Student_Activity

Act II
Brutus has
the respect and admiration of all, and Caesar is his personal friend.
Yet he embarks on a
course of treachery.
How do you explain his behavior?
Explain Brutus’ reasons for his actions.

Act III
Lines 148–163 of Act III, Scene i, contain Antony’s first public words following the assassination of Caesar. Examine the monologue carefully.
Describe Antony’s message and tone.
What does he hope to accomplish with this speech?
What are Antony’s motives?
Why doesn’t Shakespeare have Antony deliver this speech as a soliloquy,
with no other characters on stage?

Act IV
What specifically is the conflict between Antony and Brutus and Cassius. What drives Antony to battle with Brutus and Cassius?
What in Antony’s character makes him
a difficult enemy to have?
At what point in Act IV does Antony reveal his character?

Act V
How does Antony’s attitude toward Brutus change by the end
of Act V?
What is the reason
for this change? According to Antony, why were Brutus’ actions against Caesar different from those of the other conspirators?

Finally
Write an essay in which you discuss Brutus as a tragic hero.
What are his heroic qualities?
When in the play does he exhibit these
qualities?
What is his tragic flaw? When in the play is this flaw most obvious?
Why is his death so tragic?

	Beware the Ides of March! MR. TIGHE ENGLISH III
Welcome to your battle with Julius Caesar!	Seek the truth to each question with the clues and hints given.	Then let the hunt begin.
QUESTION	CLUES	THE QUEST FOR TRUTH
Act I In this play, Shakespeare uses the superstitions of ancient Romans to foreshadow what is going to happen. Describe some of these events or omens and how they are related to the situation in Rome in Act I, and how Shakespeare uses them to create drama.	A soothsayer makes a prediction, and a number of unusual, apparently natural, phenomena occur. The characters respond to them as Romans surely would have. Casca and Cicero discuss troubling events. feast of Lupercal: An ancient Roman festival celebrated on February 15. stars: Destinies. The stars were thought to control people’s lives.	I CAME
Act II Brutus has the respect and admiration of all, and Caesar is his personal friend. Yet he embarks on a course of treachery. How do you explain his behavior? Explain Brutus’ reasons for his actions.	Brutus is a patriot and a nobleman, well off and well thought of in Roman society. In the play, there is clearly some support for Caesar as sole ruler of Rome, but Brutus is anxious. Perhaps the tragedy of Caesar and Brutus could have been avoided if there had been some guarantee of rights for citizens such as Brutus, some check on the emperor’s power.	I SAW
Act III Lines 148–163 of Act III, Scene i, contain Antony’s first public words following the assassination of Caesar. Examine the monologue carefully. Describe Antony’s message and tone. What does he hope to accomplish with this speech? What are Antony’s motives? Why doesn’t Shakespeare have Antony deliver this speech as a soliloquy, with no other characters on stage?	He has just gained permission to speak to the conspirators in safety. In his oration, how does Antony show that the conspirators were not honorable ? "When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept; Ambition should be made of sterner stuff." Antony’s speech at Caesar’s funeral is interrupted by the plebeians’ reactions in several places. Why does Antony point to the wounds on Caesar’s body and the tears in his cloak and identify whose dagger made each one?	I CONQUERED
Act IV What specifically is the conflict between Antony and Brutus and Cassius. What drives Antony to battle with Brutus and Cassius? What in Antony’s character makes him a difficult enemy to have? At what point in Act IV does Antony reveal his character?	They killed Caesar to end corruption; now they do not have the right to corrupt themselves. Brutus and Cassius call each other names and argue. Cassius accuses Brutus of having wronged him. Cassius feels that Brutus is being overcritical of minor faults. Brutus thinks that Cassius lowered himself.
Act V How does Antony’s attitude toward Brutus change by the end of Act V? What is the reason for this change? According to Antony, why were Brutus’ actions against Caesar different from those of the other conspirators?	"Flatterers! Now, Brutus, thank yourself; / This tongue had not offended so today, / If Cassius might have ruled." What do Brutus and Cassius say to each other before they depart for battle? “This was the noblest Roman of them all. All the conspirators save only he Did that they did in envy of great Caesar; He, only in a general honest thought And common good to all, made one of them.”
Finally Write an essay in which you discuss Brutus as a tragic hero. What are his heroic qualities? When in the play does he exhibit these qualities? What is his tragic flaw? When in the play is this flaw most obvious? Why is his death so tragic?	A tragedy has a central action and a main character who is considered noble but who has a character flaw, or weakness, that brings about his or her downfall. The downfall of that character illustrates the theme of the tragedy— the meaning of the central action and the main character’s recognition of that meaning and its consequences. The theme of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is perhaps best stated by Messala : “O Error, soon conceived, / Thou never com’st unto a happy birth, / But kill’st the mother that engend’red thee!” In other words, a grave error, once planned and committed, will never come to any good.
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