The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
by William Shakespeare
Feature Menu
Introducing the Play
Literary Skills Focus: Tragedy
Reading Skills Focus: Reading a
Play
Writing Skills Focus: Think as a
Reader/Writer
TechFocus
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
by William Shakespeare
What is more important—ambition or honor?
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
by William Shakespeare
Click on the title to start the video.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Introducing the Play
“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power
corrupts absolutely.”
John Emerich Edward Dalberg
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Introducing the Play
William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
is the story of an assassination. The play
• explores the political, psychological,
and moral turmoil of the event
• contains compelling political
parallels to twentieth-century
history
• reveals how power can corrupt even the
seemingly incorruptible
[End of Section]
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Literary Skills Focus: Tragedy
Tragedy—a play, novel, or other narrative that
depicts serious and important events and ends
unhappily for the main character.
The main character’s
downfall is caused by his
or her tragic flaw, or
defect in character.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Literary Skills Focus: Tragedy
Most classic tragedies—such as those of the classical
Greeks—deal with serious, universal subjects:
right and wrong
justice and injustice
life and death
Tragedies pit human limitations
against the larger forces of destiny.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Literary Skills Focus: Tragedy
The protagonist of most classical tragedies is a
tragic hero. This hero
• is noble—high born—
and in many ways
admirable
• has a tragic flaw, a
defect in character or
judgment that leads
to a tragic end
arrogance
greed
envy
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Literary Skills Focus: Tragedy
Shakespeare’s tragedies share these characteristics
with the tragedies of the classical Greeks:
• The main character is often high
ranking, not an ordinary person.
• The main character’s tragic flaw
directly causes a downfall.
• The work ends unhappily, with
the death of the main character.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Literary Skills Focus: Tragedy
All of Shakespeare’s tragedies share a similar fivepart structure.
Act III
Crisis, or
turning point
Act II
Rising action
Act I
Exposition
Act IV
Falling action
Act V
Climax and
resolution
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Literary Skills Focus: Tragedy
Act I, Exposition
• The main characters and conflicts are introduced.
• The setting is established.
• Background information is provided.
Act III
Act II
Act I
Act IV
Act V
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Literary Skills Focus: Tragedy
In Act I . . .
Act I ends with the
senators intent on
crowning Caesar the next
day. Cassius calls together
his fellow conspirators,
and then sets out to visit
Brutus to make a last
appeal for his assistance in
Caesar’s assassination.
“He would be crowned. How
that might change his nature,
there’s the question.”
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Literary Skills Focus: Tragedy
Act II, Rising Action
• Suspense builds as a series of complications
occur.
• The main characters try to resolve their
conflicts.
Act III
Act II
Act I
Act IV
Act V
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Literary Skills Focus: Tragedy
In Act II . . .
Cassius persuades Brutus to
join the conspiracy but
rejects the plan to kill Mark
Antony. Caesar is restless
after a night that disturbs
all of Rome. Calphurnia,
Caesar’s wife, persuades
him to stay away from the
Senate.
“When beggars die, there
are no comets seen. . . .”
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Literary Skills Focus: Tragedy
In Act II . . .
The conspirators goad
Caesar into going to the
Senate by suggesting that
he is weak to give in to his
wife’s fears. They report
that the Senate will crown
him that day. Caesar
prepares to accompany the
conspirators to the Senate.
“And we (like friends) will
straightway go together.”
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Literary Skills Focus: Tragedy
In Act II . . .
Artemidorus has written a
warning of the plot which he
hopes to give to Caesar as he
walks to the Capitol. Portia,
who persuaded her husband
Brutus to tell her of the plot,
speaks with the soothsayer,
who is waiting to warn Caesar
of danger.
“Tell me your counsels,
I will not disclose ‘em.”
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Literary Skills Focus: Tragedy
Act III, Crisis or Turning Point
• The main character makes a choice that
determines the rest of the play’s action.
• In a comedy, the turning point lifts the play
upward to a happy ending. In a tragedy,
events spiral downward to an unhappy ending.
Act III
Act II
Act I
Act IV
Act V
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Literary Skills Focus: Tragedy
Act III opens with Caesar on his way to
the Capitol.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Literary Skills Focus: Tragedy
Act IV, Falling Action
• The consequences, or results, of actions taken
during the turning point are presented.
• The main character is propelled deeper and
deeper into disaster; the tragic ending seems
inevitable.
Act III
Act II
Act I
Act IV
Act V
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Literary Skills Focus: Tragedy
“How many ages hence
shall this our lofty scene be acted over
in states unborn and accents yet unknown!”
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Literary Skills Focus: Tragedy
Act V, Climax and Resolution
• The climax, or moment of greatest tension,
occurs near the end of the play.
• In a tragedy, the climax is usually the death of
the tragic hero.
Act III
Act II
Act I
Act IV
Act V
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Literary Skills Focus: Tragedy
Act V, Climax and Resolution
• A brief resolution (or denouement) closely
follows the climax. Loose ends in the plot are
tied up, and the play ends.
Act III
Act II
Act I
Act IV
Act V
[End of Section]
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Reading Skills Focus: Reading a Play
Watching a play is
almost effortless.
But reading a play requires
reading between the lines,
as well as reading the lines
themselves.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Reading Skills Focus: Reading a Play
Reading between the lines means using stage
directions and dialogue—the characters’ actions
and speeches—to make . . .
. . . inferences about what each
character is really thinking and
feeling.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Reading Skills Focus: Reading a Play
Making inferences involves looking at clues and
evidence . . .
and then using logic and reason to draw a conclusion
about a character’s thoughts and feelings.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Reading Skills Focus: Reading a Play
Paraphrasing—or restating information in your
own words—can also help you understand difficult
passages.
Reading aloud will give you
a better understanding of
characters’ relationships.
Don’t forget that this play
was meant to be performed
for an audience.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Reading Skills Focus: Reading a Play
When you read Shakespeare aloud, read the lines
in a scene as if they were written in prose.
All of Shakespeare’s plays were written in a verse
form called blank verse. Blank verse
• mimics the rhythms of English
speech
• is unrhymed iambic pentameter
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Reading Skills Focus: Reading a Play
In iambic pentameter, each line is built on five
iambs.
• iamb—unstressed syllable followed by a
stressed syllable
• pentameter—a line with five feet
˘ evil
′ ˘ that
′ men
˘ do
′ lives
˘ after
′ ˘ them,
′
The
˘ good
′ is
˘ oft
′ interrèd
˘ ′ ˘ with
′
˘ bones.
′
The
their
Read these lines aloud, and listen to the rhythm.
Which syllables are stressed?
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Reading Skills Focus: Reading a Play
Not all of Shakespeare’s characters
speak in blank verse.
• Noble characters generally speak in
blank verse.
• Commoners speak in ordinary prose.
• Occasionally a noble character will
speak in ordinary prose—when
addressing commoners or bantering.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Reading Skills Focus: Reading a Play
Read the lines below. Which character is the
nobleman? Which is the commoner?
Marullus.
But what trade art thou? Answer me directly.
Cobbler. A trade, sir, that, I hope, I may use with a
safe conscience, which is indeed, sir, a mender of bad
soles.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Reading Skills Focus: Reading a Play
Into Action: Use a chart to track how characters
feel about Caesar and how their loyalties shift.
Act and
Scene
Character
For
Caesar
Act I,
Scene I
Cobbler and
other
commoners
“make holiday
to . . . rejoice
in his triumph”
Against
Caesar
[End of Section]
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Writing Skills Focus: Think as a Reader/Writer
Find It in Your Reading
As you read, make notes to help you follow the
events in the play.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
TechFocus
Imagine you will be filming a scene from the play.
As you read, think about where you would place
the cameras, whether you would use close-ups,
and how you would direct the actors.
[End of Section]
Vocabulary
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Vocabulary
Archaic Words
Some of the words Shakespeare uses are now
archaic, which means “having to do with an earlier
time.” These words are no longer used today.
ague: fever
hie: hurry
alarum: call to arms, such as knave: servant, or person of
a trumpet blast
humble birth
an: if
prithee: pray thee (beg you)
betimes: from time to time
smatch: small amount
fleering: flattering
soothsayer: fortune teller
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Vocabulary
Words with Different Meanings
The most troublesome words in Shakespeare’s
plays are those that are still in use but now have
different meanings or connotations.
“thou naughty knave”
Shakespeare’s day:
Naughty means
“worthless.”
Today:
Naughty means “bad.”
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts I & III
Vocabulary
Words with Different Meanings
closet: small room, often a
private study
just: true
exhalations: meteors
repair: go
gentle: noble. Gentleman
once referred to a man who
had a title.
sad: serious
ghastly: ghostly
saucy: presumptuous
humor: temper or disposition soft: slowly; “wait a minute”
indifferently: impartially
wit: intelligence
[End of Section]
The End