Woden’s Day, April 3: “Count No Man Happy”
 EQ1: What are hubris and hamartia?
 EQ2: How did Greek Drama operate, and what is dramatic irony?
 Welcome! Get paper, wits,
pen/pencil, yesterday’s
work, brown textbook!
 Yucky Chickens
 Opening Freewrite:
hubris and hamartia
 Brief Lecture: Greek Drama
 Reading: Sophocles,
Oedipus The King
o Students read to find
Dramatic Irony
ELABLRL2: Student identifies, analyzes, an
applies knowledge of theme
ELABLRL3: Student relates literature to
historical and modern contexts
ELABLRL5: Student acquires new vocabulary; uses correctly reading/writing
ELABLRC2: Student has discussion related to learning in all subject areas
ELABLRC4: Student establishes context for information acquired by reading
ELA12W4: Student uses timed and process writing to develop, revise, evaluate
ELA12LSV1: Student has student-teacher, student-student, group discussions
Closing Freewrite (100 words): EEEEWW!!!
Most people feel revulsion at reading the story of
Oedipus; that’s why it’s a tragedy. Write about one part
of the story that you found creepy, gross, awful, or
otherwise yucky – and explain what makes it so.
What I expected:
What surprised me:
Freewrites: hubris, hamartia and Tragedy
Remember from yesterday’s notes:
o hubris – think you have it all figured out, know “the Truth.”
Remember Socrates: only Gods know Truth. If you are
hubristic, you think you can outsmart the gods.
o hamartia – holding logically inconsistent notions in the mind;
i.e., simultaneously believing and disbelieving something.
Yesterday a woman told you you’d be killed by chicken, and you
responded. Now look back at what you wrote, and evaluate it by
those standards. Freewrite (100 wds): Did your answer show –
o hubris? Or –
o hamartia? Or –
o Both? Or –
o Neither?
Your answer must demonstrate that you understand the term(s).
Greek Drama: The Basics
o Drama
o Greek actors wore masks onstage.
o Violence never occurs onstage! Killings happen offstage;
literally “obscene” (“off-stage,” not fit for the stage)
o Protagonist = “first actor” – NOT “good guy”!
o Main character can be a jerk!
o Comedy and Tragedy
o Don’t think “funny/sad”; think “happy ending/sad ending
o Tragic Flaw – character trait that causes a good man to fall
o Often it’s the same character trait that makes him goo
o Dramatic Irony – we know something a character onstage
does not know; this causes tension, interest, pathos
o Greek audiences (like Shakespeare’s) already know the
plot. The fun is seeing how the characters will react to
what we already know.
CLOZE: Write questions and answers on back
of last page of today’s Reading Guide packet
1. What did Greek actors wear onstage?
2. How were violent acts in Greek plays staged?
3. What does the word “obscene” literally mean?
4. What is a protagonist?
5. What is the most important difference between comedy and
tragedy?
6. Define: Tragic Flaw
7. Define: Dramatic Irony
TURN IN TODAY:
o Opening Freewrite: hamartia, hubris, and chicken death
o CLOZE: Introduction to Greek Drama
o Reading Guide: Dramatic Irony in Oedipus
Reading Guide: Sophocles, Oedipus The King
Sophocles, Oedipus the King, tr. Robert Fagles (pp. 262 – 327)
Reading “The Legend of Oedipus” in your textbook told you almost all you need to know about the
story; I would add only that, at the end, when they realize the full truth of their existence, Jocasta
kills herself, and Oedipus gouges out his eyes and leaves town.
Remember: the audience knew all of this before they sat down to watch the play, but
characters onstage did not. This situation is known as dramatic irony: actions on stage are
dramatic precisely because we know something that a character does not know. Oedipus is
entirely about dramatic irony; and that’s what you’ll look for as you read.
As you read, look very closely at everything Oedipus says in those pages, and find at least five
examples of dramatic irony in HIS words. For each, write down the exact words that show
dramatic irony, write the line numbers, and explain what makes the passage ironic. (And guess
what? You can use these five quotations as part of your Reading Journal!)
Passage showing Dramatic Irony
(include line numbers)
Explain what makes it Dramatic Irony
(at least 100 words – use more paper if needed)
Passage showing Dramatic Irony
(include line numbers)
Explain what makes it Dramatic Irony
(at least 100 words – use more paper if needed)
1
2
3
Passage showing Dramatic Irony
(include line numbers)
4
Explain what makes it Dramatic Irony
(at least 100 words – use more paper if needed)
5