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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.
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Introduction to the playJulius 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.
Your best friends stab you in the back… You never saw it coming… But…
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 • 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 semi-democratic Republic to a tyrannical dictatorship.
Historical overview of Roman Politics • 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.
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 power-hungry 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.
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 • 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? • 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 • Word with more than one meaning • Words with similar sounds • Soliloquy • Speech of moderate to long length • Spoken by one actor alone on stage (or not heard by other actors) • Aside • 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
Special thanks to: • http://bama.ua.edu/~peira003/jcpp_files/frame.htm • http://www.wellington.org/robbins/English9/SHAKESPEARE%20POWERPOINT_files/frame.htm • Google images for photos • And a variety of others sources throughout the years of Mrs. Ma’s teaching.
