Reference no: EM131735656

Is either Antigone or Kreon a tragic character by Aristotle's definition (see below)? Choose one or the other, and explain how that character fits Aristotle's definition. Or argue that one of them does not fit the definition. Provide evidence from the play to support your view.

"A perfect tragedy should imitate actions which excite pity and fear, this being the distinctive mark of tragedy. It follows plainly, in the first place, that the change of fortune presented must not be the spectacle of a virtuous man brought from prosperity to adversity: for this moves neither pity nor fear; it merely shocks us. Nor, again, that of a bad man passing from adversity to prosperity: for nothing can be more alien to the spirit of tragedy; it possesses no single tragic quality; it neither satisfies the moral sense nor calls forth pity or fear. Nor, again, should the downfall of the utter villain be exhibited. A plot of this kind would, doubtless, satisfy the moral sense, but it would inspire neither pity nor fear; for pity is aroused by unmerited misfortune, fear by the misfortune of a man like ourselves. Such an event, therefore, will be neither pitiful nor terrible. There remains, then, the character between these two extremes--that of a man who is not eminently good and just, yet whose misfortune is brought about not by vice or depravity, but by some error or frailty." --Aristotle, The Poetics only use quotations from attachment document.