Julius Caesar
JULIUS CAESAR
by William Shakespeare
Teacher’s
Study
Guide
Alive & Aloud • Radio Plays for Learning in the Classroom
Dear Participating Teacher,
Winter 1999
We are pleased to provide you this Study Guide as part of our educational pro-
gram ALIVE & ALOUD: Radio Plays for Learning in the Classroom. It is
our hope that the enclosures will support your classroom lesson plans for all
your students—wherever they are on the learning continuum. Using the educa-
tional materials to prepare the students to listen to the radio play will deepen
the educational value of the theatre experience.
Listening to Shakespeare’s JULIUS CAESAR performed by accomplished and
prominent actors is to feel the true power of language. The original audiences
for Shakespeare referred to the experience of theatre as going “to hear” a play.
It will enhance the experience if students are given the opportunity to read
along as they listen. Whether you are introducing Shakespeare for the first time
or continuing the study of the Bard, JULIUS CAESAR is a prime example of
Shakespeare’s ability to speak through the centuries to the very core of life’s
complexities and moral challenges.
You may want to experiment with various approaches to integrating ALIVE &
ALOUD into your lesson plans. Students can listen to the audio plays individ-
ually with their own headset, in a group setting or on their own time outside of
class. You may find that certain Study Guide exercises and activities require
group listening in teams of students or with the class as a whole. Dividing the
play into sections to focus on one part at a time can enhance group listening to
the plays.
The Study Guide emphasizes the curriculum core subjects of secondary schools.
It is organized to pose important questions and to develop significant study
units inspired by the content of the play. These curriculum ideas are our way of
promoting academic achievement and enriching the learning process of young
people in the classroom.
Sincerely,
Susan Albert Loewenberg
JULIUS CAESAR by William Shakespeare
Director, Martin Jenkins
Executive Producer, Susan Albert Loewenberg
An L.A. Theatre Works/BBC co-production in association with KCRW, Santa Monica.
P 1995 L.A. Theatre Works. All rights reserved.
ALIVE & ALOUD: Radio Plays for Learning in the Classroom, a program of L.A.
Theatre Works, is made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and
Sony Pictures Entertainment.
L.A. Theatre Works is a 25 year-old nonprofit theatre and radio production organiza-
tion. We welcome your comments and inquiries regarding the ALIVE & ALOUD
recording and study guide. To reach us or to request a free catalogue of L.A. Theatre
Works plays, novels and short stories available on audio cassette, contact:
L.A. Theatre Works
681 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
(800) 708-8863
fax: (310) 827-4949
latworks@aol.com
www.krcw.org/latw
Susan Albert Loewenberg, Producing Director
Stephen Gutwillig, Managing Director
Tamadhur Al-Aqeel, Program Associate
Keren Goldberg, ALIVE & ALOUD Education Consultant
Steve Kirwan, Cover graphic designer
Mai Bloomfield, Curriculum graphic designer
Cover Photos (clockwise from top): Richard Dreyfuss, JoBeth Williams, Harold Gould,
Bonnie Bedelia, Stacy Keach, John de Lancie
Julius Caesar
by William Shakespeare
• Teacher’s Study Guide •
Table of Contents
Biography: William Shakespeare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Essay: Hearing JULIUS CAESAR by Steven Segal . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Cast of Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Description of Main Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Summary of the Play. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Suggested Vocabulary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Core Curriculum Support:
Writing & Reading Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Activities:
Unit I: Poetry in Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Unit II: It’s A Figure of Speech: Similes & Metaphors . . . . . . . .16
Unit III: Newspaper Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Unit IV: Making Shakespeare Modern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Major Literary Works by William Shakespeare . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Resources on the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!
I have come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them,
The good is oft interred with their bones.”
–Mark Antony
Oration at Caesar’s funeral
“Caesar was not and is not lovable. His
generosity to defeated opponents...
did not win their affection...Yet, though
not lovable, Caesar was and is attractive,
indeed fascinating.”
–Arnold Toynbee
English Historian
Biography
William Shakespeare
(1564 - 1616)
“For God’s sake let us sit upon the ground
And tell sad stories of the death of kings,
How some have been deposed, some slain in war,
Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed,
Some poisoned by their wives, some sleeping killed,
All murdered.”
–Richard II
William Shakespeare lived in a time of great change and excitement in England—a
time of geographical discovery, international trade, learning, creativity and political
intrigue. The English Empire was growing and blossoming while France and Spain were
experiencing the golden age of the Monarchy. The Western world was in a state of renais-
sance, and the power of Kings and Queens and their descendants appeared to have a force
that would stretch forever into the future. London, England’s capital, was one of the great
centers of the world. Shakespeare’s audiences came from the dynamic arenas of society:
government, commerce, academia, the arts and business.
History can tell us very little about the life of William Shakespeare. Even a popular
writer during his time was not considered worthy of any particular record keeping, so there
is no comprehensive recording of his life or career. Evidence shows that he was born in the
little country town of Stratford in 1564, but the exact date is unknown. His baptism
occurred on Wednesday, April 26, 1564.
❦
Shakespeare was the grandson of a tenant farmer and the son of a shopkeeper, John
Shakespeare, who made and sold leather goods. He was the eldest of six children. His fam-
ily was comfortable financially, which meant that he probably received a good education,
but we have no idea of how he spent his early years or how he finally became involved in the
theatre.
When he was 18 years old, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway and had a daughter,
Susanna. Two years later they had twins, Hamnet and Judith. When he was twenty-eight
years old, he was living in London and building a reputation as an accomplished actor and
new playwright. He became the leader of his own theatre company and, through fortunate
investments, acquired enough capital to become one of the owners of the Globe Theatre,
famous for producing his plays.
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Alive & Aloud: Radio Plays for Learning in the Classroom
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
Shakespeare’s theatre company was welcomed at the court of Elizabeth I. This
acceptance allowed him to become familiar with the dangers of political life and the arbi-
trary and arrogant power of the monarchy. His close association with life at court con-
tributed much to the content and themes of his plays. When Queen Elizabeth I died in
1603, her successor, King James I, officially declared Shakespeare and his company of
actors the “King’s Men.”
❦
It is believed that he wrote his extraordinary thirty-seven plays over a twenty year
period, from about 1590 to 1610. The order and dates of production are only approxima-
tions. Shakespeare became increasingly prosperous but also experienced emotional trau-
ma. His son Hamnet died in 1596 and his father in 1601. There is speculation that the
name for the play HAMLET, which was first performed in 160l, comes from his son, and
that the ghost in HAMLET was inspired by the recent death of his father.
❦
Shakespeare retired from the theatre in 1611 and returned to Stratford. He died
there on April 23,1616. His last known descendant, his granddaughter Elizabeth Hall,
died in 1670. Today, the world comes to visit the reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, to
see his plays produced in his homeland and to walk the streets of Stratford-on-Avon. He
lies before the altar of the Stratford Church, and on his tombstone is a famous rhyme
putting a curse on anyone who disturbs his grave:
“ Good Friend, for Jesus’ sake, forbear
To dig the dust enclosed here;
Blest be the man that spares these stones
And curst be he that moves my bones.”
Alive & Aloud: Radio Plays for Learning in the Classroom
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Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
Hearing Julius Caesar
by Steven Segal
Many years ago at University of California at Santa Barbara, my English Professor
Homer Swander announced to his Shakespeare students that an Elizabethan audience
would go to the Globe to “hear” a play. We did not quite understand him. His pronounce-
ment sounded odd to our ears. We thought theatergoers went to “see” plays. However, in
his initial class we began to realize that we would have to open our ears and mouths to dig
deeper into Shakespeare’s scripts. We read the plays out loud and with feeling. Soon his
methodology became clear. Dramatic literature was only complete through performance,
through making the words come alive, through embodying the text.
❦
I have brought many of his ideas into my own practice. My students must perform,
solo or in small groups, scenes from Shakespeare’s plays. With my tenth graders, my
approach is to create actors/directors engaged in the act of listening, speaking, visualizing
and dramatizing characters found in JULIUS CAESAR. During and after their research of
the characters and scene, they must keep a “Director’s Notes” journal to reflect and offer
an analysis of their scene, how it fits into the play as a whole, and their own process of
memorizing lines, movement choices and costuming decisions. In the play, Shakespeare
has created characters that speak in a variety of settings: introspective soliloquies, secretive
gatherings, intimate conversations and dramatic speeches in front of thousands. These sit-
uations lend themselves to dramatic performances. I want my students to explore carefully
Shakespeare’s language, but not through seeing one of the films. I desire my students to
hear the play aloud and to grapple with movement and staging. Thus, L.A. Theater Works’
recording of JULIUS CAESAR supports and enriches the students’ experience of perfor-
mance-based production.
❦
The audiotapes allow students to hear the words, not as disembodied lettering upon
a page, but as words energized by human beings. Outstanding actors create fully developed
characters. My students hear their manipulations, revelations and resolutions. Through
careful listening, students get inside the skin of the characters without seeing the “how” of
performance. They will have to create posture and movement based on what they hear dur-
ing many listenings. Moreover, once they begin improvising their scenes, they may make
different choices in the telling of what will now become their own words and ideas.
❦
It is for this purpose that the audiotapes function as a wonderful scaffolding device
to support student work. The tapes can be started, stopped and repeated during particular
scenes to enhance and clarify student understanding and actions. Dialogues, soliloquies
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Alive & Aloud: Radio Plays for Learning in the Classroom
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
and dramatic monologues will be modeled, but it is left up to the students to visualize the
scene. Class work will be active; students volunteer to act out different readings of the lines
and then reflect on their verbal and physical choices. They improvise physical movement-
the hand and facial gestures, the body movement and the blocking of the scene. Through
their readings and listenings, Shakespeare’s people take shape; his themes emerge. The
play’s very human sound of betrayal, envy, honor and violence come through. Truly a lis-
tening treat.
❦
Hearing JULIUS CAESAR inspires students to engage the script and listen carefully
for the characters’ motivations and to visualize the actions. Students enjoy reading along
with the broadcast. With judicious stopping and starting, the script becomes a vehicle for
fun interactive exercises with the entire class. The audiotapes help get this idea across: plays
are a different art form than films and, far more than films, are listening experiences.
Audiotapes give students the rhythm of spoken words and through them actions and orga-
nizations unfold. Caesar’s insight and bravado, Brutus’ ruminations and stoicism, Cassius’
jealousy and hatred become a catalyst for student action. JULIUS CAESAR was and is meant
to be heard. Pass out the scripts, press on the tape and let theater begin.
Alive & Aloud: Radio Plays for Learning in the Classroom
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Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
Cast of Characters
CHARACTERS
ACTORS IN THE L.A. THEATRE WORKS
RADIO THEATRE PRODUCTION
(in alphabetical order)
1st Plebian, Claudio, 2nd Soldier (Sc. 18, 22) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lee Arenberg
Calphurnia, 4th Plebeian. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bonnie Bedelia
Metellus Cimber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Birney
Casca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jack Coleman
Mark Antony. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Richard Dreyfuss
Carpenter, Young Cato, 3rd Plebeian, 1st Soldier (Sc. 22). . . . . . . . . . Josh Fardon
Caesar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Harold Gould
Murellus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kelsey Grammer
Octavius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arye Gross
Publius, Cinna the Poet, Dardanius, Lepidus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arthur Hanket
Cinna, Messenger, Poet (Sc. 18), Soldier (Sc. 18) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rudy Hornish
Marcus Brutus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stacy Keach
Cassius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John de Lancie
Soothsayer, Ligarius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Basil Langton
Volumnius, Caesar’s Servant, Octavius’ Servant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jon Matthews
Trebonius, Varrus, 1st Soldier (Sc. 18), Clitus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paul Mercier
Cobbler, Titinius. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . James Morrison
Plebian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marnie Mosiman
Cicero, Messala . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . George Murdock
Flavius, Artemidorus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Randolph
Decius Brutus, Lucilius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Vickery
Lucius, Strato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andy White
Portia, 2nd Plebeian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JoBeth Williams
Popilius, Pindarus, Antony’s Servant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paul Winfield
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Alive & Aloud: Radio Plays for Learning in the Classroom
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
Descriptions of Main Characters
CCassius He is a character who evolves in dignity and spiritual understanding.
His primary motivation is personal envy of Caesar. He raises questions about
Caesar’s ambition to be King of the Roman Empire. Clever enough to realize he
needs Brutus (a man with an honorable reputation) to legitimize his plot against
Caesar, he fakes letters to Brutus from the “people” urging Brutus to act against
Caesar on their behalf. At the end, his aims defeated, his own words apply: “The
fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,/But in ourselves that we are underlings.”
BBrutus He befriends Caesar and then betrays him. Devoted to the welfare of the
Roman Republic, Brutus justifies his participation in the plot to assassinate Caesar
by thinking to himself that it is for the country’s good. He is the only one who
debates the rightness of the decision to kill Caesar. His goodness and moral center
defeat him in the political arena. When he finally realizes his mistakes and the con-
sequences of them, his capacity for suffering and his nobility in the face of personal
pain bring him redemption and spiritual salvation.
CCaesarHe is a great military general, bringing lands, power and prestige to Rome.
He is ready for the next glorious step. A conceited person, he is susceptible to
flattery and blind to the plot to assassinate him. He arrives at the Senate hoping to
be crowned King. He speaks there revealing that he thinks of himself as a demigod.
His pride and vanity feed his enemies’ feelings of revenge. The ghost of Caesar calls
himself “Brutus’ evil spirit.”
AAntonyHe cares little for the common good. He wants vengeance for his friend
Caesar’s death and power for himself. He is a brilliant orator who convinces Brutus
to allow him to speak at Caesar’s funeral. He then seizes the moment to turn the
populace against the noble assassins, including Brutus, by describing what they did
to Caesar and predicting woe to the guilty parties. He demonstrates his own power
over the masses by inciting a civil war.
Alive & Aloud: Radio Plays for Learning in the Classroom
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Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
Summary of the Play
Act One
The play opens on a street in Rome. Most citizens are celebrating Caesar’s victory in a
bloody civil war. The tribunes Flavius and Marrulus are removing images and banners that
honor Caesar. They oppose Caesar’s rise because they see him as a threat to the Republic.
They angrily tell the people in the streets to go home, it’s not a holiday.
1
Caesar enters with an entourage of Senators and wives (Marc Antony, Brutus, Cassius,
Casca, Cicero, Calphurnia and Portia). A soothsayer in the crowd warns Caesar to
“Beware the Ides of March.”
Cassius warns Brutus that if Caesar obtains absolute power, it will not be good for Rome.
Brutus loves Caesar, but he also worries that too much power will change him. Cassius
describes how Caesar has displayed weakness. He reminds Brutus that Caesar is not better
than Brutus, not “a God.” Cassius urges Brutus to take action against Caesar’s rise to
power.
Caesar returns from the games, shaken by the soothsayer’s warning. He sees Cassius talking
with Brutus and suspects Cassius of being dangerous. Casca tells Brutus and Cassius how,
in front of the throng, Mark Antony offered the crown to Caesar three times. And each
time Caesar refused—reluctantly, according to Casca. Caesar was playing to the crowd. He
fell into a swoon. Cicero addressed the crowd in Greek. Casca who does not understand,
says, “It was Greek to me.”
Cassius plans to send counterfeit messages to Brutus from supporters to encourage him in
the plot against Caesar.
A fierce storm rages. Casca tells Cicero about seeing men on fire, lions in the street, and
birds of prey. He believes these are bad omens. Cassius agrees that heaven is giving warn-
ing. Tomorrow the Senators will make Caesar their king. Casca pledges to work with
Cassius. Cinna joins them. He takes the messages Cassius has contrived to Brutus.
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Alive & Aloud: Radio Plays for Learning in the Classroom
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
Act Two
At home, Brutus asks his servant Lucius to check the calendar for the date of the following
11
day. It will be March 15 (the Ides of March). Brutus hasn’t slept. The seed of betrayal that
Cassius planted in his mind is growing. Lucius announces that Cassius and his co-con-
spirators are at the door with their faces hidden by hats and cloaks. Brutus greets them—
Decius, Casca, Cinna, Metellus. They plot together to kill Caesar. They decide not to
include Cicero in the plot and to spare Antony’s life. The killing of Caesar shall be a “sac-
rifice,” not “butchery.” They wonder if Caesar might avoid the capital on the following day
because he is superstitious. They decide they will all go and fetch him together.
Brutus’ wife Portia asks why he is awake and out of bed in the cold night. She notices he’s
been troubled. She begs him to confide in her. She shows him that she’s wounded herself
in the thigh to prove her loyalty. A visitor interrupts them. Brutus tells Portia to go back
to bed and promises to tell her what’s going on.
Ligarius arrives, referred by Metellus, to help Brutus. Brutus tells him of the plot as he
leads him away.
Caesar’s wife Calphurnia has been having nightmares of Caesar’s murder and has seen
many omens of death. She begs Caesar to stay home and send Antony to the capital in his
place. Caesar finally agrees to this plan. When Decius comes to fetch him, Caesar says he
won’t go. Decius reinterprets Calphurnia’s vision favorably and convinces Caesar that it
will not look good if he is influenced by his wife and that the Senate is planning on giving
him the crown today. Publios, Brutus, Ligarius, Casca, Cinna and Trebonius arrive to
bring Caesar to the Senate. Antony joins them.
It is dawn. On the street, Artemidorus reads a message to Caesar warning him of the mur-
der.
Elsewhere on the same street, Portia worries about what’s going on in the capital. The
soothsayer approaches and says he will go to warn Caesar.
Act Three
The Senate convenes. Artemidorus tries to give Caesar his warning, but Decius distracts
Caesar. Metellus petitions Caesar regarding the banishment of a brother. There is debate.
Casca stabs Caesar in the neck and the other conspirators follow suit with Brutus delivering
the final wound. “Et tu, Bruté?” Caesar asks as he falls to his death.
Alive & Aloud: Radio Plays for Learning in the Classroom
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Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
Antony, who fled after the murder, sends a servant to Brutus asking if it is safe for Antony
to come and find out why Caesar was killed. Antony promises allegiance to Brutus. Brutus
encourages him to come. Antony arrives and sorrowfully bids farewell to Caesar. He
111
angrily tells the conspirators that if they’re going to kill him, they may as well do it now.
He is ready to die with Caesar. Brutus assures Antony that he has no wish to kill him.
Antony shakes the hands of all the conspirators. He says they must think him either a cow-
ard or a flatterer. He asks them for a good reason why they have killed Caesar.
Cassius doesn’t trust Antony, but Brutus allows Antony to speak, after his own speech, at
Caesar’s funeral. Brutus will explain the murder. But he forbids Antony to condemn the
conspirators in his speech.
Alone, Antony asks forgiveness from Caesar. He predicts war and disaster in the wake of
the murder; Caesar’s spirit will demand vengeance. He sends a servant to warn Caesar’s
brother, Octavius Caesar, who is headed for the capital, of the danger in Rome.
Brutus addresses the citizens of Rome. He claims he loved Caesar as much as anyone, but
he “loves Rome more.” He explains that he killed Caesar because Caesar was too ambi-
tious. They would all have been slaves under him. Brutus claims that he will kill himself
should he ever threaten the good of Rome. He has won over the crowd and insists they stay
and hear Antony.
Mark Antony follows with his funeral speech. “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears! I have
come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones.
So let it be with Caesar.” In this artful speech, Antony turns the tide of public opinion. True to
his word, he insists that Brutus and company are “honorable men,” while illustrating the
brutality and injustice of Caesar’s murder. He describes Brutus’ wound as “the unkindest
cut of all.” In relating Caesar’s compassion for the poor, Antony says, “Ambition should
be made of sterner stuff.” Antony reads Caesar’s will which bequeaths money and all his
walks and orchards “to the Roman people.” The crowd is now enraged and eager to avenge
Caesar’s death.
Octavius Caesar arrives in Rome and Antony plans to see him. Brutus and Cassius have
fled the city. The crowd has turned into a mob roaming the streets. They kill an innocent
man because he is named Cinna, like one of the conspirators.
Act Four
At Antony’s house in Rome, Octavius Caesar sends Lapidus to fetch a copy of his brother’s
will. He and Antony form an alliance against Caesar’s killers.
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Alive & Aloud: Radio Plays for Learning in the Classroom
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
1
Camped with their armies near Sardis, Brutus and Cassius meet. They enter Brutus’ tent so
their soldiers won’t see them quarrel. Brutus accuses Cassius of corruption and an “itching
palm.” Brutus accuses him of betraying their honorable purpose. Cassius complains that
V
Brutus loved Caesar better than he loves Cassius. Finally, they settle their quarrel.
Brutus tells Cassius the news that Portia is dead. Grieving for the absent Brutus, she killed
herself when she learned that Antony and Octavius were gaining strength. They’ve gathered
an army of 100 followers. Brutus and Cassius plan to engage them in battle.
In his tent, Brutus asks Lucius to play music for him. Lucius and the other soldiers fall
asleep. Caesar’s ghost appears, saying he will see Brutus again at Philippi. Brutus is fright-
ened and wakes his soldiers. They have seen and heard nothing. They prepare to join
Cassius in battle.
Meanwhile, Octavius, Antony and their generals also prepare for battle.
Cassius and Brutus realize that they may lose the fight. They bid each other farewell for
what may be the last time.
Act Five
On the plains of Philippi, Octavius, Antony, Cassius, Brutus and their generals confront
each other before the battle.
The battle begins. Octavius’ troops have Brutus and Cassius’ troops surrounded. Cassius
asks his aide to kill him with the same sword that killed Caesar. Brutus finds them dead.
The battle continues. Antony and Octavius are intent on finding Brutus.
Brutus tells his man that the ghost has visited him three times, and he knows his own death
is imminent. At the threat of being captured and dishonored, he falls on his sword, killing
himself.
Mark Antony and Octavius find Brutus’ body. They declare that Brutus was “the greatest
Roman of them all.” They believe that he was indeed an honorable man. Unlike the other
conspirators who acted from jealousy and ambition, Brutus’ motives were noble. Octavius
orders that Brutus’ body lie in state in his tent and that he be buried “according to his
virtue.”
Mark Antony and Octavius return to Rome triumphant.
Alive & Aloud
Julius Caesar
V
: Radio Plays for Learning in the Classroom
10
by William Shakespeare
Suggested Vocabulary
allegiance
ambition
Rr
arrogance
ascend
attain
augment
banishment
betrayal
butchery
conceit
condemn
consolation
conspiracy
corruption
countenance
curse
debate
enterprise
fetch
S
flatterer
flourish
foil
humility
idle
y
ingratitude
interpretation
malice
mantle
mettle
noble
petition
redress
resolution
reverence
sacrifice
sleek
superstitious
threaten
treacherous
tyranny
vanquished
Aa
vengeance
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Alive & Aloud: Radio Plays for Learning in the Classroom
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
Core Curriculum Support
Activities for the Development of
Critical Thinking, Writing, Listening and Reading
Writing and Reading Exercises
O b j e c t i v e s : ✍
To stimulate interest in writing.
To increase vocabulary development.
To increase ability to organize and express ideas in writing.
1. What does Shakespeare’s JULIUS CAESAR say about absolute political power? What
do you think Shakespeare was trying to tell his English audience about their monar-
chy in the 1600’s?
2. Shakespeare’s plays are often performed in countries where people have little or no
political freedom or rights. Theatres often choose to perform Shakespeare when the
government is censoring what people are allowed to see, hear and read because
Shakespeare is considered classic literature and not political. If a theatre wanted to
communicate a secret political message, what do you think is the most important one
they would be sending to the listening audience of this play?
3. RESEARCH IN THE LIBRARY: Why do you think Shakespeare, living in the late 16th
century, would choose to write a play about ancient Roman history?
a.
What is the connection between the history of England and the history of the
Roman Empire? Research the invasion of Britain by the Romans.
b.
What was happening in England in the 1600’s? Why is it called the Elizabethan
age? What are the similarities between Elizabeth I and Caesar?
c.
Who was Julius Caesar? What was his role in the history of the Roman Empire?
How did assassinations change the course of Roman history? How has
assassination changed the course of U.S. history from 1860 to the present?
How would you describe Julius Caesar: a popular hero, a tyrant, a person of
war? Justify your description.
4. What are the tragic consequences in JULIUS CAESAR? How many of the main charac-
ters are hurt in the course of the story? In your opinion, what causes the tragic conse-
quences?
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Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
5. Write your own ending to the story of JULIUS CAESAR.
6. Class Exercise: As each student enters the classroom, pin or stick a piece of paper on
the student’s back with the name of a character from the play. The students must ask
questions of each other (without asking directly who they are) to determine their
identity.
7. Casca and other characters speak of omens. Omens are signs of what may happen in
the future—a black cat, the sun shining after a storm, a bird’s song. People assign
different meanings to different omens. Do you believe in omens? What in your
experience supports or discredits belief in them? Be specific.
8. LISTENING WITH CARE:
a.
How does Act I, Scene I serve as an introduction to the basic conflict in this
play?
b.
What impresses you about the character Brutus? How does he compare to
Caesar? To Mark Antony? Explain.
c.
Find all the ways that the action of the story is based on the use of flattery.
Have you ever used flattery to achieve something? Describe.
d.
Listen for the lies that Antony tells in his funeral speech. Describe the lies and
explain why you think Antony lies .
e.
Describe the ways in which Shakespeare uses the weather and signs or omens
to create dramatic tension and to develop character.
9. JULIUS CAESAR explores the ideas of free will (that we alone direct the course of our
lives) and predestination (that our lives are set before us and we simply must live
them). Which do you believe? Do you think you can direct your life, or is all a matter
of fate? Perhaps Shakespeare believed it is what we do with our fate that sets the
course of our life. Explain and support your point of view and how it relates to the
play.
10. Research the relationship between the Elizabethan stage and Shakespeare. How was
he the “rock star” of his time? How do his theatrical events in London compare to the
happenings and entertainment of today?
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Alive & Aloud: Radio Plays for Learning in the Classroom
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
Activities
UNIT I:
Poetry in Motion
A. List Poem
Emotions are intensely described in Shakespeare’s plays.
Many examples of this flair for describing the emotional life of his
characters can be found in JULIUS CAESAR. Brutus is particularly
tortured by the decisions he makes and the consequences he has to face.
Emotions are personal feelings. Sometimes that makes them difficult
to explain to others. One way of expressing feelings is to use images.
For example: “Happiness is coming home to the smell of baking.” This does
not tell all that happiness is, but it does give us a very personal picture.
✎ Select an emotion (anger, love, loneliness, etc.) and beside each of the following
words, write down the first idea or image that comes to mind.
Food
Sound
Beverage
Kind of weather
Flower
Animal
Color
Song
Season
Smell
✎ Now you can turn this list into a poem about the emotion you have chosen. Use the
name of your emotion as the title for your poem. Begin each line with a word that
describes an action, such as eating, hearing, seeing.
Example:
Happiness
Coming home to the smell of baking
Finding a four-leaf clover
Eating ice cream with a chocolate topping
Playing with my baby brother
✎ Now write a List Poem for two of the characters inJULIUS CAESAR. Imagine how they
would respond to your list. Choose the same emotion as yours or an emotion that
you think is more common to your choice of characters.
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Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
B. Diamante (The Kite Poem)
A Diamante is a poem, like Haiku or a Sonnet, with a particular structure.
When it is completed, it resembles the shape of a kite, a diamond.
Construct a Diamante that deals with opposite concepts, such as
love-hate, fire-ice, war-peace, etc. The following is the usual structure:
Format
Example
line I:
One noun
Ice
line 2:
Two adjectives modifying it
Jagged, bluish
line 3:
Three verbs describing it Pointing, dripping, pricking
line 4:
Four nouns, images
Teeth, breath, saliva, skin
associated with it
line 5:
Three verbs modifying
Burning, searing, cutting
the last noun
line 6:
Two adjectives describing
Hot, red
the last noun
line 7:
The opposite of the first noun Fire
With JULIUS CAESAR, you can use the Diamante form of poem
to show the contrast of emotions in the life of two of the most important characters,
or the contrasting ideas that you think are important in the play as a whole.
C. Memory Poems
What we remember from many years ago, and even yesterday,
can provide us with important material for our poems.
Some of the memories that stay with us are clear images in our minds.
These memories affect and form who we are as people.
1. In preparing to write your Memory Poem, share some of your most important and
vivid memories with your class.
2. When you begin to write your memory poem, focus on describing what you remember
in as much detail as possible. Make up specifics if you do not remember exactly what
happened. Describe your feelings at the time of the incident, and compare these feel-
ings with how you feel about this memory today.
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Alive & Aloud: Radio Plays for Learning in the Classroom
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
Activities
UNIT II:
It’s a Figure of Speech – Finding the Metaphor
A figure of speech is an ordinary word or phrase
used in unusual and sometimes colorful ways.
Writers often use this type of descriptive writing
to help the reader think about things in fresh ways.
A SIMILE is a figure of speech, a comparison that uses “like” or “as.” It shows how two unlike
things are alike in some way. Frequently, similes paint pictures that appeal to the senses. (Your
fingers are like sausages.) If you omit “like” or “as,” the result is a METAPHOR. (Your fingers are
sausages.)
In everyday speech, simile and metaphor occur frequently. We use metaphors (“She’s a doll.”)
and similes (“The tickets are selling like hotcakes.”) without being fully conscious of them.
Look at the following metaphors and similes.
1. Identify each as a simile or as a metaphor.
2. Define what things are being compared. Note the
similarities and differences in the items being compared.
“Life, like a dome of many-colored glass,
Stains the white radiance of Eternity.”
–Shelly, “Adonais”
“ Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul”...
–Emily Dickinson, untitled poem
“Spring stirs Gossamer Benyon schoolmistress like a spoon.”
–Dylan Thomas, “Under Milkwood”
“By this betrayal I bait the trap; When its jaws snap shut,
Clindor will bleed.”
–Tony Kushner, The Illusion
Now that you have examples of similes and metaphors, listen to the audiotape of JULIUS CAESAR
and write down as many of these figures of speech as you can catch. Choose two examples and
discuss what they contribute to the action of the story. Now, choose two additional examples
and draw a picture of what the simile or metaphor describe. Write a simile or metaphor for your
most favorite and least favorite character in the play and explain your opinion of this person.
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Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
Activities
UNIT III:
Newspaper Stories from JULIUS CAESAR
Create a class newspaper based on the wars, intrigue, politics, deaths and assassination of
JULIUS CAESAR. Divide the class into traditional newspaper departments: world affairs, local
news, life and style, weather, etc. Have the students create articles describing the happenings in
the play as daily events leading to the climax of the story. Choose a few students to write editori-
als with a particular point of view on the action or in the voice of one of the characters. The stu-
dents can study their local newspaper as part of the preparation for this project and to learn the
style of newspaper writing.
UNIT IV:
Making Shakespeare Modern
MM
Divide the class into teams and assign each team one of the scenes in JULIUS CAESAR. Have the
teams re-write their assigned Shakespeare scene in the modern language of today. They can use
common American English, or the team’s writing can reflect a particular culture both in the style
of the language and in specific cultural choices. For example, your students may belong to
Puerto Rican, French-American, African American, or Vietnamese communities. Using their imag-
ination and creativity, they may incorporate their particular neighborhoods and cultures into the
scene they are recreating. Remember that they have to set the scene in a specific time and
place.
Each team is to make an oral presentation to the class, perform a reading of their scene and then
take questions and comments from their student audience. Each scene must be submitted as a
team group writing assignment. The completed scenes can be compiled into a new rendition of
JULIUS CAESAR, an adaptation by the class.
The following example is from Cornerstone Theatre Company, an ongoing ensemble based in Los Angeles.
Cornerstone has frequently created contemporary productions of classic texts in collaboration with di-
verse communities across the country. In 1989, the company produced a modern adaptation of Shake-
spreare’s ROMEO & JULIET in Port Gibson, Mississippi, a small rural community. In this example of close
adaptation, Mercutio’s famous “Queen Mab” speech is transformed into an irreverent cautionary tale
about Freddy Kreuger from “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” while closely preserving the structure and verse
of the origianl text.
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Alive & Aloud: Radio Plays for Learning in the Classroom
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
Example:
From ROMEO & JULIET, by William Shakespeare, 1595
Act I, Scene IV
MERCUTIO:
O, then I see Queen Mab hath been with you.
She is the fairies’ midwife, and she comes
In shape no bigger than an agate stone
On the forefinger of an alderman,
Drawn with a team of little atomies
Over men’s noses as they lie asleep; ...
M
And in this state she gallops night by night
Through lovers’ brains, and then they dream of love;
On courtiers’ knees, that dream on curtsies straight;
O’er lawyers’ fingers, who straight dream on fees;
O’er ladies lips, who straight on kisses dream,
Which oft the angry Mab with blisters plagues,
Because their breath with sweetmeats tainted are.
Sometimes she gallops o’er a courtier’s nose,
And then dreams he of smelling out a suit;
And sometimes comes she with a tithe pig’s tail
Tickling a parson’s nose as ‘a lies asleep,
Then he dreams of another benefice.
Sometimes she driveth o’er a soldier’s neck,
And then dreams he of cutting foreign throats,
Of breaches, ambuscados, Spanish blades,
Of healths five fathoms deep; and then anon
Drums in his ear, at which he starts and wakes,
And thus being frighted, swears a prayer or two
And sleeps again. This is that ver Mab
That plats the manes of horses in the night
And bakes the elflocks in foul sluttish hairs,
Which once untangled much misfortune bodes.
This is the hag, when maids lie on their back,
That presses them and learns them first to bear,
Making them women of good carriage.
This is she -
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Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
Modern adaptation of ROMEO & JULIET
by Cornerstone Theater Company, Port Gibson, Mississippi, USA, 1989
Mercutio:
Then Freddie Kreuger sure hath been with you.
He is the dreamtime master and he comes,
With razor claws to stick on dreamer’s brains,
His face burnt up by parents in their rage,
Into our bedrooms as we lie asleep.
And in our puberty he stalks night by night
Through schoolgirls’ hearts and then they dream of love;
On schoolboys hands, that fast do dream on girls;
O’er nerdy brains, that straight on A’s do dream;
O’er dropouts’ feet, that dream of hanging out;
M
O’er loose babes legs, who dream of kissing back
Whom oft the angry Fred with babies plagues
Because they would not take their ma’s advice.
Sometimes he hovers o’er an athletes feet,
And then dreams he of trophies from the state.
And sometimes comes he with a dangling telephone
Ringing in shy kids’ ears as they lie asleep,
Then they dream of friends among the crowd.
Sometimes he cruises o’er a bad boy’s fists
And then dreams he of punching in a face,
Of swollen eyelids, bloody noses, broken teeth,
Of choking screams and pain, and then Fred whispers
Oakley in his ear; at which he jumps and wakes
And thus being frightened, swears a prayer or two
And sleeps again. This is Freddie, man,
That empties air from basketballs at night
And fills them up again with drugs and booze
Which pop and spew their puss at kids at play.
This is the stud, when youths lie on their backs
That presses them and learns them the technique
Making them adults of good breeding.
This is he -
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Alive & Aloud: Radio Plays for Learning in the Classroom
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
Major Literary Works
by William Shakespeare
All’s Well That Ends Well
Antony & Cleopatra
As You Like It
The Comedy of Errors
Coriolanus
Cymbeline
Hamlet
Henry IV Part I
Henry IV Part II
Henry V
Henry VI Part I
Henry VI Part II
Henry VI Part III
Henry VIII
Julius Caesar
King John
King Lear
Love’s Labor’s Lost
Macbeth
Measure For Measure
The Merchant of Venice
The Merry Wives of Windsor
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Much Ado About Nothing
Othello
Pericles
Richard II
Richard III
Romeo and Juliet
The Taming of the Shrew
The Tempest
Timon of Athens
Titus Andronicus
Troilus and Cressida
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
Twelfth Night
The Winter’s Tale
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Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
Bibliography
INTRODUCTION TO SHAKESPEARE, by Peter Hyland; St. Martins Press (Short), 1996.
RECYCLING SHAKESPEARE, by Charles Marowitz; Applause Theatre Book Publishers, 1991.
SHAKESPEARE: A COMPACT DOCUMENTARY LIFE, by Samuel Schoenbaum; Oxford University
Press, Inc., 1988 (Revised Edition).
SHAKESPEARE, OUR CONTEMPORARY, by Jan Kott; translated by Boleslaw Talorskil W.W. Norton &
Company, 1974.
SHAKESPEARE’S TRAGEDIES, AN INTRODUCTION, Mehl, Dieter; Cambridge University Press, 1986.
THE GLOBE RESTORED: STUDY OF THE ELIZABETHAN THEATRE, by Cyril Hodges; Native American
Book Publishers, 1990.
THE WORLD & ART OF SHAKESPEARE, Mendilor, A. A. & Shalvi, Alice; Israel Universities Press,
Jerusalem, 1967.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: THE TRAGEDIES, Jorgensen, Paul A.; Twayne’s English Author Series,
Arthur R. Kinney, Editor; University of Mass., Amherst, 1985.
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Alive & Aloud: Radio Plays for Learning in the Classroom
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
Resources on the Internet
http://myron.sjsu.edu/romeweb/EMPCONT.htm
•historical information on Julius Caesar, Pompey, Brutus, Cassius, Ahenobarbus,
Marcus Antonius (Marc Antony), etc. Very thorough.
•texts on the Roman Emperors, in chronological order
•historical information on Roman society during the time of the Empire: trade,
transportation, art, writers, government, food, Roman coins (pictures),
Christians and Lions, Rome’s enemies, the role of women, etc.
http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/caesar/index.htm
•Julius Caesar’s commentaries on his war campaigns starting from the time he was
in charge of the Roman forces in France (Gaul).
http://the-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/works.html
•texts of the Complete Moby Shakespeare, FREE, including Sonnets
•chronological listing of the plays
•famous Shakespearean quotations (Bartlett’s)
http://www.jetlink.net/~massij/shakes/
•study questions for a variety of Shakespeare’s plays
•syllabi for introductory college courses in Shakespeare
•sample assignments and essay questions used in a Washington University introduc-
tory class
•links to many Shakespeare sites
•list of Shakespeare’s plays available on video, with “things to ponder” when
watching
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Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
