Download Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

JULIUS CAESAR BY
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Background and Character List
Think/Pair/Share
What do YOU think makes a person a good leader?
Take a moment to jot down 2-3 qualities you think are
most important in a leader.
Turn quickly and quietly to your shoulder partner and
discuss. Be sure to listen to his/her responses and be
prepared to share your thoughts with the class.
Instructions:
As each slide comes up, you will
take notes on the text in BLUE.
Please title this section “Julius
Caesar Background Info.”
You will be responsible for this
information on upcoming quizzes.
The Roman Empire stretched from Britain to
North Africa and from Persia to Spain.
Rome was a republic
This means that it was a government in which citizens
elected representatives to rule on their behalf.
In 509 B.C.E Romans overthrew their Etruscan
conquerors and established a republic
What do you think about this system of government?
Roman against Roman
By 44 B.C.E, Rome suffered from constant fighting
between military leaders and the senators whom they
owed allegiance
There also existed a sharp division between citizens
including the wealthy, noble patricians, who were
represented by the senate and the poorer masses,
called the plebeians
Rich vs. Poor
Patricians ran the show. They elected the two consuls,
or, the two men who held the highest positions in the
government.
Senators were all patricians
Plebeians had no say in the government for centuries
The Scene…
Based on a true story, this play takes
place in Ancient Rome in 44 B.C.E,
where Julius Caesar
has just returned in
triumph from war.
Caesar
The crowd hails him as their new leader, but
there are some Romans who fear he will
become too powerful of a ruler, more like
an emperor, and they will lose the
liberties they have enjoyed as citizens of
a free state.
A small group of men conspire to assassinate Caesar,
believing they are acting to preserve the freedoms
of the Roman Republic.
Your Task…
On the next slide, you will see the names of all the
primary characters. Try and pick out the two
primary leaders of the conspiracy, and the five
other conspirators.
Then…try to find the two female characters.
You don’t need to write anything down…simply talk
with a partner to choose characters.
Find: two lead conspirators, five additional
conspirators, and two female characters…
Artemidorus
Lepidus
Brutus
Casca
Soothsayer
Julius Caesar
Calpurnia
Cassius
Cicero
Lucilius
Cato
Portia
Metellus Cimber Marullus Decius
Octavius
Volumnius
Lucius
Pindarus
Cinna
Messala
Flavius Trebonius
Strato
Cinna, a poet
Mark Antony
Titinius
Clitus
Instructions:
1.
As the slides describing each
character come up, continue taking
notes on the information in BLUE in
your notebook. Head this section
“Characters.”
Julius Caesar
He is the head of the Roman
state. He is a great
soldier, and has just
returned from a series of
wars during which he
defeated the sons of the
previous Roman ruler,
Pompey.
He is popular with the
crowds that stand in the
streets to greet his
triumphal return, cheering
and clapping. Calpurnia
is Caesar’s wife.
Mark Antony
He is a loyal friend and supporter of Caesar, who
he believes will make a good ruler of Rome., He
will be one of the three rulers of Rome, after
Caesar’s death, and he gathers
an army to fight the
conspirators
Brutus
He is a respected Roman, a
patrician, a man of
intelligence and honor, who is
a personal friend of Caesar,
yet wonders whether, as a
ruler, he will overstep his
powers and become a tyrant
rather than a good head of
state.
He is the descendent of Brutus
who helped establish the
Roman republic
He is finally convinced to join the
conspirators as their leader.
Portia is Brutus’ wife.
Cassius
Cassius is one of the leaders
of the conspiracy. He is
suspicious of Caesar from
the beginning, gathers
others into the band, and
convinces Brutus to join
with them in their plans for
assassination.
He and Brutus flee Rome
later, each gathers an
army, and they try to
conquer Mark Antony’s
army.
Octavius and Lepidus are the other two who join with
Mark Antony to rule Rome as a triumvirate.
Casca, Trebonious,
Decius, Cinna
and Metallus
Cimber are the
other members of
the conspiracy,
each of whom
Participates in the
murder