1 / 16

Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar. Mrs. French English II. Julius Caesar. Written in 1599 Setting: Rome’s transition from a Republic to an Empire From 509 BC for four and a half centuries, Rome was a Republic Two elected consuls that served for a year

ardara
Download Presentation

Julius Caesar

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Julius Caesar Mrs. French English II

  2. Julius Caesar • Written in 1599 • Setting: Rome’s transition from a Republic to an Empire • From 509 BC for four and a half centuries, Rome was a Republic • Two elected consuls that served for a year • Powerful Senate which proposed laws and oversaw officials

  3. Expansion of Republic • Expanded through wars, spread over great areas • Generals became more powerful and began to ignore the Senate • They felt important • They brought in riches, land, and slaves

  4. 60 B. C. Important People • Crassus, wealthy nobleman • Pompey the Great and Julius Caesar, two generals • When Crassus died, Pompey and Caesar both wanted power and control • Both grew in strength • 48 B. C. Caesar overtook Pompey in the battle field

  5. Julius Caesar • Play opens in 44 B. C. • Caesar is returning victorious from war campaign and Pompey’s defeat • There is a time crunch here between the parade the Feast of Lupercal • Opening scene shows there are still Pompey supporters

  6. Julius Caesar • Caesar would like to establish a monarchy, rather than a republic • He pretends he doesn’t want a crown offered him • Many people (Brutus included) do not want to see the people-representing republic end.

  7. For the Sake of Interest • Shakespeare took an historical subject (from Plutarch’s History) • He changed some incidents and some timings

  8. Issues addressed • Shakespeare confronts difficult issues of that time in history, his time, our time • What form of government IS best? • When does power become tyranny? • How can a person balance personal concerns with public interest? • Is assassination ever justified?

  9. Roman Times

  10. The Five Act Play • Act I – EXPOSTION • You will learn all you need to know for the play; everything you learn has a purpose; it may get confusing, but will play out

  11. The Five Act Play • Act II – RISING ACTION • Situations keep advancing and getting more complicated

  12. The Five Act Play • Act III – The Climax • The turning Point of the play; things can no longer continue as they were and the story line moves toward the conclusion. Outcome will begin to become clear.

  13. The Five Act Play • Act IV – FALLING ACTION • The play begins to unwind and the audience begins to see the resolution

  14. The Five Act Play • RESOLUTION -- Everything is resolved. To the Elizabethans, this means • Evil is corrected • Order is restored • Justice is meted out • Harmony and balance have been established

  15. Tragedy • English plays grew out of Greek theatre • To the ancient Greeks -- • A tragedy is not a sad story • The audience doesn’t go home sad, but enlightened: they have learned something

  16. Tragic Hero • Tragic hero has a flaw in his character that leads to his own downfall • The tragic flaw (the character’s weakness) makes him make bad decisions. • Do any characters in this play have a tragic flaw? • Could these flaws be corrected?

More Related