...beginning of the play, Marc Antony offers Julius Caesar the crown, which he refused trice. A Roman senator, Casca, describes the scene to Cassius and Brutus, two of the conspirators who assassinate Caesar. Caesar was not honorable in his reaction to being crowned because, given his power hungry nature, he was merely pretending to be turning it down. There is much to speculate about Caesar’s true intentions behind refusing the crown. Casca, being one of the conspirators, is openly critical of Caesar’s actions. Evidence of this can be seen in the following quote: “he put it by once: but, for all that, to my thinking, he would fain have had it.” (JC I.ii. 237-239) Casca thinks that Caesar really did want the crown but was just trying to feign modesty by refusing it. It’s not possible to know Caesar’s exact feelings, but it can be easily assumed that due to Caesar’s vain nature, Casca was right in saying that Caesar wanted the crown. Casca’s skepticism does not end there, though. He further explains the scene in discussing Caesar’s second crown refusal: “Then he offered it to him again; then he put it by again: but, to my thinking, he was very loath to lay his fingers off it.” (JC I.ii. 239-241) Casca is saying that Caesar hated to take his hands off of the crown but had to in order to keep up the ruse. Though this explanation is biased because of the fact that Casca is one of the ones conspirators, this is the only source of perspective from the event as Shakespeare did not...
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...People will kill themselves of will be killed for reasons that others can not comprehend. Some of those reasons are because of their beliefs of for the land or country that they love. For example the u.s has meany man and woman that has died for the freedom that the country has, because they love and beleven the country they are willing to die for it. Brutus was willing to die after he killed julius caesar because he was convinced it was for rome. He thought julius caesar was going to be a king of rome and take over the country and do all things for himself. This is an example of him saying he had no personal reason that was only for the good of rome. “It must be by his death, and for my part I know no personal cause to spurn at him But for...
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...Julius Caesar is a story about ambition. There are four specific incidents which demonstrate the "vaulting ambition" and desire for power in the character Julius Caesar. When Caesar comes back to Rome, when Marullus picks on the crowd when Casca is walking with Brutus, and when Calpurnia begs Caesar not to go to the Senate. All of these examples show that Julius Caesar is a play that shows ambition. In the exposition of the play, Caesar returns to Rome after having defeated Pompey's sons, who at one time was Caesar's friend and ally as they had both been powerful executives. Caesar's having gotten rid of Pompey's son is a sign that he does not want to have competition in his ambitious drive to power. In Act I, Scene 1, Marullus chides the others, asking them if they now "strew flowers in his [Caesar's] way That comes in triumph over Pompey's blood? (1.51-52) Caesar has wooed the crowd into loving him and turned them away from the deceased Pompey. Marullus dislikes Caesar gaining power. He knows that the crows is fickle and is easily swayed, just like Cassius and Brutus and the rest of the coup....
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...From the savage Neanderthal to the charismatic Julius Caesar, humans have selfishly betrayed one another since the dawn of time. Written by William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar portrays the tragedy of the Roman ruler. Deceived by his friends, Caesar is brutally murdered as the conspirators try to prevent him from ascending to the throne as the next leader of Rome. By placing their own egotistical interests and misconceptions before Rome’s, the conspirators wrongfully murdered Julius Caesar. Throughout the play, Brutus continually questions whether or not he should follow through with the plan to assassinate Caesar. He even makes the remark several times that Caesar personally did nothing to him saying, “It must be by his death; and for my part, I know no personal cause to spurn at him, but for the general. He would be crown'd: How that might change his nature, there's the question” (II.i.10). Brutus recognizes that other than his own fears for the future, Caesar has done nothing to deserve death. The conspirators repeatedly claim that because of Caesar’s unruly ambition, he would take the throne and expose his greedy, selfish side, although he has never shown any sign to actually having one. Convincing Brutus of this, they become obsessed with the idea that Julius Caesar would become a megalomaniac after his rise to the throne, making this the main incentive that the conspirators have against him, eventually making a rash decision to “sacrifice” him, supposedly for the good of...
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...Name _______________________ Date: ___________ Julius Caesar--Act I Reading and Study Guide--English II Honors I. LITERARY TERMS: Be able to define each term and apply each term to the play. ▪ blank verse ___________________________________________________________________ List characters who speak in verse ________________________________________________ ▪ prose _______________________________________________________________________ List characters who speak in prose ________________________________________________ **What possible reasons do some characters speak in prose and some speak in verse? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ▪ tragedy ______________________________________________________________________ ▪ pun _________________________________________________________________________ Example from Act I, Scene I: ____________________________________________________ ▪ conflict ______________________________________________________________________ External: 1. _______________ vs. ________________ 2. _______________ vs. _______________ 3. _______________ vs. ________________ Internal: 4. ________________ vs. ________________ ▪ soliloquy (s[pic]-l[pic]l[pic][pic]-kw[pic]) _________________________________________________________ Example: ____________________________________________________________________ ...
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...Julius Caesar full title · The Tragedy of Julius Caesar author · William Shakespeare type of work · Play genre · Tragic drama, historical drama language · English time and place written · 1599, in London date of first publication · Published in the First Folio of 1623, probably from the theater company’s official promptbook rather than from Shakespeare’s manuscript publisher · Edward Blount and William Jaggard headed the group of five men who undertook the publication of Shakespeare’s First Folio narrator · None climax · Cassius’s death (V.iii), upon ordering his servant, Pindarus, to stab him, marks the point at which it becomes clear that the murdered Caesar has been avenged, and that Cassius, Brutus, and the other conspirators have lost in their attempt to keep Rome a republic rather than an empire. Ironically, the conspirators’ defeat is not yet as certain as Cassius believes, but his death helps bring about defeat for his side. protagonists · Brutus and Cassius antagonists · Antony and Octavius setting (time) · 44 b.c. setting (place) · Ancient Rome, toward the end of the Roman republic point of view · The play sustains no single point of view; however, the audience acquires the most insight into Brutus’s mind over the course of the action falling action · Titinius’ realization that Cassius has died wrongly assuming defeat; Titinius’ suicide; Brutus’s discovery of the two corpses; the final struggle between Brutus’s men and the troops...
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...Julius Caesar Scrapbook Brutus By Carleigh Gifford For Mr. Young English Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 Act 1 Dear Diary, Caesar has returned from his victorious battle against Pompei. All of the commoners of Rome welcome Caesar back with great joy because they love him. On the other hand, I heard that the tribunes were very unhappy that Caesar was back and that they were destroying all of the decorations that were made to honour him. When Caesar entered with all of his friends, he was warned by the soothsayer to beware of the ides of March. After hearing the crowd go wild, Casca informed Cassius and I that Caesar was offered the crown three times and refused it all three times. This confused me a little bit because I know how much Caesar wanted to be emperor of Rome. I want to put some thought into my decision to make sure I do the right thing. This evening, the weather was very strange and violent. Everyone thought that it was a bad sign, but Cassius truly believed that it was to scare off Caesar and that no one else should take it as seriously. I can’t sleep, because I can’t get what Cassius had said to me, off my mind. Is killing Caesar really for the good of Rome? Brutus Act 2 Dear Diary, Today I have decided to agree with Cassius that killing Caesar would be the right thing to do. I’m only agreeing to this because I truly believe that murdering Caesar would be for the good of Rome. If the conspirators and I don’t kill him...
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...Caesar's triumphant return from defeating Pompey's sons at the battle of Munda. Two tribunes, Flavius and Marrullus, discover the commoners celebrating, insult them for their change in loyalty from Pompey to Caesar, and break up the crowd. They also plan on removing all decorations from Caesar's statues and ending any other festivities. In the next scene, during Caesar's parade on the feast of Lupercal, a soothsayer warns Caesar to "Beware the ides of March", a warning he disregards. The action then turns to the discussion between Brutus and Cassius. In this conversation, Cassius attempts to influence Brutus' opinions into believing Caesar should be killed, preparing to have Brutus join his conspiracy to kill Caesar. They then hear from Casca that Mark Antony has offered Caesar the crown of Rome three times, and that each time Caesar refused it, fainting after the last refusal. Later, in act two, Brutus joins the conspiracy, although after much moral debate, eventually deciding that Caesar, although his friend and never having done anything against the people of Rome, should be killed to prevent him from doing anything against the people of Rome if he were ever to be crowned. He compares Caesar to "A serpents egg/ which hatch'd, would, as his kind, grow mischievous,/ and kill him in the shell.", and decides to join Cassius in killing Caesar. Caesar's assassination is one of the most famous scenes of the play, occurring in Act 3, scene 1. After ignoring the soothsayer, as well...
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...the base of a planet called “Otnorot”, and is going to be awarded the Noble Peace Prize for his courageousness. People from all over that world are celebrating his victory by making his return an international holiday. However, others from various countries are protesting against Caesar because he has killed off all the aliens which could have been useful for scientific research to advance our planet. Casca, a fellow protestor, convinces Brutus, who is another astronaut who was a part of Caesar’s mission, to join him to kill Caesar on March 15 when he accepts his award, and swipe him away from his power. When Caesar is about to go accept his award, his wife, Calpurnia, has a dream about her husbands’ death. Caesar is alarmed, and now has to decide whether he should listen to his wife, or go accept his prize which also comes with his death. Although Caesar has many people who support him such as Mark Antony, one of his best friends, Octavius Caesar, his adopted son, and Lepidus, who was also another friend of his, there are also many others who are against him such as Cassius, Casca, and Brutus who are all a part of the protest to kill him. The futures of all these characters are being threatened by jealousy, ambition, leading to many consequences they need to...
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...Plutarch's vivid writings on Julius Caesar's death, one of the most important moments in Roman history, has been a useful historical source for scholars threw out time. It inspired William Shakespeare's enactment of that fateful day. What made that day so eventful was that the Emperor Julius Caesar was stabbed repeatedly by who he claimed to be some of his closest friends. Plutarch's imagery from his writings helped display the horror that was Caesars assassination. There were many conspirators that took part in the assassination including one of Julius's most favored friends Brutus, who was also said to be one of Julius's illegitimate children. Brutus was one of the captains of the conspiracy and was heir to the Empire. Though the conspiracy...
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...Many people would rather have an enemy who admits they hate them instead of a friend who secretly put them down. A backstabbing friend who puts people down is often seen in literature. Caesar, from Julius Caesar, was backstabbed and murdered by his best friend Brutus. Unfortunately, Brutus made the wrong decision by murdering his beloved friend. Brutus, from the play Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, was a backstabbing friend and was wrong to kill Caesar because he acted too soon, and Caesar was his bestfriend. Brutus was wrong to kill Caesar because it was too soon. Casca says to Brutus, "Ay, marry, was't, and he put it by thrice, every time gentler than the other" (1,2,239). Casca tells Brutus that Caesar was offered to be crowned three times. Caesar was not even king yet before the conspirators murdered him. They never gave him a chance to see if he was going to turn out how they thought he would be. For all they know, Caesar could have turned out to be a great king and ruler for not only them, but also for the people of Rome. In addition, Brutus explains to Lucius that when people gain power, they look down at their past and forget about it. He then says, "so Caesar may" (2,21,28). This means that Caesar has not done anything bad yet, and therefore Brutus killed Caesar too soon. If they were to convince Caesar before he was king to rule how they wanted him to, that clearly would have been the best alternative so that Caesar did not get out of hand with power. Brutus was also...
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...Julius Caesar Summary When the play opens, Julius Caesar has just returned to Rome after defeating the sons of Pompey in battle. Before we go any further, let's pause for a brief Roman history lesson. Pompey (a.k.a. "Pompey the Great") was a member of the "first triumvirate," and he and Caesar used to share power over Rome. Then Caesar and Pompey got into a big fight. Pompey lost. When he tried to run away to Egypt in 48 B.C., he was assassinated. But Caesar still had a problem: Pompey's sons were determined to avenge their father's death and overthrow Caesar. So Caesar tracked down Pompey's sons in Spain and stomped them out at the Battle of Munda in 45 B.C. Now back to the play. As Caesar parades through the streets of Rome like a rock star, the higher-ups in Rome are nervous about his growing power and his popularity with the commoners, who have abandoned their work to celebrate Caesar's triumphant return. Caesar seems headed toward absolute power, which is a big no-no in the Roman Republic. Meanwhile, the festival of the Lupercal (a big party where people run around in goatskin g-strings in the middle of February) is in full swing. Caesar is chilling at the festival with his entourage when a soothsayer runs up and says "beware the Ides of March" (meaning, "hey, watch your back on March 15"). Caesar looks at the soothsayer and is all "whatever man." While Caesar parties with his fans, Brutus and Cassius huddle together and talk trash about him. Cassius is all bent out of shape...
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...reflect the liberties that Shakespeare took in writing his own version. For the most part, the changes are not so much words, but rather the physical actions of the characters and their dramatized presentation. Plutarch’s source states that Caesar’s entrance into the Senate house was cause for all members of the Senate to stand, and as a result of this, the men surrounded Caesar standing, before they stabbed him. In Shakespeare’s version, the men each come forward and kneel before Caesar prior to the violent stabbing. The kneeling is reflective of their pleading for Plubius Cimber’s return from banishment. The brutality of the stabbing is most likely a dramatic effect intended to grasp the reader’s attention. In the subsequent moments after Casca first stabs Caesar, the source indicates that the wound was neither great nor mortal because Caesar was able to take hold of Casca’s sword and cry out in Latin. Shakespeare, the dramatist, would have it differently. In his version, he uses an original stage direction to point to the stabbing action instead. It was later...
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...To begin with, there are many differences between the dialogue shown and the painting known as “Caesar Victorious”, however as many differences there are there are equal amount of intriguing similarities. Therefore, the dialogue shown above from the play Julius Caesar, illustrates the characters Casca, Brutus, and Cassius talking about the marvelous celebration that is given to the victorious Caesar. On the other hand, the famous painting known as “Caesar Victorious”, it illustrates the excitement of the people of Rome and how they celebrate to their victorious leader. Furthermore, the characters from the piece of dialogue demonstrate an impression of surprise and jealous towards the celebration given to Caesar. As a result, in contrary, the...
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...In William Shakespeare’s woeful play Julius Caesar, Roman nobleman and friend of Caesar Marcus Brutus embodies the customary role of tragic hero, a flawed character solely responsible for his own downfall resulting from a series of unfortunate and poorly made choices. As a first example, Shakespeare illustrates Brutus’ nobility, a prime and essential characteristic of a tragic hero, when conspirator Casca describes him as “ ‘sit[ting] high in all the people’s hearts. . . . His countenance, like richest alchemy, / Will change to virtue and worthiness’ ” (Shakespeare I.iii.157, 159-160). Certainly, through Casca’s description of Brutus’ honor, status, and aristocracy, Shakespeare confirms his social standing within Roman society, a key trait...
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