The Tragedy of Julius Caesar

By William Shakespeare

Agenda:1. Collect yesterday’s homework

2. Indirect Characterization

3. Tragedy as a genre in Shakespeare’s work

4. Read some of the play

5. Complete Charts

6. Homework

Do Now:1. What are some of the ways that we judge

a person? List them!

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2. What are some of our reasons for judging a person?

Indirect Characterization

Indirect characterization is when the author SHOWS things that reveal the personality of the character.

There are FIVE different methods of indirect characterization:

• Speech: What the characters say

• Thoughts: What the characters think or feels

• Effect on other characters: How other characters think, feel, or react to one character

• Actions: What the characters does

• Looks: How the character looks or dresses

Speech and Effect on Others Ex.

Speech example:

We learn a lot about the way Dee feels towards her family when she says:

“You ought to try to make something of yourself…It’s really a new day for us. But from the way you and Mama still live you’d never know it.”

Though example:

We learn a lot about Dee’s character through Mama’s thoughts of her:

“She used to read to us without pity; forcing words, lies, other folks’ habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice.”

Indirect Characterization

Instructions: Copy down the following indirect characterization chart, so you can draw a conclusion about your assigned character after reading:

Character name:________________Speech Thoug

htsEffect on others

Actions Looks

1. -Quote:-Conclusion:2.

3.

Elements of Shakespeare’s

Tragedies1. Tragic Flaw: A weakness in personality that eventually leads to

the protagonist’s downfall.

2. Fall of the nobleman: Men in Shakespeare’s tragedies have extreme wealth and power, making their downfall more tragic.

3. External Pressure: Shakespeare’s tragic heroes often fall victim to outside pressure from others, such as evil spirits or manipulative characters.

4. Hero: The hero has opportunities for their situation to improve, but never takes advantage of these in time, which leads to their death.

Typical features of Shakespeare’s Tragedies

Begin in an ordered society but end with chaos

Change is often reflected by changes in the environment, such as storms or peculiar sightings (“When Kings die the ground shakes”)

Sympathetic hero

The protagonist is usually a person of good character who is destroyed by his own ego or desire for self-advancement

Homework:

Directions: Write a letter to your character using at least two adjectives to describe what you think about him. Your thoughts should reflect things about his personality or character that you like or dislike. Afterwards give your character your best piece of advice.

Example:

Dear Caesar,

I feel like you’re arrogant, because you didn’t want to listen to the Soothsayers advice. I also feel like you’re oblivious to the people who are plotting against your life. You should stop parading around acting like you’re king, and start paying attention to the people around you. If you don’t you may lose your life…

Homework:

Headline for Act 1 Scene 2

Draw a conclusion about your character

Do Now1. Copy the chart below within your notebooks

for Act I Scene 1 of Julius Caesar:

1. Who is in the scene?

2. What are they doing?

3. Where does the scene take place?

4. When does the scene take place (and why is it important)?

5. Why are the people celebrating?

6. How do Marullus and Flavius feel?

Do NowCopy the chart below within your notebooks for Act I Scene 1 of Julius Caesar:

1. Two tribunes are trying to get people to return to work rather than celebrate Caesar’s return. Why is Flavius critical of the workers he encounters?

2. What pun does Shakespeare make on the word cobbler?

3. Why does Shakespeare start the scene with a humorous tone as the tribunes speak with the carpenter and cobbler.

4. Marullus is sympathetic to Pompey, the man defeated by Caesar. How does Marullus feel toward Caesar?

5. After the crowd disperses what does Flavius do? What does Marullus do?

6. What is the political situation in Rome as the scene ends?

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare lived from 1564 to 1616

Julius Caesar is Shakespeare’s story of the emperor who lived 1500 years before Shakespeare’s time when Rome was the dominant world power. Shakespeare had read Julius Caesar’s story in Plutarch’s Lives.

 

Elizabethan Age VS. Middle Ages

When Shakespeare wrote Julius Caesar, England was in the midst of Elizabethan Age, ruled by Queen Elizabeth.

The Elizabethan Age greatly contrasted from The Middle ages, which was the era before it.

Key Differences

Middle Ages (1301-1500)

Elizabethan Age/Renaissance (1500-1688)

Emphasis on religion Emphasis on art, music, science, and self-discovery

Religious stories or moral lessons influenced the arts

Greek and Roman classical influences on the arts

Church ruled the state. Ruling body is supreme over the church.

Julius Caesar Julius Caesar was a Roman dictator that reigned in 49

BC; he died a violent death many many moons ago.

He gained most of his power by being a successful general at war, and was appointed consul (our version of a senator or house of rep.) of Rome, by his friend Pompey the Great.

Caesar gained more power when he formed an alliance with two fellow consuls, despite Rome being a Republic at the time.

Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey were the first “ruling body of three,” better known as the “Triumvirate” that ruled Rome.

Julius Caesar continued… Caesar continued to make successful military

conquests around the world, thereby increasing his power and popularity, but also his haters.

Pompey soon became jealous and convinced the Roman Senate to remove Caesar from office. This action started a battle between the two men.

Caesar ended up killing Pompey at war and poisoning Crassus. Afterwards, he became the sole leading ruler of Rome.

Julius Caesar continued…

He was loved by the lower class (plebeians) of Rome, mostly because he wooed them with gifts and money; the senate started to get really pissed off by his growing powers.

The senate started to really get pissed off about his growing power with the people and his increasing political powers, so they took matters into their own hands.

Dramatic Terms:Term Definition Example

1. Pun A pun is a play on words in which a word or phrase has a double meaning.

2. Comic Relief A release from tension through humor.

Homework:Instructions:

1. Write a headline for the scene you just read. Your headline should convey the most important events of the scene.

-Feel free to be creative and funny, just as long as you show that you know what happened in this scene.

Headline Example for Scene 1:

“Two Government Officials Sip on Haterade and Try to Destroy Caesar’s

Parade”

2. Can a modern day audience still appreciate the following themes from Shakespeare’s play: honor, friendship, loyalty, patriotism, deceit, and revenge?

3. Do differing cultural groups value concepts such as honor, friendship, loyalty, patriotism, deceit, or revenge differently?

“Modern Shakespeare”