Pride and Downfall in Antigone

Irony is the main concept that drives the ending of the play Antigone by Sophocles. However, this irony is far from humorous and is actually quite tragic. Sophocles uses this irony in order to convey the fact that too often in one’s life wisdom and humility come too late to do any good. The ending of Antigone displays this message all too clearly. The play ends in catastrophe as Creon’s decisions throughout the play lead to his son, Haemon, eventually killing himself after first attacking his father and his future daughter-in-law. Although Creon finally accepts that what he was doing is wrong, his epiphany comes much too late as the situation around him dissolves quickly into chaos and horror. The implied statement that humility and wisdom oftentimes come too late to do any good and that pride leads to downfall is a common theme in many works of literature and in often times seems to occur in everyday life. However, pride can be a very valuable trait to have and in many cases helps one achieve one’s goals. However, if pride comes in excess (hubris) then it can easily lead to downfall. Creon’s pride blinds him to the basic fact that he is committing a extreme wrongdoing by not letting Antigone bury her own brother. And although his humility and wisdom to come, they arrive much too late to stop the horrible tragedy that befalls his family.