Julius Caesar

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Beware the Ides of March!”

In this activity, students will use critical thinking and collaborative learning to write a speech that will allow them to gain a better understanding of the persuasive power of rhetoric.

Throughout the first three Acts of the play, various characters try to warn Caesar of the dangers in store for him, but these warnings fall on deaf ears. Where did the warnings of Calpurnia and the soothsayer fall short? Working in small groups, write a persuasive speech to convince Caesar to stay away from the senate meeting on the Ides of March. Each group should consider the following issues:

• Why might the omens surrounding the Ides of March bode ill for Caesar?
• What are some of Caesar’s personality traits that can be exploited to persuade him more effectively?
• Without any active knowledge of the conspiracy, who might be seen as a threat to Caesar?

Once all groups are finished, each group should pick one member to deliver the speech in front of the class. These presentations should facilitate discussions on the overarching themes, symbols, and motifs of the play.

Teaching Suggestion: Consider encouraging students to annotate effective examples of rhetoric from the play for inspiration, as they might use this textual support in forming their speeches. Antony’s famous funeral oration would be a strong choice for rhetorical analysis. It may also be helpful to share with students a video or audio recording of the speech, since Shakespeare's plays were designed and meant to be performed for live audiences. This would also benefit auditory processors.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Though the play takes its name from Julius Caesar, much of the action concerns Brutus's experiences and emotional conflicts.

• In what ways can Brutus be considered the tragic hero of the play? (topic sentence)
• Identify and analyze 3 parts or quotes from the play that show Brutus as a tragic hero.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, evaluate Brutus’s fatal flaws and discuss how they lead to his downfall.

2. Brutus's speech to the Roman public and Antony’s funeral oration for Caesar are two of the most famous examples of rhetoric from English literature.

• Which speech is more effective, Antony’s or Brutus’s, and why? (topic sentence)
• Identify 3 persuasive techniques in Antony's or Brutus's speech. Then explain what makes each part more effective than the opposing speech.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, evaluate the speech in relation to its outcome. How does it convey The Persuasive Power of Rhetoric?

3. In classical drama, tragic heroes were often imbued with a “tragic flaw” (or hamartia) that led to their downfall.

• How does hamartia lead to the downfall and death of Caesar or Brutus? (topic sentence)
• Analyze at least 3 passages that demonstrate Caesar's or Brutus's fatal flaws. Explain your ideas carefully.
• In your conclusion, reflect on how Caesar or Brutus demonstrates How Hubris Can Lead to One's Downfall.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Though powerful Roman men are at the heart of the play, Caesar’s wife Calpurnia and Brutus’s wife Portia feature in a few domestic scenes. How does Shakespeare represent the role of women in the ancient Roman world? How are Calpurnia and Portia similar? How are they different? Cite your quotations with act, scene, and line number.

2. The Roman commoners, or plebeians, feature as important minor characters in many scenes. What is the role of the plebeians in the play? In what ways do they represent the values and power of Rome? How do they motivate the main characters and the plot of the play? Cite your quotations with act, scene, and line number.

3. Omens and prophecies are prominent features of the play. What is the role of superstition in the play? What are some examples of omens and prophecies that appear? What are the consequences of ignoring them? Cite your quotations with act, scene, and line number.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What does Caesar’s deaf ear symbolize?

A) His ambition

B) His refusal to listen to advice

C) His hubris

D) His love for his wife

2. What is the significance of the Ides of March in the play?

A) It is the day the conspirators assassinate Caesar.

B) It is the day of the Lupercalia.

C) It is the day Caesar wins his war against Pompey.

D) It is the day Antony and Octavius defeat the conspirators.

3. Who persuades Brutus to join the conspiracy against Caesar?

A) Octavius

B) Cassius

C) Casca

D) Cinna

4. When Caesar says that he is as “constant as the Northern Star” (Act III, Scene 1), what literary device is he using?

A) Personification

B) Allusion

C) Alliteration

D) Simile

5. Why does Caesar choose not to look at Artemidorus’s letter?

A) He is worried about the Ides of March.

B) Cassius does not want him to read the letter.

C) He does not trust Artemidorus.

D) It would be dishonorable to read a letter that concerns his own person.

6. Which of the conspirators is reluctant to allow Antony to deliver Caesar’s funeral oration?

A) Brutus

B) Decius

C) Casca

D) Cassius

7. What does Antony predict will follow Caesar’s death?

A) Peace

B) Civil war

C) An even worse tyrant

D) Conquest by barbarians

8. What rhetorical strategy is Antony employing when he keeps referring to Brutus as an honorable man in his funeral oration?

A) Irony

B) Metaphor

C) Personification

D) Juxtaposition

9. Why do the plebeians riot at Caesar’s funeral?

A) They want the Republic to be restored.

B) They are furious that Caesar was killed.

C) They do not feel Caesar left enough for them in his will.

D) They want to kill Octavius.

10. What happens to Brutus’s wife Portia?

A) She leaves Brutus.

B) She becomes very wealthy and powerful.

C) She is assassinated.

D) She takes her own life.

11. What does the “evil spirit” come to tell Brutus?

A. That he forgives him

B. That Cassius is his enemy

C. That he should have killed Antony with Caesar

D. That he will see him at Philippi

12. Where do Antony and Octavius defeat the conspirators?

A) Philippi

B) Gaul

C) Rome

D) Alexandria

13. Why does Pindarus assist Cassius in ending his life?

A) Pindarus hates Cassius.

B) Pindarus is Cassius’s bondsman.

C) Brutus commands him to do so.

D) Pindarus wants to avenge Caesar.

14. Why does Lucilius allow himself to be captured by Antony?

A) He does not want to kill himself.

B) He wants to defect to Antony’s side.

C) He wants to give Brutus a chance to get away.

D) He hopes to be granted amnesty.

15. Who is “the noblest Roman of them all,” according to Antony?

A) Caesar

B) Octavius

C) Brutus

D) Cassius

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. Why does Brutus decide to kill Caesar? What inner conflict does he struggle with while facing this decision?

2. Why is Antony initially “meek and gentle” with Caesar’s killers? How does this benefit him, since he later turns against them?

3. What is the significance of the strategic disagreement between Antony and Octavius before battle? How does this disagreement shed light on the relationship between Antony and Octavius?