A Tragic Hero
The play I am writing about is Antigone by Sophocles, a greek tragic playwright. The main characters are Creon and Antigone, but as the play goes on it becomes more about Creon and his hamartia. Hamartia is a fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero. A character named Teiresias who is a prophet serves as a foil for Creon’s character by highlighting Creon’s stubbornness, anger, and disrespect towards the other characters. When Teiresias passes his argument in support of Antigone, Creon stubbornly refuses to listen. For example when Teiresias says, “All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride…” Creon responds by saying “I would not yield. I am not afraid of pollution.” (p. 1053-1054, Sophocles l. 34-47.) This quote shows that even if Creon knows what he is doing is wrong he will still do it if he thinks he should. Another quote that shows Creon’s stubbornness is when Teiresias says “You are sick, Creon! You are deathly sick!” …show more content…
For example, “Corpse for corpse, flesh of your own flesh. You have thrust the child of this world into living nights; you have kept him from the gods below, the child that is theirs.” (p.1054 l. 73-74 Sophocles.) This quote shows that Creon is disrespectful because he is keeping a child from having an honorable burial because he is being cruel and unfair. Another quote to show his disrespect is when he says “You forget yourself! You are speaking to your king.” (p.1054 l. 63 Sophocles.) This quote shows that Creon is disrespectful because he isn’t being grateful for Teiresias’s prophecy and all he is trying to do is make sure Creon makes the right decision for his well-being. Instead of thanking Teiresias he disrespects him instead because he is too stubborn to realize that he is
The play I am writing about is Antigone by Sophocles, a greek tragic playwright. The main characters are Creon and Antigone, but as the play goes on it becomes more about Creon and his hamartia. Hamartia is a fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero. A character named Teiresias who is a prophet serves as a foil for Creon’s character by highlighting Creon’s stubbornness, anger, and disrespect towards the other characters. When Teiresias passes his argument in support of Antigone, Creon stubbornly refuses to listen. For example when Teiresias says, “All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride…” Creon responds by saying “I would not yield. I am not afraid of pollution.” (p. 1053-1054, Sophocles l. 34-47.) This quote shows that even if Creon knows what he is doing is wrong he will still do it if he thinks he should. Another quote that shows Creon’s stubbornness is when Teiresias says “You are sick, Creon! You are deathly sick!” …show more content…
For example, “Corpse for corpse, flesh of your own flesh. You have thrust the child of this world into living nights; you have kept him from the gods below, the child that is theirs.” (p.1054 l. 73-74 Sophocles.) This quote shows that Creon is disrespectful because he is keeping a child from having an honorable burial because he is being cruel and unfair. Another quote to show his disrespect is when he says “You forget yourself! You are speaking to your king.” (p.1054 l. 63 Sophocles.) This quote shows that Creon is disrespectful because he isn’t being grateful for Teiresias’s prophecy and all he is trying to do is make sure Creon makes the right decision for his well-being. Instead of thanking Teiresias he disrespects him instead because he is too stubborn to realize that he is