Reading Period 2: Sept 8-14: Antigone

Due Dates:
Quiz: Monday, Sept 11
Assignments: Wednesday, Sept 13
AP: Monday, Sept 11

Long Read: Antigone, lines 656-1465

Creative Assignments:

What would Antigone and Ismene be like in the world today? What would they think of contemporary culture? Would Ismene be a basic girl with a pumpkin spice latte in her hand and a side ponytail on her head? Would she just really love fall? Would Antigone be an emo chick in a beanie with a ripped hoodie and a nose ring? Or maybe you see them differently -- Ismene might be a conniving "good girl," and Antigone might be more of an athlete. Create an Instagram account for each girl, and post at least ten things -- either reblogs or links or original photos -- which represent the character as you imagine her.

OR

In other versions of Antigone's story, she and Haemon are married and even have a son. In the Sophocles play, they don't get to shared the stage. Mimicking the style of Sophocles, as translated by Robert Fagles, write a short scene about Antigone and Haemon in the tomb. You might write Antigone's part, and then have her die, and then write Haemon's part when he finds her, or you might write it in such a way that their lives overlap, and they have a dialogue. You can end your scene with Creon rushing in. The important thing is to try to create a similar sound to Sophocles' lines, a believable mimicry.

Writing Assignments:

Both Creon and Antigone appear, at times, to be the tragic hero of their drama. Which is the true
tragic hero? Write an essay of 300 words in which you use Aristotle’s opinions on tragic heroism from The Poetics, together with evidence from the text, then exhibit your own opinion.

OR

The sentry in Antigone states “There’s nothing you can swear you’ll never do - second thoughts make liars of us all.” Describe how this is exemplified in a character, and how this affects the plot.
Choose a character who makes an oath (or oaths) and either does or does not wish that he or she could take it back. Does the line imply that second thoughts can do any good, or is the oath permanent? Do the events of the play support this? How does this affect the meaning of the drama? Write an essay of 300 words in which you explain what happened, and then consider why.

OR

Funereal practices vary greatly over different cultures and religions. Choose three (bone-picking ceremony? opening of the mouth ceremony? sky burial? mummification?) to compare and contrast in an essay of 300 words.

AP Lang:

Lao-Tzu and Creon both have definite ideas about what a leader ought to be. In a 300 word esasy, compare and contrast the concepts Lao-Tzu voices in the Tao Te Ching to those expressed by Creon in Antigone. You may also compare and contrast their rhetorical choices. How do they sound -- musing, emotional, ranting, calm? For a particular example, check out line 203-215, 335-355, 746-760.

OR

Write your own page of the Tao Te Ching mimicking Lao Tzu's style and rhetorical choices. You must include an aphorism and some ambiguity. However, I don't want you to line up with Lao Tzu's ideas about governance and leadership. Make a different point, in Lao Tzu's style.

Quiz:

1. What happened to Eteocles and Polynices?
2. How are Eteocles and Polynices different? Why did Creon allow one to be buried and not the other?
3. In Ismene's persuasive speech, lines 60-80, which types of persuasion does she use? Give examples of logos, ethos, and pathos.
4. Who says the famous line, "My countrymen, the ship of state is safe?"
5. What oath did the sentry break?
6. Describe the funeral rituals that Antigone has performed on her brother.
7. What rhetorical strategy is Ismene using in lines 634-645?
8. Creon considers different punishments for Antigone. Which does he finally settle on?
9. Antigone references Niobe in lines 915-924. If you don't know her story, look it up. Why is Niobe's story particularly resonant for Antigone right now?
10. What does Creon mean by the line, "If a man could wail his own dirge before he dies, he'd never finish"?
11. What message does Tiresias have for Creon?
12. By the end of the play, what characters have died?