Julius Caesar Notes
- Plebians: Commoners – workers
- Patricians: Aristrocrats, wealthy, nobles
- Puns: play on words
- Images
- Rhyme
- Prose
- Iambic Pentameter
- February 15th
o Feast of the Lupercal
o Feast
of the founding of
- 1st Triumvirate – 3 person ruling coalition of leadership
o Caesar
§ Supported by Plebians
o Crassius
o Pompey
§ Supported by Patricians
- Caesar is Superstitious
- Nothing is limitless possibility
o Dreams – visions
§ see things that others don’t
- March 15th is the Ides of March
- Cassius
o duplicitous
§ two-faced
o sycophant
o manipulative
o moocher
o corrupter
- Honor
o Virtue
o Worthy
- Fat = contentment
- Cassius – lean – hungry
o Power hungry
- Caesar is deaf in his left ear
-
o Each time is harder for him to give up
- Weather and Storms
o Mood, tone, emotions
o Portents on signs
- Men may construe things after their fashions
o Clean from the purpose of the things themselves
- Cassius compares the storm to Caesar
- Brutus
o Proud
o Weak
o Honorable
o Easily flattered
o Naive
- Cassius
o Manipulatious
o Devious
o Duplicitous
o Sychophant
- Tripantite Man
o Head
§ Mind
§ Intellect
· Logic
· Reason
· Balance
o Heart
§ Love
§ Emotion
o Hand
§ Violent
§ Spleen
- Tragedy
o Court World
§ Everyday world
§ Vertical hierarchy
§ Controlled by men
§ Rational/logical
§ Violent
§ Violent solutions to old problems
- Comedy
o Green World
§ Natural world
§ Dominated by females
§ Imagination
§ Creativity
§ Chaotic
§ New creative or imaginative solutions to old problems
- Force vs. Imagination
- Calpurnia
o Dreams that Caesar’s murdered 3 times
o Lioness gives birth in a street
o Raining blood
o Ghost in streets
o Dead come out of graves
- Act 1 – Exposition
- Act 2 – Rising Action
- Act 3 – Climax
- How do the conspirators get close to Caesar?
- Metellus Cimber asks for the re-enfranchisement of his brother, Publius
- Casca is first to stab Caesar
-
o Will take Caesars body to market place
o Will speak 2nd at funeral
o Can say nothing bad about the conspirators only good things about Caesar
o Must say that the conspirators are letting him speak
Caesar
- loved by plebeians
- rivaled Pompey
- murdered
- wanted to be King
- had mistresses
- ambitious
Both
- leaders
- Romans
- Took things their own way to justify their actions
- Easily swayed and flattered
Brutus
- murderer
- supported by nobles
- was a noble
- supported Pompey
- Against Kings
- Had one honorable wife
- Conspirator
-
Grandfather threw out the last of
-
Put
- Honorable
The main difference between Caesar and Brutus was that Caesar had every intention of becoming King of Rome while Brutus had every intention of making sure that there was no king. Caesar was loved by the Plebians while Brutus was supported by the nobles since he was a noble himself. Caesar was ambitious while Brutus was honorable. Another major difference was Caesar was murdered while Brutus was the murderer. Their main similarities are that they are both leaders and Romans. Also they are easily swayed by others opinions and ideas in order to seem more powerful or honorable.
Calpurnia
- wife of Caesar
- begged Caesar to not go out
- not as respected or listened to
- her husband had a mistress
Both
- wives of influential Romans
- women
- want the best for their husbands
- care for their husbands greatly
- sad when there husbands are sad
Portia
- Wife of Brutus
- Respected by Brutus
- Honorable
- Dedicated
- Stabbed her thigh to show she can keep secret
- Brutus remained faithful to her
Calpurnia is the wife of Caesar while Portia is the wife of Brutus. Calpurnia is portrayed as an almost nagging wife who isn’t respected or listened to as much by her husband. Whereas Portia is greatly respected and listened to by her husband. This is because she is able to keep a secret by stabbing her leg to show her dedication to Brutus. As different as they are they are also similar in that they are both wives of influential Romans and care deeply about their husbands and feel their husbands pain.
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