1. Do Now
What sorts of burial rites are common in the Western world? Are you familiar with any other death rites?

2. Antigone
Sophocles

3. Antigone Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta.
Chorus – Theban elders/senators
Teiresias
Blind prophet

4. Antigone Creon Eurydice Haemon
King of Thebes after the deaths of Oedipus’s sons
Eurydice
Creon’s wife
Pronounced: Ur-rid’-a-see
Haemon
Creon’s son
Betrothed to Antigone
Pronounced: He’-mon

5. Antigone Oedipus’s other children: Ismene Eteocles Polyneices
Pronounced: Is-me’-ne
Eteocles
Refused to give up his post as King of Thebes to his brother Polyneices
Creon says he should receive an honorable burial.
Pronounced: Eh-tee’-acleez
Polyneices
Marches on Thebes with the help of the city of Argos
Creon states that his body should be cast out unburied.
Pronounced: Pol-lee-nice-eez’

6. Themes Guilt Honor and tradition The role of a leader
The Greeks had very specific rules about burials.
The role of a leader

7. Freytag’s Pyramid
Gustav Freytag’s analysis of Greek and Shakespearean drama

8. Freytag’s Pyramid

9. Classwork
Complete classwork worksheet.

10. Homework
Read Antigone, Pages (paperback) or Pages (hardback), and answer the corresponding questions.

11. Do Now
What sorts of “debts” do people rack up? Which debts do you think are important to pay back?

12. Antigone Part 1, Pages 80-94 or Pages 91-106
About what are Antigone and Ismene disagreeing? What tone do you imagine each taking?
What are your impressions of Creon? What words or phrases would you use to describe him? Does he remind you of any other literary or movie characters?
Why was it so important to Antigone to bury Polyneices? Do you think she would have done the same for her other brother?

13. Antigone Part 1, Pages 80-94 or Pages 91-106
Why does Creon compare Ismene to a viper on Page 93(paperback)/104 (hardback)? How does she lie? Why? Why does Antigone contradict her? In what tone do you imagine Antigone telling Ismene on Page 94 (paperback)/105 (hardback), “Do not share my death”?
Does Creon fear his son’s reaction to his plan for Antigone? Does he feel guilty that he has condemned the woman who was to be his daughter-in-law?
What does Creon mean when he instructs the servants to take the women inside so they cannot “range at large; even the bold seek to fly when they see Death now closing on their life”?

14. Classwork
Complete classwork worksheet.

15. Homework
Read Antigone, Pages (paperback) or Pages (hardback), and answer the corresponding questions.

16. Do Now
What sort of things make us feel ashamed or guilty? Does it do any good to feel guilty about your behavior? Can you feel shame for someone else’s actions?

17. Antigone Part 2, Pages 95-110 or Pages 106-123
How does Haemon react when he hears the news of his father’s order? Does his attitude toward his father change from the beginning of their discussion to the end?
How does Creon try to convince his son that Antigone is not worth all this trouble? Is there anything he could have said that would have convinced Haemon to go against Antigone? Do you think Creon is more concerned about the state of his own reputation? What does he seem to value?
On Page 103 (paperback)/Page 115 (hardback), what omen did Teiresias observe? What does he now advise Creon to do? How do you think Teiresias is feeling toward Creon? Does he want to help him?
What is the tone of the Chorus after Creon goes to free Antigone? What sort of celebration are they describing?

18. Antigone Part 2, Pages 95-110 or Pages 106-123
What news does the Messenger bring? How does this change the mood that was set in the previous scene?
Would Antigone have killed herself if she had known of her brother’s monument? Why do you think she killed herself? Do you think she spoke to Haemon before she died?
Why do you suppose Eurydice did not communicate with her husband before killing herself? What was she feeling? Why do you think she killed herself? Could she have influenced her husband to save Antigone if she had spoken before? Should she have realized something was wrong, and tried to talk to Haemon about his problem with his father?
Why do you suppose Creon does not kill himself? What will happen to him now? Are Sophocles’s sympathies more with Creon – or with Antigone? Who do you think is worse off?

19. Classwork
Complete classwork worksheet.

20. Homework
Study for Antigone quiz.