves the city of Thebes and is admired by many, but his obstinacy gets the best of him and his life starts to collapse. His actions leads to the suicide of Antigone, the protagonist, this sets off a chain reaction and his entire family ends up dead. A part of that death was Creon’s son, Haemon, whose death strikes Creon intensely. Haemon exposes Creon’s inner self, Haemon’s interaction with Creon highlights Creon’s authoritarian side, his stubbornness, and his sexist side.
In Antigone by Sophocles the character Teiresias delivers a speech about Creon’s fate when it comes to his decision to not bury Polynices. This speech uses several persuasive techniques to attempt to convince Creon that what he did to Antigone and Polynices is wrong and that he should attempt to right those wrongs.
The curse of Oedipus lingers over the city of Thebes. Antigone as the daughter of Oedipus and Creon as the new king of Thebes are put on a path towards a unavoidable and terrible fate. Antigone is fated to reach a terrible end, because of the curse of her father Oedipus. Creon is fated to reach a terrible end, because he is putting his law above the law of the gods and he has too much excess pride. The tragedy in Antigone is unavoidable, because it is Antigone fate to die, because of her father’s sins and it is Creon’s fate to suffer for going ahead of the gods with his excess pride.
Teiresias, a trusted prophet renowned for his prophecies’ veracity, advises Creon that “the time is not far off when you shall pay back corpse for corpse, flesh of your own flesh. You have thrust the child of this world into living night: you have kept from the gods below the child that is theirs: the one in a grave before her death, the other, dead, denied the grave. This crime: and the Furies and the dark gods of hell are swift with terrible punishment for you” (scene 5, 70-75). Although Teiresias augers Creon that he “stand[s] once more on the edge of fate” (scene 5, 8), he continues to persecute the innocent and rule Thebes with obstinacy. Moreover, his struggle to conduct Thebes in consonance with absolute power not only afflicts Antigone and her family but all of society and nature as well; hence, nature is reacting to the tension between laws and morals.