Antigone and Aristotle

Antigone was first produced in 441 B.C. It was written by a Greek playwright Sophocles. Antigone is the third play in an epic about a man named Oedipus and his family. This third installment is considered a Greek Tragedy, even today it is still being produced in theaters all around the world. It has had many critics, Aristotle being the most famous.

Aristotle ideas and thoughts on tragedy were implied throughout the play. He was born in 384 B.C., nearly 27 years after Antigone was first produced. He considered Sophocles the greatest tragedy playwright of all time.

Aristotle wrote the “Poetics” in 350 B.C. almost 100 years after Antigone was written. The “Poetics” were Aristotle’s opinions on how literature and drama should be.

According to the “Poetics”, tragedy is defined as;

“An imitation of action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude... concerning the fall of a man whose character is good...whose misfortune is brought about not by voice or depravity but by some error or frailty... with incidents arousing pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions.”

In Anitgone there is a true tragic character named Creon. He is brought to destruction by one major flaw; Pride. Throughout the story he is convinced that he is right and everybody else is wrong. His major flaw cost him his niece, son and wife, who all killed themselves.

The tragic character can’t be so virtuous that the audience isn’t able to feel connected with them. Usually the character is noble showing that things can happen to anyone.

There is a great difference between a present day epic and a real Greek tragedy, below is a table comparing and contrasting them.

Epic Tragedy

Idealized Men + Women Idealized Men + Women

Direct + Indirect Narrative Direct Narrative (only)

Limited Meters Various Meters

Open