"I like this place and willingly could waste my time in it." - William Shakespeare

Friday, October 24, 2014

Julius Caesar Essay Topics





   
   1)      Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears
      
      The art of persuasion is a key component of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Most attempts at persuasion are effective and some are simply better than others. Focus on one or two instances when a character is persuading someone else. Analyze the specific language and tactics used by the speaker. Ultimately, what message does Shakespeare seem to be sending about the art of persuasion? How does it relate to the work as a whole? Possible segments of the text that can be focused on are
a.      Cassius speaking with Brutus (Act 1 Scene 2).
b.      Cassius speaking with Casca (Act 1 Scene 3).
c.       Brutus speaking with himself (Act 2 Scene 1).
d.      Portia speaking with Brutus (Act 2 Scene 1).
e.      Calpurnia speaking with Caesar (Act 2 Scene 2).
f.        Decius speaking with Caesar (Act 2 Scene 2).
g.      Brutus speaking to the Romans (Act 3 Scene 2).
h.     Antony speaking to the Romans (Act 3 Scene 2).

   2)     This God did shake

By wisdom, manhood, and by great labor,
From humble bed to royal majesty
Up rose he, Julius the conqueror,
Who won the Occident by land and sea,
By force of arms, or else by clear treaty,
And unto Rome made all this tributary;
And then of Rome the emperor was he,
Till Fortune came to be his adversary.
O mighty Caesar, who in Thessaly
Against great Pompey, father of yours in law,
That of the East had all the chivalry
From farthest places that the sun e'er saw

                                                                                                           -The Monk’s Tale

As seen in this excerpt from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the Monk describes Julius Caesar in a more positive light and as a man who upheld the values of chivalry. Shakespeare’s depiction of him has much more depth, and yet remains slightly ambiguous. Using specific parts of the text, conduct a character study of this Roman ruler. Ultimately, why does Shakespeare portray him in this way? What message does his portrayal convey about power and authority?


   3)     You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things

For she is fairer, and so deemed them all
Than Griselda, and tender is of age,
And fairer fruit between them shall fall,
And nobler, due to her high lineage.
Her brother too was of so fair a visage
The people were pleased in an instant,
Commending now the Marquis’ governance.

O storm-blown people, fickle and untrue,
Undiscerning, turning like a vane,
Delighting ever in all rumour new,
For like the moon itself, you wax and wane!
Full of chatter, worthy of all disdain!
Your judgement false, fitful in your ends;
A fool is he, who ever on you depends.

  Thus said the grave folk in that city,
When the people gazed up and down,
For they were glad of the novelty,
To have a new lady in their town.

-The Clerk’s Tale

As seen in the Clerk’s Tale, the commoners are hardly to be trusted in matters of state and authority. In Julius Caesar, one of the main characters is the populace of Rome. How does Shakespeare portray the citizens of Rome? Ultimately, what message is Shakespeare conveying about the credibility and reliability of the populace? How does this message speak to the work as a whole? Focus on specific parts of the text and do not merely summarize the plot.

   4)     An Honorable Man (AP Prompt):  

     The eighteenth-century British novelist Laurence Sterne wrote “No body, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man’s mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time.” In the beginning of Julius Caesar, Brutus’s mind is pulled in conflicting directions by two compelling obligations. In a well-organized essay, identify each of the two conflicting forces and explain how this conflict within Brutus illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole.

-         Typed Rough Draft (first two paragraphs) due Friday, October 31st.
-         Typed Final Draft due Friday, November 7th.




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