Antigone: Day 3

Antigone: 

As we read please examine the play for the following Greek Tragic elements:

As we read, let's pay close attention to the use of: (class discussion or small group discussion)

• Hamartia (fatal or tragic flaw): what might Antigone's tragic flaw be? Do other characters in the play also have flaws that cause tragedy to occur?
• Catharsis: why might we feel sorry for Antigone or Kreon or the other characters in the play?
• Peripety or peripeteia (turning point): when is the moment when Antigone cannot "save" herself by her actions? Are there turning points for other characters?
• Deus Ex Machina: does the play end with a contrived or obvious ending? If so, what makes the play's ending ineffective? If not, what surprised you about how the play ends?
• Tragedy: Aristotle suggests that there should be a good character that comes to a bad end. How might Antigone support his theory of tragedy?
• Dithyramb: What is the effect of the choral odes in this play? What purpose does the chorus play in the story or theme of the tragedy?
• skene: How is setting and/or entrances/exits of characters used in this play?
• Choragos or choragus: Where in the play does the choragos act as an individual? With whom does he interact?
• parados/exodus: At what moment in the play does the chorus enter and exit? 
• Idea (theme): What themes or messages about human existence occur in the play? What seems to be the message or point of this play? 
• Contemporary context: can you connect Antigone's behavior/actions with any contemporary or historical figures? If so, who and why?
• Is Antigone relevant today?

Creative Ideas: small group activity:

• If you were to write a play about justice/law and its misuse perhaps, how might you tell the story? What scenes or characters would you include?
• What historical figures since 300 BCE have there been that remind you of Antigone and her determined sacrifice or stubborn civil disobedience? How might the play's theme be different from a play from that perspective? If you updated Antigone today, what would you keep or what would you get rid of?
• Choose a popular (or not popular) myth that you know (Greek or otherwise) and make an outline for yourself as to how you might turn this myth into a short play. Include 3-5 episodes, a title character/protagonist, an opposition or antagonist, and other characters you feel you would need to tell your story effectively and creatively. 

HOMEWORK: If we did not finish reading Antigone in class, please complete it for homework. Please read the comic one-act Medea by Christopher Durang.