Antigone tells the story of two characters, Antigone and Creon, who go against each other’s pride to defend their own. Creon, the King of Thebes, declares punishment upon Antigone for trying to illegally bury her deceased brother after he committed a crime. Antigone is trying to bury her brother so that he may pass over into the afterlife. Both characters believe that what they are doing is the right thing to do. Neither one of them want to put their pride aside and reason with the other. Sophocles’ Antigone demonstrates that excessive pride can cause great regret. Sophocles illustrates this concept though the protagonist/antagonist description, hamartia, and anagnorisis.
It is often easy to determine the protagonist and the antagonist in …show more content…
There are many instances where Creon is extremely harsh in his words and actions which causes him to lack protagonist qualities such as heroism and righteousness. One example of this comes when he is speaking to the guard and says “O cease, you vex me with your babblement; I am like to think you dote in your old age” (7). Creon does not care to be kind to the guard or anyone he speaks to about the situation, even though the guard has not done any wrong. Another example of his blinding pride is when he is speaking to his son, Haemon, after locking away Antigone, who is Haemon’s fiancé. Creon shows how he does not care if Antigone dies and if Haemon watches, but Haemon fires back at his …show more content…
Described by Sharon Hamilton in her book “Essential Literary Terms: A Brief Norton Guide with Exercises”, hamartia means the “misguided action or ignorance of the true situation that causes the protagonist’s downfall” (29). Creon displays this characteristic in the examples given because he is putting the pride of his job over the importance of his family. Creon’s ignorance of his actions has caused him to be hated by those around him, which will later cause destruction in his life that he regrets greatly. These examples of hamartia foreshadow the great regret that Creon will soon come to know when he comes to realization of the fact that his pride has caused destruction in his
It is often easy to determine the protagonist and the antagonist in …show more content…
There are many instances where Creon is extremely harsh in his words and actions which causes him to lack protagonist qualities such as heroism and righteousness. One example of this comes when he is speaking to the guard and says “O cease, you vex me with your babblement; I am like to think you dote in your old age” (7). Creon does not care to be kind to the guard or anyone he speaks to about the situation, even though the guard has not done any wrong. Another example of his blinding pride is when he is speaking to his son, Haemon, after locking away Antigone, who is Haemon’s fiancé. Creon shows how he does not care if Antigone dies and if Haemon watches, but Haemon fires back at his …show more content…
Described by Sharon Hamilton in her book “Essential Literary Terms: A Brief Norton Guide with Exercises”, hamartia means the “misguided action or ignorance of the true situation that causes the protagonist’s downfall” (29). Creon displays this characteristic in the examples given because he is putting the pride of his job over the importance of his family. Creon’s ignorance of his actions has caused him to be hated by those around him, which will later cause destruction in his life that he regrets greatly. These examples of hamartia foreshadow the great regret that Creon will soon come to know when he comes to realization of the fact that his pride has caused destruction in his