The Tragedy of Julius Caesar Act Three

Characters  Caesar – tragic hero, great influence, skeptic, sick  Tragic Flaw(s) – stubbornness, unhearing to advice  Soothsayer – foreseer of Caesar’s fall  Artemidorus – friend to Caesar, tries to warn him  Decius Brutus – conspirator, flatterer,  Publius – conspirator, enforcer  Cassius – Head conspirator, jealous, vengeful, brother-in- law to Brutus.  Popilius Lena – conspirator, causes some anxiety  Brutus – conspirator, push-over,

Characters(cont.)  Cinna – conspirator, outspoken  Metellus – conspirator  Casca – conspirator, stabs Caesar first  Trebonius – conspirator, distracts Antony  Servant – to Antony, begs for a truce  Antony – great friend to Caesar, speaker, revengeful, actor, athlete, can change minds  Servant – to Octavius Caesar  Citizens – weak-minded, easily willed  Cinna – a famous poet, victim of assuming crowd

Act III Scene i  Setting – The Capitol in Rome The Senate is assembled along with all the conspirators. Caesar appears and Artemidorous steps forward with a warning letter. Decius distracts Caesar and Publius forces Artemidorus away. Caesar goes into the Capitol and talks to Popilius. The conspirators are mistaken in that they think Popilius will tell Caesar everything. Antony is led away by Trebonius. Caesar listens to Metellus ( backed up by Brutus) as he begs him to end the banishment of his brother. Caesar states that he and the law cannot be moved by bending and scraping. He also says that he is like the Northern Star.

Act III Scene i At this point the conspirators cry out and follow Casca in stabbing Caesar. There is chaos following Caesar’s death so old Publius leaves. Brutus leads the others in covering their hands in Caesar’s blood so that the murder will look like it was right. Antony’s servant comes and pleads for peace so that Antony may come and learn why Caesar was killed. Brutus allows this and Antony arrives presently. Antony breaks down when he sees Caesar’s body. Brutus explains the deed and Antony pretends to agree as he shakes the conspirators’ hands. Much to the chagrin of Cassius, he is permitted to be a pallbearer and a speaker at the funeral. The killers leave and Antony reveals that he will revenge Caesar’s death. Rome will also go mad now that he is gone. Octavius Caesar’s servant comes and tells Antony that he is on his way. Antony has the servant stay to watch his speech and after it, he can leave.

Quotes  60 – “But I am constant as the Northern Star,” -Julius Caesar  Shows that he is a straight forward man that will not waver. He is a beacon of light that is used for direction.  78 – “Et tu, Brute? – Then fall Caesar!” -Julius Caesar  Shows astonishment that Brutus would kill his friend “You too Brutus?” The last part of the line is just as important because it shows acceptance. If that’s the way it is, then so be it. Tragic hero is Caesar.

Quotes  81 – “Liberty, freedom, and enfranchisement” -Caius Cassius  A cry of pure freedom that is repeated in several other ways throughout the act.  171 – “As fire drives out fire, so pity pity” -Brutus  Shows Antony that the people of Rome knew this had to be done. The sorrow for Rome was greater than the sorrow for Caesar.

Lessons Learned  Even if you love someone a lot, such as Artemidorus to Caesar, they might not listen or love you back.  Heedlessness can kill a person as it did Caesar  The many will overpower the few, like the many conspirators against Caesar.

Language terms  Simile – “But I am constant as the Northern Star”  Alliteration/Assonance – “Brutus bootless”  Parallelism – “Say I love Brutus and I honor him; Say I feared Caesar, honored him, and loved him.”  Symbolism – Antony compares Caesar like a deer that has been hunted by princes.

Act III Scene ii  Setting – The Forum in Rome There is an unruly crowd demanding answers. The killers split it up in order to control them better. Brutus makes a speech that wills the crowd to his side. Antony comes and makes his speech. He is caught with grief at times, but he eventually wills the crowd to his side, using Caesar’s will as leverage. The speech is so powerful that all the citizens go throughout Rome searching for the killers. By the time Antony is finished Octavius Caesar has arrived.

Quotes  22 – “Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.”-Brutus  Brutus explains that he loved Caesar just as much as anybody else, but the love he had for his country was more.  75 – “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;” -Marcus Antonius  Attention getter for everyone. It also shows the order of importance he places people in. Friends first, Romans second, and other countrymen third.

Quotes  186 – “This was the most unkindest cut of all;” -Marcus Antonius  The cut that Brutus dealt was the worst one because he was supposed to have been Caesar’s friend. This is like a sister quote to “Et tu Brute?”.

Lessons Learned  The citizens of Rome are mindless creatures that would believe another story if another were to come along.  Brutus is a very good liar  Antony has a quality of overcoming adversity. He must make a speech through grief and Brutus’ words.  Antony knows how to appeal and make a crowd mad(the will and pulling off Caesar’s toga)

Language terms  Tone – Antony’s speech is laden with sarcasm for the killers and praise for Caesar.  Rhetorical Question/Repetition  “Who is here so base that would be a bondman? If any, speak, for him have I offended. Who is here so rude that would not be a Roman? If any, speak, for him have I offended……  Irony – “I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.”  Repetition – “Brutus says he was ambitious, and Brutus is an honorable man.”

Act III Scene iii  Setting – A street in Rome A poet by the name of Cinna is walking through the streets to Caesar’s funeral when a bunch of mad citizens come up to him. They mistake him for Cinna the conspirator. He explains that he is a poet and makes a small joke. This instigates more madness and despite his appeals, Cinna is killed for nothing. The idiotic citizens then rush through the streets searching for more killers.

Lessons Learned  The citizens have become delirious with anger and their actions have been affected because of it  It is not the greatest thing to have the same name as a killer.  Misunderstanding and judgmental people are not the brightest crayons in the box.