EPISODE 9: BOOKS I LOVED TO TEACH

[@RaynorReadsStuff]

I wish I’d taken your classes. I love this series Pat. I feel like it’s a chance to benefit from your incredible knowledge, just like your students did 😊

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

You are very kind, Debs. I'm really glad that you are enjoying these episodes. They've been fun to put together.

[@anotherbibliophilereads]

You really brought the importance of this old play into a modern perspective.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Thank you, Greg. That was always the task in teaching great old works to teenagers. Thanks for your kind response.

[@readandre-read]

Ah, it’s all coming back to me! I remember being surprised as a teen at how unhinged these plays were. Yet another category ripe for rereading. Thanks for reviving the play with your discussion.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Thanks, Angelia. As Joe from Book Buds said in this thread, this could be something out of a Jerry Springer episode! But really, the whole Oedipus family story does continue to echo throughout the world's literature.

[@Dawnsbookreviews]

How lucky we are to get a glimpse of what having you as a teacher was like!!!❤ I grew up in France and I remember going to see Antigone at the theater- it was so moving!!!!❤

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Thank you for this lovely comment. It must have been magnificent to see Antigone performed.

[@Dawnsbookreviews]

@@BookChatWithPat8668 Yes!!😍

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@Dawnsbookreviews 🥰

[@syncionebresgal8523]

I just discovered your channel and this is my favorite thing a booktuber has ever done! I just binge-watched the whole series and loved every one. I hope you are able and willing to keep this up. After watching booktube for several years, it is so nice to have books presented in this fashion. Thanks!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Thank you for this lovely comment, and I really appreciate that you're here. I'm glad that you are enjoying this series. I taught for almost 40 years, so I guess I have a few more books to talk about in these episodes. I've enjoyed putting them together too. Thank you so much for your kindness, which certainly encourages me to keep going with the series.

[@patriciah8579]

I love the thought of all those former students of yours out in the world, equipped with such an in-depth classical education, such well-honed critical thinking skills. Your impact on the community is surely beyond measure. 💐

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

You are very kind, Patricia. I think we did try very hard to teach a wide variety of great books--classics and contemporary literature. I hope that most of our kids continued to be readers, but who knows? I do despair when I read these articles about kids getting to college without ever having read a complete book. Those weren't our kids, but I do worry....Hope you're doing well, Patricia, and continuing to enjoy Les Miserables.

[@patriciah8579]

@BookChatWithPat8668 I'm limiting myself to 50 pages a day with Les Mis. I want to savor the experience!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@ that’s a good approach!

[@RebeccaStultz-y9f]

I second Patricia’s comment! My small high school (69 in my class of 1969) had two excellent English teachers, but no AP classes. Even if AP classes existed then, funding and the small number of students would have eliminated them as a possibility. So every time I listen to this series, Pat, I want to go back to school and be your student.

[@vickicoleman2474]

I would have loved having you as my English Teacher. I enjoyed this post so much.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@vickicoleman2474 awww thank you, Vicki. You’re very kind. 🥰

[@KCRReads]

I thought early on I would have enjoyed having Pat as a teacher. So it's always good to hear your comments about that experience and these works. This was another enjoyable post.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Thank you. That's very kind of you to say. I'm enjoying doing this series on works that I enjoyed teaching. I'm glad that you are finding value in it as well. Thanks for commenting.

[@theagraceful]

My tbr list grows every time I listen to you 😂. All for the best 😊

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Thanks for telling me that. I appreciate your presence on my channel.

[@Bearcub599]

Wish you had been my teacher when I was at school 😊😃😃 Thank you for this informative video xxx

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Awww thank you for this lovely comment. I'm glad that you found some value in the video.

[@susannegulde5725]

I found your channel in the last couple of weeks, and I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying it. I really like your range of reading. Thank you so much, I look forward to more! 📚

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Thank you so much for this lovely comment. I’m glad you’re finding things of value here. I’m glad you found me!

[@Ali-AvidReader]

Another great video Pat, am learning so much from you!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Awww thank you, Ali. 🥰

[@joshuacreboreads]

Wonderful video, Pat! Now I really want to read Greek tragedy. Hopefully this summer, I will do so. The conflict between loyalty to the state and loyalty to one’s family - surely a perpetually relevant question. Thanks!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@joshuacreboreads oh Josh, you’re going to love these plays. Yes, Antigone has these strangely relevant, modern themes, considering how ancient the play is.

[@RaynorReadsStuff]

Loved this Pat. I think Antigone is my favourite of the Theban Plays. Would still have loved to have been in your classes 😊

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

I think it might be my favorite of the lot too. You are very kind, Debs. Thank you!

[@stuartgriffin1001]

Very interesting video. I love how you were able to bring some of the themes of the book into the modern world. I think the discussion of civil disobediance would be a good one for current students

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@stuartgriffin1001 absolutely!

[@lindawalker2451]

Have always loved Greek tragedy. Antigone and Media are my favorites. In my younger days I actually played Antigone in a local production. Loved the part - your video brings back happy memories.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

How wonderful that you played Antigone! That must have been an incredible part to play. I'm glad my video brought back some happy memories!

[@jimmymoore1488]

Oedipus the King was one of my favorites you taught in AP Lit. Great video!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@jimmymoore1488 Jimmy! How are you?!

[@jimmymoore1488]

@ doing well! Awesome channel you have! Hope you are doing well too!!!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@ thanks, Jimmy. So glad you’ve found me. I’m doing well, too, and having a great deal of fun with this BookTube channel!

[@DrCrankyPantsReads]

Antigone is such a fantastic play to teach-so many layers to unpack, especially around civil disobedience, power, and conflicting loyalties. I love the way you connected it to more modern movements and discussions; it really drives home how timeless these themes are. That AP essay prompt about what we sacrifice reflecting what we value is perfect for Antigone! Also, your retelling of Oedipus’s ‘first recorded case of road rage’ made me laugh out loud-poor guy really should have made better choices. Looking forward to the next episode in this series!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@DrCrankyPantsReads thank you so much for this delightful response! 🥰

[@kevintowle9665]

Great video Pat. I do not remember this one, but wow what a premise! I agree with Book Buds this sounds like Jerry Springer show 😂. But moreso, your explanation and summary is great. I also enjoyed your insight into the questions you asked and what the students based their essays on. Such a great series here!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Thanks so much, Kevin. I've been having fun with this series. In other matters, I love seeing your new tag spreading, and I'm thrilled that you are making connections with some of my other booktube friends! That's the wonderful thing about tags and why, like you, I always tag a lot of people. The connections are what it is all about!

[@kevintowle9665]

@@BookChatWithPat8668couldn’t agree more! Thank you Pat, i appreciate you!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@kevintowle9665 Thanks, Kevin. And I appreciate you too!

[@MIDDLEoftheBookMARCH]

I read the Three Theban Plays and it is a book that gives me joy to be a reader. This book is why I read. ❤

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

I love it. I believe I remember you talking about this book and these plays in your video on why you read!

[@Jodi9810]

I recently bought this book, based on seeing the Middleofthebookmarch video, I think. Wondering if I should watch this video before or after reading the plays... I am not a knowledgeable classics reader, so maybe watch it first so I'll be able to better appreciate what I'm reading. Usually I like to go into books knowing as little as possible about what to expect, but I think I tend to under -appreciate most classics.

[@MIDDLEoftheBookMARCH]

@ I actually read the introduction first which I never do with classics and it really helped.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@Jodi9810 I don’t think watching the video first would spoil anything for you. The ancient Greeks all knew all of these stories before they saw the plays. They were based on common, well-known myths. It might give you a few ideas of things to think about or to look for as you read. Either way, hopefully, my video will help rather than hurt your experience. 😊

[@helenclare3250]

Very interesting. I hope you're doing well ❤

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Thanks, Helen. Doing well here. I hope you are too!

[@literarylove123]

Oh, how I would have loved to be in your class!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@literarylove123 I would have love that too! 🥰

[@orelsa82]

My HRCYED new release is Homeseeking by Karissa Chen, and I love it so far!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

That's great. I've heard good things about it.

[@Adventures_in_Literature]

Ah the Greek tragedy, the original face palm. I remember this from my senior class. The entire class was disgusted. I found it to be fascinating.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

It is fascinating, and it kind of influences a huge amount of literature to come later.

[@BookBuds]

I know the story but the whole time you were talking I just envisioned these characters on an episode of Jerry Springer in the 90s and couldn’t stop laughing 😂

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Oh, you're funny! My kids in class probably had similar thoughts. I mean, really: who are these people??

[@BookBuds]

@ 🤣🤣

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@BookBuds 🤣

[@raf571]

A book on the History of the Greek Literature is sitting on my shelves. It will have to wait one more year I think. I am familiar with many of the stories, but have never read them. It always strikes me how these Ancients were progressed in some aspects of their life ( not in women rights unfortunately!). I remember discovering in Memories of Hadrian the fact that many Roman Emperors weren't of Roman ascent. Inclusion is still in todays society being greatly debated. So much to think about.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

I’m starting to read about the Roman emperors just now….

[@TriumphalReads]

Yay for Greek tragedy! Great vid Pat

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Thanks, Justin. I loved teaching the Greeks!

[@BryanM.R.-prionic1]

Huh. I like the Greek tragedies (particularly Aeschylus), but I don't recall this one, even though I've read Oedipus Rex. I enjoyed your commentary tremendously, but those zany Greeks, am I right? Always with the hurling of strong souls to the House of Hades while leaving bodies to the delicate feasting of dogs because the corpse fires can't rage fiercely enough to cope with the unleashed wrath of a demigod. Well okay, that's Homer more so than Sophocles, but they do share a certain uplifting air of joviality, right? 😉 Wow. Suffice it to say I didn't attend the kind of school that offered AP Literature courses featuring units on Greek Drama, never mind such great exercises in comparison, application, and critical thinking. That being said, my most fondly remembered teacher is an English instructor who somehow encouraged a math and science obsessed kid to take an interest in literature and even to make submissions to local writing competitions. It's an interest I've carried into and expanded upon in adulthood that I might never have developed otherwise, and as far as I'm concerned, that's the highest compliment that can be paid a teacher.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@BryanM.R.-prionic1 thank you for this lovely comment, Bryan. I’m so glad to know that you were encouraged by an English teacher! We didn’t have AP English when I was in high school in the 1970’s, but I had two incredible English teachers who changed the course of my life, I think. Thanks again for commenting.

[@jimsbooksreadingandstuff]

Antigone sounds fascinating. Road rage isn't smart.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Road Rage is never a good thing.

[@JessBookgirlTV]

😊

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@JessBookgirlTV hi Jess! 😊

[@FacelessBookReviews]

This is one I have not read.... I will say the last city I lives in was Corinth so I do share that with the book. 😂

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@FacelessBookReviews there you go! These ancient Greek tragedies are pretty wild stuff. I hope you’re doing well.

[@constancecampbell4610]

I always thought that the blind soothsayer in Oedipus was the true villain. Without his “warning”, this tragedy could not have happened. Same goes for the prophet who told his father he’d be killed by his own son. (Were they one and the same? I forget.) I wonder how the Greeks viewed that aspect of the story. PS Every girl in my theatre program who wanted to act salivated over the role of Antigone. Juicy roles in these great plays. 😀

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Hi Constance. That's a really good point. There are so many missteps and strange coincidences in the play. I've always struggled, too, with the idea that Polybus and Merope never tell Oedipus that they adopted him. Oedipus goes to an Oracle to find out that he is going to kill his father after a drunken man tells him at a party that his father isn't really his father. That's something that his adoptive parents might have cleared up a long time before the tragedy unfolds. Another one of my commenters in this thread told me that she did play Antigone when she was younger. One of my students went on to play Medea, which we had read together in this same course, when she went to college, but I don't remember any of my kids playing Antigone.

[@constancecampbell4610]

@ I did not remember the part about the drunken man. Now it seems like his fault. How special for your student to have played Medea. That’s an appealing challenge. 💕

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@constancecampbell4610 I have four different translations of the Theban plays, but the guy who accosts Oedipus at the party is usually described as being drunken or overly boisterous. But he’s the one who causes Oedipus to seek out the Oracle, who then tells him he will kill his father and marry his mother…😳

[@constancecampbell4610]

@ Ah. Now I must seek it out for a reread.