1. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar By William Shakespeare

2. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar THEMES: Hunger for power Ambition Vanity Envy Revenge

3. Act I Scene i A street in Rome Feb. 15, the Feast of Lupercal

4. Act I Scene i Flavius and Marullus... The Commoners...

5. Act I Scene i Flavius and Marullus are nagging the commoners about their jobs. The Commoners are punning with Flavius and Marullus, celebrating Caesar’s triumphant return from defeating Pompey.

6. Act I Scene i WHAT WE LEARN? Commoners can be more clever than government officials. The general rabble is elated that Caesar won the Civil War and is home to take control of Rome. The officials--not so much.

7. Act I Scene i TERMS: PERSONIFICATION: “That Tiber trembled underneath her banks / To hear the replication of your sounds / Made in her concave shores?” lines 46-48

8. Act I Scene i TERMS: CONFLICT: External conflicts between government officials and commoners

9. Act I Scene i TERMS: PUN: “cobbler” line 11 “…live by is with the awl...but with all.” lines 23-24

10. Act I Scene ii A public place in Rome Getting ready for the traditional race at the festival of Lupercal

11. Act I Scene ii Caesar tells Calpurnia... Soothsayer warns... Cassius tries to tell Brutus... Casca explains... Brutus decides...

12. Act I Scene ii Caesar tells Calpurnia to stand near and be touched by Antonius during the race for luck in future pregnancy. Soothsayer warns Caesar “Beware the Ides of March!” line 18

13. Act I Scene ii Cassius tries to tell Brutus that Caesar is too powerful--but he’s not fit enough to rule Rome. He says Brutus is just as good as Caesar Casca explains how Caesar was offered the crown (kingship) three times, but refuses. Then Caesar fell down in a seizure. Brutus decides to think this over

14. Act I Scene ii WHAT WE LEARN? Calpurnia is barren. Soothsayers are wise. Brutus is not athletic. Cassius thinks Brutus is sad He’s really just confused about the times.

15. Act I Scene ii WHAT WE LEARN? Cassius uses flattery to persuade Brutus. Cassius and Caesar once swam the flooding Tiber; Cassius saved Caesar. Caesar thinks Cassius “has a lean and hungry look; / He thinks too much, such men are dangerous.” lines 194-195

16. Act I Scene ii WHAT WE LEARN? Antony thinks Cassius is a noble Roman. Casca knows how people adore Caesar and retells the story. He seems to “play dumb” so people accept his stories. Caesar is an epileptic who is deaf in his left ear.

17. Act I Scene ii TERMS: INTERNAL CONFLICT: “Than that poor Brutus, with himself at war, / forgets the shows of love to other men.” lines 46-47

18. Act I Scene ii TERMS: CHARACTER: Brutus says, “For let the gods so speed me as I love / The name of honor more than I fear death.” lines 85-86

19. Act I Scene ii TERMS: CHARACTER: “He reads much, / He is a great observer, and he looks / Quite through the deeds of men. He loves no plays... He hears no music... Such men as he be never at heart’s ease... And therefore are they very dangerous.” lines 201-210, Caesar sizing up Cassius

20. Act I Scene ii TERMS: ALLITERATION: “... Hug them hard... “ line 75 “... My weak words have struck...” line 177 “Seldom he smiles, and smiles in such a sort / As if he mocked himself and scorned his spirit / That could be moved to smile at anything.” lines 205-207.

21. Act I Scene ii TERMS: IRONY: “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings.” lines 140-141, Cassius.

22. Act I Scene ii TERMS: HYPERBOLE: “Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world / Like a Colossus, and we pretty men / Walk under his huge legs and peep about / To find ourselves dishonorable graves.” lines 135- 138, Cassius.

23. Act I Scene ii TERMS: CLARIFYING: “... He plucked me ope his doublet and offered them his / throat to cut.” Why does Casca tell that Caesar offered the crowd his throat to cut?

24. Act I Scene ii TERMS: SOLILOQUY: Well, Brutus, thou art noble...Caesar doth bear me hard, but he loves Brutus...And after this let Caesar seat him sure, / For we will shake him, or worse days endure.” lines 308-322, Cassius

25. Act I Scene ii TERMS: RHYMED COUPLET: “And after this let Caesar seat him sure, For we will shake him, or worse days endure.” Lines 321-322, Cassius Shakespeare ends a scene with a rhymed couplet to provide closure and mark the end of the scene.

26. Act I Scene ii TERMS: IAMBIC PENTAMETER: 10 syllables per line. Odd syllables unaccented, even syllables accented. “That you have no such mirrors as will turn Your hidden worthiness into your eye.” lines 56-57, Cassius

27. Act I Scene ii TERMS: PROSE: “Why, there was a crown offered him; and being offered him, he put it by with the back of his hand, thus. And then the people fell a- shouting.” lines 220-222, Casca Why does Casca speak prose in scene ii but then poetically in scene iii?

28. Act I Scene iii A street in Rome The evening of March 14, a stormy, terrible night.

29. Act I Scene iii Cicero... Casca... Cassius... Cinna...

30. Act I Scene iii Cicero is rational about the weird, stormy night. Casca compares this night to other freaky nights he’s seen before (a lion, ghastly women, owl at noon, etc.). Cassius is walking around the creepy night bare-chested, fearless. Casca thinks he should be more cautious.

31. Act I Scene iii Cassius thinks the night is giving them signs--now is the time to correct wrongs that have been done! But men have been weak lately. Casca admits that Caesar will be made king of all Roman territories tomorrow. Cassius threatens ending his life.

32. Act I Scene iii Casca agrees to work with Cassius. Cinna is already in on the plan. He’ll bring notes to convince Brutus to join the team. Everyone will be convinced murdering Caesar is the right thing to do when they know Brutus is on board!

33. Act I Scene iii WHAT WE LEARN? Cassius is one good salesman! There are more conspirators behind the scenes. Brutus is well respected by the Romans.

34. Act I Scene iii WHAT WE LEARN? Shakespeare’s time had non-standard subject-verb agreement: “Is Decius Brutus and Trebonius there?” line 148 “Three parts of him Is ours already.” --lines 154-155

35. Act I Scene iii TERMS: CONFLICT: Lines 87-90 “... He shall wear his crown by sea and land In every place save here in Italy.”--Casca “I know where I will wear this dagger then; Cassius from bondage will deliver Cassius.”-- Cassius

36. Act I Scene iii TERMS: ANAPHORA and ALLITERATION: “Why all these fires, why all these gliding ghosts, Why birds and beasts from quality and kind; Why old men fool and children calculate; Why all these things change from their ordinance...” Lines 63-66, Cassius

37. Act I Scene iii TERMS: ANAPHORA : “Therein, ye gods, you make the weak most strong; Therein, ye gods, you tyrants do defeat. Nor stony tower, nor walls of beaten brass, Nor airless dungeon, nor strong links of iron...” Lines 91-94, Cassius

38. Act I Scene iii TERMS: METAPHOR : “Poor man! I know he would not be a wolf But that he sees the Romans are but sheep; He were no lion, were not Romans hinds.”--Cassius, lines 104-106

39. Act I Scene iii TERMS: THEME : Dilemma of those who have good intentions and convince themselves that noble ideals justify violent means. Why do the conspirators use words like noble and honorable when discussing their plot against Caesar--especially to Brutus?

40. Act I Memorable Quotes “Beware the Ides of March.” --Soothsayer, AI si line 18 “... A lean and hungry look...” --Caesar, AI si line 194 “... It was Greek to me.” --Casca, AI sii line 284