Transcript Shakespeare *Elizabethan Drama *Julius Caesar

Wednesday 3/30/2011
 Plan for the day:  Remember:
 Fill out fitness cards
 Discuss a boat-load of
notes (boat-load=more
than a couple less than
a crap-ton)
 GRAB A FITNESS
CARD!
 Projects due on Monday
(4/4/11)
 Commander Baker
Softball game--TODAY!!!
 Wear a YELLOW shirt
with a quote for extra
credit! --- Meet at the
track tomorrow!
FITNESS DAY!
 Our color is YELLOW!
 If you wear a yellow shirt
and some how put a quote
about power, or a
Shakespeare quote you will
get extra credit! YAYAYA!
*Shakespeare
*Elizabethan Drama
*Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Background Information
Notes
 503 BC – Rome ends rule of
Tarquins, a series of harsh,
cruel rulers
 Rome decides never again to
be under rule of oppressive
government.
 Refuse all forms of govt. that consists
of kings & emperors (rulers who
achieve power based on inheritance)
 Rome sets up a Republic – a
govt. in which officials are elected
 The new govt. was made of 2
parts:
 2 Consuls (leaders) – elected
officials
 Senate – appointed by Consuls
 Governing bodies could be made
of people from any walk of life:
noble or common
Julius Caesar got into politics
during a time in which the
Consuls and the Senate were
having problems. In this time
of instability, he became an
outspoken leader.
 In 60 BC the first triumvirate
(3-person governing body)
was formed of Caesar,
Pompey (a famous general),
and a wealthy man named
Crassus.
 Crassus died; Pompey began
to fear that Julius Caesar was
growing too powerful and
popular.
 Caesar and his army were far
away from Rome, conquering
many lands for the Roman
Empire. Pompey ordered him
back so that he would not have
to fear Caesar and his powerful
army. Instead, Caesar attacked
Pompey, defeating his forces
and killing him in the midst.
 Caesar returned to Rome, was
accepted by the people for his
military abilities, was loved for all
the goods he brought back from
his conquests, and was elected
Dictator for Life.
 He would now rule Rome until his
death, and the next leader would
have to be elected
 Many believed that Caesar
wanted to be Emperor instead
of just Dictator for Life. If
emperor, Caesar’s son would
inherit the throne, instead of
being elected.
 Many feared that Caesar
would bring back a style of life
similar to when the Tarquin’s
ruled. To prevent this, some
members of the legislature
carried out a deceitful plan…
Shakespeare
and
His Times
Basic Shakespeare facts
 Born: April 23rd,1564
 Died: April 23rd, 1616
 Married Anne Hathaway 1582
 (he was 18, she was 26)
 They had 3 children Susanna, Hamnet
and Judith (twins)--- Hamnet died as a
child.
 “players” were not always
greatly accepted by the cities
they visited because playacting was considered sinful
by some communities.
 In 1574 players were banished
from London
 To get around this, James
Burbage built the first public
playhouse or theater in England
leading to the development of
other theaters
 Shakespeare’s company
performed at Burbage’s theater,
until building their own
 Shakespeare (along with other
company shareholders) built his
theater in 1599- he called it the
“Globe”- and he referred to it as the
wooden “O”
 The Globe was a circular building with
three levels overlooking a courtyard
with a platform stage
THE AGE OF
SHAKESPEARE
 He wrote from 1585-1616
during the Renaissance or the
Elizabethan Age
 This time period is known for
its theater and thriving
literature
 Queen Elizabeth and King James
of Scotland were great supporters
of literature and the arts- they
both supported Shakespeare
during their reign
 This time period also brought
economic and social growth to
England
Some Ideas that characterized the
English Renaissance that are
important to this play are:
 Humans had potential for
development.
 The Protestant Reformation that
begun in Germany, and Elizabeth’s
father’s break with the Roman
Catholic Church paved the way for
rapid advances in art, science, and
philosophy.
 Elizabethans still maintained their
belief that the reigning monarch was
God’s agent, and to rebel against a
reigning monarch was to rebel
against God.
 In England, there was a succession
crisis- Queen Elizabeth was 66 years
old, obviously nearing death and had
no children.
 The potential horrors of an unclear
succession were still very fresh in the
minds of the Elizabethans.
 1599 was the year of Julius Caesar’s
first performance and the completion
of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater.
 Many English writers saw numerous
similarities between their own
country’s current situation
(Elizabeth’s lack of a heir, England’s
establishment as a world power, the
first attempts at colonization of the
New World) and the political
uncertainty faced by the first century
BCE Romans.
Key Themes
 Honor
 Ambition
 Envy
 Power
 So why did Shakespeare
feel that Renaissance
England would respond to
Julius Caesar?
 Shakespeare saw Caesar and
Roman civilization not just as
one that precedes the future,
but as one that sets the
pattern for future civilizations.
 Shakespeare's England faced
concerns of a country about to
change leadership and
centuries.
The Play
 In 1599 the play would have
served as a timely reminder
of the enormous upheaval
that would follow an attempt
to seize power through violent
means.
JC’s Current Relevance
 It is this issue of leadership
and, in particular, the question
of when effective leadership
becomes a tyranny, that has
most relevance.
 Consider the role of
President, Prime Ministers,
Senates, etc.
JC’s Current Relevance
 But the play is also about more
ageless issues, such as the
corrupting effect of power. "People
are rightly nervous about placing
trust in politicians," says Rylance. "I
believe that the vast majority of
politicians are genuinely trying to do
some good. But there is always the
danger, when in a position of power,
that means and ends can become
blurred."
Cast of Major
Characters
Julius Caesar
 Ruler of the Roman Empire.
 He is presented as a man of strong will and
self-belief. He is used to issuing commands
and being obeyed. He is stubborn and will
not listen to pleas for mercy if he thinks he
is in the right. He considers himself to be
resolute and unwavering.
 Caesar denies he is afraid of Cassius and
claims not to fear anyone or anything.
 The conspirators believe Caesar is too
ambitious and will soon acquire such power
that Rome will be enslaved to one man.
 Although Caesar is a commanding figure,
he is physically weak, suffering from
epilepsy as well as deafness in one ear.
Mark Antony
 Mark Antony is Julius Caesar’s righthand man and personal friend.
 He enjoys sports and theater.
 It is Antony’s cunning speech to the
masses after Caesar’s death that
turns public opinion against the
assassins, who gravely
underestimated and misread him.
 He shows fairness/nobility in
victory.
Marcus Brutus
 Marcus Brutus is recruited for the
assassination by Cassius.
 He becomes part of the plot because
he is concerned about the welfare of
Rome.
 He does not covet power for its own
sake, and nor does he have any
personal complaint about Caesar.
 He is presented throughout as a man
of courtesy and honor, although
perhaps also as a man who is
unsuited to wield political power.
 After he is dead, Antony salutes him
as “the noblest Roman of them all.”
Cassius
 Cassius is the chief conspirator against
Caesar.
 It is he who recruits Brutus and the
others. Cassius is consumed with envy
of Caesar, and sees no reason why
Caesar should hold power over him.
 Cassius is a good observer of men and
he has uncommon insight into people’s
motivations.
 Caesar observes that Cassius has a
“lean and hungry look.”
 He is in every way a contrast to the
more sociable Antony.
Casca
 Casca is one of the
conspirators, and it is he
who stabs Caesar first.
 Casca is known for his wit
and liveliness.
 He is a man of action who
can get things done.
Artemidorus
 Artemidorus is a teacher of
rhetoric who tries but fails to
warn Caesar of the plot
against him.
Trebonius
 A member of the consipiracy
against Caesar.
Decius Brutus
 Conspirator who uses flattery to
get Caesar to the Senate House.
Calpurnia
 Caesar’s wife.
 Calpurnia invests great
authority in omens and
portents.
Portia
 Brutus’s wife; the daughter
of a noble Roman who
took sides against Caesar.
Flavius
 A tribune (an official
elected by the people to
protect their rights).
Murellus
 A tribune-condemns the
plebeians for their fickleness
in cheering Caesar (they
once cheered for Caesar’s
enemy Pompey.
Cicero
 A Roman senator renowned
for his oratorical skill.
Features of
Shakespeare’s Use of
Language
Blank Verse
 Shakespeare’s essential pattern in his
plays is BLANK VERSE (unrhymed
iambic pentameter).
 Therefore, whenever a reader notices a
change in this pattern there is a reason
for the change.
 With the change, Shakespeare is
creating a mood, establishing character,
etc.
 Shakespeare’s characters often speak in
similes and metaphors- to expand ideas
and amplify IMAGERY.
The Tragic Hero
 The tragic hero, according to Aristotle, was a
man who rises to a high position and then falls
from that high position-usually to utter
desolation and/or death.
 Some tragic heroes clearly bring about their
own downfall, as in the case of Creon in
Antigone, whose downfall is due to his hubris
(excessive pride)- he believes his law holds
precedence over the gods’ sense of Right.
 Other tragic heroes seem to be more pawn
of fate, like Oedipus who has done
everything in his power to prevent the
fatal prophesy from coming to pass that
Oedipus would murder his father and
marry his mother. It is the very act of
trying to avoid destiny that the prophesy
fulfilled.
 By the Renaissance, however, people
generally felt themselves to be less pawns
of fate and more in control of their own
destinies.
Friday! April 1st 2011
 Plan for the
day!
 Notes Quiz
 Get out a blank sheet
of paper
 Vocab
 Work on projects
 Remember:
 Project due Tuesday
(4/5/2011)!
 Work on vocab!
 I will not be here on
Monday, I expect you
guys to behave and
be respectful to the
sub. You will start
reading Caesar from
the book.
ACT 1. Caesar Voc.
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Profess
Prodigious
Redress
Construe
Heralds
Cogitations
Surly
Feeble
Sc. 2
Sc. 3
Sc. 3
Sc. 3
Sc. 3
Sc. 2
Sc. 3
Sc. 2
Make sure you:
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define the word
write the sentence from the book
find a synonym
Draw a picture
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Infirmity
Obscurely
Conception
Soothsayer
Barren
Perilous
Ghastly
Sc. 2
Sc. 2
Sc. 2
Sc. 2
Sc. 2
Sc. 3
Sc. 3
SC= where the word is
located. Scene 2 or 3 of Act
1.
***The Vocabulary is found
throughout all of ACT 1.***
1. What was the date of Shakespeare’s
birth day/month/year?
2. In the Elizabethan age what developed
rapidly and why?
3. Who were the 3 members of the first
Triumvirate?
4. What is notable about Casca in the
play?
5. When was Shakespeare’s Caesar first
preformed at the Globe?
April Fools!