The most tragic reversal in the play 'Antigone' happens to Theban King Creon. He loses everything that gives his life meaning. His wife and his son choose to commit suicide rather than spend one more minute above ground under his dictatorial, insensitive, selfish rules. He loses the friendship and respect of Teiresias the blind prophet. It in fact is Teiresias who bails the King out with his insightful advice and his prescient predictions. And he loses his job. He no longer has the kingly position and powers of which he is so proud throughout most of the play. He no longer has the love and respect of his relatives or his people. He's headed for a miserable, beggarly existence in exile.
Yes, Creon is the tragic hero. His flaw is his hubris (of course) and his recognition is after Tiresias comes and his reversal is when he buries Polynices and then goes to try to get Antigone back. Too late..
cindy!
Antigone is more tragic than Theban King Creon. The adjective 'tragic' refers to an unhappy ending or outcome. So Antigone is more tragic, because she ends up dead. Except for his life, Creon loses everything that means something to him.
reversal
Both Antigone and Creon meet tragic ends, but Antigone's is more tragic in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, an end is tragic when the outcome of a human life leads to suffering or takes an unfortunate turn. The description fits both Theban Princess Antigone and King Creon. Antigone's end is tragic because she loses her life and therefore forfeits the opportunity to marry her beloved first cousin, Prince Haemon and to have children with him. Creon's end is a bit less tragic since he still lives at the play's end even though he loses everyone and everything that gives his life meaning.
Yes, Creon is the tragic hero. His flaw is his hubris (of course) and his recognition is after Tiresias comes and his reversal is when he buries Polynices and then goes to try to get Antigone back. Too late..
cindy!
Antigone is more tragic than Theban King Creon. The adjective 'tragic' refers to an unhappy ending or outcome. So Antigone is more tragic, because she ends up dead. Except for his life, Creon loses everything that means something to him.
reversal
Both Antigone and Creon meet tragic ends, but Antigone's is more tragic in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, an end is tragic when the outcome of a human life leads to suffering or takes an unfortunate turn. The description fits both Theban Princess Antigone and King Creon. Antigone's end is tragic because she loses her life and therefore forfeits the opportunity to marry her beloved first cousin, Prince Haemon and to have children with him. Creon's end is a bit less tragic since he still lives at the play's end even though he loses everyone and everything that gives his life meaning.
Her rashness, and loyalty
Creon is not the tragic hero in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, a hero is the main character, the holder of great powers, and the doer of great deeds. That hero is tragic when his life takes an unfortunate turn. The description of the hero does not fit Theban King Creon, who is capable of no great deed or power. But the description of tragic does fit Creon, as a tragic figure in a tragic play about the tragedy of the tragic heroine Antigone.
That she numbers among the play's cast of characters and that her life comes to an unfortunate end is the reason why Antigone can be considered a tragic character in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Antigone is a main character who influences and is affected by the interactions among the other main characters. Great changes can be expected of her as Princess of Thebes, and yet her life is cut short, suddenly and cruelly. What she does therefore defines her as a main character and what happens to her therefore defines Antigone as tragic.
A tragic hero's tragic flaw is what helps to do the hero in. A hero is an individual who does great deeds, and has great power or strength. The tragic hero faces an unhappy reversal of fate or fortune, and even may die within the confines of the story. In the case of the play 'Antigone', the main character of the same name faces cruel punishment, and takes her own life. That reversal or that death results from an interaction with a superior force. Specifically, Antigone has a fatal interaction with her superior and her uncle, Theban King Creon. She also has a fatal interaction with the superior force of divine fate that casts a curse on her ancestor, Theban King Labdacus, and all of his descendants. That reversal or that death becomes a foregone conclusion with the hero's tragic, often fatal, flaw. The flaw tends to be pride. If nothing else, it's pride in thinking that an individual can escape the fate that the gods portion to each mortal. Such is the case with Antigone's parents, Theban King Oedipus and Queen Jocasta, who vainly try to escape their god-ordained destinies of king killing, parent killing, and mother-son marrying and procreating. But in the case of Antigone, the tragic flaw isn't pride. She never once fools herself that she will escape a death sentence for disobeying Theban law in order to obey divine law. Instead, her flaw is her raging, uncontrolled passion that disrespects different personalities and viewpoints and stubbornly refuses to try to work things out reasonably and respectfully.
That she is a child who suffers but who is not known to do great things is the reason why Antigone is not the tragic hero of the play "Oedipus Rex."Specifically, a person who is tragic meets with a bad end. A person who is heroic is capable of doing great deeds. The job description matches Antigone's father, Theban King Oedipus, in the play "Oedipus Rex" and herself in the play "Antigone".
reversal
reversal