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Creon - The Tragic Hero

            Aristotle wrote an analysis on tragedy called The Poetics. Aristotle's book on tragedy is "still considered one of the most important documents ever written" on tragedy (Aristotle). Aristotle outlines a tragic figure to have five characteristics. Aristotle's outline of a tragic hero can be found in Antigone. In Antigone, Antigone commits suicide after defying the kings law to follow her religion and burry her brother. Antigone, the king's son and the king's wife all commit suicide because of the kings decisions. The kings arrogance did not allow him to see that he was losing his family. In Antigone, the king, Creon can be considered a tragic hero because he meets all the characteristics of a tragic hero that Aristotle defined. .
             In Aristotle's book, "The Poetics," a tragic figure possess five characteristics. The first of the five is the tragic flaw. The hero's tragic flaw is "a moral weakness in character" eventually leading to the "disaster" (Brown). The tragic flaw leads the character towards the wrong decisions. Aristotle's definition says that the character is "always larger than life" and that it is their decisions that affect others and that "seem to shake the world itself" (Brown). The figure must also be of high nobility or high stature. The character's tragic flaw leads him to the third characteristic, the down fall. The character's downfall causes the character to fall from that high nobility or stature. The consequence that comes from the downfall is of "great suffering" (Brown). The character's downfall causes suffering or death in the characters life. The final characteristic is the realization. The realization comes to the tragic figure too late as the downfall and suffering have already struck.
             Creon fulfills the characteristics of a tragic flaw in Antigone. Creon displays arrogance as his tragic flaw in Antigone. Creon's arrogance does not allow him to see that he is pushing his family towards death.


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1. Antigone and Creon - Two Tragic Heroes

... can be argued that the protagonist Antigone is the tragic hero because Aristotle states in Poetics that a tragic hero is "a good person who does great things" yet Creon is not a good person because he puts the law before his ethics. To refute, Creon first starts the story off as a noble ruler who makes law that are for the good of the people, making the people loyal to him. The Choragus is first to show ... Antigone his only villainous aspect is making rash decisions and not listening to others because of his stubbornness. In conclusion, part of reading Greek dramas, tragedies in partic...

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2. Tragic Heroes in Oedipus the K

... death, his suffering does not end, drawing greater pity from the audience. By fulfilling all the essential characteristics of the tragic hero, Oedipus attains a greater connection to the audience, further exemplifying the play's underlying tragic effect. Antigone, the first installment of the Oedipus Trilogy, though set chronologically last, also depicts the essence of the tragic hero. Through the character of Creon, Sophocles effectively conveys the essential elements of a tragic hero. Creon is, first, king of Thebes, thus illustrating his high ... state, but he more importantly embodi...

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3. Antigone-Protagonist/Tragic Hero

... , however, Antigone's character lacks some of the crucial attributes necessary to comprise the protagonist of a Greek Tragedy. The fact that the play is a tragedy indicates that the protagonist should also be the tragic hero. Since Creon is the tragic hero of the play, he clearly plays a more vital role in the drama than Antigone. We can recognize Creon as the tragic hero rather than Antigone upon examining the definition of a tragic hero. A tragic hero must have a tragic flaw, a realization of his flaw, and a downfall ... . Creon goes through each of these stages in the play (while Antig...

  • Word Count: 764
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4. Tragic Hero of Antigone

... involving many deaths because of one man, Creon. Creon was lead to his downfall because of his own actions and arrogance making him the tragic hero in story of Antigone. A tragic hero by definition is a noble character with a tragic flaw. He is the tragic hero of Antigone because he is noble, he has a tragic flaw, and he is brought down the most. First of all, Creon is the tragic hero of Antigone because he is a noble character ... . He is noble because he didn't make the law of forbidding the proper burial of Polynecies just ... ...

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5. The Tragic Hero in Antigone

... , the true tragic hero in Sophocles" Antigone. Many think that the tragic hero is Antigone because the play does really bear her name. But in actuality, Creon is the true tragic hero. In order to determine who the real tragic hero is, one will have to answer the question, "What is a tragic hero?" Aristotle studied the works of Sophocles and he stated in The Poetics that a hero is neither innocent nor evil. This person also must possess a tragic flaw. The tragic flaw dooms the ... character to a ruinous end. Creon's tragic flaws ... ...

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6. Tragic Hero - King Creon

... around him, Creon, ultimately, begins to rethink the matters involving his niece, Antigone. In the play Antigone, a reader can assume that woman Antigone was the tragic hero, but she is not. As it turned out, Creon is the tragic hero. With the dealings between Creon, Antigone, and the prophet, Creons pride is what made him a tragic hero and causes his downfalls. One way Creons pride makes him a tragic hero is shown during the conflict between Creon and Antigone. To ... begin, Creon would not listen to Antigone and allow her to explain herself. While ... ...

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7. Antigone - Creon: A Tragic Hero

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9. Creon The Tragic Hero

... supreme, undisputed rule over the land, its people, and its government. Creon presents himself as a protagonist and a tragic hero, who had a true realization. This realization and acceptance of the problem is known as catharsis. He not only recognizes and learns from his tragic flaws, but he ends up bearing a tremendous burden of sorrow. Based on the play Antigone, we can see that Creon is the tragic hero who had a greaterdownfall than ... Antigone. This therefore leads us to believe that Creon in fact is the main character and the tragic hero of ... ...

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