The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
by William Shakespeare
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Introducing the Play
Literary Focus: Tragedy
Reading Focus: Reading a Play
Writing Focus: Think as a
Reader/Writer
TechFocus
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
by William Shakespeare
What is more important—ambition or honor?
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Introducing the Play
“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power
corrupts absolutely.”
John Emerich Edward Dalberg
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Introducing the Story
William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius
Caesar is the story of an assassination. The play
• explores the political, psychological,
and moral turmoil of the event
• contains compelling political parallels to
twentieth-century history
• reveals how power can corrupt even
the seemingly incorruptible
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The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Literary Focus: Tragedy
Shakespeare’s tragedies share these characteristics
with the tragedies of the ancient Greeks:
• The main character is often high
ranking, not an ordinary person.
• The main character’s tragic flaw
directly causes a downfall.
• The work ends unhappily, with
the death of the main character.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Literary Focus: Tragedy
All of Shakespeare’s tragedies share a similar fivepart structure.
Act III
Climax (Crisis
or turning
point)
Act II
Rising action
Act I
Exposition
Act IV
Falling action
Act V
Resolution
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Literary Focus: Tragedy
Act I, Exposition
• The main characters and conflicts are introduced.
• The setting is established.
• Background information is provided.
Act III
Act II
Act I
Act IV
Act V
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Act I
Literary Focus: Tragedy
So far, in Act I . . .
Act I ends with the
senators intent on
crowning Caesar the next
day. Cassius calls together
his fellow conspirators,
then sets out to visit
Brutus to make a last
appeal for his assistance in
Caesar’s assassination.
“He would be crowned. How
that might change his nature,
there’s the question.”
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar Caesar, Act II
Literary Focus: Tragedy
Act II, Rising Action
• Suspense builds as a series of complications
occur.
• The main characters try to resolve their
conflicts.
Act III
Act II
Act I
Act IV
Act V
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Act II
Literary Focus: Tragedy
So far, in Act II . . .
Cassius persuades Brutus to
join the conspiracy but
rejects the plan to kill Mark
Antony. Caesar is restless
after a night that disturbs
all of Rome. Calpurnia,
Caesar’s wife, persuades
him to stay away from the
Senate.
“When beggars die, there
are no comets seen . . .”
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Act II
Literary Focus: Tragedy
So far, in Act II . . .
The conspirators goad
Caesar into going to the
Senate by suggesting that
he is weak to give in to his
wife’s fears. They report
that the Senate will crown
him that day. Caesar
prepares to accompany the
conspirators to the Senate.
“And we (like friends) will
straightway go together.”
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Act II
Literary Focus: Tragedy
So far, in Act II . . .
Artemidorus has written a
warning of the plot which he
hopes to give to Caesar as he
walks to the Capitol. Portia,
who persuaded her husband
Brutus to tell her of the plot,
speaks with the soothsayer,
who is waiting to warn Caesar
of danger.
“Tell me your counsels,
I will not disclose ‘em.”
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Act III
Literary Focus: Tragedy
Act III, Climax (Crisis or Turning Point)
• The main character makes a choice that
determines the rest of the play’s action.
• In a comedy, the turning point lifts the play
upward to a happy ending. In a tragedy,
events spiral downward to an unhappy ending.
Act III
Act II
Act I
Act IV
Act V
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, III
Literary Focus: Tragedy
Act III opens with Caesar on his way to
the Capitol.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts IV
Literary Focus: Tragedy
Act IV, Falling Action
• The consequences, or results, of actions taken
during the turning point are presented.
• The main character is propelled deeper and
deeper into disaster; the tragic ending seems
inevitable.
Act III
Act II
Act I
Act IV
Act V
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts IV
Literary Focus: Tragedy
“How many ages hence
shall this our lofty scene be acted over
in states unborn and accents yet unknown!”
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Acts V
Literary Focus: Tragedy
Act V, Resolution
• A brief resolution (or denouement) closely
follows the climax. Loose ends in the plot are
tied up, and the play ends.
• What happens to the conspirators?
Act III
Act II
Act I
Act IV
Act V
[End of Section]
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Reading Focus: Reading a Play
Reading Shakespeare Aloud
All of Shakespeare’s plays are written in blank
verse. Blank verse
• duplicates the rhythms of
English speech
• is unrhymed iambic pentameter
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Reading Focus: Reading a Play
Iambic Pentameter
• iamb—unstressed syllable followed by a
stressed syllable
• pentameter—a line with five feet
Read these lines aloud, and listen to the
rhythm. Which syllables are stressed?
˘ evil
′ ˘ that
′ men
˘ do
′ lives
˘ after
′ ˘ them,
′
The
˘ good
′ is
˘ oft
′ interrèd
˘ ′ ˘ with
′
˘ bones.
′
The
their
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Reading Focus: Reading a Play
Characters’ Speech
• Noble characters generally speak in
blank verse.
• Commoners speak in ordinary prose.
• Occasionally a noble character will
speak in ordinary prose—when
addressing commoners or bantering.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Reading Focus: Reading a Play
Read the lines below. Which character is the
nobleman? Which is the commoner?
Marullus.
But what trade art thou? Answer me directly.
Cobbler. A trade, sir, that, I hope, I may use with a
safe conscience, which is indeed, sir, a mender of bad
soles.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Reading Focus: Reading a Play
Into Action: Use a chart to track how characters feel
about Caesar and how their loyalties shift. Note the words
that show their attitudes.
Act and
Scene
Act I,
Scene I
Character
Cobbler and
other
commoners
For Caesar
Against Caesar
“make holiday
to . . . rejoice
in his triumph”
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The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Writing Focus: Think as a Reader/Writer
Find It in Your Reading
As you read, make notes to help you follow the
events in the play.
Vocabulary
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Vocabulary
Recognizing and Mapping Puns
A pun is a word or phrase that means two
different things at the same time. Puns are based
on
• homophones—words that sound alike but
have different spellings and meanings
soles/souls
sun/son
flour/flower
• two meanings of a word
Ironing clothes is a pressing matter.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Vocabulary
Recognizing and Mapping Puns
When the cobbler says he is a cobbler in the first
scene, he plays on two meanings of the word. In
Shakespeare’s day, the word could mean either
“shoemaker” or “bungler.” This is a map of the pun.
shoemaker
cobbler
bungler
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Vocabulary
Recognizing and Mapping Puns
When the cobbler calls himself “a mender of bad
soles,” he also puns on the meaning of soles. Soles
refers to parts of shoes but also sounds exactly like
souls, which is the emotional or spiritual part of a
person. Map it like this.
soles
souls
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Vocabulary
Vocabulary Activity: Mapping Puns
Create a pun map for each of these puns from Act
I, scene 1 of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.
“All that I live by is with
the awl. . . .” (line 21)
“I am . . . a surgeon to old
shoes; when they are in
danger, I recover them.”
(lines 23–24)
awl
all
make better
recover
put on new covers
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Vocabulary
Archaic Words
Some of the words Shakespeare uses are now
archaic, which means “having to do with an
earlier time,” and no longer used today.
ague: fever
hie: hurry
alarum: call to arms, such as knave: servant, or person of
a trumpet blast
humble birth
an: if
prithee: pray thee (beg you)
betimes: from time to time
smatch: small amount
fleering: flattering
soothsayer: fortune teller
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Vocabulary
Words with Different Meanings
The most troublesome words in Shakespeare’s
plays are those that are still in use but now have
different meanings.
“thou naughty knave”
Shakespeare’s day:
Naughty means
“worthless.”
Today:
Naughty means “bad.”
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Vocabulary
Words with Different Meanings
closet: small room, often a
private study
just: true
exhalations: meteors
merely: wholly; entirely
gentle: noble. Gentleman
once referred to a man who
had a title.
repair: go
ghastly: ghostly
sad: serious
humor: temper or disposition soft: slowly; “wait a minute”
indifferently: impartially
wit: intelligence
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