Tragedy: Julius Caesar

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infoWhy this? Julius Caesar introduces tragedy as a dramatic genre through concepts such as tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, peripeteia, and catharsis. The play’s political conflict and funeral speeches also provide a concentrated study of how rhetoric, dramatic form, and performance can shape judgement, manipulate a crowd, and alter events.

scheduleWhy now? Pupils now bring together their knowledge of persuasive appeals, Shakespearean drama, and language as a public act. Analysing and performing the speeches of Cassius, Brutus, and Antony develops the interpretive and oracy skills needed for Diverse Voices, while the play’s manipulation and political conflict anticipate Animal Farm.

Julius Caesar was written by William Shakespeare around 1599.
Shakespeare based the play on Plutarch's 'Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans'.
The play opens in Rome in 44 BCE, and its action later moves to Sardis and Philippi.
Rome at this time was a Republic, not yet an Empire.
Julius Caesar was a real Roman general who won the civil war of 49–45 BCE.
Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BCE.
Brutus can be interpreted as the play's tragic hero because he is a high-status Roman whose errors of judgement, including allowing Antony to speak at Caesar's funeral, lead to a reversal of fortune and his downfall.
Tragedy is a dramatic genre defined by the fall of a great figure.
Hamartia means a fatal flaw or tragic error of judgement.
Hubris means dangerous pride that leads to a downfall.
Catharsis is the release of emotion (pity and fear) at the end of tragedy.
Peripeteia means a reversal — the moment the tragic action turns.
Cassius begins persuading Brutus to join the conspiracy in Act 1 Scene 2, and the forged letters help to secure Brutus's decision in Act 2 Scene 1.
A soliloquy is a speech given by a character alone on stage, revealing inner thoughts.
Brutus's soliloquy in Act 2 Scene 1 begins 'It must be by his death'.
Caesar's last words are 'Et tu, Brute? Then fall, Caesar' — the only Latin in the play.
Brutus's funeral speech is written in prose; Antony's is in verse.
Antony's speech begins 'Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears'.
Verbal irony occurs when a speaker's words imply a meaning that contrasts with their literal meaning, as Antony's repeated claim that 'Brutus is an honourable man' increasingly implies the opposite.
After Antony's speech, the crowd riots and initially confuses Cinna the Poet with Cinna the conspirator, but kills him knowingly after he identifies himself as a poet.
Brutus and Cassius die at the Battle of Philippi in Act 5.
Antony's closing eulogy calls Brutus 'the noblest Roman of them all'.
Ethos is a persuasive appeal based on the speaker's character or credibility; Cassius builds ethos by presenting himself as a courageous eyewitness when he recounts rescuing Caesar from the Tiber.
Pathos is a persuasive appeal to the audience's emotions; Cassius uses pathos by invoking Brutus's ancestor to stir patriotic pride and hostility to kingship.
Logos is a persuasive appeal based on reasoning or evidence; Cassius uses logos when he compares the names 'Brutus' and 'Caesar' to argue that Caesar has no natural superiority.
Anaphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses, as in Brutus's repeated opening 'Who is here...' during his funeral speech.
A tricolon is a group of three parallel words, phrases, or clauses, as in Antony's address 'Friends, Romans, countrymen'.
A rhetorical question is asked for persuasive effect rather than to receive an answer, as when Brutus asks, 'Had you rather Caesar were living and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all free men?'
Antithesis places contrasting ideas in a balanced structure, as when Brutus says, 'Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more'.
Blank verse is unrhymed iambic pentameter — Shakespeare's default form for nobles.
Nobles typically speak in verse and commoners in prose — a Shakespearean status marker.

rocket_launchYou must be able to

Name and define the five conventions of tragedy (tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, catharsis, and peripeteia).
Quote from Julius Caesar accurately, with act and scene reference.
Explain how Cassius uses ethos, pathos, and logos to manipulate Brutus.
Distinguish between Brutus's prose and Antony's verse and explain the effect of each.
Identify anaphora, tricolon, verbal irony, rhetorical questions, and antithesis in the speeches of Cassius, Brutus, and Antony.
Analyse a soliloquy for what it reveals about a character's flaw.
Sustain a comparative argument on the rhetorical methods of Brutus and Antony.
Explain the effect of Caesar's Latin words 'Et tu, Brute?'.
Deliver a set-piece speech by Brutus, Antony, or Cassius with control of pace, pause, and eye contact.
Justify why Antony's speech directly causes the death of Cinna the Poet.
Justify an interpretation of Brutus as the tragic hero by explaining how his status, errors of judgement, reversal, and downfall fit the conventions of tragedy.
Use the vocabulary of tragedy and rhetoric accurately in written analysis.
Recognise a peripeteia in a play and explain its structural function.
Structure a two-part analytical response using PETAL paragraphs.
Perform a speech from memory (or near-memory) with vocal shifts marking rhetorical moves.

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