Sight / Blindness
Leadership
Priority: Family
Submission to the Gods
Power
The role of women
The role of public opinion
Destiny/Fate
Compromise
Fear / Courage
Destructive nature / impulsivity / Ate / Leading yourself
Power of the State (laws)
Equality
Hypocracy
Reason vs. Justice/Morality
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Monday, October 5, 2015
Themes Identification Group Work For 10/5
Today we will be working together to continue our identification and articulation of the themes in Antigone.
By now, you should have:
1. Assigned responsibilities for the different members of your group. What themes, passages, or characteristics did each person address?
2. Identified four or five passages that helped you identify and understand themes raised in the play
3. Discussed the context, significance, and word choice in these passages
4. Explained how the passages help the reader understand a theme discussed in the play.
TODAY:
1. Meet with your groups and make sure each person has their own quotes and ideas -- try to avoid overlap
2. Come to an agreement on the three or four themes your group will discuss, and decide on how you will be articulating those themes. Each person gets one.
3. Collaborate to decide on the best supporting evidence for these ideas.
TOMORROW:
You need to come to class with a clearly articulated theme to discuss and support with evidence from the play. Consider two different ways to raise this theme:
*As a statement: "Haemon's character demonstrates the belief that chocolate ice cream is the foundation of a democratic society and must be upheld despite the needs of lactose-intolerant citizens
By now, you should have:
1. Assigned responsibilities for the different members of your group. What themes, passages, or characteristics did each person address?
2. Identified four or five passages that helped you identify and understand themes raised in the play
3. Discussed the context, significance, and word choice in these passages
4. Explained how the passages help the reader understand a theme discussed in the play.
TODAY:
1. Meet with your groups and make sure each person has their own quotes and ideas -- try to avoid overlap
2. Come to an agreement on the three or four themes your group will discuss, and decide on how you will be articulating those themes. Each person gets one.
3. Collaborate to decide on the best supporting evidence for these ideas.
TOMORROW:
You need to come to class with a clearly articulated theme to discuss and support with evidence from the play. Consider two different ways to raise this theme:
*As a statement: "Haemon's character demonstrates the belief that chocolate ice cream is the foundation of a democratic society and must be upheld despite the needs of lactose-intolerant citizens
Friday, October 2, 2015
Three-Column Notes for Themes Discussion and Articultation
It can be difficult to identify, discuss, and write about thematic development in a piece of literature.
One useful approach to organizing thoughts, identifying evidence, and communicating conclusions can be the use of a three-column note format.
- Themes deal with abstract, complex ideas.
- Authors rarely provide direct commentary regarding these ideas, instead requiring the reader to discover, interpret, and draw conclusions about the text.
- Even when a reader has an interesting insight about the text, it can be extremely difficult to articulate this idea and clearly explain how it was reached.
- Because of the complexity of the ideas discussed and the inferences the reader has to make about implied meaning, conclusions about the meaning of the literature generally change as the reader progresses through the text and as they consider and discuss ideas with others
One useful approach to organizing thoughts, identifying evidence, and communicating conclusions can be the use of a three-column note format.
- On the left, provide a passage from the text that you will focus on.
- In the middle, comment on the context and significance of the passage, focusing on the meaning of specific words or phrases
- On the right, comment on what this specific passage seems to be revealing about the issue at hand.
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Identifying Themes Raised in Antigone
Theme: A central message communicated by an author in a piece of literature. A theme consists of two parts -- the topic or subject of discussion raised by the author and the author's point of view (or the message gleaned by the reader).
In a typical tragedy, themes are often raised by the difficult decisions confronting characters and the choices they are forced to make. Antigone is an especially fine example of this. Themes in this play are communicated by:
Step 1: Organize your group of three
Step 2: Select an issue for discussion
Step 3: Identify themes raised by the literary device
Step 4: Start finding specific text to develop, clarify, and provide insight into these conclusions
In a typical tragedy, themes are often raised by the difficult decisions confronting characters and the choices they are forced to make. Antigone is an especially fine example of this. Themes in this play are communicated by:
- The choices, values, justifications, and interactions of characters
- The commentary and interaction presented by the Chorus (especially in the Odes)
- The symbolism and motifs used by the author to provide concrete representation of the abstract ideas being discussed
- The dramatic, situational, and verbal irony
Step 1: Organize your group of three
Step 2: Select an issue for discussion
Step 3: Identify themes raised by the literary device
Step 4: Start finding specific text to develop, clarify, and provide insight into these conclusions
Friday, September 25, 2015
Questions for Antigone: Scene 2, Ode 2
1. When finally captured and forced to face Creon, How does Antigone defend her actions?
2. Since there is only one stage setting in a Greek drama, important actions often take place offstage. In Scene 2 the Sentry describes a crucial event we do not witness. How does he describe Antigone when she discovers the corpse has been unburied? What is the intended effect of this figurative language on the audience?
3. The leader of the Chorus accuses Antigone of being “the fierce daughter of a fierce father” and says she has no sense of compromise. Later Creon calls her behavior insolent, “exult [ing] in her deed and laugh[ing] that she had done it.”. Do you think this assessment of her character is valid? Explain why, using events and dialogue from the play so far to support your conclusions
4. Why do you think Ismene changes her mind about her brother’s burial? Do you think Antigone is justified in rejecting Ismene’s support, or is she being too hard on her sister. Why do you think this?
5. Antigone tells Creon “They think it, too, but hold their tongues for you.” Based on what the Leader of the Chorus says to Creon in this scene, do you think this statement is correct?
2. Since there is only one stage setting in a Greek drama, important actions often take place offstage. In Scene 2 the Sentry describes a crucial event we do not witness. How does he describe Antigone when she discovers the corpse has been unburied? What is the intended effect of this figurative language on the audience?
3. The leader of the Chorus accuses Antigone of being “the fierce daughter of a fierce father” and says she has no sense of compromise. Later Creon calls her behavior insolent, “exult [ing] in her deed and laugh[ing] that she had done it.”. Do you think this assessment of her character is valid? Explain why, using events and dialogue from the play so far to support your conclusions
4. Why do you think Ismene changes her mind about her brother’s burial? Do you think Antigone is justified in rejecting Ismene’s support, or is she being too hard on her sister. Why do you think this?
5. Antigone tells Creon “They think it, too, but hold their tongues for you.” Based on what the Leader of the Chorus says to Creon in this scene, do you think this statement is correct?
Monday, September 21, 2015
Tragic Hero Traits Work: 9/21,22
Tragic Hero Characteristics:
Creon/Antigone: Describe the following traits for each. You will need a full sheet of paper -- one side for each character.
Arete: How is he elevated to great status?
Hubris: How does he demonstrate arrogance and place himself above the law of the gods?
Hamartia: What ordinarily valuable trait does he show that is tragically unsuited?
Ate: How does he show reckless decision making and blindness to his surroundings/advisors?
For each of these traits,
a. Make a general claim / characterization in your own words
b. Provide specific, quoted text to support this characterization
c. Explain how the evidence you selected supports the characterizations you made.
Friday, September 18, 2015
The two charts below are guides to what you should be looking for
as you read and what you should be writing in your margins:
Elements of Fiction
|
Author's Craft
|
Figurative Language
|
o
Theme(s)
o
Conventions of
tragic drama
o
Character
motivation
o
Character flaws
o
Setting/ historical period
o
Important
scenes/plot points
o
Symbolism
o
Motif(s)
o
Point
of view / effect
o
Narrative
pace / time / order of sequence of events
o
Tone
/ mood
|
o
Explodes a moment
o
Creates a snapshot
o
Comparison
o
Imagery
o
Foreshadowing
o
effects
of word choice (diction) or sentence structure or type (syntax)
o
Repetition
of words, phrases, actions, events, patterns
o
Contrasts
/ contradictions / juxtapositions / shifts
|
o
Metaphor / Simile
o
Personification
o
Asyndeton /
Polysyndeton
o
Allusion
o
Hyperbole
o
Understatement
o
Alliteration for
effect
o
Repetition
for effect
o
Irony
o
Imagery
|
Diction
|
Find sentences that have SPECIFIC words or
phrases that stand out to you. Why does this word or phrase stand out? What
are the connotations (emotional connection you have) to these words? Based on
what is occurring in the text at the moment in time, why do you think the
writer uses a particular word or phrase? BE SURE TO INCLUDE THE ENTIRE
SENTENCE, not just the word, IN YOUR JOURNAL ENTRY.
In this specific
excerpt, how does the writer’s word choice impact your understanding/the
meaning of the text? Why did the writer use that specific word or phrase in
that context?
|
Figurative
Language
|
Are there any metaphors, similes,
personification, hyperboles, etc. used that add meaning to your understanding
of the excerpt? What is the author trying to say by using that particular
figurative language? What is the effect or impact he/she is creating with
this figurative language choice?
In this specific
excerpt, how does the writer’s use of figurative language impact your understanding/the
meaning of the text?
|
Symbolism
|
To
help identify symbols, ask yourself the following questions: Are there any
names of people, places or things that stick out or make references to important
ideas? What concrete objects or people in the story represent more than what it
actually is? What abstract idea (e.g. faith, hope, love, isolation, fear)
does this object or person represent AND why do you believe this? What is the
significance of this object or person being repeated in the story? Why did
the author include these specific details, and what is the author trying to
tell us?
In this specific excerpt, how do the symbolic
meanings of these items give us a deeper understanding of the story and
author’s overall message?
|
Imagery
|
When analyzing imagery, identify what
senses are involved. Go beyond just the simple mental image created by the
passage: how did this affect the way you feel? How did the author’s details
and descriptions connect you to the story? If the author had not created
these images or emotions, then how would your understanding of the story have
changed?
In this specific
excerpt, how does the writer’s use of imagery impact your understanding/the
meaning of the text?
|
Character
Development
|
In this specific excerpt of text, what do
the character’s dialogue, thoughts, and/or actions reveal about this
character? What is the character’s main function in this excerpt? What are
his/her motivations, beliefs, or flaws? Based on who he/she is, what can you
infer or predict about this character?
In this specific
excerpt, how does this character development impact your
understanding/the meaning of the text?
|
Setting
|
How does
the setting (time, palce, weayjer) influence the character’s motivations or
behaviors? What details of the culture or time period help you understand the
events of the story or the character’s actions? Is there a shift in setting?
How does the shift help you understand the character’s motivations or
behaviors?
In this specific excerpt, how does
the writer’s use of details in setting impact your understanding/the meaning of the
text?
|
Final Annotation Considerations:
The most common
complaint about annotating is that it slows down your reading. Yes, it does.
That’s the point. If annotating as you read annoys you, read a chapter, then go
back and annotate. Reading a text a second time is preferable anyway. Approach
the works with an open mind. Let the literature inspire you and stretch your
imagination.
The outside reading assignment must be read and annotated
before class begins. It is perfectly okay to add to your markings after you
finish the book and are working on an essay, but the whole of the job should be
done in conjunction with your reading for class preparations.