Creon, the Tragic Hero
In the story of Antigone, an argument of who is the tragic hero between Antigone and Creon exists. I firmly believe Creon is the tragic hero of the play. Creon becomes the typical fallen hero in Greek drama. He faces many conflicts, internally and externally, and undergoes quite a bit of painful emotions. One might say Antigone should receive the title of being the tragic hero, but Creon plays a more significant role by learning his lesson the hard way and ending up as the classic tragic hero who loses everything at the end of the dramatic play.
There has always been much controversy between who the tragic hero is in the play. A tragic hero is a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy. Many times, the tragic hero will acknowledge their “fatal flaw” near the end of the play; however, by this time, it will be too late for this character to correct their wrong doings.
“He [Creon] receives compassion through the audience, yet recognizes his weaknesses and his downfalls from his own self-pride, stubbornness, and controlling demands,” (Graves 37). He is the true tragic hero. Though the audience notices how villainous Creon is, they still express sympathy towards him. According to Robert Graves, author of The Greek Myths: 2, they [the audience] realize that he has “brought all of his problems upon himself,” (Graves 14) and know that he should have been more open-minded; however they all feel that “no one should have to go through the experience that he has,” (Graves 14). The audience also expresses pity towards him because Antigone is a murderer and they can understand why Creon is so upset.
Creon is a very authoritative person and demands control of others. When talking to the Chorus, “Creon does not ask them to agree with the decree, but he rather demands that they follow it,” (Grantz 18). Creon expects loyalty from others. It is apparent that Creon is very
There has always been much controversy between who the tragic hero is in the play. A tragic hero is a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy. Many times, the tragic hero will acknowledge their “fatal flaw” near the end of the play; however, by this time, it will be too late for this character to correct their wrong doings.
“He [Creon] receives compassion through the audience, yet recognizes his weaknesses and his downfalls from his own self-pride, stubbornness, and controlling demands,” (Graves 37). He is the true tragic hero. Though the audience notices how villainous Creon is, they still express sympathy towards him. According to Robert Graves, author of The Greek Myths: 2, they [the audience] realize that he has “brought all of his problems upon himself,” (Graves 14) and know that he should have been more open-minded; however they all feel that “no one should have to go through the experience that he has,” (Graves 14). The audience also expresses pity towards him because Antigone is a murderer and they can understand why Creon is so upset.
Creon is a very authoritative person and demands control of others. When talking to the Chorus, “Creon does not ask them to agree with the decree, but he rather demands that they follow it,” (Grantz 18). Creon expects loyalty from others. It is apparent that Creon is very
Cited: Gantz, Timothy. Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources. John Hopkins University Press. 1993. Graves, Robert. The Greek Myths: 2. London: Penguin, 1960 Hochman, Stanley. McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama. New York, New York. 1972 Sophocles. Antigone.