Tragic Heroes' Ambition: A Comparative Study of Macbeth and Creon's Quest for Power

Macbeth, from the playwright Macbeth, and Creon, from the playwright Antigone, both show a great deal of ambition. Their ambition is similar in the way of wanting to hold onto power but are different in the way they go about doing it. The ultimate results of their ambition is the death for Macbeth and the downfall, loss of all family, for Creon.

Similarities Between the Two

Macbeth and Creon are similar in the way of wanting to hold onto the power they got.

Macbeth got ahold of power after he kills the king, Duncan, in his sleep and takes the throne. Creon gets ahold of power when Oedipus’ sons kill each other in combat, making him the next one to be king. First, Macbeth. After Macbeth gets ahold of the throne, he then doesn’t want to lose it. We see this in Act III when he talks to himself before the murderers enter and he says that the witches, “They hail’d him father to a line of kings: upon my head they placed a fruitless crown and put a barren sceptre in my gripe” (III, I, 64-66).

Get quality help now

KarrieWrites

Verified writer

Proficient in: Tragic Hero

5 (339)

“ KarrieWrites did such a phenomenal job on this assignment! He completed it prior to its deadline and was thorough and informative. ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

Macbeth is saying how the witches that told Banquo he will have children that will be king, and that Macbeth will not. Macbeth really wants to keep hold of his power so he devises a plan that is later mentioned. Now, Creon, on the other hand, got the throne because he was the next of kin in the royal bloodline to become king.

After becoming it, he desperately tries to keep hold of it. He even tells a leader, “see that you never side with those who break my orders” (245). Creon wants to hold power so badly that he goes as far to basically threaten a leader with death if he were to disobey him. Both Macbeth and Creon want to hold onto the throne by any means. That is how they are similar.

Differences Between the Two

But the difference between how Macbeth and Creon go about holding onto the throne is very different. Macbeth tries to keep hold by killing Banquo, the one who is suppose to father kings. Creon on the other hand, he keeps hold of it by putting the fear of death for anyone breaking the law of the city. First, we talk about Macbeth. Macbeth tries to keep the throne by killing the one who is suppose to father future kings, Banquo. He is seen basically sentencing Banquo to death when he talks to the murderers. After he bids them to leave, he says, “Banquo, thy soul’s flight, If it find heaven, must find it out tonight” (III, I, 156-157). He says how he is going to have the murderers kill Banquo because he doesn’t want his sons to take over the throne. He wants to keep the throne to himself. Creon, on the other hand, keeps hold of the throne by threatening anyone who breaks the law with death. He even threatens his own son, saying,  “Now, by heaven, I promise you, you’ll pay - taunting, insulting me!” (852-853). He wants to keep the throne so badly that he will even threaten his own son. His son just wanted him to see the error of his ways, defying the gods and all, but instead, Creon just threatens him for disobeying him. Both Macbeth and Creon really want to keep the throne, but the way they go about doing so is very different.

Now, we’ll discuss Macbeth’s and Creon’s roles as tragic heroes from the greek perspective, how this influences their ambition to keep the throne, and the ultimate results of this ambition. Macbeth’s role as a tragic hero, from the greek perspective, is to be the main character of the story that is destined to rise to power. Creon’s role as a tragic hero is to keep control of the throne and sentence Antigone to her death. Macbeth’s role influences his ambition to keep the throne because he loves to have power and he thinks that this is his destiny, so he will do anything to keep it. Creon’s role influences his ambition to keep the throne because he thinks that if he has the throne, that he should be the one everyone should listen to and obey.