cording to Aristotle, quoted in McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama, Creon fits the image of a ‘tragic hero’ “A man who is not eminently good and just, yet whose misfortune is brought about not by purpose, but by some error or frailty. He must be one who is highly renowned and prosperous” (Hochman v4 1274). Creon’s tragic flaw causes the deaths of both his wife and son. This is because he shows so much ignorance in every decision he makes. Even if his decisions are wrong he will not correct them, because he is the king, and the king is never wrong. By Creon’s self-pride deciding to never let his son marry Antigone, ends up killing his son also.In closing Creon is not entirely good, he does make mistakes, however the mistakes he made are simply and error of judgment, and completely understandable. His greatest error was that he truly believed that Polynices was a traitor, which consequently forced him to issue a decree, forbidding Polynices a proper burial. Polynices “sought to taste the blood he shared with us, and lead the rest of us to slavery; […] shall no one honor with a grave and none shall mourn”(220-224). Creon loses all that he lives for “I do not know where to turn my eyes to look to, for support. Everything in my hands is Italia 5crossed. A most unwelcome fate has leaped upon me” (1405-1408). After the death of his wife he acknowledges his great mistakes in being prideful and realizes how his pride has caused suffering. “Lead me away, a vain silly man who killed you, son, and you, too, lady”(1402-1403). He blunders and pays drastically for his frailty, but in the end he realizes what he has done wrong accepting the guilt and responsibilities for his actions. As the editor in chief Stanley Hochman stated in McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama “a ‘tragic hero’ learns, although too late, from their experiences, as...
