William-Tyler Aladetan
Mrs. Kottke
IB English HL A; Hour 7
23 February 2016
Who suffers the greatest tragedy in the novel Antigone? Sophocles a Greek dramatist is one of the three Classical greek tragedy playwrights. Sophocles produced 123 dramas throughout his lifetime and the novel Antigone is the point of focus in this essay. He was able to masterfully create a tragedy where the reader falls in love with the protagonist before his or her demise. Such can be seen in Antigone. As the title suggests, the plot revolves around the protagonist Antigone the daughter of the cursed king Oedipus. Another important character in the novel is Creon Antigone's uncle and current ruler of Athens. Through these characters and their interactions, Sophocles creates a plot in Antigone that develops the ironic climax where the living suffers more than the dead. With Antigone dying tragically and Creon living but losing everyone he loves. The Greek conception of tragedy is best defined in this quote by potter from Aristotle’s “Poetic” “A tragedy must have the central character with the particular "tragic flaw" (Aristotle's term "harmartia" is often used). The central character or protagonist, usually called a tragic hero, is a person of …show more content…
Creon’s suffering is a little more complex than Antigone's his struggle to rule his country with an iron grip is not only opposed by Antigone but also by Haimon and Teiresias. After finishing the novel Sophocles suggests that the tragic hero is Creon, because he presents a fatal flaw his pride. ‘Creon: My voice is the one voice giving orders in this city! The state is the king. That much is sure!’ (Sophocles, 595). Creon’s pride is what lead to his eventual downfall. Creon’s pride leads him to his suffering, he abused his power as King and attempted to portray himself as a god. The cause of his downfall is his own flaw he is directly responsible for his
Mrs. Kottke
IB English HL A; Hour 7
23 February 2016
Who suffers the greatest tragedy in the novel Antigone? Sophocles a Greek dramatist is one of the three Classical greek tragedy playwrights. Sophocles produced 123 dramas throughout his lifetime and the novel Antigone is the point of focus in this essay. He was able to masterfully create a tragedy where the reader falls in love with the protagonist before his or her demise. Such can be seen in Antigone. As the title suggests, the plot revolves around the protagonist Antigone the daughter of the cursed king Oedipus. Another important character in the novel is Creon Antigone's uncle and current ruler of Athens. Through these characters and their interactions, Sophocles creates a plot in Antigone that develops the ironic climax where the living suffers more than the dead. With Antigone dying tragically and Creon living but losing everyone he loves. The Greek conception of tragedy is best defined in this quote by potter from Aristotle’s “Poetic” “A tragedy must have the central character with the particular "tragic flaw" (Aristotle's term "harmartia" is often used). The central character or protagonist, usually called a tragic hero, is a person of …show more content…
Creon’s suffering is a little more complex than Antigone's his struggle to rule his country with an iron grip is not only opposed by Antigone but also by Haimon and Teiresias. After finishing the novel Sophocles suggests that the tragic hero is Creon, because he presents a fatal flaw his pride. ‘Creon: My voice is the one voice giving orders in this city! The state is the king. That much is sure!’ (Sophocles, 595). Creon’s pride is what lead to his eventual downfall. Creon’s pride leads him to his suffering, he abused his power as King and attempted to portray himself as a god. The cause of his downfall is his own flaw he is directly responsible for his