Macbeth and Creon

The obsession with power was seen in both Sophocles Antigone and in Shakespeare's Macbeth. In Antigone, Creon was a king that everybody feared because of his power. His rules were strict and if they weren't t fallowed, things wouldn't be good for the person that disobeyed. In Macbeth, the sense of power was different. The character Macbeth started out as a hero because he was so brave and loyal, but throughout the story he changed into a murderer. Macbeth would have to kill King Duncan for him to gain the crown and have power.

Creon's actions were unstoppable, people had to obey them and if they didn't they would have to face the consequences. He had no conscience whatsoever. He sentenced Antigone to death because she had buried her brother Polyneices. Antigone was his niece and his son Haimon's future wife. Creon had given the order that no one was to touch Polyneices body because he had attacked and gone against his own city. Haimon would be losing the love of his life because of his father. Nobody could ever speak up to Creon and tell him he was wrong because they were all afraid of what he could do. He was a very stubborn king and had the ambition for power. Some of Machiavelli's rules of power compared to Creon, one that said "A good leader should be both loved and feared. However, if forced to choose, a leader must be feared. People are greedy and immoral; they will kill one they love for personal gain." Creon never put anybody first but himself. All he ever did was give orders and think about himself. He had no compassion over killing his son's soon to be wife, he only thought about being obeyed. Antigone had disobeyed so she would be punished.

Being a hero, didn't last for Macbeth. He wanted the power. It all started when Macbeth had fought Macdonwald and had won the battle, thereafter King Duncan called him Brave Macbeth. When he returns from the battle he runs into the three witches. One of the witches says " All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king hereafter." (1,3,Line 50). What the witch says sets off Macbeth into wanting to be king. He would do any possible thing to gain the crown. He joined hands with Lady Macbeth, she would give him ideas and plan out what he'd have to do to get to the crown, but she also wanted the crown. She once says "Come you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty!" She wants to become a man so that she can be king and have the power that Macbeth wants. She leads Macbeth to killing King Duncan, but when that happens Macbeth gets an unexpected feeling of guilt.

At a time, Creon starts realizing the wrong on his ruling. He goes into a realization phase, when he starts to think about his family. He had locked up Antigone and let her on her own to die, so that when she did he wouldn't have any part of it, it would be God's fault for not helping her. He