“Let me have men about me that are fat,
Sleek headed men, and such as sleep 0’nites;
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look;
He thinks too much; such men are dangerous”
-Julius Caesar
Shakespeare and The Tragedy
of Julius Caesar
ACTIVITY # 1: Before Caesar/ After Caesar
In the before column, List every thing you know about
Shakespeare and the play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Before
After
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
play, in five acts, about several
men trying to save the Roman
Republic from Caesar’s ambition
of having complete control.
Before Caesar, Rome was a
Republic
= equal citizenship and people could
elect tribunes to represent them in
tribunals = like congress and the
senate!
Julius Caesar in Context
Debuted at Globe
Theatre in 1599
Wow! 1485-1625=Exciting
Times!!!
Shakespeare lived and
wrote in =Elizabethan
Era
Elizabethan Era:
The height of the
Renaissance under
Queen Elizabeth
During this time…
Renaissance=rebirth=15th &16th century Europe
Art, scholarship, and literature flourished
Reformation-King Henry VIII (Elizabeth’s dad)
split from Pope and Catholic Church and founded
Protestant Church of England
Age of Exploration-The Americas and more
Age of Discovery-many scientific discoveries
including telescope and planetary motion
TAKE NOTES HERE:
What to look for:
Persuasion:
Technique used by
speakers and writers to
convince an audience
to adopt a particular
viewpoint.
Elements of Shakespearean
drama-TRAGEDY
tragedy: a play in
which events turn out
disastrously for the
main character or
characters
Tragic Hero
a character whose basic
goodness and superiority are
marred by a tragic flaw
a fatal error in judgment that
leads to the hero’s downfall.
Brutus-is noble, but is a poor
judge of character-too rigid in
his ethical and political
principles
Caesar-brings great things to
Rome, but proud, arrogant,
and ambitious
Dialogue
a conversation between
characters.
Monologue
a speech by one character in
a play, story or poem.
Given to another character.
Soliloquy
a speech given by a
character alone.
Aside
short speech delivered by an
actor in a play, which
expresses the character’s
thoughts. Traditionally, the
aside is directed to the
audience and is presumed to
be inaudible to the other
actors.
Irony
Dramatic
Verbal
Irony of Situation
Verbal Irony
Author says one thing and means something
else.
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14
Dramatic Irony
Audience knows something that a character
in the literature does not know.
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15
Irony of Situation
When what is expected does not
occur.
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What type of Irony is it?
Antony says Brutus is
“an honorable man”
What type of Irony is it?
The audience knows
about the plot to
assassinate Caesar, but
Caesar does not.
We watch Caesar go out
on the Ides of March
with suspense.
I DON’T
UNDERSTAND SHAKESPEARE
(No notes here)
In English Language, the order of words is important:
“The dog bit the boy. vs. “The boy bit the dog.”
Shakespeare rearranges words to create rhythm-it’s
poetry!
Characters will have their own speech patterns- Romeo
often speaks in couplets.
He often places verb before subject
Instead of “He Goes”=Goes He.
Instead of Does he go?=Go does he?
Subject Verb Agreement-Grammar
seems incorrect
She is vs They are
ACTIVITY # 2 FIX IT
1. “Is there not wars?”
-Henry IV, Part II
2. “A horse whereon the governor
doth ride”
-Measure for Measure
A POET AND A COMEDIAN
Wrote plays in blank verse=
unrhymed iambic pentameter10 syllables-5 stressed beats
Shakespeare wordplay!
Pun-play on words that sound
the same but have different
meanings:
Ex. Kick your butt
Shakespeare’s Theatre
emphasis on language and the human
voice
Shakespeare had to create atmosphere
and setting through language.
IMAGERY.
Shakespeare’s audience accepted the
stage convention of heightened
language, often in verse.
no-one spoke in verse outside the
theatre.
Activity # 3: Imagery: Choose a
line and sketch an image that
these words conjure
‘Tis now the very witching time of night When
chruchyards yawn, and hell itself breathes out
Contagion to this world
Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage,
blow, You cataracts and hurricanes spout…
Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and
cauldron bubble
Look for this :
Assonance
Repetition of vowel sounds in
words.
“Now this looks like a job
for me
So everybody just follow me
Because we need a little
controversy
Because it feels so empty
without me.”
Look for this : Alliteration
Repetition of
the same
consonant
sounds at the
beginning of
words.
“ She sells sea
shells by the
sea shore.”
Look and listen for the poetic
devices…
Alliteration-repetition of consonants, usually
at the beginning of words.
Whereat with blade, with bloody, bladeful blade,
He bravely broached his bloody boiling
breast.” Quince-Midsummer
Assonance-repetition of vowel sounds
“What lusty trumpet thus doth summon us?”King John
Consonance-repetition of consonant sounds
Activity # 4: Write a short 4-8-lined
poem about school, sports, or
hobbies…
You must use Imagery, rhyme, alliteration,
assonance, or consonance
Overall, don’t
sweat the small
stuff. Enjoy
the overall
effect!
Flavius and Marullus
=Tribunes/government
workers.
Julius Caesar=Conquering
Roman general, a mighty
soldier swayed by
superstition.
CHARACTERS ACT I
Casca:
Conspirator\hates the
ordinary citizenry yet
is jealous when the
people honor Caesar.
Calpurnia=Wife of
Caesar
Marcus
Antonius/Mark
Antony =Vows to
avenge Caesar’s
death.
Soothsayer=Fortune Teller
Cassius=Displays greed and envy
and motivates most of the
conspirators.
Marcus
Brutus=Only
conspirator whose
motives to
assassinate Caesar
are pure.
Cicero=A senator
Cinna=A poet
Restatement- Restatement-Rephrasing an
idea in different words, in order to more
fully explicate the concept, and magnify its
importance to listeners.
Repetition- Repetition-the reuse of the same
words, or nearly identical terms, repeatedly
for emphasis, in order to emphasize their
importance.
“ I have a Dream”-MLK
Parallelism The repeated use of phrases,
clauses, or sentences that are similar in
structure or meaning. Writers use this
technique to emphasize important ideas,
create rhythm, and make their writing more
forceful and direct.
“ I came, I saw, I conquered.”
Rhetorical Question-a statement that is
formulated as a question but that is not
supposed to be answered.
. . . For if we lose the ability to perceive our faults,
what is the good of living on? --Marcus Aurelius
J. Diction-word choice
Notice the change in tone:
“An odor filled the room.”
“A Stink filled the room.”
Diction: What words have a strong
connotation (emotion)?
“our remonstrances have produced
additional violence and insult; our
supplications have been disregarded; and
we have been spurned, with contempt, from
the foot of the throne.”
What words have a strong
connotation (emotion)?
“our remonstrances have produced
additional violence and insult; our
supplications have been disregarded; and
we have been spurned, with contempt, from
the foot of the throne.”