Slide 1

William Shakespeares Julius Caesar: The Historical Background of Billy and Jules Slide 2 Who was Willie? Bubonic Plague an infectious disease which wiped out 1/3 of Europes population from 1300- 1500. Queen Elizabeth I (1533- 1603), daughter of King Henry VIII, began the English Renaissance, or Elizabethan Age Slide 3 Shakespeares Timeline 1564: Born in Stratford-upon- Avon on April 23 1582: At 18, he married Anne Hathaway, who was 26. 1582 1583: Daughter Susanna is born. 1585: TwinsHamnet (boy) and Judith (girl) 1592: Shakespeare becomes a hot commodity in the London theatre world. 1594: Shakespeares plays are performed exclusively by Lord Chamberlains Men. 1596: Hamnet dies. 1599: Globe Theatre built by LCM (burned down in 1613). 1599 1611: After 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and countless poems, Shakespeare retires. 1616: Shakespeare dies at the age of 52 on his birthday. Slide 4 Shakespeares Drama Types Comedy has a happy ending, usually involving marriages between the unmarried characters, and a light-hearted tone. Tragedy the protagonist must be an admirable but flawed character, capable of good and evil. History a depiction of real life historical figures, usually of royal background. First Folio two colleagues gathered 36 plays into one book, Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Tragedies, and Histories Slide 5 Inspiration for the Play Shakespeare wrote the play in 1599. He based the play on Sir Thomas Norths translation of Plutarchs [left] Lives of Noble Grecians and Romans. Plutarch was a moral philosopher, not a historian. Shakespeare used the questions of morality in his version of the play. Slide 6 Caesar: Rise to Power 100 BC: Born Gaius Julius Caesar on July 13 th. 84 BC: Married Cornelia for POWER, but divorced because of politics. 80 BC: Awarded the Corona Civica, an oak crown, for bravery in war. 75 BC: Went to Rhodes to learn how to become a great orator. 70 BC: Pompey, greatest soldier, and Crassus, richest man, become consuls of Rome (like Presidents of US). 63 BC: Elected Pontifex Maximus, or leader of the religion. 61 BC: Named Governor of Spain. Slide 7 An Alliance Broken 60 BC: Caesar returns to Rome to join with Crassus and Pompey to form the 1 st Triumverate. 59 BC: Caesar gives his daughter Julia as a gift to Pompey. 58 BC: Caesar goes to Gaul, modern day France, to defeat the Nervii, a. 56 BC: Caesars friends try to get him more power; Pompey NOT pleased. 54 BC: Julia dies. 53 BC: Crassus invades Parthian Empire (Iraq/Iran/Afghanistan) and dies. 52 BC: Pompey names himself the only consul. Kicks all Caesar supporters out of the government. 51 BC: Pompey tells Caesar he is fired as general of the most powerful army in Rome. Caesar disagrees. 49 BC: Caesar crosses the Rubicon River with his army. Pompey runs to Greece with his army. 49 BC 48 BC: While gathering ships to go to Greece, Caesar is named consul. Slide 8 47 BC: Caesar arrives at Pharsalus The Battle of Pharsalus The Battle of Pharsalus Julius Caesar vs. Pompey the Great Slide 9 PART 1PART 2 PART 3 Slide 10 Caesar: After the War 48 BC: After the Battle of Phasalus, Pompey was killed in Egypt. 47 BC: Because of the Civil War, the Senate gave Caesar a ten-year term. 45 BC: The Senate named Caesar, Dictator Perpetuus, or dictator for lifehe wanted the title of King. Caesar named Octavius [left], his nephew his heir. 44 BC: Caesar defeated Gnaus and Sextus, Pompeys sons, in a Battle at Munda, Spain. 44 BC: He returned to Rome after the defeatwhich is where Act 1, Scene 1 picks up. Slide 11 Slide 12 Slide 13 Slide 14