Antigone: Sophocles and Tragic Hero Essay

Submitted By dawg151
Words: 347
Pages: 2

Antigone, A True Tragic Hero

In the drama Antigone, Antigone herself is proven to be the tragic hero of the story, by standing for what she believes even when her tragic death was imminent. Throughout the drama, Creon did make a valiant effort to change his ways however, he waited to long to do so and the drama came to an end with out a clear depiction of what he was to become. Creon could have very easily been on a path to turn his life and his kingdom around, or the story line could have continued and led Creon to his quick demise.
Aristotle claims that a tragic hero must be some one of noble stature and in a higher status then most, such as a king or some type of nobility. By Aristotles definition, Creon would have been the tragic hero. He fits the build for Aristotle’s definition. Creon is a powerful man. Though he is nobility is more of a status that was past down to him. He was not a noble man, in fact it took the suiced of his wife and son on top of the fear of God to really consider his ways, but, even then he was more concerned with his self pitty than the reality that he caused two people to comit suicide. Eventhough Aristotle claims that, “the tragic hero will not or may not be perfect,” Creon shows no heroic traits until the drama reaches its end, and he looses all that holds worth in his life. In the beginning of the drama from line 1 to line 84, antigone proclaims her nobel intentions to her sister Ismene. Antigone says to Ismene, “Ismene, I am going to