Name_______________________
Pd._______________
Julius Caesar: Act I Reading and Study Guide
I. VOCABULARY: Be able to define the following words and understand them when they appear in
the play.
why
wherefore____________________________________
Exit or leave the stage.
exeunt (ĕk sē-ǝnt , -oont ) ____________________________________________________
vulgar__________________________________________________________________
Common, low, base, (someone worth nothing)
Noun – intensifies the distaste
What part of speech is vulgar when used by Flavius in line 70?____________________________
they feel for commoners.
construe________________________________________________________________
To interpret or explain.
A secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful.
conspiracy____________________________________________________________________
Suspicious
jealous_______________________________________________________________________
II. LITERARY TERMS: Be able to define each term and apply each term to the play.
blank verse ______________________________________________________________
Unrhymed iambic pentameter.
List characters who speak in verse______________________________________
Brutus, Caesar, Cassius, Casca, Flavius, Marullus, Cinna
prose___________________________________________________________________
Regular speech
List characters who speak in prose______________________________________
Cobbler, other commoners
**For what possible reason do some characters speak in prose and some
speak in verse?_______________________________________________
Shows education, class, power.
tragedy__________________________________________________________________
A play, novel, or other narrative that depicts serious and important events and ends
unhappily for the main character.
pun_____________________________________________________________________
A word or phrase that means two different things at the same time.
Example from Act I, scene i:__________________________________________
Base Mettle – METTLE vs METAL (low strength of spirit vs.
metal that oxidizes or corrodes relatively easily.)
conflict _________________________________________________________________
A struggle or clash between opposing characters or forces.
Conspiring Senators
Caesar
External: 1. __________________________
vs. __________________________
Commoners (society for J.C.
2. __________________________
vs. __________________________
Flavius & Marullus
storm
3. __________________________
vs. __________________________
Casca or Cassius
Internal: 4. __________________________
vs. __________________________
Brutus’ love for Caesar
Brutus’ hate of Caesar’s power
soliloquy (sǝ-lĭl ǝ-kwē) _____________________________________________________
Speech by a character alone, onstage, to himself or herself or to the audience.
Example:__________________________________________________________
I, ii, 304-318: Cassius details his plans to write fake letters to convince Brutus
the citizens love him more than Caesar.
A metrical foot consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable…
iambic meter _____________________________________________________________
A line of five feet with an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.
(˘ evil
′)˘ that
′ men
˘ do
′ lives
˘ ′after
˘ them,
′
( )=1 foot
The
iambic pentameter ________________________________________________________
A word or phrase for one thing that is used to refer to another thing in order to show or
metaphor _______________________________________________________________
suggest that they are similar.
“No, Caesar hath not it; but you, and I, / and honest Casca, we have the falling
Example: ______________________________________________________________
sickness.” (I, ii, 255-6) Comparing their “fall” from power if Caesar becomes king.
simile __________________________________________________________________
A figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared in a phrase introduced
by like or as.
Example: ______________________________________________________________
(I, ii, 135-6) He doth bestride the narrow world/ like a Colossus… referring to
Caesar and his power.
III. Questions: Answer the following questions.
Background
1. Where and when was Shakespeare born?
Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom in 1564.
2. What theatre did Shakespeare help build?
Shakespeare helped build the Globe Theatre.
3. When did he die?
He died in 1616.
4. In what historical period was Shakespeare living? Who was the ruler of England at that time?
Shakespeare lived in the Elizabethan Era, the late 16th century. Queen Elizabeth was the ruler.
5. What three types of plays did Shakespeare write? Give an example of each.
Shakespeare wrote dramas, comedies and romances.
6. What was it like to go to a play during Shakespeare’s time?
There were no sets so audiences had to imagine them, only boys were allowed to act, and the actors
wore elaborate costumes.
7. What historian did Shakespeare use as a source for writing Julius Caesar?
Shakespeare used Plutarch’s biography on Julius Caesar.
8. When and where did Julius Caesar live?
Caesar lived in Rome around 100-44 B.C.
9. Who is Pompey? Although he is not a character in the play, why is he important to the plot?
Pompey ruled Rome before Caesar. Loyalists to Pompey believe Caesar had something to do with his
murder in order to usurp the throne.
Act I
Scene 1:
1. What is the setting? What holiday is being celebrated?
The setting is ancient Roman times, 44 b.c. Lupercal is being celebrated.
2. Who are Marullus and Flavius?
They are tribunes/military men who are against Caesar.
3. Why do they want to drive the commoners from the street?
They don’t want them to praise Caesar.
4. What else do Marullus and Flavius do to further hinder the celebration of Caesar’s victory?
They take down anything praising Caesar.
Scene 2:
5. What does Caesar tell Antony to do to Calpurnia?
He wants Antony to touch her when he passes to make her fertile.
6. Why might Caesar ask Antony in front of everyone else?
He wants to flex his power and show how devoted Antony is.
7. What is a soothsayer? Of what does he warn Caesar?
A soothsayer is a fortune teller. He tells Caesar to be careful in the middle of March.
8. What does ides mean? It means “middle” or the 15th day in this case.
9. Does Marcus Brutus like Caesar? What does Brutus think of Caesar’s rise to power? Use lines
from play to support your answer.
He likes him, but he doesn’t want him to come to power.
10. Brutus says, “For let the gods so speed me as I love / The name of honor more than I fear death.”
What do these lines imply about Brutus’s most important value in life? These lines show that honor
is the most important thing to Brutus. He values honor over death.
11. What story does Cassius tell Brutus? He and Caesar were swimming when Caesar nearly
drowned and Cassius had to save him. He also saw Caesar act like a little girl when he was sick.
12. What is Cassius’s point in telling this story?
He wants to show what a coward Caesar is.
13. What is Caesar’s opinion of Cassius? Why does he feel this way?
He thinks Cassius is dangerous because he is too sneaky, thinks too much, and is too alert.
14. What handicap does Caesar reveal about himself when speaking to Antony?
He is deaf in the left ear.
15. How many times was Caesar offered a coronet, or a small crown?
He was offered it three times.
16. What was Caesar’s reaction to the offering, according to Casca?
Caesar kept taking it off. Casca then tells how Caesar fainted from the smell of the crowd.
17. What sickness does Caesar have? He has epilepsy (falling sickness).
18. What happens to Marullus and Flavius? They are punished (silenced).
19. What does Cassius plan to do to convince Brutus to conspire against Caesar?
He is going to write him letters in different handwriting to convince him the people want Brutus
to rule and to plant seeds of doubt about their loyalty to Caesar.
Scene 3:
20. What unusual events occur during the storm?
There are men on fire still walking; there is a lion on the Capitol steps; an owl sat hooting in the
market place; a slave’s hand is on fire, but not burning.
21. What meaning does Cassius interpret from the storm?
He believes it is ominous, signifying Caesar has grown too powerful and proving he should kill
Caesar.
22. According to Casca, what are the senators planning to do to Caesar tomorrow?
They are going to establish Caesar as a king.
23. Who is definitely part of the conspiracy?
1.
Cassius
4. Cinna
2.
Decius Brutus
5. Casca
3.
Trebonius
6. Metellus Cimber