Creon Character Analysis This scene begins as Creon is claiming his right to the throne after the death of both Polynices and Eteocles. After doing so, he states that no one is allowed to bury Polynices or they will be sentenced to death. Creon orders the chorus leader to be the “sentinels of the decree.” (29*third edition, edited by mark Griffith and Glenn W. Most) Afterwards, a guard comes into the scene and is noticeably rattled by something. After Creon asks him why he is so worked up, the guard says that someone disobeyed Creon’s edict and decided to bury Polynices. Creon immediately believes that people were bribed in order to carry out the deed, and he wrongly accuses the guard as being among them, and he sends the guard away. In this essay I will talk about what kind of king Creon is, how he relates to his people, and what his beliefs are. Right off the bat it is easy to tell that Creon is very prideful. If Polynices and Eteocles did not kill each other, then he would not be king. He wants to prove to the people that just because he essentially becomes king by default, he still is the rightful heir of the throne. Creon states that “you cannot learn of any man the soul, the mind, and the intent until he shows his practice of the government and law...he who controls the state, if he holds not to the best plans of all but locks up his tongue up through some kind of fear, he is the worst of all” (28). Creon does not want to appear weak to his people. In order to show his prowess in “government and law,” he creates the law that states that no one can bury Polynices. Creon then orders the Chorus Leader to enforce the law on his people. The Chorus Leader says that Creon should “order some younger man to take this on” (29). The Chorus represents the thoughts of the rest of Thebes. The reason why the Chorus Leader does not want the task of enforcing this law is because he knows that it will not be popular among the people. Creon, however, does not seem to be
