Britney or Shake or Both By Kelly Vance Edited by Jamie House

Britney Spears grew up in Kentwood, LA.

Britney Spears was married twice. The first was a one day marriage that was annulled and the second was to …… Kevin Federline

 Both  Shakespeare was an actor in many if not most of his plays, which is one reason he was not penniless  Britney Spears acted in How I Met Your Mother, Will and Grace, and Crossroads

 Britney  During Shakespeare’s time women would not have worked outside the home

 Britney-December 2nd.

 Both  Shakespeare, "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers". - (Act IV, Scene II). KING HENRY IV  Britney – lawyers have billed Brit more than $600,000 in legal fees over the last five months. K-Daddy's lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan, has billed half a mil. over the last four months. The court has already ruled Brit has to pay MVK's "reasonable" attorney's fees.

 Shakespeare  Shakespeare married a woman 8 years older than he was.

 Shakespeare’s wife Ann Hathaway (no, not that one) was several months pregnant when the two married.

 Shakespeare  At that time it was called Grammar School but he finished-Britney did not.

 Britney!  Just kidding, Shakespeare’s family was illiterate as were most of the people in this era.

 Britney  She paid $3000 for a Yorkie she named London

 Both  Queen Elizabeth was known to have supported Shakespeare’s Theater  Britney and Prince William were pen pals and said to have been romantically involved

 Britney  Shakespeare and wife Anne Hathaway had three, two girls and one boy.

Both Shakespeare lived during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I Currently Queen Elizabeth II reigns in England

 Both  Shakespeare as an actor in his plays  Britney after the infamous head shaving fiasco

 Both  Shakespeare was born in Stratford on Avon ( Avon is the river next to the town of Stratford)  Avon sold a Britney Spears doll with a key chain that sang “Lucky”

 Shakespeare  Britney is American, not English, Silly.

Based on a true story, this play takes place in Ancient Rome, where Julius Caesar has just returned in triumph from war. The crowd hails him as their new leader, but there are some Romans who fear he will become too powerful of a ruler, more like an emperor, and they will lose the liberties they have enjoyed as citizens of a free state.

A small group of men conspire to assassinate Caesar, believing they are acting to preserve the freedoms of the Roman Republic.

He is the head of the Roman state. He is a great soldier, and has just returned from a series of wars during which he defeated the sons of the previous Roman ruler, Pompey. He is popular with the crowds that stand in the streets to greet his triumphal return, cheering and clapping. Calpurnia is Caesar’s wife.

He is a loyal friend and supporter of Caesar, who he believes will make a good ruler of Rome. He is appalled at the killing of the head of state, and although he shakes hands with the conspirators immediately after the murder, he vows to avenge Caesar’s death. He gives a funeral oration over Caesar’s dead body that stirs the crowd to anger and desire for revenge. He will be one of the three rulers of Rome, after Caesar’s death, and he gathers an army to fight the killers.

He is a respected Roman, a man of intelligence and honor, who is a personal friend of Caesar, yet wonders whether, as a ruler, he will overstep his powers and become a tyrant rather than a good head of state. He is finally convinced to join the conspirators as their leader. As they raise their daggers to commit the murder, Caesar recognizes his dear friend and cries, in Latin, “Et tu, Brute?” or “You too, Brutus?” Portia is Brutus’ wife.

Cassius is one of the leaders of the conspiracy. He is suspicious of Caesar from the beginning, gathers others into the band, and convinces Brutus to join with them in their plans for assassination. He and Brutus flee Rome after the killing, each gathers an army, and they try to conquer Mark Antony’s army.

Casca, Trebonious, Decius, Cinna and Metallus Cimber are the other members of the conspiracy, each of whom participates by stabbing Caesar.

 Tragic Hero – Shakespeare always develops a tragic hero as the focal point of his tragedy. His tragic hero is a nobleman and leader whose death affects the course of the empire. Moreover, Shakespeare endows his tragic hero with a character weakness, or flaw, that ultimately causes him to make a fatal mistake. Both Caesar and Brutus qualify as the tragic hero of Julius Caesar.

 External and Internal Conflict – Shakespeare builds a tragedy on external and internal conflicts. He uses the political controversy in Rome to create the external conflict in Julius Caesar and ambition and the desire to do right as internal conflicts.  Comic Relief – Shakespeare uses humor to relieve the somber mood of a tragedy. The use of puns, for example, is an example of humor.  Supernatural Incidents – Shakespeare often includes a supernatural incident in a tragedy. Appearances of ghost and prophetic dreams are common in Julius Caesar.

 Revenge Motive – One of the major characters in a Shakespearean tragedy is often motivated by a desire for revenge. Mark Antony’s original purpose in waging war against the conspirators is revenge.  Chance Happening – Shakespeare introduces a chance happening that precipitates the catastrophe of a tragedy. As a result of such a chance happening, Shakespeare’s hero is doomed to death at the conclusion of the play. The chance happenings in the battle scenes are good examples in Julius Caesar.

 Animal Motifs are used throughout the play. Watch for Shakespeare’s use of animals as symbols.  The archetype of the RITUAL is also found.  Rhetorical devices and persuasive techniques are used often, also. We’ll learn more about them as the play goes on.  If you have trouble remembering the characters, make a list as they come up and jot down information about them on the right. Write questions you have on the left and answers to those questions on the right.