Antigone - Day 2

Our focus for today was on values and priorities, as well as when they come into conflict.

• In personal writing you noted your own values and priorities, some of the sources of them, and an example of a time when two or more values came into conflict with each other.

Here is an example of a recent story about values coming into conflict: Kim Davis, a Kentucky county clerk, refused to authorize marriage certificates for gay or lesbian couples because it went against her religious values, even though the Supreme Court recently said these marriages were legal.

• Here is a link to one of many recent articles about Kim Davis
• Here is a link to an article with more in-depth analysis

Ultimately we will bridge this question back to the play, to discuss the different ways in which those characters both experience and cope with conflicting values.

Antigone - Day 1

Welcome back! I hope you had a fun and restful Labor Day weekend!

Today we will start our work with Antigone. Please be sure to check and understand the calendar for the next two weeks, since the essay you write for this play will be your first major assignment of the year.

In class you worked with a partner to read the opening dialogue between Antigone and Ismene. In your notebook you made a simple chart to keep track of the characteristics of these two women, as well as the different values present in their conversation. By "values," I mean the factors that might influence their decision-making. We will discuss both what those values are and the ways in which characters create a hierarchy of them, and why.

Tonight you are reading through line 514 and adding Creon to the chart we made in class.

Oedipus the King - Day 5

Today we will finish the group presentations of your assigned passages from the end of the play.

Following that, we will discuss your previous work with explications, and then go over your assignment for the weekend.

• Final Oedipus Explication

Oedipus the King - Day 4

Today we worked in groups to examine the final pages of the play. In your group of four you re-read an assigned passage. Then you worked on a way to perform it for the class, including sound effects, soundtrack music, and scenery as needed.

• Here are the groups and assigned passages

Oedipus the King - Day 3

Predictions!

Today we explore questions related to the idea of making predictions and, as they are called in the play, prophecies. Do we believe in them? Do we believe the future is pre-determined? If we are told the future, can we still change it? Can our own actions makes predictions come true, or not?

We discussed the ways in which Oedipus, Jocasta, and the Chorus spoke of predictions in the play up to line 915.

We also clarified questions about the plot, trying to keep track of the flurry of information and revelations in this section.

You also wrote and submitted an explication. You will receive these back with commentary based on the rubric we used in class on Monday.

Oedipus the King - Day 2

Today we will be working in pairs - use this list to find your partner.

You will share the explication you wrote over the weekend for the first section of Oedipus. With your partner, you will use this rubric to give each other feedback. This is the same rubric we will use for the next several weeks as we work on explications.

• Explication Rubric

With your partner you also read aloud the conversation between Oedipus and Tieresias, then identified a key line said by each character.

Your homework tonight is to read through line 915 and write an explication of 4-6 lines. Note that this will be turned in at the start of class tomorrow.