Julius
Caesar
By William Shakespeare
Study Guide
Ms. Dennis English II
Name:
Hour:
1
Define the following terms pertaining to Julius Caesar and Shakespeare’s work
Monologue
Blank Verse
Prose
Aside
Soliloquy
Allusion
Verbal Irony
Dramatic Irony
Situational Irony
Pun
2
Before seeing or reading the play Julius Caesar, read the statements below. Write an “A” if you agree with the statement, a
“D” if you disagree, or an “N” for neutral if you are unsure. Then, write a brief explanation of each of your decisions. You
will revisit the statements after reading the play and reflect on whether or not you would change your response .
Agree/Disagree/Neutral
(Before reading Julius Caesa r )
Explanation
Agree/Disagree/Neutral
Explanation
(Af ter reading Julius Ca es a r )
It is sometimes acceptable to betray your friends.
Suicide is never justified.
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
If a political leader does something wrong; it is acceptable to get rid of them by any means necessary.
No cause is worth dying for.
It is completely unacceptable to convince a close friend to do something dangerous.
The more success and power you have, the more people dislike you.
It is better to listen to the advice of your peers than that of your family or spouse.
Patriotism is bravery; rebellion against government is cowardly.
It may be necessary for a political leader to bend or break the rules for the good of the country.
There is such thing as fate.
Personal morals and principles and more important and friendship.
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Elements of Drama in Shakespeare’s Theater
3 Types of Shakespearean Plays
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COMEDIES
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 5 Characteristics:
o Mistaken Identities: _____________________________________________________________
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o Complex Plots: _________________________________________________________________
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o Puns: _________________________________________________________________________
o Happy Endings: ________________________________________________________________
 Tragic comedies: _________________________________________________________
o Insults: _______________________________________________________________________
HISTORIES
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o Medieval English History: ________________________________________________________
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o Hot historically Accurate: _________________________________________________________
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o Explore Social Structure: _________________________________________________________
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TRAGEDIES
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o The Tragic Flaw: _______________________________________________________________
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o The Supernatural: _______________________________________________________________
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o Death: ________________________________________________________________________
THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
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4
Watch the YouTube video about iambic pentameter and practice noting the stressed and
unstressed syllables.
Pumpkin
Remember
Unseen
Majestic
Cardboard
Information
Beneath
“Iamb” ( U / ) “Penta” (five feet)
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound!
But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?
Practice marking the iambic pentameter in the examples below.
American English Style
Shakespeare Style
You put your right hand in,
O proud left foot, that ventures quick within,
You put your right hand out,
That soon upon a backward journey lithe.
You put your right hand in,
Anon, once more the gesture, then begin:
And you shake it all about.
Command sinistral pedestal to writhe.
Commence thou then the fervid Hokey-Poke
You do the hokey pokey
A mad gyration, hips in wanton swirl.
And you turn yourself around.
To spin! A wide release from Heavens yoke.
That’s what it’s all about!
Blessed dervish! Surely canst go, girl.
The Hokey, the Poke—banish now thy doubt
Verily, I say, ‘tis what it’s all about.
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A pun is a word or phrase that means two different things at the same time. Some puns are based on two
meanings of a word. Others involve homophones, which are words that sound alike but have different spellings
and meanings.
Puns with two meanings:
Pun using homophones
Cobbler
Soles
Souls
“Shoemaker” “Bungler”
Of a shoe
Spirit of a being
Circle the words used as a pun in the examples below and describe the double meaning next to the sentence.
I tried to catch some fog. I mist.
When chemists die, they barium.
Jokes about German sausage are the wurst.
A soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.
I know a guy who’s addicted to brake fluid. He says he can stop at any time.
I stayed up all night to see where the sun went. Then it dawned on me.
The girl said she recognized me from the vegetarian club, but I never met herbivore.
I’m reading a book about anti-gravity. I can’t put it down.
I did a theatrical performance about puns. It was a play on words.
They told me I had type A blood, but it was a type-o.
Class trip to the Coca-Cola factory. I hope there’s no pop quiz.
Newsflash! “Energizer Bunny Arrested: Charged with Battery”
I didn’t like my beard at first, then, it grew in me.
What do you call a dinosaur with an extensive vocabulary? A thesaurus.
What does a clock do when it’s hungry? It goes back four seconds.
I wonder why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me!
Now, practice creating your own puns on the lines below. Come up with at least three examples.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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6
Read the beginning of Act I and respond to the following instructions and questions.
Practicing iambic pentameter
Directions: Mark the lines of Flavius below for iambic pentameter
Flavius
Hence! Home, you idle creatures, get you home!
Is this a holiday? What, know you not,
Being mechanical, you ought not walk
Upon a laboring day without the sign
Of your profession? Speak, what trade art thou?
Carpenter: Why sir, a carpenter.
Cobbler: Truly sir, in respect of a fine workman, I am but, as you would say, a cobbler.
Marullus: But what trade art thou? Answer me directly.
Cobbler: A trade, sir, that, I hope, I may use with safe conscience, which is indeed, sir, a mender of bad soles.
Flavius
What trade thou knave? Thou naughty knave, what trade?
Cobbler: Nay, I beseech you, sir, be not with me: yet, if you be out, sir, I can mend you.
Comprehending the text
1. Why are the lines of the cobbler and the carpenter not in iambic pentameter?
2. What is the literary device used in talking about mending soles?
Scene I:
3. What is the setting? What holiday is being celebrated?
4. Who are Marullus and Flavius? How are they different from each other?
5. Why do they want to drive the commoners from the street?
6. What else do Marullus and Flavius do to further hinder the celebration of Caesar’s victory?
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Scene II
7. What does Caesar tell Antony to do to Calpurnia?
8. Why might Caesar ask Antony in front of everyone else?
9. What is a soothsayer? Of what does he warn Caesar?
10. What does ides mean?
11. Does Marcus Brutus like Caesar? What does Brutus think of Caesar’s rise to power? Use lines from the
play as textual evidence.
12. Brutus says, “For let the gods so speed me as I love/ The name of honor more than I fear death” (Act I,
Scene II). What do these lines imply about Brutus’s most important value in life?
13. What story does Cassius tell Brutus?
14. What is Cassius’s point in telling the story?
15. What is Caesar’s opinion of telling Cassius? Why does he feel this way?
16. What handicap does Caesar reveal about himself when speaking to Antony?
17. How many tines was Caesar offered a coronet, or small crown?
18. What was Caesar’s reaction to the offering, according to Casca?
19. What sickness does Caesar have?
20. What happens to Marullus and Flavius?
21. What does Cassius plan to do to convince Brutus to conspire against Caesar?
Scene III
22. What unusual events occur during the storm?
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23. What meaning does Cassius interpret from the storm?
24. According to Casca, what are the senators planning to do to Caesar the next day?
25. Who is definitely part of the conspiracy?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
26. Shakespeare uses nature to mirror the disorders in human lives. What details in Scene III do you think
evoke a sense of danger and terror?
27. How would you evaluate the character of Brutus? Is he strong, weak, or something in between?
28. Do you have conflicting feelings about Caesar during this act? Describe your impressions of his character,
based on your responses to his speeches and actions and on what other characters say about them.
Quote Writing
“Men at some time are masters of their fates: the fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are
underlings” –Cassius, Act I, Scene II (lines 139-141)
After reading Act I, write a response describing how this quote is significant to the action of the play.
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At the time of Julius Caesar, just about everyone believed in magic, omens, and revelations. The Romans
examined everyday occurrences for forewarnings of good and evil. For example, they believed that the sound of a
distant storm or a rooster crowing in the night could affect the outcome of a personal matter or even a political
event. Politicians believed so strongly in signs that they created a site in Rome’s Capitol where they could consult
specialists. The owl was considered a bad omen. Once, when an owl flew into Rome’s Capitol, the Romans were
so upset that they carefully scrubbed the building with water and sulfur to drive out the owl’s supposed evil
influences. Solar eclipses were interpreted as supernatural and as omens of disaster. Speaking about an eclipse as
a natural occurrence was against the law. Lighting was also seen as a bed omen. Even dreams were seen as
messages from the Gods (Elements of Literature).
Response Questions
What superstitions are present in Act I? Quote the play and include scene and line numbers.
1.
2.
3.
Why did Shakespeare include these omens at this point of the play?
How do you think these omens will affect the rest of the play?
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Scene I
1. According to Brutus, why is it necessary that Caesar be killed?
2. What actions does Lucious perform that help the plot unfold?
3. What is Brutus’s internal conflict?
4. Why does Brutus disagree about taking an oath?
5. Why does Metellus think it would be a good idea to ask Cicero to join the conspiracy?
6. Why does Brutus say they should not ask Cicero to join the conspiracy?
7. What does Brutus say about killing Marc Antony?
8. What reason does Cassius give for why Caesar might not come out of his house today?
9. By what method does Decius say he will use to get Caesar out of the house?
10. Why is Portia, Brutus’s wife, worried about Brutus?
11. How does she prove her strength to Brutus?
Scene II
12. Why does Calpurnia want Caesar to stay home?
13. Describe Calpurnia’s dream.
14. How does Decius interpret Calpurnia’s dream?
15. What arguments does Decius use to change Caesar’s mind about going to the Capitol?
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Scene III
16. What does Artemidorus plan to do?
Scene IV
17. Why is Portia so nervous?
18. What does Portia want Lucius to do?
19. What does the soothsayer tell Portia?
Shaping Interpretations
20. Describe the complexities of Caesar’s character. How do you feel about him—is he a monstrous tyrant or a
sympathetic man? Explain your reasoning.
21. Where does Shakespeare use thunder and other storm sounds in the setting to suggest cosmic disorder?
How does this weather impact the audience?
22. How do you feel about Portia’s weeping in her last speech: “… how weak a thing/ the heart of woman is”?
Quote Writing
“Cowards die many times before their deaths: the valiant never taste of death but once. Of all the wonders that yet
I have herd, it seems to me the most strange that men should fear, seeing that death, a necessary end, will come
when it will come”—Caesar, Act II, Scene II
After reading Act II, write a response describing how this quote is significant to the action of the play.
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Scene I
1. What reason does Caesar give for not reading Artemidorus’s letter?
2. What specific roles do the following character splay in the conspiracy?
a. Trebonius:
b. Metellus Cimber:
c. Casca:
3. What is Caesar’s opinion of himself?
4. What does “Et tu, Brute” mean? How does these words, followed by, “then fall Caesar,” relate to the
theme of friendship in the play?
5.
Where does Caesar’s dead body lie? How is this ironic?
6. What does Brutus tell the conspirators to do after killing Caesar?
7. What promise does Brutus tell the servant to relay to Antony?
8. What does Antony say about the possibility of being killed by the conspirators?
9. After being assured he is in no danger, what favor does Antony ask of the conspirators?
10. What does Cassius think about granting Antony his favor?
11. What restrictions on the favor does Brutus set?
12. Summarize Antony’s main points in his speech to Cassius’s body?
13. Who is coming to Rome to meet with Antony?
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Scene II
14. According to Brutus’s speech to the commoners, what reasons does he give of Caesar’s death?
15. What is the mood of the crowd as Brutus finishes his speech?
16. What does Brutus offer at the end of his speech?
17. List three points of Antony’s speech that work to persuade the crowd to turn on the conspirators.
a.
b.
c.
18. What reason does Antony give for why he cannot read Caesar’s will?
19. What has Caesar left the Romans in his will?
20. How does the crowd react to Antony’s speech?
Scene III
21. What happens to Cinna and the Poet? Why?
Shaping Interpretations
22. In his funeral oration in Scene II, Antony holds to his agreement with Brutus and Cassius yet destroys the
conspirators’ reputations. How does he do this and manipulate the Roman mob?
23. The third act of Shakespeare’s tragedies usually contains the turning point, the moment when all the
action of the play begins to spiral toward the tragic ending. Which event do you think is the turning point
in this play: the assassination of Caesar or Brutus’s decision to allow Antony to address the crowd?
Explain.
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24. Lines 111-118 of Scene I suggest that the conspirators’ deed will be “acted over” or repeated, “many ages
hence”. What meaning do you think Shakespeare intended for his audience to read into these lines?
Quote Writing
“O judgement, thou art fled to brutish beasts, and men have lost their reason! Bear with me; my heart is in the
coffin there with Caesar, and I must pause till it come bact to me”—Anotny, Act III, Scene II
After reading Act III, write a response describing how this quote is significant to the action of the play.
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