Julius Caesar Introduction

1. The Tragedy of
Julius Caesar
By William Shakespeare

2. Do Now
1. Copy the chart below within your notebooks for Act I
Scene 1 of Julius Caesar:
1. Who is in the scene?
2. What are they doing?
3. Where does the scene
take place?
4. When does the scene
take place (and why is it
important)?
5. Why are the people
celebrating?
6. How do Marullus and
Flavius feel?

3. Do Now
Copy the chart below within your notebooks for Act I
Scene 1 of Julius Caesar:
1. Two tribunes are trying to get people
to return to work rather than celebrate
Caesar’s return. Why is Flavius critical
of the workers he encounters?
2. What pun does Shakespeare make on
the word cobbler?
3. Why does Shakespeare start the scene
with a humorous tone as the tribunes
speak with the carpenter and cobbler.
4. Marullus is sympathetic to Pompey, the
man defeated by Caesar. How does
Marullus feel toward Caesar?
5. After the crowd disperses what does
Flavius do? What does Marullus do?
6. What is the political situation in Rome as
the scene ends?

4. William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare lived from 1564 to
1616
Julius Caesar is Shakespeare’s story of the
emperor who lived 1500 years before
Shakespeare’s time when Rome was the
dominant world power. Shakespeare had
read Julius Caesar’s story in Plutarch’s Lives.

5. Elizabethan Age VS. Middle
 When Shakespeare wrotAe Jgulieuss Caesar, England was in the
midst of Elizabethan Age, ruled by Queen Elizabeth.
 The Elizabethan Age greatly contrasted from The Middle ages,
which was the era before it.
Key Differences
Middle Ages (1301-
1500)
Elizabethan
Age/Renaissance
(1500-1688)
Emphasis on religion Emphasis on art, music, science, and
self-discovery
Religious stories or moral lessons
influenced the arts
Greek and Roman classical influences
on the arts
Church ruled the state. Ruling body is supreme over the church.

6. Julius Caesar
 Julius Caesar was a Roman dictator that reigned in 49 BC;
he died a violent death many many moons ago.
 He gained most of his power by being a successful
general at war, and was appointed consul (our version of a
senator or house of rep.) of Rome, by his friend Pompey
the Great.
 Caesar gained more power when he formed an alliance
with two fellow consuls, despite Rome being a Republic at
the time.
 Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey were the first “ruling body
of three,” better known as the “Triumvirate” that ruled
Rome.

7. Julius Caesar continued…
 Caesar continued to make successful military conquests
around the world, thereby increasing his power and
popularity, but also his haters.
 Pompey soon became jealous and convinced the Roman
Senate to remove Caesar from office. This action started a
battle between the two men.
 Caesar ended up killing Pompey at war and poisoning
Crassus. Afterwards, he became the sole leading ruler of
Rome.

8. Julius Caesar continued…
 He was loved by the lower class (plebeians) of
Rome, mostly because he wooed them with gifts and
money; the senate started to get really pissed off by
his growing powers.
 The senate started to really get pissed off about his
growing power with the people and his increasing
political powers, so they took matters into their own
hands.

9. Dramatic Terms:
Term Definition Example
1. Pun A pun is a play on words
in which a word or
phrase has a double
meaning.
2. Comic Relief A release from tension
through humor.

10. Homework:
Instructions:
1. Write a headline for the scene you just
read. Your headline should convey the most
important events of the scene.
-Feel free to be creative and funny, just as
long as you show that you know what
happened in this scene.
Headline Example for Scene 1:
“Two Government Officials Sip on
Haterade and Try to Destroy Caesar’s
Parade”
2. Can a modern day audience still appreciate
the following themes from Shakespeare’s
play: honor, friendship, loyalty, patriotism,
deceit, and revenge?
3. Do differing cultural groups value
concepts such as honor, friendship, loyalty,
patriotism, deceit, or revenge differently?
“Modern Shakespeare”