Ant-ig-oh-knee
By Sophocles
Tear & Share
 Group brainstorming using the "Tear and Share”
four questions are:
1. What is a relationship?
2. What obstacles stand in the way of relationships'
enduring?
3. In times of adversity, do family
bonds/relationships help us survive?
4. Does it take courage to sustain a relationship?
Tear & Share
 1. Fold Paper into 4’s & number 1, 2, 3, 4
 Answer the 4 questions independently on your squares
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(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.
Sophocles (Sawf-oh-kleez)
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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.
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.
Video
 Universal Themes in Literature – about 25 min.
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?
Elements of classical drama
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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.
Our hero must:
 Have a tragic flaw
 The punishment must exceed the crime
 The character must understand and
accept their fall
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.
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.
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
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 counterarguments you anticipate the other side will bring up.
Ode 2
What punishment has Creon just ordered for
Antigone & Ismene?
2. How does the sea imagery in the first verse of the ode
underscore the idea that Antigone and Ismene are
doomed?
3. 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?
1.
Ode 3
According to the 1st verse, whom does Love conquer
and destroy? (6-8)
2. According to the 2nd verse, what does love do to a just
man? (9-13)
1.
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)
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)?
Hurricane Katrina
 Look at article.. Who is to blame?
 Hurricane Katrina video on Disc. ED.