Sophocles – The Theban Plays Essay Example

similar to Sohphocles' portrayals of Theseus in Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone in Antigone in order to reflect the incongruity of Creon's conduct.

Towards the opening of King Oedipus, Oedipus sends for Teiresias (a blind prophet), and does so on Creon's recommendation. This shows Creon as acting according to the God's decree: 'Clearly the meaning of the god's command. ' In King Oedipus, it also seems Creon appears to have respect for the Gods, 'I await instruction from the god,' whereas in Oedipus at Colonus there are noticeable changes in character when he is referred to as a 'blasphemous beast. ' And in Antigone such respect is obsolete and the audience are subjected to flagrant acts of Hubris (wilful violation of the gods' laws).

By establishing Creon's connection to Teiresias in King Oedipus, Sophocles provides a false basis for Oedipus' later accusations that Creon, along with Teiresias, was plotting to overthrow him (Oedipus). Creon denies such 'a grievous imputation' and as a result soon becomes a character foil for Oedipus. As opposed to Oedipus' unsubstantiated accusations, 'Proved plotter against my life, thief of my crown? ' Creon deliberations reflect a sense of calm, rational thought, 'Hear my reply. And when you know, then judge.

Creon denies such offences and retorts, 'Would any man exchange a quiet life, with royal rank assured, for an uneasy throne? ' Creon claims that his current closeness to the throne benefits him with sufficient prestige and advantage without the inconvenience, grief and fear of being ruler. Once again, Creon is seen to be fair, reasonable, logical, whilst using concrete arguments in contrast to Oedipus' 'blindness' stemming from reliance on his own poor judgement

and egotistical intuition. Sophocles uses imagery of sight through two mediums - physical and spiritual.

Although Oedipus can actually see, he is in fact 'spiritually blind' and this weakness of his is used for ironic effect: 'In Thebes, City of Light' - 'Did you suppose I wanted eyes to see the plot preparing. ' In the play Antigone, yet again there is a shift in Creon's character. For greater dramatic effect Sophocles implements two strikingly opposite qualities of character, the most apparent being Creon and Antigone. It is Antigone who is 'right', while we condemn Creon as the misled, deceived and evil, yet perhaps tragic persona.

Antigone acts to emphasise Creon's shift in demeanour by possessing distinctly conflicting values to him. Creon's regard for the laws of the city causes him to abandon all other beliefs. He feels that all should obey the laws set forth by him, even if other beliefs, moral or religious, state otherwise. Creon, in effect, represents the earthbound state. Creon's actions are guided by the ideal that man is 'the lord of all things living. ' The chorus emphasises this point during the play by stating that 'There is nothing beyond his power.

Great honour is given to him who upholdeth his country's laws and the justice of heaven. ' Creon is forgetting the dimension of the Gods, and confusing human justice with the 'justice of heaven. ' Creon is clearly committing hubris and believes that the good of man comes before the gods. Setting the example using Polynices' body left unburied, 'left to be eaten by dogs and vultures,' is a symbol of Creon's belief. 'No man who is his country's enemy

shall call himself my friend. ' This quote implies that leaving the body unburied is done to show respect for Thebes.

After all, how could the ruler of a city-state honour a man who attempted to invade and conquer his city? From that perspective, Creon's actions are completely just and supported by his ideals. One such important ideal in Ancient Greece was the belief that the government was to have no control in matters concerning religious beliefs. In Antigone's eyes, Creon betrayed that ideal by not allowing her to properly bury her brother, Polynices. She believed that the burial was a religious ceremony, that the 'order did not come from God' and Creon did not have the authority or power to deny Polynices that right.

Antigone's strong beliefs eventually lead to her death by the hand of Creon: 'Justice, that dwells with the gods below, knows no such law. I did not think your edicts strong enough to overrule the unwritten unalterable laws of God and heaven, you being only a man. ' (Antigone p138) Never, though, does she stop defending what she thought to be right. As Creon orders her to her death, Antigone exclaims, 'Go I, his prisoner, because I honoured those things to which honour truly belongs. ' She is directly humiliating Creon by describing his opinions and decisions as weak and unjust.

She also emphasises 'his prisoner,' (denoted by italicised print), which tells us that Creon's decision to capture Antigone was his own, and was not backed up by the majority of the people. She feels that Creon is abusing his power as king and dealing with her task to a personal level. The

contradictions between the beliefs of Creon and Antigone pervade throughout the play. Antigone is motivated by her strong religious feelings while Creon is out to make good for his city-state. The chorus' opinion, along with Teiresias' words forms the determining factor, as in the end, they convince Creon to show mercy and set Antigone free.

Creon has to weigh each factor carefully, and in the end, he has to decide between ideals. His 'heart is torn in two:' 'It is hard to give way, and hard to stand and abide the coming of the curse. Both ways are hard. ' Creon is forced to decide the unanswerable, and determine right from wrong when there is no clear answer. After the realisation of his own actions Creon imparts to the Chorus his inner feelings of remorse and sorrow. He now accepts they are 'dead for [his] fault, not [theirs]. '

His anger and frustration reflected by the line, 'O the curse of my stubborn will! At the play's end Creon is left desolate and broken in spirit. In his narrow and unduly rigid adherence to his civic duties, Creon has defied the gods through his denial of humanity's common obligations toward the dead. The play thus concerns the conflicting obligations of civic versus personal loyalties and religious morals. In Oedipus at Colonus, Creon has significantly aged. He is aware of the strength of Athens and accordingly plans no hostilities: 'mine is no violent purpose; I am too old.

His claims his purpose is that of a delegate from Thebes wishing to bring Oedipus back, 'Now Oedipus, poor unhappy man, come home; Don't refuse me; all your people ask you.

' Oedipus hotly accuses Creon of brazen hypocrisy; when 'banishment was [his] dearest wish' Creon denied it, and later, once Oedipus' rage and grief subsided Creon hounded him 'out to exile. ' Oedipus suspects Creon offers only false charity and hollow kindness, 'covering [his] hate with a cloak of seeming affection. ' In return he promises Creon only vengeance who then turns belligerent, declaring he has seized Ismene and now holds her hostage.

Oedipus enrages Creon when he declares, '[his everlasting curse upon [Creon's] country! ' and continues his verbal assault, 'Heartless fiend! ' Theseus then arrives ensuring no harm comes of Oedipus. Theseus is made the more honourable character and is portrayed in such a way to emphasise Creon's act of vehement irrationality, which strongly contrasts with his earlier basis of reasoning in King Oedipus. Theseus goes on to deplore Creon's actions claiming that he himself would abide by the laws imposed in Thebes and follow the forms of conduct appropriate to visitors.

Creon now appears bitter, resentful, crude and contemptuous of the customs of other countries when he responds that his people 'would never receive a polluted parricide, a party to an incestuous union. ' It is clear from such differing character portrayals of Creon that Sophocles uses this as a device to cater for dramatic needs, appropriate to each play. Numerous other character weaknesses of Creon begin to present themselves throughout the three plays. Creon is seen as compassionate in 'King Oedipus', as is there evidence of his pity towards Oedipus: 'I had brought them to you.

I knew how much you loved them - how you love them still. ' Creon represents the model

of moderation, passing no desire to act revenge for Oedipus' earlier insults and slander, even after Oedipus says to Creon, 'You are my bitterest enemy. ' However, Creon lacks any true sympathy or understanding, demonstrated through his cold delivery of orders towards the closing lines: 'Go then. But leave the children. Command no more. Obey. Your rule is ended. ' Any emotion held by Creon for Oedipus is absent from Oedipus at Colonus, when he visits him claiming ulterior motives, 'Cover our shame, come home to your father's city.

Antigone sees Creon transformed into a man who is hypocritical, irrational, violent and lacking any sense of warmth and emotion: 'You crawling viper! ' 'I'll have her taken to a desert place where no man ever walked - there she may pray to Death' Throughout Antigone, Creon is distinctly resistant to persuasion. This is another of the plays tragic ironies due to Creon's earlier stance on taking advice: 'I have always held the view that a king, unwilling to seek advice, is damned. ' Since he takes none himself (except for when it is clearly too late) he is being hypocritical and it is as if he seals his own fate.

His also becomes extremely obstinate, of which interestingly contrasts Creon's earlier views once again in King Oedipus: 'Can you believe this obstinacy does you any good? ' In Antigone, there are two stubborn characters - Antigone herself, and Creon. Antigone believes that she is right - the twist of this play is that she is in fact right. But, she would not appear right at first to the Athenian male audience.

Creon makes a point of not bending

and Haemon's advice about the good ruler bending like branches caught in a flood, is quickly forgotten: So, on the margin of a flooded river trees bending to the torrent live unbroken, while those that strain against it are snapped off. ' For Creon, his immunity to persuasion is apparently a matter of pride. But in fact, as the Athenian audience would have recognised, it is a fatal weakness. He believes it is weak to obey - he does not realise that the ability to accept a superior argument was a necessary skill for a new man in a democratic context. He would indeed, as Haemon tells him, be an ideal ruler 'on a desert island.

Antigone returns later on, primarily to highlight Creon's unreasonable cruelty. The reader is aware of Ismene's innocence, but Creon condemns her at first anyway. Later he relents, and this is the first sign that he is beginning to perhaps doubt himself by attempting to go back on his earlier decisions. Ismene in her second scene now has to play a different role - dramatically her task is to introduce the theme of Antigone's betrothal to Creon's son Haemon, 'You could not take her - kill your own son's bride?

This is not character development - she is still subordinate to the dictates of the plot. If Ismene were not there, it would be hard for Antigone to disclose such information to the reader without introducing a subsidiary theme and thus limit Sophocles' economy of writing. Whether they love each other or not, is unimportant to Sophocles; Haemon is similar to Ismene, the perfect Greek son/daughter, whose duty first and last is

to his father and his family. A large aspect of the play is that confrontation between father and son because this was a matter of real importance for Athenians.