Julius Caesar Act II - Vocabulary Words (10/30/14)

You are responsible for the following vocabulary words for Julius Caesar, Act II:

vile
apprehensive
repeal
compel
mutiny
ingratitude
legacy
malice
consent
oration
render
banish
reverence
appease
colossus

Julius Caesar - Act II: Review Questions (10/24/14)

Scene 1

1. What are Brutus’ thoughts about Ceasar as he broods about the night? What does Brutus mean by the following lines: “It is the bright day that brings for the adder/and that craves way walking”?
2. How does the letter thrown in through the window affect Brutus?
3. Explain the message in the letter, “Speak, strike, redress.”
4. Explain what Brutus means when he addresses the conspiracy. (11. 80-84, Page 31.
5. What arguments regarding Marc Antony are presented by Cassius and Brutus?
6. Which of the two arguments (#5) seem more logical to you?
7. What is the group’s decision regarding Marc Anthony?
8. What does Brutus mean in lines 179-181 (page 34) regarding Ceasar?
9. What does Portia beg her husband to do?
10. What argument does Portia use to persuade her husband?
11. What has Portia done to prove her strength to Brutus?

Scene II

12. What request does Calphurnia make of Ceasar?
13. Retell in your own words Calphurnia’s dream.
14. What is Decius’ interpretation of the dream?
15. What does Ceasar mean when he says: “Cowards die many times before their death; the valiant never taste of death but once”?

Scene III
16. Why does Artremidorus want to see Ceasar?
17. How does he feel towards Ceasar?
18. What does he think of the conspirators?

Scene IV

19. What is Portia’s state of mind as she waits for Brutus?
20. Why does the soothsayer want to see Ceasar?

Julius Caesar Act I - Vocabulary Words (10/15/14)

You are responsible for the following vocabulary words for Julius Caesar, Act I:

surly
beseech
wont
construe
loath
rogue
infirmity
prodigious
offal
portentous
brooked
cogitations

The Authorship Debate (10/3/14)

Is this a portrait of William Shakespeare . . . and was he The Bard?

It is remarkable that not one of England's poet-dramatists, at the death of William Shakespeare, wrote a single line lamenting his passing or praising his literary talents. It is strange that Shakespeare's very detailed will lists no books or manuscripts as part of his estate. Perhaps more disquieting still is the man's epitaph, apparently written by him, if we are to take its words literally. It reads (modern spelling):

Good friend for Jesus' sake forbear
To dig the dust enclosed here
Blessed be the man that spares these stones
And cursed be he that moves my bones.

Was this embarrassing doggerel written by the author of Hamlet, MacBeth, King Lear, et al.? For over a century the authorship of the Shakespeare canon has been debated vigorously. Sigmund Freud, Henry James, Charles Dickens, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mark Twain, and Benjamin Disraeli are among those who wrote of their doubts that the man from Stratford was the Bard. A sample of their comments:

"I no longer believe that William Shakespeare the actor from Stratford was the author of the works that have been ascribed to him."

-- Sigmund Freud

"I am...haunted by the conviction that the divine William is the biggest and most successful fraud ever practiced on a patient world."

-- Henry James

"It is a great comfort...that so little is known concerning the poet. The life of William Shakespeare is a fine mystery and I tremble every day lest something should turn up."

-- Charles Dickens

"Other admirable men have led lives in some sort of keeping with their thought, but this man was in wide contrast."

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

What do we really know about William Shakespeare? Where did he learn the French, Italian, Latin and Greek that provided the untranslated source material for the plays? At the village school--assuming his attendance--he would have learned only "...small Latin and less Greek." Shakespeare's plays represent the pinnacle of Renaissance art; the culmination of rhetoric, poetry, painting, and science. Never having become a member of the Inns of Court or attended Cambridge or Oxford, how did the man from Stratford gain the knowledge the plays reveal of the law and medicine? Never having been at sea, how did he gain the knowledge the plays reveal of navigation? Never having traveled there, how did he gain the first-hand experience of Renaissance Italy the plays so clearly reveal? Perhaps William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon did not possess the learning these plays exhibit, but others of his time did . . . .

For homework:

Using the internet, I want you to investigate the authorship debate. You must choose a side and defend it. If you say that Shakespeare did not author his plays, tell me who you believe might be the author. If you do believe he was the author of his plays, tell me why you think this is true. Write a five paragraph persuasive essay that defends your findings. You must cite at least three sources in your paper.

This is due on Friday, October 10, 2014.

Be prepared defend your argument!

* The contents of this post were taken directly from: http://shakespeareauthorship.org/

Julius Caesar - Literary Focus - Tragedy: Alas, An Unhappy Ending (Journal #2, Marking Period 1)

In your journals, consider the following quote:

"Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely." Lord Acton

The actual quote is: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

What leaders can you think of who abused their power? What are some of the psychological or practical reasons this leader may have done so? How did other people respond to this abuse? What other ways could they have responded?