“It is better to lose your pride with someone you love rather than to lose that someone you love with your useless pride”- John Ruskin. Creon in Antigone by Sophocles loses more than just someone because of his unnecessary pride. As his first orders of being king, Creon declares that anyone who tries to bury Polyneices will be sentenced to death. This declaration violates the gods’ laws, but the stubborn ruler still passes it because he believes he is better than the gods are. The brave Antigone rebels against her uncle Creon in order to bury her brother, Polyneices. Yet, even though Antigone tries to do the right thing, Creon still sends her away to the vault for eternity. Creon quickly tries to take back his unyielding behavior before the
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All tragic heroes have Hamartia, a tragic flaw the character has that leads to a downfall in the play. Creon takes on a heavy onus when he becomes the King of Thebes. After Creon locks Antigone, along with Ismene away for burying their brother, Haemon goes to his narcissistic father in the hope that he can prevent his fiancee from being killed. The solemn Haemon tries to make it clear to Creon that being king does not mean he knows everything and how people feel (iii, 57-58). Despite the fact that Haemon is the son of Creon, he stands up against his father to make him acknowledge that his actions are simpleminded and as the ruler of the city, his excessive pride is inappropriate. Creon’s position as a tragic hero is strengthened at the moment when he opens his eyes to see the chaos he has caused. All protagonists have an eye opening experience that lead the audience to learning the theme of the story. After listening to the Messenger and Choragus explain why his son took his own life, Creon is finally able to grasp the fact that it was his own hubris has killed his young son as he cries to Choragus, “My own blind heart has brought me/ From darkness to final darkness” (Exodus, 87-88). Following the death of his son, Messenger brings the news that his wife stabbed herself because of Creon’s slow-witted actions that caused her sons’ deaths. Creon sees that because he was so conceited, …show more content…
Every tragic hero has to ride the ups and downs of the Freytag’s Curve, or in simpler terms, have good times and bad times. A positive event for Creon was when he held the feeling of strength as he ordered Antigone to be locked away in the vault for good. However, the decision to lock Antigone away forever displeased the gods, and before Creon could take the advice of Teiresias’s prophecy, he was severely punished with the death of his family. Creon frowns upon himself for being so “rash and foolish”, that he allowed his pride to get ahead of him and kill the only people he loved (Exodus, 134-135). Throughout the play, Creon acts as if he has equal power to the gods, but after the loss of his family, Creon knows where he stands compared to the highly admired gods. Creon’s position as the tragic hero is made clear after the good and bad experiences he encounters, but also how the audience reacts to the outcome of the play. At the end of all tragic plays, the audience leaves feeling Catharsis, or a purging emotion from the soul, for the tragic hero. Creon faces a terrible tragedy. After seeing the limp body of his bloody son, and glancing at the sight of his dead wife, Creon painfully states, “It is right that it should be. I alone am guilty. I know it, and I say it” (Exodus, 121-122). In this moment, the audience felt complete sadness because although
All tragic heroes have Hamartia, a tragic flaw the character has that leads to a downfall in the play. Creon takes on a heavy onus when he becomes the King of Thebes. After Creon locks Antigone, along with Ismene away for burying their brother, Haemon goes to his narcissistic father in the hope that he can prevent his fiancee from being killed. The solemn Haemon tries to make it clear to Creon that being king does not mean he knows everything and how people feel (iii, 57-58). Despite the fact that Haemon is the son of Creon, he stands up against his father to make him acknowledge that his actions are simpleminded and as the ruler of the city, his excessive pride is inappropriate. Creon’s position as a tragic hero is strengthened at the moment when he opens his eyes to see the chaos he has caused. All protagonists have an eye opening experience that lead the audience to learning the theme of the story. After listening to the Messenger and Choragus explain why his son took his own life, Creon is finally able to grasp the fact that it was his own hubris has killed his young son as he cries to Choragus, “My own blind heart has brought me/ From darkness to final darkness” (Exodus, 87-88). Following the death of his son, Messenger brings the news that his wife stabbed herself because of Creon’s slow-witted actions that caused her sons’ deaths. Creon sees that because he was so conceited, …show more content…
Every tragic hero has to ride the ups and downs of the Freytag’s Curve, or in simpler terms, have good times and bad times. A positive event for Creon was when he held the feeling of strength as he ordered Antigone to be locked away in the vault for good. However, the decision to lock Antigone away forever displeased the gods, and before Creon could take the advice of Teiresias’s prophecy, he was severely punished with the death of his family. Creon frowns upon himself for being so “rash and foolish”, that he allowed his pride to get ahead of him and kill the only people he loved (Exodus, 134-135). Throughout the play, Creon acts as if he has equal power to the gods, but after the loss of his family, Creon knows where he stands compared to the highly admired gods. Creon’s position as the tragic hero is made clear after the good and bad experiences he encounters, but also how the audience reacts to the outcome of the play. At the end of all tragic plays, the audience leaves feeling Catharsis, or a purging emotion from the soul, for the tragic hero. Creon faces a terrible tragedy. After seeing the limp body of his bloody son, and glancing at the sight of his dead wife, Creon painfully states, “It is right that it should be. I alone am guilty. I know it, and I say it” (Exodus, 121-122). In this moment, the audience felt complete sadness because although