B - The one with all the discussion and maybe being slightly annoyed at Antigone for not accepting Creon's counter-offer.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How does the definition of "hero" evolve when the primary threat shifts from monster-in-the-dark to law-of-the-state?

I asked learners to share one memory of their experience watching Antigone at Bard on the Beach last week. We discussed how tragedy in general departs a little from Campbell's idea of the hero's journey:

• Beowulf's love of glory v. Antigone's battle of conscience
• wyrd (fate - Beowulf) v. hamartia (tragic flaw - Antigone)
• monster v. tyrant - threat to society
• epic (Beowulf) v. tragic arc (Antigone) - tragedy deliberately breaks Campbell's loop (Antigone doesn't return "transformed"

I introduced the Literary Essay on Anglo-Saxon Ideals and I reviewed the key differences between the literary essay and the expository essay.

Learners use the rest of the period to complete their notes on the excerpts from Beowulf and to begin outlining the essay.

READ: "The Battle with Grendel"

PRACTISE: Notes and annotations for "The Coming of Grendel," "The Coming of Beowulf," "Unferth's Taunt," "The Battle with Grendel"

NEXT CLASS: archetypes and essay prep

F - The one when it was the post viewing experience with Mrs. Graham.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How do director's staging choice and actors' performances transform the static text of an ancient play into a dynamic relevant critique of modern power?

IN MY PLANS:

• Free Write - What was the single most memorable moment, visual image, or sound yesterday's performance of Antigone?
• Discuss with a partner what you saw/heard and explain your immediate feeling/reaction.
• Post viewing critical reflection responses via learners' e-folders

According to Mrs. Graham: "Learners did their free write respectfully and shared with a partner their response to the prompt. After the sharing, everyone settled down to write their critical reflection paragraphs. Currently, the learners are all working diligently and the learners know to add their responses to their digital folders by the end of class. Note: Two learners did not go to the play so I let them do other work but also reminded them to finish reading the play via the blog's link."

NEXT CLASS: Gallery Walk, Creative Adaptation

B - The one that was a prelude to the play.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How does Campbell's Hero's Journey fit in with Greek tragedy?

Learners use the period to continue work on two graphic organizers:

• one for textual evidence of Anglo-Saxon ideals in "The Coming of Grendel," "The Coming of Beowulf," and "Unferth's Taunt"
• one for comparing Beowulf to Antigone with respect to "the hero's goal," "the obstacle," and "the role of fate"

Learners left at 11:15 to make their way to Bard on the Beach.

NEXT CLASS: archetypes

F - The one in your tableau era.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION:  How do performance choices translate the literal text (on the page) into dynamic power and emotion (on stage)?

Learners stood up and discussed with different partners the questions I posted last day.

I asked learners to think back to Galsworthy's "The Japanese Quince," and consider the absurdity (in the philosophical sense: "human life has on inherent meaning and the universe is entirely indifferent to our search for purpose) of the characters and their how their desire for social conformity hides human vulnerability. I asked learners to also think back to their Grade 9 study of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, particularly the "mechanicals" - absurdity, contrast, art(ifice)/beauty - and to think about whether or not we can consider Mr. Nilson and Mr. Tandram as "mechanical."

We discussed the possible connections to Antigone. I reviewed "the backstory" in order to frame our viewing of the play tomorrow. Learners worked in groups of three to create tableaus from the backstory.

We discussed the importance The Role of the Chorus and I invited learners to view the play tomorrow with one of the lenses below:

• Power & Posture (actor movement, spatial hierarchy) - Groups 1, 3
• Sound & Energy (vocal layering, music, tension) - Groups 2, 4, 6
• Modern Resonance (language choices, contemporary relevance) - Groups 5, 7
• The Chorus (how public opinion is staged) - everyone!

NEXT CLASS: Parallelism, Creative Adaptations

B - The one when you spoke Old English.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What does language teach us about culture?

Learners spoke their assigned lines from the Prologue from Beowulf. (You were fantastic!) I played a sample and learners discussed how closely they pronounced the Old English.

We watched an excerpt of a brief summary of Beowulf, then reviewed the characteristics of Anglo-Saxon poetry.

Learners began reading and annotating "The Coming of Grendel." They also took note of passages that exposed Anglo-Saxon ideals: allegiance to lord and king, love of glory as the ruling motive for a noble life, acceptance of the inevitability of death.

I asked learners to watch Antigone on Thursday, with a literary lens, as an archetypal bridge particularly when it comes to the hero's journey, community obligation, and fate.

READ: "The Coming of Grendel," "The Coming of Beowulf," "Unferth's Taunt," Antigone

PRACTISE: 

• Annotate the excerpts from Beowulf
• Create a graphic organizer noting examples of Anglo-Saxon ideals
• Create a graphic organizer comparing how Antigone and Beowulf define heroics, community obligations, and fate

NEXT CLASS: Anglo-Saxon ideals, hero, obligation, fate

F - The one that felt like a whirlwind (or maybe it was just me).

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: When social conventions conflict with personal conscience, what determines which we choose to obey?

I made a bit more of a formal introduction to the course. We reviewed the Course Outline (see the link to the left) and chatted a bit about assessment. Learners created their e-folder to house evidence of their learning, and invited me to collaborate on the folder.

We looked at the one sentence summaries of plot (in parallel form) on the digital parchment document from last class. I spoke about clear and concise writing.

We did a close reading of Galsworthy's "The Japanese Quince" and I modelled how to annotate text. I asked learners to consider the title of the short story, and a few learners offered some great ideas!

READ: The Backstory (to Antigone) and Antigone (lines 1-235)

NEXT CLASS: 

• How does the literal surface (like two men holding their newspapers behind their backs) reveal the absurdity of social conformity hidden behind human vulnerability?
• Are Mr. Nilson and Mr. Tandrum "mechanical"? Consider the "mechanicals" from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream - absurdity, contrast, art(ifice).
• The Role of the Chorus

B - The one about heroes and monsters.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: Can heroes be monsters too?

Learners shared their definitions of "hero" and "monster."

We discussed our discussion about Campbell's "The Hero's Journey," and I asked learners to consider that Campbell's "map" describes story telling from it's early existence, when it was only created as oral "text."

I distributed the textbook and we read together the introduction to the middle ages, in particular the historical context of including the Germanic invasions (the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes), Anglo-Saxon ideals and literary styles. I highlighted Anglo-Saxon ideals:

• allegiance to lord and king (comitatus)
• love of glory as the ruling motive for a noble life
• the inevitability of fate (wyrd)

We looked at an excerpt from the the Prologue of Beowulf, in the original Anglo-Saxon ("Old English"). I assigned learners 6-7 lines each and gave them a pronunciation guide. Learners used the rest of the period preparing an oral reading of their assigned lines in Old English.

NEXT CLASS: Prologue, Beowulf, Grendel, Antigone