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
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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