The Tragic Hero Concept and Character Development in Antigone

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Explain the concept of the tragic hero
A hero is a Greek word which refers to an individual that faces adversity or even shows
courage during times of danger (Reeves and Charles 174). Nonetheless, such a person confronts
a downfall and they are recognized as protagonists or a tragic hero. According to Aristotle, a
story that has the main character becoming a tragic hero is characterized as being a tragedy.
Further, Aristotle states that a tragic hero is an individual that is entitled to evoke a sense of fear
in the audience. Such a person is regarded to be a person of misfortune which comes to them due
to the error of judgment. The downfall of a tragic hero evokes both fear and feeling of pity
among the audience. Some of the characteristics of a tragic hero include hamartia, hubris,
peripeteia, anagnorisis, catharsis, and nemesis.
Explain how the characters of Antigone and Creon are developed in the play Antigone.
Aristotle argues that the success of any work depends on the wholesomeness of its plot,
and ranks the plot as the most essential criterion. Sophocles in the case of Antigone masterfully
develops his characters in the play, and this made the play to be recognized as a famous tragedy.
In Antigone, Sophocles develops his characters through dialogue. For instance, Creon and
Antigone establish their personalities and often reveal their character changes using their specific
tones along with the word choice in the dialogues with each other (Stoppani and Teresa 117).

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Antigone, in her initial argument with Creon, exposes her inner self. Being the play’s heroine, it
is expected that Antigone remains unshakable in her belief since the consequence of going
against a law that has got a death sentence requires an iron will. Through careful diction,
Antigone is developed in the play by Sophocles as a self-righteous figure. Under accusation,
Antigone’s first impression is that of outright defiance. When Antigone is asked by Creon
whether she performed the burial right on Polynices, Antigone’s response is a three word simple,
concise, and composed reply, “I did it.”
On the other hand, Creon is the dominant character in the play with his powerful but
arrogant personality. Despite the name of the play being Antigone, Sophocles presents Creon as
ruling king of Thebes, and with his no turning back attitude, Creon proves to be the dominant
character. Irrespective that Creon rules over everybody, using his intelligence, Antigone is able
to protect her brother’s dead body. However, Creon’s dynamic character catches Antigone in this
illegal act. Sophocles develops Creon as having endless personality traits with the most common
traits that often pop up being his stubbornness and strength or power.
Argue for which character is the tragic hero
At first, Creon is portrayed as a leader who has got good and rational reasons regarding
his punishments and laws. However, at the end of the play, Creon’s hubris takes over, resulting
to his demise. Not until Teiresias’s prophecy, Creon is not aware of the extent to which his
hubris has interfered with how he deals with issues, and by then, it becomes too late, hence
leading to the path of a tragic character (Bobrick and Elizabeth 44). Creon also has got a
hamartia, which often than not is excessive hubris. Creon further goes through a peripetia which
refers to an ironic twist whereby the character realizes that the results will not be as anticipated.