Julius Caesar: Act I Reading and Study Guide

I. Vocabulary: Be able to define the following words and understand them when they appear in the play.

Wherefore- for the cause or reason (why)

Exeunt- used as a stage direction to indicate and two or more performers leave the stage

Vulgar- characterized by ignorance of or lack of good breeding

• What part of speech is vulgar when used by Flavius in line 72? NOUN

Construe- to give the meaning or intention of ; explain; to interpret

II. Literary Terms: Be able to define each term and apply each term to the play.

blank verse: unrhymed verse or lines.

• List characters who speak in verse- FLAVIUS, FIRST COMMONER

prose: written, non rhythmic literature

• List characters who speak in prose- CAESAR

**What possible reason do some characters speak in prose and some speak in verse? Because it's a play from the older century's.

tragedy- disaster

pun- play on words

• Example from Act I, scene I:

conflict- fight, warfare

External: 1. man vs. man

2. man vs. society

3. man vs. nature

Internal: 4. man vs. self

Sililoquy: a long speech given by a character while alone on stage to reveal his/her private thoughts or intentions.

Example: Casca begins plotting how to win over Brutus in a siloloquy that begins with these lines: Well, Brutus, thou art noble; yet I see thy honorable mettle may be wrought from that it is disposed

iambic meter:

iambic pentameter: a fixed pattern of rhythem, or meter in which most lines contain 5 unstressed syllables each followed by a teased syllable.

metaphor: saying something is what it's really not

Example: time flys

simile: uses "like or as" to compare something

Example: Her teeth were as white as snow.

III. Questions: Answer the following questions:

Background-

1. Where and when was Shakespeare born? April 23, 1564 in Stanford-Upon-Avon, England
2. What theatre did Shakespeare help build? Globe Theatre-Opened in 1599, also known as "The Wooden O".
3. When did he die? April 23, 1616
4. In what historical period was Shakespeare living? Who was the ruler of England at that time? The Elizabethan Period.... Queen Elizabeth I was ruler at that time.
5. What three types of plays did Shakespeare write? Give and example of each. Tragic Comedies, Romances and Problem plays.
6. What was it like to go to a play during Shakespeare's time? An honor
7. What historian did Shakespeare use as a source for writing Julius Caesar? Queen Elizabeth
8. When and where did Julius Caesar live? Rome- 100 to 44 BC
9. Who is Pompey? Although he is not a character in the play, why is he important to the plot? He was Julius Caesar's enemy

Scene 1:

10. What is the setting? What holiday is being celebrated? Rome and Indes of March

12. Who are Marullus and Flavius? Members of the Council

13. Why do they want to drive the commoners from the street? Because they do not like Caesar or his celebration.

14. What else do Marullus and Flavius do to further hinder the celebration of Caesar's victory? Ruin the stutues.

Scene 2:

15. What does Caesar tell Antony to do to Calpurnia? Keep her at the house

16. Why might Caesar ask Antony in front of everyone else? Because he is his most loyal friend

17. What is soothsayer? Of what does he warn Caesar? Someone who can predict the future- Beware the Ides of March.

18. What does ides mean? The 15th of every month in the Roman Calendar

19. Does Marcus Brutus like Caesar? What does Brutus think of Caesar's rise to power? Use lines from the play to support your answer. He respects him- Brutus is Caesar's good friend, but does not want him in power- No, Cassius for the eye cannot see itself, except when it's reflected by something else.

20. Brutus says, "For let the gods so speed me as I love/ The name of honor more than I fear death." What do these lines imply Brutu's most important value in life? That he fears the man in power, but also respects him.

21. What story does Cassius tell Brutus? He and Caesar had a swimming race in the Tiber River and he had to save Caesar's life.

22. What is Cassius point in telling this story? He is trying to convince Brutus that Caesar is not as great as he seems.

23. What is Caesar's opinion of Cassius? Why does he feel this way? He thinks too much and is dangerous, he reads to much.

24. What handicap does Caesar reveal about himself when speaking to Antony? One of his ears is deaf.

25. How many times was Caesar offered a coronet, or a small crown? 3 times

26. What was Ceasar's reaction to the offering, according to Casca? He fainted and fell down.

27. What sickness does Caesar have? Epolopsy

28. What happens to Marullus and Flavius? They were put to death

29. What does Cassius plan to do to convince Brutus to conspire against Caesar? He is going to manipulate him

Scene 3:

30. What unusual events occur during the storm? In his dream Caesar saw a slave who cought people on fire.

31. What meaning does Cassius interpret fromt he storm? That is was a sign that something bas was going to happen.

32. According to Casca, what are the senators planning to do to Caesar tomorrow? Kill Caesar

33. Who is definitely part of the conspiracy?

1. Metellus 4. Marullus

2. Casca 5. Flavius

3. Cassius 6. Coronel

Shakespeare: Terms to know

Define these terms found on p. 686-688.

1. verse drama- plays in which the dialogue consists almost entirely of poetry.
2. blank verse- unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter.
3. iambic pentameter- a fixed pattern of rhythem, or meter, in which most lines contain 5 unstressed syllables each followed by a teased syllable.
4. soliloquy- a long speech given by a character while alone on stage to reveal his/her private thoughts or intentions.
5. aside- a characters quiet remark to the audience or another character that no one else on stage is supposed to hear.
6. rhetorical devices- use language and sound to appeal to the audience's emotions and make the speech more convincing and memorable.

• Repetition of words and sounds
• Parallelism, or repeated grammatical structures
• Rhetorical questions, or questions requiring no answer

7. irony- exits when there is a contrast between appearance and reality

8. dramatic irony- the audience or reader knows something that one or more characters do not know.

9. pun- play on words, jokes that suggest two or more meanings of a word

10. allusion- referring to historical, biblical and litarary, references well known people, places or things.

You should also know:

1. ambition: your drive to succeed
2. vanity: vane (think you are all that)
3. envy: jealousy
4. revenge: pay back

In your opinion, is it right to ask a close friend to do something dangerous? Explain.

Yes, if the dangerous thing involves a life or death situation. You hope that the close friend can understand and help you out.

Shakespeare- Grade 10 Study Questions

England in Shakespeare's Day [p. 683]

• William Shakespeare is the greatest Play writter of all time.
• He lived in the country of England during the Renaissance.
• He was born in the year 1564, when Elizabeth I was queen of England.
• England was established as a world power in 1588, when the English defeated and attempted invasion by The Spanish Armada.
• Plays in which dialogue is mostly poetry is called versa drama.

Theatre in Shakespeare's Day [p. 684]

• In the 1590's, Shakespeare's theater group called the Lord Chamberlain's Men.
• The new London home of the group was a place called the Globe Theatre.
• When Queen Elizabeth I died, the group's new sponsor was King James I and the group changed it's name to the King's Men.
• The Globe Theatre was located on the banks of the Thames River.
• The theatre was 3 stories, made of wood, and could hold as many as 3,000 spectators. Customers, called groundlings stood on the pit by the stage and paid the lowest price for admission. Richer patrons sat in balconies, also called inner galleries.
• Most theatres in that day had no artifial lighting or heating, so performances were given in daylight in warmer weather.

Most commonly quoted phrases came from Shakespeare's plays. Some examples are:

"Friends, Romans, Country Men, lend me your ears" from Julius Caesar

"O Romeo, O Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?" from Romeo and Juliet

"To be or not to be" from Hamlet

Are we victims of fate or can we create our own destiny? 200 Word Response

I think that things just happen sometimes, and there isn't anything you can do about it. Although, you can set yourself up for your future. It is just based on the decisions you make. Fate is, what happens no matter what. For example, when two people that do not know each other, fall in love, it is fate that brought them together. When someone says, "create you own destiny", it's possible. If you do all your work in school, pay attention, and make good grades you will graduate and then move on to college. After college, you will have opportunities to fullfill your career and make good money. If you play around in school and don't do anything, you are more than likely will not graduate. You will not go to college, you will probably end up being a drop out. Fate is what you can not control, it just happens. Sometimes your fate will change whether you make good or bad decisions. I think that we shouldn't try to plan our futures, it just takes the fun out of living. You should live your life to the fullest and have no regrets. Of course, that does not mean break all the rules. It just means, have fun and make your life worth living.

Lord of the Flies Blog Response 2 (300-400 words)

Good or Bad

A lot of the time you will hear people going around and saying that someone is bad, for something that they did. In my opinion, no that is not true. Nobody is really good or bad, it is all about the choices that they made. If you choose to do drugs, then people will think badly about you. On the other hand, if you choose not to, people think you are good. It is also a matter of how you represent yourself. If you do not take care of yourself, people notice and tend to talk. Teenagers love to gossip! It is just what they do, but does that really make them bad people? No, it doesn't really, although it is not a good decision to talk about other people.

Every person will make their share of bad decisions, even if it is little ones. There is still good in everyone. In the Lord of the Flies, you see Ralph who really wants to be organized and keep order on the Island. He tries to instill good, even in bad times. His main focus is to protect and keep the boys as safe as possible. Piggy, also tries to see the good in everyone. Always willing to help the littluns. He and Ralph try to keep the camp organized and under certain laws, as their main goal is to be rescued. Jack, on the other hand lets fear overcome him. Therefore, the choices he makes turns him into a bad person. Hunting consumes him, as he thrives for the kill. He forms his own tribe and turns them against the others. Jack's fear of not ever being rescued allowed terrible things to happen and let death come to some.

In our society today, people in general love to judge. Are people essentially bad or essentially good? Choices they make determine that...not the actual person. Every person possesses good and bad, its nature. In the past fifty years, we have seen our World Trade Center go down (911), it was a result of people fearing the United States and what we represent. Fear, causes people to loose focus and do terrible things. However, in the last fifty years we see our own community come together and raise thousands of dollars to help find a cure and raise awareness of cancer. People loving one another and putting differences aside and helping.

You know the old saying, "You can't judge a book by its cover"? It's true! You should not judge at all. So in perspective there is really no essentially good or essentially bad, it is how you CHOOSE to live your life and determine what classification you fall in, for the decision you made.

A friend can do you wrong and you think to yourself that they're bad. When really, it's not them that is so bad, it's just the choice they made. In life today we have to make so many decisions and what makes them good or bad is the choice we make. How can we determine if Jack is such a bad person? We base our decision on what we read, but were we there? No, until we walk a mile in someones shoes, we should not judge them. I think, Jack feared dying so bad, that he did what he felt he had to do to survive. As well as Ralph, he did what he had to do to survive. Two boys, two totally different decisions and it was all from choices they made. Whether it be bad or good. Only one person can judge their decision.

Lord of the Flies DQ's Chapter 12

1.Who was the "savage whose image refused to blend with the ancient pitcure of a boy in shorts and shirt?"
Bill
2.Why would "bathing [Ralph's] injuries have to wait?
Because you can't listen/hear for naked feet if you were splashing in the water
3.What did Ralph do to the "Lord of the flies?"
Hit it and broke it
4.Who had the "memory of a new and shameful loyalty."
Samneric
5.Who sharpened a stick on both ends intending to use it on Ralph?
Roger
6.How did they try to get Ralph out of the thicket?
By rolling large rocks into it


-Ralph had 3 different strategies for 'escaping' the hunters. What were they?
7. Climb a tree
8. Break the line
9. To hide and let them pass

Who said it?

10. "Nobody killed, I hope? Any dead bodies?
The Naval Officer
11. "They are going to hunt you tomorrow."
Samneric

Lord of the Flies DQ's Chapter 11

1. Who "protested out of the heart of civilization?"
Samneric
2.Who killed Piggy?
Roger
3. How did Piggy die?
He was hit by a rock
Who said it?

4. "After all we aren't savages really, and being rescued isn't a game."
Ralph
5."Well, we won't be painted, because we aren't savages."
Ralph
6. You're a beast and a swine and a bloody, bloody thief!"
Ralph
7."See? See? That's what you'll get! I meant that! There isn't a tribe your you anymore! The conch is gone-"
Jack
8. "Which is better, law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?
Piggy