Explore the Theme of Kingship and Ruling in Sophocles’ Antigone.

In Sophocles Antig champion, the audience experiences a catharsis wherein sympathy and apprehension is evoked for Creon, a tragic hoagy whose tabbyship was spoilt by corruption, human fallibility and pride. Through fall out the gyp, Creon has demonstrated how even rulers with a strong moral stance can still fail in their attempts to do beloved, unfortunately due to exceeding the limits of their humanity. To begin, the tragedy that befalls Creon as a man devoted to his country and to his religion seems to feel undeserved.Creon declares whoever places a fri end up above the good of his own country, he is nothing as an expression of his loyalty to his State the dramatic element is accentuated through the term nothing which reverberates off the script in an echo that demands the viewers reverence and attention. In this way, Creons stance on leadership is magnanimous because Creon no longer works on the mark of his familys needs but on the order of the Gods and his state.To highligh t this, we see the chorus exclaim the king of the realm is coming whatever the gods are send now / what new plan will he launch The significance of this realm is interpreted as something divine yet disconnected from humanity, so as to highlight Creon as merely a servant to the Gods. In this sense, Creon is a character that is empathized with for his respect towards the Gods, thus his actions can be attributed to the will of the Gods. Exactly when did you last(a) see the gods celebrating traitors? Inconceiv sufficient exclaims Creon, whose actions are characterised by a morality modeled after their will. A modern audience will interpret the duty of the King to come as a direct order from the Gods, therefore whatever law Creon enacts, and whatever cause he chooses to pursue, would have been the Gods law. The hesitancy thus arises was Creons tragedy truly of his own doing? The authority of the King diminishes when put into perspective with the Gods, and the audience can view how even a man of superior set up can still be thwarted by the almighty springs of God.This, as a result, can reinforce a feeling of fear, or caution for those watching. However, one question seems to question the purity of his intentions Am I to rule this land for othersor myself? Although, contextually speaking, this question was meant to demonstrate his loyalty to the state, it does include dark, subtle undertones that could introduce Creons hidden intention. The hyphen in the ending of the question or myself? seems to delay the response and give a slight hesitance to Creons speech.The question stands does Creon make decision because he believes it is best for his country? Or does he rule because the influence of power has enabled him to act upon his own bias? Creons kingship creates an filename extension of itself with Haemon, whose flesh and inception describes how pro foundly connected Haemon is to his father. The tie between Creon and Haemon explores how kingship challenges bo th the emotional and human relationship between father and son. Perhaps he invests so much of himself into the idea of father and son, the same blood that a part of him equally dies with his son.Haemon has been included into Creons life as an indispensable structure, a gentleman inseparable piece from the framework of Creon himself. In fact, Creon cries to the harbor of Death asking why me? why are you killing me? , thereby portraying how the blood attach that connects both father and son is interwoven in their lives so that one life is married to the other. Creon describes himself as a shattered man after the stopping point of his son, thereby illuminating his vulnerability as a flawed human being.As much(prenominal), the audience, witnessing his fall, can experience a heightened catharsis knowing a man of such supremacy can crumple so easily and in such a wretched fashion. It is implied that Creon himself has the power to shape Haemons destiny and his duty as a psyche by pro ducing good sonsa household full of them, dutiful and attentive. Creon describes his son to be bred and reared for a specific purpose. Both terms produce and bred create the effect of a human fabricated at certain specifications.This puts Creon in a state of authority not only everyplace the more(prenominal)s his son must live by, but the way his son is formed as a human being, which is eerily reminiscent of the divine authorities and the power of the fates to write out a persons destiny. In a sense, Creon compares the greatness of his s all overeignty to that of the Gods, thus portraying how his power is a prerequisite to his hubris. Moreover, Creon establishes office over other men using his title as King, naturally elevating him beyond the rank of mortal men.To demonstrate his frightening autocracy, Antigone claims that the chorus would praise me too/ if their lips werent locked in fear. This fear of Creon is further bolstered by powerful oratory, which Creon uses as a tool i n commanding his peoples patriotism and emotions. The expressive visual imagery characterized of Creons speech can turn a traitor into a fiend who thirsted to drink his kinsmens blood. The impact of the words thirsted and blood stress this graphic image of death and blight, which Creon manipulates to kindle hate and passion in his people a derivest Creons enemies.Although a ruler is meant to serve the state and nurse it, Creon uses his rhetoric to advance his own beliefsa decision characterized by voraciousness. What is debatable about where Creons sense of leadership is whether he is doing this as an act of greed or an act of what he believes is correct for the state. Leading on from power, the audience understands that Creons arrogance comes from the notion that his power ennobles him beyond the ranks of mere humanity. They see him gain much more authority as a saint, savior or being closely linked to God.His sentries all address him as My lord and Creon is able to issue death sentences to reinforce his superiority. Creon uses terms that are definitive of a persons fate, despite the fact that he has no control over their fate in any substantial way Not a word of hopeyour doom is sealed. The precise diction of doom recalls the notion of a terrible fate that stretches beyond the mere human life, and forwards into the dark murkiness of afterlife. To pronounce it as sealed is to imply it is fixed Creon uses this to strike fear in the heart of Antigone, yet it also presupposes that our fates, once written, are unchangeable.The dramatic irony that comes with Creon proclaiming this as his fate is being written heightens the tragic ending of the playthe Katastasis. Creons arrogance could be seen as a shift in character from what the audience knows of Creon in Sophocles Oedipus the King. Creon once proclaimed, if you think crude, mindless stubbornness such a gift, youve lost your sense of balance as a display of humility and rationality. Before his reign as King of Thebes, Creon understood the natural traits found in a good leader involved a sense of poise and understanding of ones own limits.Yet, once he had possess the throne and all its powers, there was a change in character. All its powers incorporates the idea of excess and abundance, which is characterised as hubris, therefore the audience might feel a sense of fear for the upcoming and inevitable demise that may come for Creon. Naturally, when this power is questioned, Creons insecurities begin to appear and after some time, become more pronounced and irrational. Creon expresses his shame and his exasperation of Antigones defiance through the terms laughing, / mocking us to our face with what shed done.These words hint to a sense of stigma that comes with a woman defying the rules set out for her by the authorities that govern her. Drawing from the cultural context of Sophocles play, women were mainly viewed as lacking(p) beingsoften they were weak or even d kindleous, which makes the defiance against the state and Creons edict more grave and scandalous. Creon portrays his fear of being diminished by a woman through his cry I am not the man, not now she is the man / if this victory goes to her and she goes free. / Never because essentially, her freedom would mean his defeat, which in the end would blemish, or even completely fracture, his stature as an omnipotent ruler. Moreover, Creon becomes erratic as he is faced with his flaws as a human being. When he is commencement ceremony notified of his errors by a sentry Oh its terrible when the one who does the judging / judges things all wrong, he retaliates in a unnecessarily vicious manner you just be clever about your judgments / youll swear your dirty money brought you pain. Personally, his cruelty can be interpreted as a defending insult inflicted to shield himself from the truth of his humanity. This interpretation is supported by the way Creon storms off by turning sharply, as his actions seem to port ray a sense of flinching (characterized by sharply) annoyance. This same effect is particularly seen in Creons dialogue with Tiresias after he is told of his fate. Creons language becomes more infused with anger and insecurity, making him appear weaker you shoot your arrows at my head like archers at the target He seems to refute his own guilt, and justify imself as a person of superiority are you aware youre speaking to the king? , which makes him appear untouchable. Creons spite is felt through his sharp intonation of Spit it out and lust for injustice His reaction to his fate up until his concession is characterized by defensiveness and verbal insults, which can highlight how much of his power and glory he is afraid(p) of losing, Creon becomes frightened by the prospect wherein he would have to concede to his hamartia and undeniable fallibility as a human.The main purpose of these effects is to illuminate Creons very human flaws his insecurities, his paranoia of being thwarted by a woman of lesser importance, and his irritable temper. These flaws consequently form the nature of his demise and conclude the dance band of his journey as the Tragic Hero. Essentially, his kingship has brought upon him his downfall because power is inseparable from vanity, and vanity became the hamartia of the Creons character.