Tragedy
Characters
Shakespear
Miscellany e
And More
Plot
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What is the character trait called
that leads to the death of the tragic
hero?
Tragic Flaw
What is the name for the decision that leads
to a tragic character’s downfall?
Tragic Error
In which act of a 5-act Shakespearean
tragedy does the tragic hero make a tragic
error?
Act III
Who is the tragic hero of The Tragedy of Julius
Caesar, in terms of their tragic error, tragic flaw, and
tragic downfall?
You decide based on their tragic flaw, tragic
error, and tragic downfall.
List at least three possible tragic errors for
Brutus.
Deciding to kill Caesar, not killing
Antony, letting Antony speak at the
funeral.
Who says “beware the ides of
March”?
The Soothsayer
Who had a bad vision about Caesar’s
future in her dream and persuaded him
to not go to the Senate?
Calphurnia
Give the names of four conspirators.
Cassius, Trebonius, Cinna, Casca, Mettelus,
Brutus, Decius
Who persuades Caesar to go to the Senate
using flattery?
Decius
Who do Cassius, Casca, Cinna, and Metellus
want to be part of their plot only to have Brutus
take the lead and change their minds?
Cicero
What is Iambic Pentameter and what is
Prose?
Iambic pentameter is a line of
poetry made up of 10 syllables in an
unstressed/stressed pattern (5
iambs). Prose is not poetry in that it
mimics normal patterns of speech.
Give two examples of characters who speak in
Prose and the reason why they use prose.
The cobbler in Act I because he is a commoner,
a workman. Brutus when talking to the
commoners after assassinating Caesar. He was
trying to act/talk like them to show that he was
on their side. Casca also speaks in prose
during Act I even though he is noble.
Shakespeare made him speak in prose because
his personality is “low class”: he is gossiping
about what he saw.
What does thou mean?
You in informal address.
Give an example of a time in the play when
knowing the difference between thou and you
helped you better understand the play.
Brutus’ argument with his wife,
Portia. He addresses her formally as
“you” at the beginning, only to
change to the informal “thou” when
she has deeply moved him
emotionally and he agrees to tell her
his secrets.
On which date in which year was Caesar
assassinated?
March 15th, 44 B.C.
What is a monologue?
A speech made by a character on stage
directed to other characters on stage.
What is a soliloquy?
A speech made by a character on
stage when no other characters are
present. It reveals the characters
thoughts and/or feelings.
Did Shakespeare’s stages have elaborate set
designs and how did this affect his writing?
No: he relied on the audience to imagine the
setting and scenery, and helped by writing a
lot of imagery into his plays.
Explain what the following lines spoken by
Cassius mean, AND explain the theme from the
play that they relate to: “The fault, dead Brutus,
is not in our stars, / but in ourselves that we are
underlings.”
Cassius is saying that we control our destinies (in
their case, being servants to Caesar), and we cannot
blame forces outside of ourselves for current
situations. This relates to the theme that humans
cannot blame forces outside of themselves for the
bad situations they find themselves in.
Did Brutus speak in prose or iambic pentameter at
Caesar’s funeral, and why?
Brutus spoke in prose which is normally only spoken
by commoners. Since prose is the “language” of the
commoners, it is clear that Brutus was trying to act like
he was one of them, in order to get them on his side.
What plot developments take place in
each act of a 5-act tragedy?
Act I - Exposition; Act II - Rising Action or complication;
Act III - Turning Point/Crisis; Act IV - Falling Action; Act V
- Tragic Downfall and Resolution
How are the crisis and tragic downfall
defined in a tragedy?
Crisis = Tragic Error --the tragic
hero makes a decision which
guarantees their downfall
Tragic Downfall = the death (or
banishment) of the tragic hero
What three things are established in the
exposition of a story?
Setting, characters and their
conflicts, and background
Give at least three examples of
characters or groups of people who had
their minds changed and tell what
strategy was used to change their minds.
Brutus to kill Caesar; Caesar to go to the
Senate; the commoners for Antony and against
Brutus.
Once the commoners were on Antony’s
side, how did he “seal the deal”?
He presented them with and read
Caesar’s will.