by iWrite

Created on: March 22, 2010

In Antigone, Creon, the King of Thebes, is the protagonist character. He is portrayed as the bad guy at first because he wants to have Antigone put to death after breaking the law and burying her brother, Polyneices. This is a perfect example of what Aristotle describes in Poetics because it’s a flaw in his character that makes Creon think that Antigone needs to be punished and put to death. Even though he is not too good, he is still a good person in the story, and a noble hero. The audience realizes that Creon is a good person and true to life when he loses the ones he loves and shows many emotions, and is suffering. That is the tragedy shown in this play.

A tragedy is an event that brings out pitiful emotions. This play also shows reversal and recognition. Reversal is when the characters role flips, which happens when Creon turns from a powerful king into a pitiful mess with the loss of his family. Recognition is when the character learns a lesson from his mistake from ignorance. He should have let Antigone free and listened to his people, but instead held a powerful grudge that led to the death of his loved ones. Creon then learns that it is better to listen to other people and get proper input, than be stubborn just to try and prove a point. In a lot of Aristotle's great plays, he uses hubris. Hubris is a character, usually a man that shows great confidence and boastfulness. In this play, Creon is the hubris character, as he is sticks his head up high bragging of his powerful role.

In the end, Creon learns that sometimes admitting you're wrong earlier in the game can lead to a better result. This is shown when Teiresias tells Creon that if he doesn’t obey the gods and back down, then there will be a great punishment. She says that all men make mistakes, but it takes a wise man to admit he is wrong. In the end, Creon admits he’s wrong and goes to free Antigone. But he’s too late; she’s already killed herself. Because of that, his son Haiman committed suicide as well, along with Creon’s wife, the queen, leaving Creon all alone in guilt. It is important that he learned this because if he hadn’t he would have continued to live a life dictating his city, and still be a stubborn man.

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