Antigone's Tragic Hero
In Sophocle's Antigone, readers are deceived by the title. Most readers assume that the title character is the tragic heroine of the drama. In actuality, Creon fills the description of a tragic hero better than Antigone in many ways. A tragic hero is defined as one who is of royal lineage, a flaw in character, and not exceedingly just. Creon is clearly the unremitting yet capricious tragic hero that Sophocle's creates to model the classic tragic hero.
Creon, King of Thebes, was not born of royal blood. Regardless, his sovreign rule places him in critical situations. Being king puts Creon in the perfect position as tragic hero, for now he must make decisions using his own code of morals. As the drama progresses, Creon declares oaths, such as his priorities will always be to Thebes before friends. Sophocles realizes that kings in Creon's position often make promises they go back on, and crafts Antigone to portray royal logic as the king would reason. Small......
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Approximate Word Count: 396
Approximate Pages: 2 (260 words per double-spaced page) |