English 2 Study Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar Table of Contents 1. Summary of each Act/ Scene 2. Character List 3. Understanding Ethos, Logos, and Pathos + connecting them to the reading 4. Important Rhetorical Devices Short Summaries of Each Act/Scene Act 1 Scene 1: Flavius and Marullis, two tribunes of Rome witness people closing their shops so they can celebrate Julius Caesar's victory over Pompey the Great. Flavius and Marullis don’t like Caesar because they believe he is too powerful and instead they support Pompey so with anger they tear down the decorations that were used to honor Caesar. Scene 2: The Feast of Lupercal takes place where the feast is used to restore and renew order in the nation. When Caesar, Calpurina, Antony, Brutus, and Cassius enter, Caesar tells Antony to touch Calpurnia to restore her fertility. Later on, a Soothsayer warns Caesar to “Beware the ides of March” which means that he should beware March 15. Caesar however ignores the soothsayer and continues with the feast. In a different shot, Brutus and Cassius can be seen talking to each other and Cassius claims that Brutus is acting strange. Brutus states that his problem is with Caesar and Cassius suggest that they conspire against Caesar and murder him. When the feast ends, Casca passes by and he begins explaining in prose (important to pay attention to this) what had happened to Caesar during the Feast. According to Casca, he denied the crown three times and then had a seizure (fell sick). Scene 3: Cicero and Casca meet up and talk about the terrible weather which we can connect to the mood of the play right now which is dark and evil. Cassius convinces Casca to join the conspiracy and he does. Cinna joins them and is instructed by Cassius to throw a message in Brutus’s window to convince him to join the conspiracy. Cinna plants forged letters in Brutus’s window so he knows that the assination would be an honorable thing to do for Rome. Cassius, Casca, Cicero, and Cinna are all against Caesar. ** Act 2 Scene 1: Brutus is still brooding about the conversation he had with Cassius in Act 1 Scene 1. Lucius then (Brutus’s servant) brings Brutus the letters sent by Casca to slain Caesar. Brutus thinks deeply about killing Caesar and thinks he should because he’s abusing his power. Cassius then comes and is joined by Trebonius, Decius, Casca, Cinna, and Metellius. They all discuss their plot and who else they should add to the group. Brutus agrees to kill Caesar, but does not agree with sealing with an oath because he believes he is killing Caesar for the good of Rome. Portia, Brutus’s wife, comes in and is worried about her husband and she wants him to know that he can trust her with anything. To prove her loyalty and strength, she stabs herself in the leg and Brutus plans to explain everything to her later. Scene 2: Caesar wakes up in the middle of the night and is unable to sleep because he is still thinking about the Soothsayer. Calpurnia, his wife, had a bad dream about death and begs him to stay home. She dreams that Caesar is a fountain of blood and that he’s sleeping. To see if these omens are bad, Caesar has animals sacrificed and because there was no heart found in the animals, it was indicating that Caesar should not leave the house. Caesar decides to listen and stay in, but Decius (remember he’s a part of the group who wants to kill Caesar) comes to pick up Caesar. Decius was sent by Brutus to convince Caesar to go to the Senate so when Caesar tells him why he is not leaving, Decius urges him to leave because his explanation is silly and people will make fun of him. Scene 3: Artemidorus wrote Caesar a letter informing him about the people conspiring against him. The letter tells Caesar to beware Brutus and everyone else and he plans on giving it to Caesar when he sees him next. The audience doesn't know how Artmidorus knows about the group, but it shows how not everyone disapproves of Caesar. Scene 4: Portia tells Lucius that she knows about the plan. The Soothsayer joins them and tells Portia that he is going to see Caesar at the Senate to warn him again, but he doesn’t know what will happen. Portia thinks that the Soothsayer knows more than he says so she sends Lucius to find out the truth. Act 3 Scene 1: Artemidorus sees Caesar and tries to give him the letter, but Caesar refuses to read it. To distract Antony, Trebonis pulls him away. Metellus Cimber petitions Caesar to lift his brother’s banishment, but Caesar refuses to and is immovable. The conspirators join Caesar and Casca first stabs Caesar and Brutus stabs Caesar last (in total, Caesar got stabbed 33 times). Antony then finds Caesar and pays his respect to him and begins to bond with the conspirators. Antony tells the group that if they killed Caesar for good reason than the murder was the right thing to do. Antony shakes hands with them and makes peace with them. As a result, Antony asks if he can speak at Brutus’s funeral and even though Cassius disagreed, Brutus agreed to allow him to speak. Octavius Caesar’s servant comes to Antony and tells him that Caesar left Rome and will arrive if it’s safe again. Antony begs forgiveness from Caesar and plans to avenge Caesar’s death. Scene 2: During Caesar’s funeral, Brutus and Cassius speak and explain to the plebians that the murder of Caesar waas done for Rome. Brutus also gives his speech and explains that Caesar was ambitious and the murder waas necessary. After getting the plebeians on their side, Marc Antony enters to talk. The plebeians all agreed with Brutus so they had very little interest as to what Antony had to say. Antony convinces the citizens that Caesar was wrongfully murdered and that those who killed him should be punished. Antony also reads Caesar’ s will which shows how much Caesar loves Rome and all of the citizens because he left each man some money and property. The citizens then change their mind and agree with Antony to avenge Caesar’s death. Antony then finds out that Brutus and Cassius left Rome and Octavius returned. Scene 3: Cinna the poet goes to Caesar’s funeral but is attacked by the plebeians for Caesar’s death. The plebeians thought that he was Cinna the conspirator, but he was not and still got attacked even after revealing his identity. **This scene is used as comic relief Act 4 Scene 1: A Second Triumvirate is made with Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus. The three discuss who they should kill and while Lepidus fetches the will, Antony tells Octavius how he doubts Lepidus. Octavius supports Lepidus though. Scene 2: The conspirators join each other at a campsite. Brutus is suspicious of Cassius because of his recent behavior and is beginning to lose trust in him. When Cassius comes to Brutus, he says that he is annoyed by Brutus because he has done him wrong. Cassius and Brutus then go in a tent and privately talk. Scene 3: In the tent, Cassius and Brutus argue and get mad at each other, showing a tear in their friendship. Brutus gets mad at Cassius for accepting bribes and the two argue and fight over that. Cassius then tells Brutus to kill him, but then they both apologize to each other. Cassius then breaks the news to Brutus that his wife has suicided and then they debate on whether or not it’s best to march to Phillipi. They then go to sleep and Brutus has his servant play a song for him. Everyone falls asleep except Brutus because Caesar’s ghost haunts him and tells him that they will meet again at Phillipi. Act 5 Scene 1: Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus go to Phillipi and meet Brutus, Cassius, and their army. The two armies insult and taunt each other, but they don’t fight yet. Cassius tells Brutus that they may not speak again after the battle if they lose and so they both say farewell to each other. The two armies part away and meet again later. Scene 2: The battle begins with Brutus sending Messala to Cassius. Brutus wants Messala to fight Octavius. Scene 3: First Battle: During the battle, Antony’s troops are surrounding Cassius’s which makes Cassius lose hope. Pindarus mistakenly tells Cassius that Titinius has been captured and because Cassius was afraid of losing, he has Pindarus stab him. Pindarus stabs him and then runs away. The report that Pindarus received was fake and Titinius and Messala comes back and sees Cassius’s body. Messala leaves and tells Brutus about the murder of their friend, and Titinius takes the sword on Cassius and stabs himself with it as well. Scene 4: The fight continues and Young Cato is killed. Lucilius pretends to be Brutus and gets captured by Antony’s army. Antony recognizes Lucilius and does not kill him because he believe he can turn him into an ally rather than an enemy. Scene 5: Second Battle: Brutus talks to Volumnius, Clitus, and Dardanius and he asks them to kill him. After they refuse to kill him, Brutus goes to Strato and while Strato holds up the sword, Brutus runs into the sword. Antony and Octavius enter and they tell Brutus’s men that Brutus had a noble fight and he was the only one to kill Caesar for Rome and not for his own sake. 2. Character List 1. Flavius/Marullus: want to protect the Plebeians from Caesar’s tyrannical rule; they remove ornaments from Caesar’s statues during the feast 2. Caesaar: gets killed after ignoring many signs; becomes leader of Rome after defeating Pompey 3. Casca: witnessed Caesar deny the crown and have a seizure; first conspirator to stab Caesar 4. Calpurnia: Caesar’s wife; has dreams that warn Caesar he is about to be killed; dreamt that Caesar is a fountain of blood 5. Marc Antony: offers Caesar the crown at the feast of Lupercal; best friends with Caesar and is part of the 2nd Triumvirate; avenges Caesar’s death 6. Soothsayer: warns Caesar during the celebration about the “Ides of March” and at the Senate House right before he got killed 7. Brutus: magistrate of Rome; joins the conspiracy because he cares about Rome and doesn’t want Caesar to become a tyrant; in the first battle, he defeats Octavius 8. Cassius: brother in law of Brutus; main conspirator; he suicides in the first battle and gets defeated by Antony 9. Cicero: senator/famous orator; also a conspirator against Julius Caesar 10. Cinna: Cassius demands him to place forged letters in Brutus’s window 11. Lucius: Brutus’s young servant 12. Decius: conspirator who persuades Caesar to attend the Senate so he can get killed; said that Caesar’s reason for backing out was silly 13. Metellus Cimber: asks Caesar to pardon his brother’s banishment; conspirator 14. Trebonius: thinks Antony should be spared so he lures Antony out of the Senate House 15. Portia: Brutus’s wife and daughter of Marcus Cato; says that her family has made her strong so she stabs herself in the leg; commits suicide 16. Artemidorous: gives Caesar a letter with the names of the conspirators, but Caesar ignores it 17. Cinna The Poet: gets accused of being a conspirator; gets attacked by plebeians 18. Octavius: heir of Caesar; part of the second Triumvirate with Antony and Lepidus; defeats Cassius and Brutus in the battle 19. Lepidus: also part of the second Triumvirate 20. Lucilius: pretends that he’s Brutus at the 2nd Battle; captured by Antony 21. Pinduras: tells Cassius that Titinus had died even though he didn’t; Cassius asks Pindarus to kill him with the sword used to kill Caesar 22. Titinius: guards tent at Sardis during the argument between Brutus and Cassius; commits suicide after seeing Cassius dead in front of him 23. Messala: gets captured by Antony; reports Cassius’s body 24. Young Cato: Portia’s brother; brother in law of Brutus; gets killed during the battle 25. Clitus/Dardanius: Brutus’s servants; refuse to kill Brutus 26. Voluminous: Brutus’s friend who also refuses to kill Brutus 27. Strato: Brutus’s soldier; helps kill Brutus by holding out the sword CHARACTER MAP (TO SHOW HOW EVERYONE IS CONNECTED Calpurina Tries to warn with a Soothsayer Artemidorus Tries to warn with a Tries to warn with a Julius Caesar Backstabbing friend Antony, Lepidus, Octavius → Brother-in-law/main conspirator conspirators Publius/Cic Collateral Casca/Decius/Cicero/M etallus/Cinna/Trebonius/ Ligarius Cinna the poet/Portia 3. Ethos, Logos, Pathos + connecting it to the reading - used mainly in argumentative writing - Ethos: appeal of credibility; speaker uses this to make their audience trust them and to appear more likeable - Pathos: appeal of emotions’ speaker uses this to make the audience feel emotions like sorrow, anger, happiness, etc - Logos: appeal of logic; speaker uses this to make the audience see the facts and obvious answer to a problem ** Antony’s and Brutus’s speech used ethos, logos, and pathos to convince their audience to support them ** with this knowledge, whose argument do you think was most effective? Antony’s Speech Ethos Logos Pathos “Friends, “I thrice presented him “Look in this place, Romans, in a kingly crown, run Cassius’ dagger Countrymen, which he did thrice through, see what a lend me your refuse. Was this rent the envious ears” → shows he ambition?” → used facts Cassius made; is one of them to help the audience Through this the understand the truth well beloved Brutus “I speak not to stabbed. And as he disprove what “To every Roman citizen Brutus spoke, he gives— But here I am to To every several man— speak what I do seventy-five drachmas.” plucked his cursed steel away. Maark how the blood of Caesar followed it.” know.” → making the audience feel sad and feel sympathy” “My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, And I must pause till it come back to me.” Brutus’s Speech “Believe me, for “Censure me in your “Not that I loved mine honor, and wisdom and awake your Caesar less, but I sense that you may the loved Rome more.” have to respect better judge” to mine honor” → used his social standing to make “Would you rather that Caesar be alive and you be slaves? “ him sound credible 4. Important Rhetorical Devices - Alliteration: consonant sounds being repeated → usually at the beginning of words - Anaphora: repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of a sentences or clause - Antithesis: juxtaposition (opposition) of ideas or words - “Not that I loved Caesar less, but I loved Rome more.” (Act 3, Scene 2) - Aporia: questioning oneself - Aposiopesis: a pause in the middle of a sentence → gives a dramatic effect - Apostrophe: turning from general audience to a specific group - Asyndeton: absence of conjunctions between words - - “Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, soils,/Shrunk to this little measure?” Conduplicatio: repeating key words → similar to repetition → usually to emphasize a pt - Euphemism: using a pleasant expression instead of a harsh one (saying “he passed away” instead of “he died”) - Hyperbole: also known as an overstatement; exaggeration for emphasis - Irony: when words mean something different than what is actually said - Metonymy: only naming a part of an object - Paralipsis: faking to ignore something, but really you’re drawing attention to it - Polysyndeton: emphasize rhythm with conjunctions → used to emphasize something - Can be found a lot with Shakespeare’s writing - Synecdoche: substituting the large whole with a small part or vice versa - “The hospital worked together to revive him” → the hospital is the larger part, but it’s referring to the doctors and nurses - Understatement: downplaying something → opposite of hyperbole --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Argumentative Writing Argumentative writing is a very important type of writing and because we went over rhetorical devices that can help make your argument stronger, I’m also going to show you guys how to write and format an argumentative paper. Introduction → can be 1-2 paragraphs - If you’re arguing about a reading (like Julius Caesar), then you want to include the author and title and a short summary. - If you’re arguing about an issue (like racism), then explain your stance on the issue - STATE YOUR CLAIM AT THE END OF THE INTRODUCTION - Make sure you include the question you are being asked and the main ideas you will be talking about - ** background information always helps strengthen your writing because it provides the readers with more information about the topic. Background Paragraph → 1-2 paragraphs + optional - If you don’t put background information in your introduction, then you can put it in the background paragraph. - Can include: summary, key terms, and explanation of topics you will be discussing Supporting Evidence Paragraph 1 aka Body Paragraph 1 → layout is usually how most pieces are written - Topic Sentence: sentence explaining what you will be talking about - Explain Topic Sentence If Needed - Introduce Evidence - State Evidence - Explain Evidence: explain how you interpreted the evidence and how it connects to your argument and the main point of your paragraph. - Repeat the evidence part a few times if needed - - It’s best to have at least 2 pieces of evidence in each paragraph Concluding Sentence: end your paragraph by tying everything that you talked about together and connecting it to your next paragraph Supporting Evidence Paragraph 2 aka Body Paragraph 3 - Same thing as the first body paragraph - Repeat the layout for all body paragraphs! Counter Argument Paragraph → anticipate the reader’s objections here and acknowledge the counterargument - Discuss some rebuttals people can have on your stance. - What arguments may your readers bring up? Discuss that here and try to refuse them with your own evidence and facts. - Ethos, logos, and pathos can help strengthen your argument especially in this paragraph. Bringing in facts will make you sound more credible and it will help with logos. If you use personal experiences, that will also help you sound more credible and it can trigger people’s emotions which can convince your audience to support them. - ALWAYS BE RESPECTFUL! KNOW WHO YOUR AUDIENCE IS! - Specifically in this paragraph, you need to make sure you know who your audience is so you know how you should set up your argument. - Example: Marc Antony in Julius Caesar knew who his audience was and knew what it would take to persuade his audience to support him. He was respectful, used personal experiences, showed Caesar’s will, and addressed them as friends. Because of this, Antony’s argument can be seen stronger than Brutus’s. Conclusion - Sum up your essay here - Restate your stance on the argument and restate your reasons why → basically restate your claim - This can be in a separate paragraph or in the conclusion, but you should always answer the “so what” question. - You should explain why we should care about the paper and why it’s important to you. You want your readers to hear the larger point you are trying to address. - You can introduce new information and evidence here if you want, but don’t do anything random. Add evidence and topics that grow from your argument.