Transcript Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

Julius Caesar
by William Shakespeare
Four Roman Virtues
Literary Devices
The Four Roman Virtues
In Rome during the time of Julius
Caesar, a person’s uprightness was
measured by how well he/she conformed
to four basic virtues.
 Virtue – n. conformity to moral and
ethical principals; moral excellence
 The four Roman virtues are:

Pietas

“Pietas was actually a divinity, but an
abstraction as well, to which the Roman
aspired. Though it gives us the word “piety,”
pietas meant for the Roman duty, or dutiful
conduct toward his parents, relatives,
ancestors, gods, and country. Pietas was the
supreme virtue, acquired in the family and
expressed in action throughout the good
Roman’s life.”
Gravitas

“Gravitas means seriousness, and for
the Roman, life was an intensely serious
affair. Responsibilities destroy the
careless experimentation so dear to the
Greeks. The Roman had the individual
responsibility of family leadership as well
as the corporate responsibility of an
empire to govern.”
Simplicitas

“Simplicitas comes close to plainness or
even bluntness in English. It suggests
singleness of purpose and directness
in achieving one’s ends. At its highest
it stands for frankness and honesty…”
Virtus

“Virtus originally meant manliness, but
came to suggest physical courage and
eventually virtues in our sense, though
associated more with the battlefield than
with the council chamber.
Anachronism

an event or detail that is chronologically
out of its proper time in history
Pun

a humorous play on words, using either
1) two or more different meanings of the
same word OR 2) two or more words
that are spelled and pronounced
somewhat the same but have different
meanings.
Apostrophe

addressing something that/someone who
is not present; dead as if living, absent
as if present, inanimate as if animate;
Ex. Oh feet, don’t fail me now.
Pathetic Fallacy

attachment of human feelings and traits
to nature
Aside

private words that a character in a play
speaks to the audience or to another
character, which are not supposed to be
overheard by others on stage.
Soliloquy

a long speech in which a character who
is alone onstage expresses private
thoughts or feelings.