"War in Bosnia Brings Tragedy to many Muslim Families," "Strong Earthquake Brings Tragedy to California," "The Tragedy of Diana, Princess of Wales," "Pierre Failed his technical writing final, How Tragic!"

Tragedy is a word used to described the death of John F. Kennedy, starvation in South Africa, massacres in Afghanistan and Algeria, hurricane damage, traffic accidents, divorce, plant closings and layoffs, low GRE scores, even cancelled theatre plays. What do all these events have in common? Well to some extent, they all involve human suffering. And that’s what tragedy is all about. At least that’s what classic play writers like Shakespeare believed in. According to Aristotle, there are 5 basic criteria regarding the tragic hero. Aristotle’s ideas about tragedy were recorded in his book of literacy theory titled Poetics. In it he has a great deal to say about the structure, purpose and intended effect of tragedy. His ideas have been adopted, disputed, expanded, and discussed for several centuries. In this essay, I will examine these criteria in regards to Antigone’s Creon, King of Thebes.

The first criterion states that to be a tragic hero, Creon must occupy a "high" status position, but must also embody nobility and virtue as part of his innate character. Creon fits this description quite accurately. We know at the beginning of the play that Creon is King of Thebes. Therefore, he occupies a stature of nobility. Furthermore, Creon’s innate character embodies virtue and nobility. For example, when talking to the Chorus at the beginning of the play, Creon says, "…anyone thinking/another man more a friend than his own country/I rate him nowhere…I would not be silent if I saw ruin, not safety…I would not count any enemy of my country as a friend" (Lines 202-210). His standards are set to the point where he would put his country above all else. He would do anything to protect his country; he would "not be silent if [he] saw ruin, not safety" (line 204).

Also, Creon shows a high sense of morality when he properly buried Eteocles, Antigone’s brother. Antigone herself says this when speaking to her sister, Ismene, "Creon honored the one…Eteocles, they say he has used justly with lawful rites and hid him in the earth to have his honor among the dead men there" (Lines 26-29). Interestingly, Creon shows his noble character in the decision he made against Polyneices burial. Since he values his country, a noble feature, he holds all those against it in contempt. He "would not count any enemy of [his] country as a friend" (line 206). In this case, the enemy is Polyneices who decided to attack Creon’s beloved country. In just retaliation, Creon decided to punish him, as would any ruler punish an aggressor.

Similarly, Creon is a good leader to his people. He punishes evil and rewards good as mentioned above. He is seen by the people, as well as his own son, to have "goodness" in his "leadership" (lines 691). Thus, Creon’s noble character seen through the love of his country, through the just decision to punish Polyneices, and through his good leadership qualifies him for the 1^st criterion of being a tragic hero.

Secondly, Aristotle suggests that to be a tragic hero, one must not be perfect although his character is pre-eminently great. This is certainly true of Creon’s case. For example, in the above paragraph, we proved that Creon is essentially good because he chose to punish Polyneices. However, his choice of punishment—not burying Polyneices—does not rank as high on the moral spectrum. In fact, Antigone believes that Creon "dishonors" Polyneices by not burying him, by not "honoring what the gods have honored" (line 89). By going against his people’s centuries of beliefs, Creon’s character finds its imperfection.

Furthermore, one can also see imperfection in Creon’s over excessive pride and self indulgence as King of Thebes. Firstly, when Ismene and Antigone speak to Creon of the latter’s disobedience, Ismene says "What life can be mine alone without her?" (Line 623). Creon replies, "Do not/speak of her. She isn’t, anymore" (lines 624-25). This reply which is a definite indication of power is also one of excessive self-pride. Creon equates himself with the gods who take and give life as they please. He equals himself with them by uttering the simple command that Antigone "isn’t, anymore" despite the fact that she is still living and standing in his presence. Thus, he believes himself of equal stature and power as the gods. Moreover, when Haemon tries to convince Creon not to kill Antigone with a wise and calculated argument, Creon says, "Should we that are my age learn wisdom/from…such as he is?" (Lines 784-85). This shows that Creon is too egotistic to believe that he can learn something such as wisdom from another. Unbeknownst to him, his pride would be his doom. Also, in this same conversation Creon’s arrogance takes over his justness. Haemon tells him that "the entire people of Thebes say no"(line 793) to killing Antigone. Instead of listening to the very people he says he would protect with his life, he shuns them by saying, "Should the city tell me how I am to rule them?" (Line 794). In Creon’s mind, how can anyone, much less those beneath him, tell him how to rule them? To him, it’s unheard of. Unfortunately it is also his main tragic flaw, or his hamartia as Aristotle calls it.

Finally, Sophocles shows Creon to be somewhat of a coward. For example, when the Chorus ask how he will kill Antigone, he tells them that he will put her in a cave and give her "just enough of food as shall suffice/for a bare expiation" (lines 842-43). He will then leave her to die. To some people, including me, this is a cowardly way of punishing a supposed aggressor. Instead of killing her rightly in front of him, he chooses to hide her away in as far a place from him as possible. Thus, according to Aristotle, Creon, although endowed with a good character, he is not a perfect ruler.

Thirdly, for Creon to be a tragic hero, his downfall must partially be his own fault. It must be the result of his free choice, not of accident or villainy or some overriding, malignant fate. After examining the play, one finds that Creon’s doom is very much his own doing. In fact, before the death of Antigone and Haemon, Teiresias, a blind prophet, admonishes Creon of his own actions. He predicts that one of Creon’s own will die and that the city and Creon will be in agony. This indeed does happen. Creon’s pride, however, blinds him against rational thought. Creon tells Teiresias that even if he had the help of Zeus himself, Creon "shall not so tremble at the pollution/to let [Teiresias] bury [Polyneices]" (Lines 1101-1102).

Additionally, after Teiresias leaves, Creon tells his Chorus that "to yield is terrible" (line 1168). Even when faced with a true prophecy he refuses to yield. His lack of sight and wisdom nurtured by his arrogance and excessive pride lead him to his own doom. Teiresias predicts nothing less, "These acts of yours [Creon’s] are violence, on your part" (line 1142). This shows that Creon’s upcoming doom is of his own hand. That after "your [Creon’s] deeds" Death itself will "lie in ambush of" him (line 1147). Finally, Creon himself believes that his downfall was of his own hand. He says after he discovers the death of his son, "You were freed from the bonds of life/through no folly of your own—only through mine" (lines 1345-46). Thus, Creon’s doomed fate was triggered by his error of judgement and his own insolence, contributing to his lack of perfection noted above.

The fourth characteristic of a tragic hero is that his fall is not of pure loss. That at some point in the play when it is too late Creon must achieve some increase in awareness, some gain in self knowledge, some discovering. Creon indeed achieves this moment of catharsis even though it was too late. After Teiresias leaves Creon to his own thoughts, Creon’s pride and arrogance retreats and his just judgement surfaces. He realizes that Teiresias has never lied to him before and that indeed what he prophesized must be true. He also knows that it is useless to challenge what will be, "But it is ill to fight/against what must be" (lines 1181-81). He sees the error of his ways and is apologetic for it, "for my part, since my intention is so changed/as I bound her myself, myself will free her" (lines 1189-90). His wisdom reappears, crushing his arrogance. He realizes that to tempt the gods and to tempt old customs would be doomful, "I am afraid," says he "it may be best, in the end/of life, to have kept the old accepted laws" (lines 1191-92) and not defied them. He reaches his final moment of enlightenment when he insinuates that he was the death of his son, "Truly his [Haemon’s] own hand? Or his father’s" (line 1252.) He believes now that it was his fault that Haemon and Antigone were both dead. He admits his mistakes in the following passage:

The mistakes of a blinded man

Are themselves rigid and laden with death.

You look at us the killer and the killed

Of the one blood. Oh, the awful blindness

Of those plans of mine. My son, you were so young,

So young to die. You were freed from the bonds of life

Through no folly of your own—only through mine.

(lines 1340-1346)

He looks at himself as a blinded man, blinded by arrogance, excessive pride, and insolence. He categorizes his mistakes as "laden with death." He calls himself "the killer." Thus, Creon reaches his point of enlightenment even though it was too late.

Finally, the 5^th criterion of a tragic hero is that the hero’s misfortune is not wholly deserved, that the punishment exceeds the crime. This is true of Creon’s situation. Although he admits his fault and although he is indeed at fault, his punishment is to live his lonely life hated by his own people. Teiresias truthfully predicts Creon’s doom. He says that "all the cities will stir in hatred against [Creon]." That after his discovery of Antigone’s death, he witnesses his own son’s death, and is told of his wife’s death. With every death, Creon himself dies, "It is a dead man that you kill again" (line1365) he says to the messenger. He not only lost his beloved son and wife, but he also lost his beloved country, the same which he swore to protect against evil. Creon is now doomed to live alone. He is doomed to live with those that hate him most. His punishment over exceeds his crime. His crime was of pride and arrogance, his punishment was one of a lonely and hated life.

In conclusion, Creon fits all 5 criteria perfectly. First, he is a good and wise king. Second, he is not perfect. His flaw is in his excessive pride. Third, his own flaw led to his doomed downfall. Fourth, he reaches a point of enlightenment which we, as the audience, should also learn from. Finally, his punishment delivered by fate exceeds his crimes. Thus, according to Aristotle, Creon is the prefect tragic hero.