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Lesson 4

We will read the end of the first section of Antigone and add to our understanding of Creon and Antigone’s characters. We will continue to add to our tools with appropriate textual evidence to scaffold to our Culminating Task.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I synthesize information from Antigone and “The Story of Antigone: A Play, a Text, a Myth for All Times” to create new understanding?

  • Can I use text evidence and original commentary to support an interpretive response about Antigone?

  • Can I analyze isolated scenes and my contribution to the success of the plot of Antigone as a whole?

  • Can I analyze how Sophocles develops complex yet believable characters through cultural settings and events in Antigone?

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • Antigone, Sophocles (translated by Robert Fagles), Penguin Books, 1984
  • Multimedia
    • Excerpts from “The Story of Antigone: A Play, a Text, a Myth for All Times,” Dr. Evelyne Ender and Dr. David Steiner, Odell Education, 2020

Materials

Tools

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Discuss – Read – Write

We will read and analyze the interactions of Creon, the Sentry, and theLeader. We will continue to use our tools and graphic organizers as a way to interact with the text and add relevant textual evidence.

Step 1

For homework, you read Lines 236-280, added to your Character Argument Note-Taking Tool, and used the following questions to guide your reading:

  1. In this section of the play, what is Creon’s claim, and what text evidence supports that?

  2. What is the Leader’s response to Creon?

  3. What news does the Sentry bring, and what are his emotions at this point?

Share your notes, annotations, and responses with a partner. Use the following questions to guide your discussion:

  1. What notes did you add to the Character Argument Note-Taking Tool?

  2. What do you both agree on that is important in Lines 236-280?

  3. Were there any words or phrases that were difficult for you, and if so, what strategies did you use to help you make meaning of the words?

Step 2

Read along and listen as three students read aloud the parts of the Sentry, Creon, and the Leader from Lines 281-375. Continue to annotate and add notes to your tools and graphic organizers.

Answer the following guiding questions for the Character Argument Note-Taking Tool:

  1. What arguments does Creon make that you can add to your tool?

  2. What counterarguments are made? Who makes these counterarguments?

Answer the following guiding questions for annotation:

  1. Creon is in disbelief that someone buried Polynices. What does this say about his character and leadership? What textual evidence makes you respond in this way?

  2. Creon has specific beliefs about what would make someone go against his wishes. How have his beliefs been shaped by his position? Choose important quotations to support your ideas.

  3. How would you describe the interaction between Creon, the Sentry, and the Leader? Use specific words and phrases from the text in your response.

  4. What reasons does Creon have for being angry that someone has gone against his orders?

Step 3

Once you have read and annotated the text and updated your tools, select your best response and the response you are least confident about. Partner with another student, then share your responses and text evidence with each other. Be sure you understand each character's claims and counterclaims so you can arrive at conclusions about the character’s perspectives and positions.

Activity 2: Read – Discuss – View

We will read the Chorus’s ode and perform it in small groups by adding voices and movement; then, we will explain what the key ideas and details are from the text using text evidence.

Step 1

In small groups, read the Chorus’s Lines 376-416. As you read, consider the following questions:

  1. What is happening in these lines?

  2. What is the Chorus trying to convey?

In your groups, paraphrase these lines in a way that makes sense and adds meaning to the interaction among Creon, the Sentry, and the Leader. Then, discuss the following question:

  1. What does the Chorus think about what they have seen and heard? Use support from the text in your discussion.

Step 2

Design a performance in the manner of the Greek chorus using your paraphrased lines. Decide how you can read together or in parts to make this section of the play come to life. Consider what movements or rhythm you can use to dramatize this section and add meaning.

Step 3

Practice with Lines 376-385 to get the feel of reading together with movement to add meaning. Think back to the video you watched with the modern adaptation of the Chorus.

Step 4

After you have practiced, perform portions of the Chorus’s hymn for another small group.

Decide what is important from this ode. Referring back to the original lines, explain to your audience the reasons for your paraphrasing and performance decisions.

Step 5

As a whole class, discuss the following question now that you have performed a section of the play:

  1. What is the function of the chorus in the play?

Activity 3: Write – Discuss

We will look back at the Central Question through the lens of the plot and characters for this first portion of the play.

Step 1

Review the Central Question of the unit: To whom or what do we owe our loyalty?

Use the following questions to guide a discussion with a partner or small group:

  1. What new knowledge do you have that relates to the Central Question?

  2. What are you still curious about that relates to the Central Question?

  3. What is the relationship between the Central Question and the texts you have read so far? How do the texts shed light on the question? How does the question help you understand the texts?

  4. How has your response to the question evolved, deepened, or changed?

Step 2

In your Learning Log, write a one-sentence original response that each character would give in response to the Central Question; use appropriate text evidence from the play.

  • Antigone

  • Ismene

  • Creon

  • the Sentry

  • the Chorus

Step 3

Write 2-3 sentences explaining what you know about the topics from Antigone from Section 1.

  • the role of gods

  • gender roles

  • the safety or security of the city

  • the family tree of Antigone, including her father Oedipus and her grandfather King Laius

  • the Chorus

After you have considered and responded in your Learning Log about the characters and topics above, work with a partner to create a list of questions that you still have.

Activity 4: Read – Write

We will read an essay that provides additional information about Creon and background information to the play.

Step 1

Read the Creon section from the Excerpts from "The Story of Antigone: A Play, a Text, a Myth for All Times" by Dr. Evelyne Ender. Use the guiding questions in the following segments to help you understand the text.

Step 2

Consider how the information presented in the essay adds to the complexity of Creon. The first paragraph of the excerpt states that Creon must be read in several ways. In your Learning Log, write down your answer to the following question:

  1. How might Creon have been justified in his response to his laws being broken?

Use appropriate and relevant textual evidence from both the essay excerpt and the play to support your response.

Step 3

In your Learning Log, complete a quick-write response to the following question:

  1. What do you predict might happen between Antigone and Creon in the next section of the play? What supports your prediction?