Transcript Intro notes part 1 - Northside Middle School

Intro notes part 1
Shakespeare
https://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=geev441vbMI
✤born
in Stratford upon Avon, England
✤April 23, 1564 (probz)
✤did not go to University
✤married Anne Hathaway in 1585
✤3 children - daughter and twins
✤Daughter Susanna
✤Twins Hamnet and Judith
✤son Hamnet died
✤moved to London to write and act
✤wrote 37 plays
✤business man
✤1599 built the Globe, largest open air
theater in London
✤wrote tragedies, comedies, histories,
and tragicomedies
✤phrases - quoted almost as much as the
Bible
Shakespeare
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=geev441vbMI
✤poet
✤way
to make money when the
plague closed theaters
✤154 sonnets
✤plus narrative poems
✤made up words when necessary
✤nearly 3,000
✤mysterious death - April 23, 1616
✤wrote about human condition
✤some question of his
legitimacy…
✤I don’t :)
The Globe theatre &
its differences from
theaters today.
✤
✤
✤
✤
plays performed during day b/c
no money for candles
interaction between actors and
public
✤ groundlings - cheap seats
standing in from of the stage
✤ groundlings would be wet in
rain but were able to
participate in the play…
no women acting
church criticized theater as
“nest of the devil”
The Globe theatre &
its differences from
theaters today.
✤
✤
✤
“hear a play” not “see a play”
✤ expensive seats had best sound
to hear the words
✤ focus on script, not special
effects or sets
symbolic stage
✤ top - the heavens/sky with the
signs of the zodiac and a trap
door
✤ stage - represented earth with
trap door
✤ under the stage - represented
hell
round theater
William Shakespeare wrote the play
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
It was the first play performed in the
Globe Theatre in 1599
• The English knew a lot about the Romans back
then. They were conquered by Caesar and believed
that they were descendents of early Romans.
• The Roman playwrights Seneca and Plautus were
popular and admired influences of Elizabethan drama.
• Shakespeare’s audience was also fascinated by Caesar’s
life and death (a “dictator” becoming corrupt and ignoring
the other branches of government, then being assassinated
by his own friends) because in the 1400’s in England the
people experienced civil war, and the result was the Tudor
family (Queen Elizabeth’s family line) taking over.
Source
• Shakespeare researched
his plays heavily.
• His main source for
Julius Caesar was Greek
philosopher Plutarch’s
Lives of the Noble
Grecians and Romans
Julius
Caesar
ca. 100 B.C. - 44 B.C.
• Roman general, statesman,
and Consul
• Played a role in the ending of the
Roman Republic (led by a Senate)
and the start of the Roman Empire
(ruled by an emperor)
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
is set in Rome, 44 B.C.
Rome was ruled by a “Triumvirate”
(a coalition of three men)
Pompey
-a great politician & Caesar’s son-in-law
-the famous general
Crassus
-the wealthiest man in Rome
In 54 B.C. Caesar’s
daughter, Julia, died.
As Pompey’s wife,
she had been the only
real personal tie
between Pompey and
Caesar, so tension
flared between the
two men.
Pompey
Caesar
In 53 B.C.
Crassus DIED.
This ended the First Triumvirate
and set Pompey and Caesar
against one another.
To sum it up, the
Senate supported
Pompey, but Caesar
chased Pompey all the
way to Egypt and
defeated him.
This is where our play begins…
When it opens, we see some citizens in
support of Caesar and some against him.
During this feast some of the
conspirators discuss Caesar
and what to do about him
having too much power.
The plan to kill him
is hatched...
“Beware the Ides of March...”
Julius Caesar is warned to beware the ides of March.
“Ides” means the middle of the month; he was warned that
something bad would happen on March 15th, 44 B.C.
He is, in fact, killed on March 15th.
Major Topics!
Misuse of Power
Corruptive Force of
Power
Man’s Fallibility
Power Corrupts: Caesar is a dictator
who is suspected of abusing his
power; Cassius is so power hungry
that he assassinates Caesar; Antony,
Octavius, and Lepidus become even
worse than Ceasar!
The Inherent
Jealously and
Selfishness of Man
MAJOR IDEAS cont’d
Honor found in loyalty
and friendship
Corruption found in
conspiracy and
anarchy
Stability through
political order
Viability of republic
form of government
 Shakespeare’s message
Countless books, movies and other
theatre adaptations have built on the
theme of a “friend’s betrayal”
seems to be that good
government must be based
upon morality—relevance in
the modern world!
Literary Focus
MOOD
Overcast of impending doom, darkness and
catastrophe
There is no trust left, only manipulation and
SETTINGcorruption
Julius Caesar is largely set in Rome, 44 B.C.
Ancient Rome
Tiber River
the Capitol
the House of the Senate
The Forum
Narrative structure. . .
Act III: Caesar’s
death (climax)
Act I and II
deal with the
conspiracy
against Caesar
Act IV and V:
consequences, fate
of the conspirators
Intro notes part 2
BLANK VERSE
• Unrhymed
iambic
pentameter
TRAGEDY
• A serious play
representing the
disastrous downfall of
a central character;
classical tragedies
include the death of
the protagonist
COMEDY
• For Shakespearean
drama, a play focusing
on the romantic life of
the protagonist, usually
ending in marriage
POETRY / VERSE
• Language spoken/written according to some
pattern that emphasizes words’ sounds as
well as sense
PROSE
• Written language not organized in the formal
patterns of verse/poetry
• Novels
• Short stories
• Letters
• Everyday
speech
ASIDE
• A short speech or remark spoken by a
character in a drama, directed to the audience
or another character, which is supposed to be
inaudible to other characters on stage
SOLILOQUY
• A dramatic speech uttered by one
character speaking aloud while alone
on the stage (or seemingly alone)
PUN
• Play-on-words
• Humor achieved
through using 2
forms of a word or
2 similar-sounding
words
DRAMATIC IRONY
• Irony in which the audience knows more about a
character’s situation than the character does,
foreseeing an outcome contrary to the character’s
expectations and therefore a different meaning to
some of the character’s statements
• Example: end of Romeo and Juliet
ANACHRONISM
• The misplacing of a person, thing, custom,
or event outside its proper historical time
• Example
Dinosaurs co-existing with humans, as portrayed
in The Flintstones, is an example of an anachronism.
• Bondsman = slave
• Consul = the chief magistrate and highest official in the
Roman republic
• Dictator = one person with total political control
• Praetor = Roman judge or magistrate next in rank after
consul
• Senator = usually wealthy, high-born citizens who make the
laws
• Tribune = a magistrate who protects the rights of the lower
classes
• Triumvirate = rule by 3 men
• Conspirators = people who conspire
• Conspire = make secret plans with others to commit an u
nlawful or harmful act
A tragic figure/tragic hero is one who
has a character flaw which causes them
to act poorly or make poor decisions
resulting in their downfall.
Every Shakespearian tragedy has a
tragic figure; however, in Julius
Caesar, the tragic hero is not (!!!)
the title character.
Shakespeare
makes
BRUTUS
a key figure in
the play.
There was (and still is) debate as to
whether Caesar or Brutus is the true
tragic hero of the play.
TRIUMVIRATE
ORIGINAL
NEW
Caesar
Pompey
Crassus
Antony
Octavius
Lepidus
WAR
CONSPIRATORS
LOYAL TO J.C.
Brutus
Cassius
Antony
Octavius
Lepidus
Battle at Philippi – 2 historical battles
combined into 1 throughout Act V
Shakespeare’s battles
✤
Many short scenes to show rush of action
✤
Many “alarums” – alarms, trumpets, etc.
✤
Quick entrances and exits
Every Shakespearian tragedy has a
tragic figure; however, in Julius
Caesar, the tragic hero is not (!!!)
the title character.
Shakespeare
makes
BRUTUS
a key figure in
the play.
There was (and still is) debate as to
whether Caesar or Brutus is the true
tragic hero of the play.
Is Brutus the Noblest Roman
of them all?
Love for Portia
Kindness to Lucius
Love for Caesar (?)
Proud Roman heritage
Trusting…to gullibility
Mistakes in judgment…
Spared Antony’s life…
Discussion topics
Who is the tragic hero?
Supernatural?
Act II – “Brutus, count the clock” =
anachronism
Juxtaposition / parallelism in scenes,
characters, and dialogue
Pride / power / leadership
MARRIAGES IN JC
brutus
Friend of Caesar and
all-around “honorable
man”
Feeling of patriotism
convinces him that
Caesar must die
rather than become a
tyrant.
“ [It is] not that I loved Caesar
less, but that I loved Rome more.”
His strong principles
led him to allow rival
Antony to speak at
Caesar's funeral.
Calpurnia
Julius Caesar's
(spelled Calphurnia in your book)
sensible and loving
wife
Warned her husband
not to leave the house
during the Ides of
March after having a
prophetic dream.
Calpurnia’s dream
foreshadowed future events
Cassius
Becomes jealous of
Caesar’s power and
fearful he will abuse
that power
Urges Brutus to
assasinate both
Caesar and Antony
Tries to convince
Brutus to not allow
Antony to speak at
Caesar’s funeral
Mark Antony
 Soldier and Caesar's
right-hand man
 Calculating and
persuasive with words
 Uses his influence to turn
the people of Rome
against Brutus
 With Caesar slain, seizes
the opportunity to take
control of Rome
Antony delivers Caesar’s
funeral oration
FYI
John Wilkes
Booth (left) in a
production of
Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar Test
• Matching of
character descriptions
• Multiple choice
• Plot order
• Short answer
• Shakespeare, Globe,
JC notes, JC plot