Taipei American School • English Literature
Metacognitive Reading Worksheets & Act Presentations
Monitor • Question • Clarify • ConnectEach act below has two resources: a worksheet with before, during, and after reading activities — comprehension tracking, double-entry journals, and metacognitive reflection — and a presentation to guide you through the act's key ideas. Begin with the introduction presentation before reading Act I.
Introduction
Before you read
Introduction to Phædra
Context, background, and the world of the play. Racine, classical tragedy, and the myth of Phædra — what you need to know before Act I begins.
Select an act
Act I
Desire Unspoken
Hippolytus announces his departure. Phædra appears — ravaged, barely standing. The secret she has kept from herself begins to surface through Oenone's insistence.
Act II
The Confession
The news of Theseus's death arrives. Phædra seizes the moment and tells Hippolytus the truth. His horror. Her shame. Then: Theseus is alive.
Act III
The Trap Is Set
Phædra is trapped between her passion and her shame. Oenone proposes the unthinkable: accuse Hippolytus first. A decision is made that cannot be unmade.
Act IV
The Jealous Heart
Theseus curses his son. Phædra, on the verge of confessing the truth, learns that Hippolytus loves Aricia. Jealousy silences mercy. The curse cannot be recalled.
Act V
The Reckoning
Hippolytus is dead. Oenone has thrown herself into the sea. Phædra steps forward to confess everything — and the poison she has already taken begins its work.