1. William Shakespeare

2. Early Life Born in Stratford-on-Avon
Middle class family (father - glove maker)
Married Anne Hathaway, 26, when 18
Three children: Susanna, Judith, and Hamnet, who died at 11

3. London Joined Lord Chamberlain’s Men in 1594
Built the Globe and wrote Julius Caesar in 1599
Wrote 38 plays (Caesar being #18)
Tragedies, Histories, Comedies
Wrote 154 sonnets
Characters: Fair Youth, Rival Poet, Dark Lady
Themes: time, love beauty, mortality

4. The Globe Theater Built outside of London 3000 guests
Performances during warm days
Little to no scenery
Burnt down in 1613, rebuilt in 1614, closed by Puritans in 1642
Modern reconstruction in 1997, 750 feet from original position

5. Dramatic Conventions
Soliloquy – speech made by a character alone onstage
Aside – comment made by a character meant to be heard only by the audience
Dramatic Irony – when the audience knows something that a character does not (for instance, we know that Julius Caesar will be assassinated, though he does not)

6. Shakespeare’s Style Blank Verse – unrhymed iambic pentameter
Alternating Prose, Blank Verse, and rhyme depending on the character or scene
Metaphor – comparison
Puns – word plays
Inventive Language

7. Julius Caesar – legend & history
After the fall of Troy,
Aeneas, supposed son of Venus,
escapes with Trojan gold to found Alba Longa
His descendant, Procas, dies, leaving two sons, Numitor and Amulius competing for the throne.
Amulius kills his elder brother, but Numitor had a daughter, Rhea Silvia

8. Divine Intervention Amulius forces Rhea Silvia
to become a Vestal Virgin, a priestess sworn to abstinence
Rhea is seduced in the
woods by Mars
Rhea gives birth to twins,
Romulus & Remus

9. Raised by Wolves
Amulius buries Rhea alive and orders the execution of Romulus and Remus
A servant sends Romulus and Remus down the Tiber River in a reed basket
A wolf, Lupa, finds them
and raises them as her
wolf cubs in her cave,
Lupercal

10. Founding of Rome
As young men, Romulus and Remus learn of their history and vow to found their own city
Seeing an augury (omen) in circling birds, Romulus slays his brother and names this new city after him, becoming its first emperor
ROME – 753 BCE

11. From Empire to Republic
There were seven kings of the First Roman Empire, beginning with Romulus and ending with Tarquinius Superbus
King Tarquin was overthrown by Lucius Junius Brutus in 509 BCE after years of corrupt and violent rule
Lucius Junius Brutus became the first consul of the new Roman Republic

12. Terms Empire – one ruler, no election
Republic – elections, representation (Senate)
Consul – one of two elected leaders, highest position in Roman Republic
Praetor – judge and commander
Optimate – conservative party that protected the elite
Populare – “citizens” party, against slavery
Triumvirate – political regime dominated by three individuals (formal or informal)

13. Julius Caesar
Born 100 BCE
Statesman, general, lawgiver, mathematician who claimed lineage to Aeneas
“Caesar” comes from the Latin “caesum,” meaning “to cut.”

14. Gaining Power
60 BCE – Julius Caesar, a populare; Pompey, a optimate; and Crassus, a wealthy statesman who put down Spartacus’ gladiator revolt in 71 BC, form the First Triumvirate
59 BCE – Julius Caesar elected consul
57 BCE – Julius Caesar conquers Western Europe

15. Three, Two, One Crassus dies in 53 BCE in the Persian War
Pompey begins whittling away at populare power
Caesar breaches Roman law by “Crossing the Rubicon” (49 BCE) upon his return to Rome
Pompey flees to Egypt, where he is assassinated
Julius Caesar dubbed
“dictator perpetuo”