The Tragedy of Julius Caesar Vocabulary and Allusions—Act I
Words are listed in the order in which they appear in the play. FOR ACT ONE QUIZ quiz date:_______________________________
WORD
DEFINITION
SENTENCE
ACT ONE words (in alphabetical order): chafing, cogitations, conjure, construe, encompassed, fawn (verb), incense (verb),
infirmity, lamented, portentous, redress, servile
1.
2.
servile (adj.)
construe (v.)
too obedient; subservient, in a
manner befitting a slave
“Who else *but Caesar+ would soar above the view of men/And keep us all in __________________
fearfulness” (I.i.).
to interpret in a particular way
“But let not therefore my food friends be grieved/…/Nor ___________________ any further my
neglect/Than that poor Brutus…/Forgets the shows of love to other men” (I.ii).
3.
cogitations (n.)
thoughts; ideas
4.
lamented (v.)
expressed regret or sadness
“…this breast of mine hath buried/Thoughts of great value, worthy _____________________” (I.ii.).
“…it is very much ___________________, Brutus,/That you have no such mirrors as will turn/Your
hidden worthiness into your eye” (I.ii).
5.
6.
7.
fawn (v.)
to flatter someone in order to
receive favors
chafing (v. or
adj.)
annoyed or resisting; making
someone feel annoyed or
irritated
conjure (v.)
to imagine or make up; to invoke
supernatural forces (as in sorcery)
8.
encompassed
(v.)
included or contained
9.
infirmity (n.)
illness; weakness; lack of
strength
“…if you know/That I do ____________________ on men and hug them hard,/And after scandal
them…”(I.ii.).
“For once, upon a raw and gusty day,/The troubled Tiber _______________________ with her
shores,/Caesar said to me…”(I.ii.).
“…____________________ with ‘em:/ ‘Brutus’ will start a spirit as soon as ‘Caesar’ “ (I.ii.).
“When could they say, till now, that talked of Rome,/That her wide walks
_______________________ but one man?” (I.ii.).
“When *Caesar+ came to/himself again, he said, if he had done or said anything/amiss, he desired
their worships to think it was his/________________________” (I.ii.).
10.
11.
portentous
(adj.)
very significant or meaningful,
especially with regard to future
events
“For I believe *such extraordinary events+ are _____________________ things/Unto the climate
that they point upon” (I.iii.).
redress (v. or n.)
(v.) to remedy a wrong or make an
unfair situation right; (n.)
compensation for a loss or a wrong
“Be factious for ______________________ of all these griefs,/And I will set this foot of mine as
far/As who goes farthest” (I.iii.)
ACT ONE ALLUSIONS (in order of appearance in the play)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Pompey
feast of Lupercal
ides (of March)
Aeneas
Colossus
Fates
rival of Caesar; defeated by Caesar in civil war in 48 B.C. and later murdered (I.i.)
an ancient Roman fertility festival held on February 15 in honor of Lupercus, an Italian equivalent of the god Pan (I.i.)
according to the Roman calendar, the midpoint of any given month (March 15) (I.ii.)
legendary founder of Rome; hero of Virgil’s Aeneid (I.ii.)
a bronze statue, more than 100 feet high, of Apollo that spanned the harbor of Rhodes; colossal means gigantic or enormous (I.ii.)
in Greek mythology the three goddesses who were believed to control the events and lengths of one’s life (I.ii.)
ROOT WORDS:
1. serv=save, keep (other words containing root: servant, service, conserve, preserve)
2. cogn, cogi=know (other words containing root: cognition, incognito, cognizant, recognize)