Intro notes part 1

Shakespeare h?v=geev441vbMI ✤ born in Stratford upon Avon, England ✤ April 23, 1564 (probz) ✤ did not go to University ✤ married Anne Hathaway in 1585 ✤ 3 children - daughter and twins ✤ Daughter Susanna ✤ Twins Hamnet and Judith ✤ son Hamnet died ✤ moved to London to write and act ✤ wrote 37 plays ✤ business man ✤ 1599 built the Globe, largest open air theater in London ✤ wrote tragedies, comedies, histories, and tragicomedies ✤ phrases - quoted almost as much as the Bible

Shakespeare =geev441vbMI ✤ poet ✤ way to make money when the plague closed theaters ✤ 154 sonnets ✤ plus narrative poems ✤ made up words when necessary ✤ nearly 3,000 ✤ mysterious death - April 23, 1616 ✤ wrote about human condition ✤ some question of his legitimacy… ✤ I don’t :)

The Globe theatre & its differences from theaters today. ✤ plays performed during day b/c no money for candles ✤ interaction between actors and public ✤ groundlings - cheap seats standing in from of the stage ✤ groundlings would be wet in rain but were able to participate in the play… ✤ no women acting ✤ church criticized theater as “nest of the devil”

The Globe theatre & its differences from theaters today. ✤ “hear a play” not “see a play” ✤ expensive seats had best sound to hear the words ✤ focus on script, not special effects or sets ✤ symbolic stage ✤ top - the heavens/sky with the signs of the zodiac and a trap door ✤ stage - represented earth with trap door ✤ under the stage - represented hell ✤ round theater

William Shakespeare wrote the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar It was the first play performed in the Globe Theatre in 1599

The English knew a lot about the Romans back then. They were conquered by Caesar and believed that they were descendents of early Romans. The Roman playwrights Seneca and Plautus were popular and admired influences of Elizabethan drama. Shakespeare’s audience was also fascinated by Caesar’s life and death (a “dictator” becoming corrupt and ignoring the other branches of government, then being assassinated by his own friends) because in the 1400’s in England the people experienced civil war, and the result was the Tudor family (Queen Elizabeth’s family line) taking over.

Source Shakespeare researched his plays heavily. Shakespeare researched his plays heavily. His main source for Julius Caesar was Greek philosopher Plutarch’s Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans His main source for Julius Caesar was Greek philosopher Plutarch’s Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans

Julius Caesar ca. 100 B.C B.C. Roman general, statesman, and Consul Played a role in the ending of the Roman Republic (led by a Senate) and the start of the Roman Empire (ruled by an emperor)

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is set in Rome, 44 B.C.

In 54 B.C. Caesar’s daughter, Julia, died. As Pompey’s wife, she had been the only real personal tie between Pompey and Caesar, so tension flared between the two men. Pompey Caesar

In 53 B.C. Crassus DIED. This ended the First Triumvirate and set Pompey and Caesar against one another.

To sum it up, the Senate supported Pompey, but Caesar chased Pompey all the way to Egypt and defeated him.

This is where our play begins… When it opens, we see some citizens in support of Caesar and some against him.

During this feast some of the conspirators discuss Caesar and what to do about him having too much power. The plan to kill him is hatched...

“Beware the Ides of March...”

Julius Caesar is warned to beware the ides of March. “Ides” means the middle of the month; he was warned that something bad would happen on March 15th, 44 B.C. He is, in fact, killed on March 15th.

Major Topics!  Misuse of Power  Corruptive Force of Power  Man’s Fallibility  The Inherent Jealously and Selfishness of Man Power Corrupts: Caesar is a dictator who is suspected of abusing his power; Cassius is so power hungry that he assassinates Caesar; Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus become even worse than Ceasar!

MAJOR IDEAS cont’d  Honor found in loyalty and friendship  Corruption found in conspiracy and anarchy  Stability through political order  Viability of republic form of government  Shakespeare’s message seems to be that good government must be based upon morality—relevance in the modern world! Countless books, movies and other theatre adaptations have built on the theme of a “friend’s betrayal”

Literary Focus MOOD SETTING Overcast of impending doom, darkness and catastrophe There is no trust left, only manipulation and corruption Julius Caesar is largely set in Rome, 44 B.C. Ancient Rome Tiber River the Capitol the House of the Senate The Forum

Narrative structure... Act I and II deal with the conspiracy against Caesar Act III: Caesar’s death (climax) Act IV and V: consequences, fate of the conspirators

Intro notes part 2

Unrhymed iambic pentameter BLANK VERSE

A serious play representing the disastrous downfall of a central character; classical tragedies include the death of the protagonist TRAGEDY

For Shakespearean drama, a play focusing on the romantic life of the protagonist, usually ending in marriage COMEDY

Language spoken/written according to some pattern that emphasizes words’ sounds as well as sense POETRY / VERSE

Written language not organized in the formal patterns of verse/poetry PROSE Novels Short stories Letters Everyday speech

A short speech or remark spoken by a character in a drama, directed to the audience or another character, which is supposed to be inaudible to other characters on stage ASIDE

A dramatic speech uttered by one character speaking aloud while alone on the stage (or seemingly alone) SOLILOQUY

Play-on-words Humor achieved through using 2 forms of a word or 2 similar-sounding words PUN

Irony in which the audience knows more about a character’s situation than the character does, foreseeing an outcome contrary to the character’s expectations and therefore a different meaning to some of the character’s statements Example: end of Romeo and Juliet DRAMATIC IRONY

The misplacing of a person, thing, custom, or event outside its proper historical time Example Dinosaurs co-existing with humans, as portrayed in The Flintstones, is an example of an anachronism. ANACHRONISM

Bondsman = slave Consul = the chief magistrate and highest official in t he Roman republic Dictator = one person with total political control Praetor = Roman judge or magistrate next in rank af ter consul Senator = usually wealthy, high-born citizens who m ake the laws Tribune = a magistrate who protects the rights of the lower classes Triumvirate = rule by 3 men Conspirators = people who conspire Conspire = make secret plans with others to commit an unlawful or harmful act

A tragic figure/tragic hero is one who has a character flaw which causes them to act poorly or make poor decisions resulting in their downfall.

Every Shakespearian tragedy has a tragic figure; however, in Julius Caesar, the tragic hero is not (!!!) the title character.

BRUTUS Shakespeare makes BRUTUS a key figure in the play. There was (and still is) debate as to whether Caesar or Brutus is the true tragic hero of the play.

Caesar Pompey Crassus Antony Octavius Lepidus ORIGINALNEW TRIUMVIRATE

Brutus Cassius Antony Octavius Lepidus CONSPIRATORSLOYAL TO J.C. WAR

Battle at Philippi – 2 historical battles combined into 1 throughout Act V

Shakespeare’s battles ✤ Many short scenes to show rush of action ✤ Many “alarums” – alarms, trumpets, etc. ✤ Quick entrances and exits

Every Shakespearian tragedy has a tragic figure; however, in Julius Caesar, the tragic hero is not (!!!) the title character.

BRUTUS Shakespeare makes BRUTUS a key figure in the play. There was (and still is) debate as to whether Caesar or Brutus is the true tragic hero of the play.

Is Brutus the Noblest Roman of them all? Love for Portia Kindness to Lucius Love for Caesar (?) Proud Roman heritage Trusting…to gullibility Mistakes in judgment… Spared Antony’s life…

Discussion topics Who is the tragic hero? Supernatural? Act II – “Brutus, count the clock” = anachronism Juxtaposition / parallelism in scenes, characters, and dialogue Pride / power / leadership

MARRIAGES IN JC

brutus  Friend of Caesar and all-around “honorable man”  Feeling of patriotism convinces him that Caesar must die rather than become a tyrant. “ [It is] not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.”  His strong principles led him to allow rival Antony to speak at Caesar's funeral.

Calpurnia (spelled Calphurnia in your book)  Julius Caesar's sensible and loving wife  Warned her husband not to leave the house during the Ides of March after having a prophetic dream. Calpurnia’s dream foreshadowed future events

Cassius  Becomes jealous of Caesar’s power and fearful he will abuse that power  Urges Brutus to assasinate both Caesar and Antony  Tries to convince Brutus to not allow Antony to speak at Caesar’s funeral

Mark Antony  Soldier and Caesar's right-hand man  Calculating and persuasive with words  Uses his influence to turn the people of Rome against Brutus  With Caesar slain, seizes the opportunity to take control of Rome Antony delivers Caesar’s funeral oration

John Wilkes Booth (left) in a production of Julius Caesar FYI

Matching of character descriptions Multiple choice Plot order Short answer Shakespeare, Globe, JC notes, JC plot Julius Caesar Test