The Tragic Hero: Creon from The Play "Antigone" by Sophocles

In Sophocles’ play Antigone, Creon is the tragic hero, because he comes from a noble position, is brought down by a tragic flaw, and faces consequences greater than deserved.

Creon’s tragic flaw, self-confidence, causes his downfall. Creon won’t listen to not one person. He is stubborn and his pride is so big and great, he can’t bring himself to acknowledge that he could ever go wrong. When Creon is talking to Teiresias, he thinks that he is being paid off. He doesn’t want to believe he could be wrong about Antigone. Creon even says, “Whatever you say, you will not change my will . ” Creon also has a self-righteousness and cockiness, a feeling as he is superior to all. “The State is King! ” says Creon , which shows that he even thinks he’s better than the gods there are . Creon has too much pride, and the gods do not like that at all. Creon’s excessive pride causes his downfall. Creon realizes that his prid has not let him effectively deal with his conflicts. Creon has his epiphany and even says, “ I have been rash and foolish .

”He finally acknowledges that he has let his pride take over for the worse. Creon also realizes that it was his fault Haimon dies. He wouldn’t listen to Haimon and take his advice. Creon almost seemed like he wanted Haimon to be angry so he put Antigone in the vault. He couldn’t see that Haimon was in love and Antigone was just trying to honor the dead because of his pride. Creon also says, “ My own blind heart has brought me from darkness to final darkness. ”This shows he knows he didn’t use his brain to solve his problems. He was already leading to the wrong direction with his excessive pride and it finally was too much to handle. Creon’s pride has not let him effectively deal with his conflicts.

In the play “Antigone“, Sophocles at first portrays Creon as a just leader . He has good, rational reasons for his laws and punishments. By the end of the play Creon’s excessive pride, has overtaken him, which leads to his deathbed. He doesn’t realize how bad his hubris has interfered him dealing with problems until Teiresias’s prophecy. By then it is too late. This is the path of a tragic character. Creon has a tragic flaw. The character then goes through a change, which is an ironic twist where the character realizes that things won’t turn out the way he expected it all to be.

Finally, the character has an anagnorisis, which is their epiphany that makes them realize their changing and see their place in the universe. Creon is the tragic character in the play “Antigone”.