Creon as a Tragic Hero in Antigone by Sophocles this story. tale.To identify the tragic hero of Sophocles' famous play "Antigone", we must first consider both the elements present in Greek tragedies and the characteristics that define a tragic hero. Aristotle's definition of tragedy is: “Tragedy is a story in which the hero passes from happiness to unhappiness because of a fatal flaw or error on his part. To be a true tragic hero, he must also elicit a strong emotional response of pity and fear from the audience. This is called catharsis or purging of emotions. In most cases, the tragic hero begins the play with a high status, which is often lost in the exodus of the play. For example, in another of Sophocles' plays, "Oedipus the King," in which Oedipus is the undisputed tragic hero, Oedipus begins the play as a famous king and ends as a blind beggar. His plight arouses public sympathy due to the curse that has weighed on him since childhood. Antigone, to whom the play is named, is the daughter of Oedipus, the former king of Thebes. It would appear that she has a relatively high position for a woman, based on the fact that she has a marriage connection with Haemon, son of Creon, the current king of Thebes. Antigone, rather than being happy at the beginning of the play, enters the opening scene very upset by Creon's order not to bury her brother Polyneices. Antigone is then caught burying Polyneices and seems almost content to be put to death, "I have deserved the punishment that I now suffer" (Antigone, 152), although...... middle of paper ......" In Twentieth-Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex, edited by Michael J. O'Brien. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. Heidegger, Martin. "The Ode to "man in Sophocles' Antigone." In Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966. Jaeger, Werner “The Mastery of Sophocles' Character Development.” In Readings on Sophocles, edited by Don Nardo San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1997. Segal, Charles. Oedipus the King: Tragic Heroism and the Limits of Knowledge. Exploring Literature: Writing and Thinking about Fiction, Poetry, and the Essay. Ed. Joseph Terry. New York: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc., Oedipus King. York: Washington Square Books, 1994.

Essay / Creon as a Tragic Hero in Antigone by Sophocles this story. tale.To identify the tragic hero of Sophocles' famous play "Antigone", we must first consider both the elements present in Greek tragedies and the characteristics that define a tragic hero. Aristotle's definition of tragedy is: “Tragedy is a story in which the hero passes from happiness to unhappiness because of a fatal flaw or error on his part. To be a true tragic hero, he must also elicit a strong emotional response of pity and fear from the audience. This is called catharsis or purging of emotions. In most cases, the tragic hero begins the play with a high status, which is often lost in the exodus of the play. For example, in another of Sophocles' plays, "Oedipus the King," in which Oedipus is the undisputed tragic hero, Oedipus begins the play as a famous king and ends as a blind beggar. His plight arouses public sympathy due to the curse that has weighed on him since childhood. Antigone, to whom the play is named, is the daughter of Oedipus, the former king of Thebes. It would appear that she has a relatively high position for a woman, based on the fact that she has a marriage connection with Haemon, son of Creon, the current king of Thebes. Antigone, rather than being happy at the beginning of the play, enters the opening scene very upset by Creon's order not to bury her brother Polyneices. Antigone is then caught burying Polyneices and seems almost content to be put to death, "I have deserved the punishment that I now suffer" (Antigone, 152), although...... middle of paper ......" In Twentieth-Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex, edited by Michael J. O'Brien. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. Heidegger, Martin. "The Ode to "man in Sophocles' Antigone." In Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966. Jaeger, Werner “The Mastery of Sophocles' Character Development.” In Readings on Sophocles, edited by Don Nardo San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1997. Segal, Charles. Oedipus the King: Tragic Heroism and the Limits of Knowledge. Exploring Literature: Writing and Thinking about Fiction, Poetry, and the Essay. Ed. Joseph Terry. New York: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc., Oedipus King. York: Washington Square Books, 1994.

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