Essay on Creon in Sophocles and Anouilhs Antigone -- Antigone essays

Creon in Sophocles and Anouilhs Antigone In two plays, Creon sees himself as a passive agent rather than a villain, totally acting bulge out a predetermined set of instructions based upon certain laws and edicts. Creon tries to confine the impression that he is not really in control if it were up to him, as an individual, things would be different. Sophocles Creon tries to wash his hands of Antigones wipeout by going her in a sealed cave. The gods will determine her fate, so he thinks. Anouilhs Creon goes so far as to admit the childish stupidity of his deliver decree. He even confides in Antigone that he is not certain which brothers automobile trunk was buried. He insists, though, that once knowledge of her act is public, the matter is entirely beyond his control. There is a point of no return past which he is powerless to act. In becoming king, an instrument of the State, Creon can no eternal assert his will as an individual, morally or otherwise. Where the master key Creon time-tested to leave matters with the gods, Anouilhs Creon points toward the State and its will independent of his own. Antigones fate unfolds in both plays and Creon does not interecede. Although ironically they share a sense of powerlessness, an important specialization can be made at this point. Sophocles Creon learns from Antigones death. Her yield acquires meaning. Anouilhs Creon is too meddling with matters of state to assess Antigones death on a personal level. Her sacrifice is inconsequential, another shot fired into the mob. The reaction of each king to Antigones death and the carnage that ensues shapes the conclusion of each play literally and thematically. Creon in the original play repents belatedly after learnin... ... seems to suggest that morality must or will be compromised. For Sophocles, morality helps to reinforce order, but on a cosmic, and in many ways absurd, level. Creon is forced to submit to the laws of jealous, fickle, inconstant gods. Antigo ne is the only advocate for the gods place in judgement over mankind and her respect is an untimely death. This order is beyond human comprehension. Both plays leave a reader or audience morally unsettled. We find Creon morally wicked but are left uneasy by the order formal at the conclusion. Perhaps this unsettling effect was at least part of the playwrights eventual(prenominal) goal. Works Cited Anouilh, Jean. Antigone. Rpt. in Masters of Modern Drama. Ed. Haskell M. Block and Robert G. Shedd, New York ergodic House, 1962. Sophocles. Antigone. Rpt. in Ten Greek Plays. Ed. L.R. Lind, Boston Houghton Mifflin, 1957.