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A comparison of the plays macbeth and antigone

Antigone, Antigone Tragic Hero, Macbeth

“Show me a leading man and I am going to write you a misfortune. ” Farreneheit. Scott Fitzgerald isn’t the only novelist who uses disaster, in particular, tragic heroes, in his story lines to promote the disastrous events caused by fate. Both Shakespeare and Sophocles incorporate tragic heroes within their plays Macbeth and Antigone. A tragic hero, by definition, can often be someone who leads to the wrong place at the wrong time, yet at the same minute, reveals strength, courage, and independence regardless of what fate has set out pertaining to him. Even though Creon and Macbeth both share prevalent aspects in tragedy, finally, Macbeth is somewhat more of a tragic hero than Creon since Macbeth was portrayed as being a more decent person than Creon was, however , unlike Creon, Macbeth never discovered from his mistakes.

Although both Macbeth and Creon start out of the same quality characters, Macbeth is pictured more heroically because his actions speak louder than Creon’s bleak words, and he is motivated by his wife, Lady Macbeth, while Creon chose his very own path. By possessing a supreme pride, having a convenience of suffering, and setting a belief within their own flexibility, both Creon and Macbeth are defined as tragic characters. Although Creon was depicted as a very wealthy and feared king, he is still a flawed human nevertheless. In Ancient greek religion, kings had simply no power to question the law from the gods, however , that is where Creon was testing the waters. In his monologue, Creon delivers his command for the reason that “Polynicesis to obtain no burial: no person is to touch him or say the least pray to get him, he shall rest on the ordinary, unburied. inch (Line 29) However , Antigone still gives a proper burial to her close friend, thus intentionally disobeying Creon. Creon claims explicitly, “Oh but We hate that even more each time a traitor, caught red-handed tries to glorify his crimes, inch (Lines 552-554). By powerful no burial, Creon is unaffected by the “great unwritten, unshakable traditions” (Lines 502-503), referred to as ancient rules of the gods, since it is usually commanded that which in upon death, takes a proper funeral. By doing so, he’s not only heading against both gods and chorus, nevertheless even his own family in this he’s analyzing his son’s marriage which has a “traitor” simply to prove his own superiority and prideful thinking. In the same feeling, Macbeth also refuses to give in to his surroundings. In the very beginning, Macbeth is described as “brave Macbeth” (Act one particular, scene 2, Line 18) and a “worthy gentleman” (Act 1, Scene a couple of, Line 26). When Ross discussed the battle, he admits that, “Till that Bellona’s bridegroom, lapped in proof. Presented him with self-comparisons” (Act 1, Picture 3, Collection 61-62) This quote exposes how Macbeth was a faithful and worthwhile warrior mainly because “Bellona” refers to the Both roman goddess of war, and the phrase “Bellona’s bridegroom” means that the individual is the fiercest warrior, because the goddess of war would simply marry one of the most courageous, strong warrior. “Lapped in proofself-comparisons” indicates to become clothed in worthy shield while coordinating a foes attacks, which in turn further highlights how Macbeth proved his bravery and loyalty for the king in that battle and was among the finest warriors in Norway. Your king, Duncan, called him worthy while Ross describes him as being brave, pointing out that Macbeth is a war hero in the very beginning. This reinforces how Macbeth was a loyal resident and was willing to expire for his king, despite the fact that there was no close relationship between them. Macbeth’s actions make sure his good character is usually believable and consistent mainly because in society, people are only willing to die for points they really believe in. Nevertheless , Macbeth can be manipulated by his better half, which leads to his demise. When he says that he can not move forward any further inside the planned tough of Duncan, his better half convinces him to continue, asking if he may just “live a coward in thine own esteem” (Act 1, Scene six, Line 47) and urging him to “screw the courage for the sticking place” because “we’ll not fail” (Act one particular, Scene several, Lines 70-71). Lady Macbeth encourages Macbeth to hold on his bravery, which is sarcastic because it requires a coward to murder a sleeping full, but he may also be a coward if he does not kill the king, because there is no courage when is betraying someone, yet Macbeth’s wife corrupts him and provides his satisfaction a force, setting his downfall in motion. Creon isn’t while admirable as Macbeth because he was made king by circumstances and would not prove his loyalty to his country through his actions. As well, Creon decided to go with his very own actions that may lead to his drop and will take no orders from anyone. He says “You’ll never hide that physique in the burial plot, Not even if perhaps Zeus’s eagles rip the corpse and wing all their rotten pickings off to the throne of god! inch (1151-1152) and tells Tiresias that he only speaks “it out for profit” Sophocles (1178). Macbeth was prompted to betray the ruler, which triggered his demise, but Creon was disappointed to follow his own methods leading to his downfall when he followed his own path.

Even though these two character types are both facing tragedy, Macbeth is more tragic than Creon because while Creon surely could understand his mistake and correct himself, Macbeth was not given an opportunity to change. Creon also shows conclusion of all the difficulty he features caused as he confesses, “And the sense of guilt is all mine can never end up being fixed on another person, no escape for me. I killed you, I, god help me, I actually admit it all! ” (126) Creon confesses his wrongdoings and converts from a tyrant into a compassionate individual willing to alter his methods. The satisfaction that this individual once showed is now replace by guilt and remorse. This kind of shows how Creon is definitely vulnerable to discontentment, griefs, and sorrows. Unlike Macbeth, Creon transitions from a flawed and prideful character to a sympathetic and regretful one and therefore makes Macbeth more tragic with the two. He says “Thou wast born of woman. Yet swords We smile by, weapons laugh to scorn” (Act five, Scene several, Lines 15-17) and “I will not yield to kiss the ground prior to Malcolms feet” (Act 5, Scene almost 8, Lines 32-33). Macbeth today believes that he is invincible since they can only perish to someone not given birth to of a female. “Swords I smile at” is a affectation, indicating that Macbeth is not really afraid of swords or weaponry because the dazzling pride he possesses causes him to think he can not be killed. However , he is killed by Macduff before he can realize just how his very own ambition and pride improved him. Possibly to his dying breathing, he did not “kiss the ground”, putting an emphasis on how obstinate he was and emphasizes Macbeth’s strong will certainly to do as he pleases and not surrender to anyone who stands in his way. This proves that Macbeth’s pride, moved by his wife, resulted in his downfall because he presumed no one may kill him, and even when ever nearing death, he declined to give up his pride. This can be tragic mainly because Macbeth will certainly not be given the opportunity to repent or perhaps realize the extent from the atrocities this individual committed. Once pride is never acknowledged rather than given up, fortune takes over and leads to loss of life.

Ultimately, Macbeth is more of your tragic main character compared to Creon despite their particular shared tragedies because Macbeth’s character was more believable and constant, as he by no means had a chance to comprehend his mindless serves or correct them. Creon went against everyone’s explanation, yet experienced the chance to move on and increase his personality. They both equally had a preference of wrong doing but as opposed to Creon whom learned to improve himself for the best, Macbeth is still stubborn to his loss of life. Both characters experienced a tragic drop due to their pride, but Macbeth fell harder and further.

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Category: Literature,

Words: 1399

Published: 12.03.19

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