Transcript Background Information

William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar
Historical and Literary Context
PICTURE THIS…
• You are the leader of the free world. You
are the most powerful human being on
earth. You are the controller of the most
powerful country in the world. You are
untouchable. You can say or do anything
you want.
YOU DIDN’T SEE IT COMING…
Your best friends stab you in the back…
The Roman Empire
The Roman Empire
• Rome ruled the world (Europe) at this time.
• They were constantly waging wars and
taking over countries.
The Roman Empire
• Once they would take over a country, a
Roman governor would rule that place.
The Roman officials were often times very
cruel. Many generals became powerhungry and turned on each other.
• From 82-31 B.C. civil wars were common
in Roman society.
The Real Caesar
• Julius Caesar really existed, and
Shakespeare took his story from Plutarch’s
biography of Caesar and made it into a
play.
• Caesar lived from 102 B.C. to 44 B.C.
• He was one of Rome’s greatest military
leaders.
Who was Julius Caesar?
• Had led his army to conquer the whole
of Gaul
• Had sent an expedition over to Britain
• Was a popular hero with his troops and
with the ordinary people of Rome
Caesar and Pompey
• One of Caesar’s biggest rivals was another
general called Pompey
• The Senate disliked Caesar and supported
Pompey – they ordered Caesar to get rid of
his army
• Caesar ignored them and defeated
Pompey in battle
• Caesar then took over Rome as ‘Dictator
for Life’
The Real Caesar
• Pompey was murdered before Caesar could
get him in Egypt.
• While in Egypt, Caesar fell in love with
Cleopatra.
• He made her the ruler of Egypt.
• Caesar went back to Rome a hero and was
made dictator.
• He made his friend, Brutus, a senator.
The Real Caesar
• Caesar felt he was invincible.
– He wrote this on the Temple walls…
– “To the Unconquerable God”
– He was referring to himself.
The Real Caesar
• For many Romans, the idea of having
another king sounded horrible. They had
been run by a republican government for
450 years. Caesar became more pretentious
and arrogant.
• Senators made plans to assassinate him on
March 15, 44 B.C.
Julius Caesar
How was he murdered?
Caesar’s murder – the build up
• A few weeks before his murder
Caesar is told by a soothsayer
‘Beware the Ides of March!’
• The night before his murder, his
wife Calpurnia has a nightmare
and begs him not to go to the
Senate
• Calpurnia, Caesar’s wife, begged him not to
go to the Senate. She had had a nightmare
that he would be murdered.
• A violent storm occurred; this was believed
to be an omen of bad luck for Caesar.
• Caesar ignored a soothsayer outside the
Senate. He told him to “beware the ides of
March”.
• Inside the Senate, a group of senators
stabbed him to death, one by one. Casca
stabbed him first. There were 23 blows.
The Murder
• 15th March 44BC Caesar prepares to go to
the senate
• More than 60 conspirators wait for
Caesar in the Senate
• The conspirators, all senators, are led by
Brutus and Cassius
• With daggers concealed under their
togas they murder Caesar, stabbing him
at least 23 times
• Caesar says to his friend Brutus ‘You,
too, my child.’
What Defines Shakespearean Tragedy?
•
•
•
•
•
A Tragic Hero
The Tragic Flaw or Hamartia
Reversal of Fortune
Catharsis (emotion)
Restoration of Social Order
The Tragic Hero
• The tragic hero is someone we, as an
audience, look up to—someone superior.
• The tragic hero is a character that the
audience can identify with
• The tragic hero features a fatal flaw that
exposes his/her weakness.
The Tragic Flaw
• The hero is nearly perfect
• The hero has one flaw or weakness
• We call this the ‘tragic flaw’, ‘fatal flaw’,
or hamartia, ie. pride in Oedipus
Reversal of Fortune
• The ‘fatal flaw’ brings the hero down from
his/her elevated state. (Oedipus)
• Renaissance audiences were familiar with
the ‘wheel of fortune’ or ‘fickle fate’.
• Belief that the supernatural world or
destiny/fates involved in world of man.
• What goes up, must come down.
• Cycle of life
Catharsis
• We get the word ‘catharsis’ from
Aristotle’s katharsis.
• ‘Catharsis’ is the audience’s purging of
emotions through pity, fear, anger, etc.
• The spectator is purged as a result of
watching the hero fall.
• This is why we cry during movies!
Restoration of Social Order
• Tragedies include:
– a private element (within a family or
small group)
– a public element (society or
governmental order)
• The play cannot end until society is, once
again, at peace.
The Structure of Tragedy
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Exposition
Rising Action
Climax
Falling Action
Catastrophe
Act I: Exposition
• Major characters are introduced; setting is
established; introduction to conflict and
pertinent background information provided
Act II: Complication/Rising Action
Conflict is further developed; competing
interests outline their positions; intrigue
and suspense builds as plot becomes more
focussed.
Act III: Climax of Action
Development of major conflict reaches the
high point; tragic hero must make a
decision; protagonist is aware of the
implications of his/her actions.
Act IV: Falling Action
Consequences of actions in Act III begin to
play out; protagonist struggles to redeem
him/herself in face of opposition; tragic
hero at a crossroads.
Act V: Catastrophe
Conflict is resolved; tragic hero comes to
realization of personal loss; often an
attempt to rationalize actions; usually ends
in death of heroic figure.