Download Introduction to Julius Caesar

Introduction to the play
Julius Caesar
Ms. Met
Honors English
IMAGINE 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.

But…
 Your
best
friends stab
you in the
back…
 You
never saw it
coming…
This is the plot of Julius Caesar.
Where did Shakespeare get this
idea?
Shakespeare’s source for the play.
Plutarch’s Parallel lives of Greeks & Romans
from a 1579 book by Sir Thomas North from
a French translation of the 1st century
Greek text.
Questions:
Why write a play about people from 16 centuries
earlier?
 Why might Shakespeare and the Elizabethans be
interested in the story of JC?
 How does the historical aspect of Caesar allow
Shakespeare to investigate the relationship
between power and responsibility?
 Why might the Elizabethans be interested in the
question - under what circumstance was it
permissible to overthrow one’s ruler by violence?

The Play,
The Man
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The play Julius Caesar
was written and
performed around 1600
by William Shakespeare.
The story was based on
the facts of a critical
turning point in Roman
history, when it went
from being a semidemocratic Republic to a
tyrannical dictatorship.
Historical overview of Roman
Politics

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509 B.C. The Republic was established.
Republic- government in which the citizens elect their
leaders
2 groups were elected to rule
Senate – formed of Patricians, the wealthy nobles
Tribunal– formed of Plebeians, the common people
Note: Legal code only applied to Roman citizens,
which didn’t include women, foreigners, or slaves!
@ 100 B.C. the Republic began to weaken &
eventually collapsed: a victim of class tensions, poor
leadership, and civil wars
Julius Caesar was born at this time.
Who was Julius Caesar?
The Real Caesar
Julius Caesar really existed and lived from
102 B.C. to 44 B.C.
 He was Rome’s military leader.
 Once Rome would take over a country, a
Roman governor would rule that place.
The Roman officials were often times very
cruel. Many times the generals who took
over the countries were asked to stabilize
the place. Many generals got powerhungry and turned on each other.

The First Triumvirate
Eventually the generals
became so powerful
that they established
the First Triumvirate to
rule Rome: Julius
Caesar, Pompey,
Crassus.
 However, Caesar turned
on Pompey & Crassus.

The Roman Empire
Caesar’s Conflicts
Pompey tried to sway the
Roman government to
overturn Caesar. Caesar
gained control by bribing the
people with his money.
Caesar took control of Rome
and went after Pompey.
 Pompey was murdered
before Caesar could get him
in Egypt.

Caesar’s Conquests
While in Egypt, Caesar fell in love with
Cleopatra.
 He made her the ruler of Egypt.
 Caesar went back to Rome a hero, and in
49 B.C. Julius Caesar declared himself
dictator having killed Crassus & Pompey.
 He made his friend, Brutus, a senator.

Caesar thought he was
invincible.
Talking about himself,
He wrote this on the
Temple walls…
“To the Unconquerable
God”
For many Romans,
having another king
sounded horrible.
They had been run by
a republican
government for 450
years. Caesar became
more pretentious.
 Senators made plans
to assassinate him on
March 15, 44 B.C.
 Shakespeare’s play
opens a month before
this…

The death of the Republic

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In 44 B.C. Julius Caesar was killed by
members of the Senate.
The Second Triumvirate was established of
Octavius (Julius’ nephew & heir), Marcus
Antonius, Lepidus, but civil war soon
threatened again.
In 29 B.C. Caesar Augustus (Octavius) was
crowned emperor.
The Republic never revived again despite
numerous attempts by the Senate to restore
power to the people.
Another Question:
Why should we study
Shakespeare?

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Examine eternal themes:
Analyze how JC is an inquiry into man’s political nature.
Discuss how Shakespeare wanted to investigate the
relationship between power and responsibility
Discuss under what circumstance was it permissible to
overthrow one’s ruler by violence
Examine literary worth of a master writer
Interpret (explicate – paraphrase) lines from
Shakespeare’s play by using internal clues in the play.
Associate us with allusions from Julius Caesar that will
be seen in other works.
D. Other dramatic and literary
devices

Pun: play on words involving

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
Word with more than one meaning
Words with similar sounds
Soliloquy

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Speech of moderate to long length
Spoken by one actor alone on stage (or not heard by other
actors)

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Aside
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Direct address by actor to audience
Not supposed to be overheard by other characters
C. Poetic technique

Iambic pentameter
5
units of rhythm per line
 primary rhythm is iambic ( U / )

Blank verse: unrhymed iambic
pentameter
 Usually
the nobility uses blank verse when
speaking
Elements of Fiction/Shakespearean
Tragedy
Exposition:
Characters & Setting
Act I
Rising Action:
Introduction of Conflicts
Act II
Climax:
Turning Point
Act III
In a tragedy, things usually go
from bad to worse in Act III.
Falling Action:
Conflict resolution begins to fall
into place. Result of the climax
Act IV
Denouement:
Main conflicts are resolved.
Act V
This act includes a catastrophe,
which is another climactic turning
point in the story line.
Special thanks to:
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http://bama.ua.edu/~peira003/jcpp_files/frame.htm
http://www.wellington.org/robbins/English9/SHAKESPEARE%20PO
WERPOINT_files/frame.htm
Google images for photos
And a variety of others sources throughout the years of Mrs. Ma’s
teaching. 