Antigone

1. Antigone Ant-ig-oh-knee By Sophocles

2. Tear & Share • Group brainstorming using the "Tear and Share” four questions are: • What is a relationship? • What obstacles stand in the way of relationships' enduring? • In times of adversity, do family bonds/relationships help us survive? • Does it take courage to sustain a relationship?

3. Tear & Share • 1. Fold Paper into 4’s & number 1, 2, 3, 4 • Answer the 4 questions independently on your squares (brief response) • Fold the paper into 4 squares & tear into 4’s. • Someone take all the 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s • 1s, 2s,3s, 4s join up • Write a synthesis that summarizes all the ideas of the group. • Share summaries as a group. • Record your summaries on the board.

4. Sophocles (Sawf-oh-kleez) • The Greek tragic playwright, Sophocles (ca.496-406 B.C.) • Contemporaries Aeschylus and Euripides • One of the greatest dramatists of the ancient world. • Masterpieces are Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone, and Electra. • Respected public figure in Athens, served as a priest and a general under Pericles in the Samian War of 440 B.C. • Composed about 123 dramas in all, and won many dramatic prizes after 468 B.C. • Theatrical innovations were the addition of a third actor, a larger chorus, the introduction of painted scenery, and an abandonment of the trilogy style that had been used in composing self-contained tragedies.

5. Greek drama • Drama evolved from religious festivals in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine • three actors would rotate to play all the speaking parts and thus the importance of masks.

6. Video • Universal Themes in Literature – about 25 min.

7. Rank your loyalties • Rank the people you are loyal to from 1 – most loyal to least. • Family, friends, school, country, etc. • Why do we rank them differently?

8. Elements of classical drama • Tragedy: downfall of a dignified, superior character • This character is the tragic hero. • Tragic hero has (usually) archetypal elements. • Tragic flaw is the hero’s error or weakness. • Chorus – group of actors who comment on the action in the play. Represents “the people” • Leader is choragus. • Dramatic irony – audience’s awareness of things the characters do not know – is often present in classical drama.

9. Our hero must: • Have a tragic flaw • The punishment must exceed the crime • The character must understand and accept their fall

10. Elements of Classical Drama cont’d • Usually ends in a catastrophe – disastrous conclusion. At the end (exodus) • Hubris – extreme pride or arrogance. Seen in the hero. Usually leads to fall. • Hubris was one of the worst traits in Greek life. • Motifs – repeating elements that advance the plot & illustrate the theme. • Allusions to gods & rituals = allusion is a reference.

11. Close Reading • Page 1059 – Oedipus • 5 HOME groups of 5 people in each group (block 2 – extra people can join, if necessary. 4th – 5 groups of 4) • As a group, answer YOUR question (question 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5). • Then, split off and join someone from each group and jot down your answers for 1-5. • Reconvene with HOME group. Go thru answers 1 at a time and everyone write them down. Share your discussion results.

12. Focus for Reading • Analyze the CONFLICT in the story. • Conflict can come in four forms: • Person – against – self • Person – against – person • Person – against – nature • Person – against – society

13. Tragic flaw or fate Debate • 4 groups • 2 groups on each side: • Creon’s pride • Antigone’s stubbornness Which led to the tragic events in Antigone? Find evidence for your side (line #s to support!) as well as counter-arguments you anticipate the other side will bring up.

14. Ode 2 • What punishment has Creon just ordered for Antigone & Ismene? • How does the sea imagery in the first verse of the ode underscore the idea that Antigone and Ismene are doomed? • The first ½ of the poem refers to the house of Oedipus, the second ½ to the house of Creon. What does the poem suggest about how the 2 houses are linked?

15. Ode 3 • According to the 1st verse, whom does Love conquer and destroy? (6-8) • According to the 2nd verse, what does love do to a just man? (9-13)

16. Ode 4 • This ode links both Creon & Antigone to tragic mythological figures. • 1. How is the story of Danae, described in the first verse, similar to the Oedipus myth? (1-5) • 2. Which figure f/the play is like King Dryas’ son, described in the second verse? (lines 10-18) • 3. How is Antigone like King Phineus’ first wife, whose story is told in the last two verses? (lines 19-34)

17. Scene 5, • 1. What is Creon’s initial attitude toward Teiresias (3-7) • 2. Why is he indebted to Teiresias? Lines 7, 64 • 3. Why has Teiresias come to Creon now? (8-40)?

18. Hurricane Katrina • Look at article.. Who is to blame? • Hurricane Katrina video on Disc. ED.