The Tragedy of Julius Caesar Test Review Section

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar Test Review

Section I: Name the character (10 points) A. Has a dream that Caesar’s statue is flowing with blood Calpurnia B. Convinces Caesar to go to the capital Decius C. Warns Caesar to beware of the ides of March The Soothsayer D. Approaches Caesar with a letter and Caesar turns away Artemidorus E. Defeats Pompey in a civil war Caesar F. Caesar’s adoptive son; goes to battle with Antony against Brutus Octavius G. loyal friend of Caesar who reads his will to the citizens of Rome Antony H. Concerned about Brutus and wants him to share his thoughts Portia I. Wants to kill Marc Antony too Cassius J. Caesar says to him “Et tu, Brute” Brutus

K. Hubris could be said to have been his Hamartia Caesar L. This character is clearly a Pollyana Brutus M. “Yond ______ has a lean and hungry look” Cassius N. Compares himself to the Northern Star Caesar O. Once pulled Caesar out of the Tiber River and is intimately aware of Caesar’s weaknesses Cassius P. These two men removed decorations from statues of Caesar that had been hung in celebration of Caesar’s victory over Pompey Flavius and Marullus Q. Forged letters to Brutus and had them placed in Brutus’ home Cassius R. March 15 th The Ides of March S. Said: “Indeed it is a strange-disposèd time; / But men may construe things after their fashion, / Clean from the purpose of the things themselves” Cicero T. Who is the speaker and to whom is he referring? “he sits high in all the people’s hearts, / And that which would appear offence in us / His countenance, like richest alchemy, / Will change to virtue and to worthiness” Cassius/Brutus

U. Is brutally murdered for his “bad verse” as well as for sharing the name of one of the conspirators Cinna V. In the aftermath of Caesar’s death, these three men emerge as the temporary Roman Triumvirate Antony, Octavius. , Lepidus W. Commits suicide by chomping down on some fiery coals Portia X. After appearing in Sardis, tells Brutus he will see him again on the battlefield at Philippi the Ghost of Caesar Y. “Julius Caesar, thou art mighty yet” who utters these words and upon what occasion…. Brutus, seeing Cassius dead Z. “Caesar, now be still. / I killed not thee with half so good a will” Who speaks these words and upon what occasion Brutus, as he prepares to take his own life

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar Test Review: Short Answer

Section II: Short answer (3 points each) 1. Explain the setting and circumstances of Act I Scene 1. What transpires? The Roman plebeians are celebrating Caesar’s victory over Pompey and his return to Rome. 2. How do Flavius and Marullus view the workers they meet in the street? They view them as being 2 nd class, uncultured, fickle and not fully capable of critical thinking. 3. How do Flavius and Marullus show their disapproval of Caesar’s power? • They remove decorations from Caesar’s statue 4. Why do Flavius and Marullus make plans to remove the decorations from the statues? • They want to diminish Caesar’s power • “These growing feathers pluck'd from Caesar's wing Will make him fly an ordinary pitch, Who else would soar above the view of men And keep us all in servile fearfulness. “ 5. Caesar reveals that his tragic flaw may be hubris and arrogance when he ignores and disregard s several specific warnings about his fate. Describe two of these. • When he dismisses the soothsayer’s warning to “beware the Ides of March” • When he chooses to ignore Calpurnia’s dream involving blood spouting like a fountain from a statue of Caesar and Romans bathing in it in celebratory fashion • When he ignores the priests warnings after discovering no heart in the sacrificial animal

6. What does Cassius know about Caesar that few other Romans know? 7. Describe the story he tells Brutus about the incident on the Tiber River. What is the significance of this? 8. What does Caesar ask Antony to do during the ceremonial race on the Feast of the Lupercal? What was his motivation and what does this reveal about Caesar? 9. What critical error does Brutus, ignoring Cassius’ warning, make which ultimately results in the plebeians turning against the conspirators? What does this reveal about what might be described as

10. How does Decius persuade Caesar to go to the capital despite all of the portents? 11. Who speaks these lines and what comparison is he making? “like this dreadful night, . . . thunders, lightens, opens graves, and roars As doth the lion in the Capitol. ” 12. Describe Antony’s rhetorical tactics during his funeral oration. How, specifically, does he turn the plebeians against the conspirators? 13. What were Brutus’ specific reasons for joining the conspiracy and killing Caesar? What does he believe? 14. What did Caesar’s will say and what did it seem to reveal to the plebeians about Caesar? What is the impact of this? 15. Describe the circumstances of Cassius’ death?

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar Test Review: Short Quotations For each quotation: • Identify the speaker • Briefly explain the context/circumstances in which the words were spoken • Provide an interpretation • Explain the quote’s significance in light of the play as a whole

Speaker: Brutus 1. In the soliloquy, Brutus is pacing in his orchard and, under the influence of It must be by his death: and for my part, I know no personal cause to spurn at him, Cassius’ powers of persuasion, comes to But for the general. He would be crown'd: to the conclusion that Caesar’s rise to power How that might change his nature, there's the question. It is the bright day that brings forth must be stopped the adder……. . 2. Though he loves Caesar and never has But 'tis a common proof, seen his reason swayed, Brutus is That lowliness is young ambition's ladder, Whereto the climber-upward turns his face; aware But when he once attains the upmost round. That absolute power corrupts absolutely And that Caesar as King and Emperor may He then unto the ladder turns his back, Become like an “adder” --a poisonous Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees snake By which he did ascend. Threatening the newly established Roman …. Fashion it thus; that what he is, Republic augmented, Would run to these and these extremities: 3. Brutus concludes that, to protect Rome And therefore think him as a serpent's egg and Its people, Caesar must be killed Which, hatch'd, would, as his kind, grow before being crowned—ie as an mischievous, unhatched serpent’s And kill him in the shell. egg. . As un hatched egg, the poisonous serpent Quote: #1

• Quote #2 • BRUTUS What means this shouting? I do fear the people Choose Caesar for their king. CASSIUS Ay, do you fear it? Then must I think you would not have it so. BRUTUS I would not, Cassius, yet I love him well. • This is occurs during the feast of the Luperchal and is the moment that Cassius first realizes that Brutus might be ripe for persuasion and conversion to his plot to assassinate Caesar • Though Brutus says loves Caesar, he says he also fears that his friend will be crowned king, which goes against the ideals of the Roman Republic. • Though Brutus, Cassius, and the fellow conspirators want to eliminate Caesar's threat, it's obvious that the commoners, or plebeians, adore Caesar. • When Caesar returns from defeating Pompey in the first act, he's met

• Quote #3 • Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world Like a Colossus, and we petty men Walk under his huge legs and peep about To find ourselves dishonourable graves. • Speaker: Cassius • Cassius tries to convince Brutus that Caesar needs to be taken down, he conjures up a vivid image of the Roman leader as a "Colossus" – a giant statue • Cassius knows another side of Caeser and is aware that not only is he not immortal, he is actually physically frail in certain ways. Moments before this, Cassius tells Brutus the story of how Caesar almost drowned as a young boy and how he once became so ill that he acted like a "sick girl. " • The play presents competing images of Caesar. Is he really an all-powerful figure, or is he made out to be a bigger threat than he really is?

• Quote #4 • Let me have men about me that are fat, Sleek-headed men, and such as sleep o' nights: Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much; such men are dangerous. • Speaker: Caesar • Caesar makes light of his desire to be surrounded by fat and complacent yes-men, yet he realizes this is necessary to the safety of his power. • Caesar rightly fears Cassius (he is aware of what Cassius knows about him and that he might have reasons to resent him) • This seems to suggest that Caesar cares more about his own welfare, image and reputation than he does about the fragile Roman Republic.

• Quote #5 • SOOTHSAYER Beware the ides of March. CAESAR He is a dreamer; let us leave him. Pass. • Caesar is warned by the soothsayer to watch his back on March 15, but Caesar doesn't take the ominous warning seriously. • Caesar was stabbed 33 times on March 15, so it's pretty clear to the audience that Caesar should have heeded this warning. • And even though Caesar says a few moments later that he's wary of "lean and hungry" looking men like Cassius, it seems like his arrogance (hamartia) prevents him from taking the soothsayer's advice to heart. • Caesar ignores warning signs – later, he ignores his own wife, who envisions his death in a prophetic dream.

Quote #6 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. • This quotation comes early in the play and introduces a motif involving the question of whether it is preordained fate, or man’s free will that ultimately determines the turn of events in life. This is a question that is the concern of much literature from the classical period (Sophocles and Oedipus Rex etc) • As Cassius complains about Caesar's power, he claims that it's Rome's own fault for being servile to one man. • Men, according to Cassius, are "masters of their fates, " which, in this context, means it's up to them to take down Caesar. • This seems like a fine idea, but there's a lot of evidence in the play (like prophesies and omens that come true) to suggest that men don't have much control over their destinies

Quotation #7 “These growing feathers pluck'd from Caesar's wing Will make him fly an ordinary pitch, Who else would soar above the view of men And keep us all in servile fearfulness. “ • At the end of Act I Scene I, Flavius says this to Marullus as the two remove celebratory decorations from statues of Caesar. • The two men are government officials and backers of Pompey. Alarmed by Caesar's meteoric rise to glory and afraid if they can’t stall his momentum he will soon be crowned king, the men remove the decorations and browbeat the celebrating plebeians. • The metaphor Flavius employs compares Caesar to a soaring bird. By removing the decorations, they are figuratively plucking feathers from Caesar’s wings so that he wont “fly” higher than mortal men such as

Quotation #8 “Indeed it is a strange-disposèd time; / But men may construe things after their fashion, / Clean from the purpose of the things themselves” • Amidst the storm of supernatural activity on the eve of the Ides of March, Cicero says this to Casca. • This quotation provides important commentary on one of the plays central motifs: the interpretation and misinterpretation of signs. • Cicero suggests that men interpret things according to their own needs and personal agendas and that often their interpretations have nothing, really, to do with the signs themselves. Cicero’s wisdom on the subject will be borne out in episode after episode of the play.

Quotation #9 “…. he sits high in all the people’s hearts, / And that which would appear offence in us / His countenance, like richest alchemy, / Will change to virtue and to worthiness” • Cassius is attempting to convince his co-conspirators of the importance of recruiting Brutus to their cause. • Cassius makes the point that the Roman people love Brutus and equate him with honor, Brutus “sits high in all the people’s hearts. ” • If they can successfully recruit Brutus, their conspiracy, which would have been seen as an “offense” without Brutus, will through a subtle alchemy take on a countenance (face) of honor and nobility by virtue of Brutus’ association with it (Ethos!)

Quotation #10 “…. Julius Caesar, thou art mighty yet” • Brutus utters these words upon seeing Cassius’ dead body on the battlefield at Philippi • Brutus has come to terms with the fact that, despite his physical death, the momentum of Caesar's legacy lives on and continues indirectly to determine the course of events. • These words provide subtle commentary on what HAD seemed an ironic speech in which, moments before being assassinated, Caesar had compared himself to the Northern Star and to an (immortal) God among men. Brutus realizes that in fact these words were, in a certain way, accurate.

Uses of Rhetoric: The Funeral Orations Brutus Goes Toe to Toe with Antony In A Rhetorical Boxing Match!

Essay Choose one of the topics below and write a detailed response. To review for this, you may want to review the Powerpoint Presentation on Brutus’ and Antony’s Funeral orations on the class BLOG. (25 pts) 1. Provide a brief analysis of Brutus’ strategic use of rhetoric in his funeral oration. How is he effective in convincing the plebeians that the assassination of Julius Caesar was honorable, worthy and for the good of Rome? Be sure to note, and comment on with specific examples, Brutus use of some of Aristotle's classical rhetorical strategies as well as an either/or logical fallacy, and specific types of parallel syntax.

Antony’s Verbal Irony Friends, Romans, countrymen--Brutus is an honorable man. F Tis true! Yeah, and…. !

2. Provide a brief analysis of Antony’s strategic use of rhetoric in his funeral oration. How is he effective in simultaneously keeping his word to Brutus (that he would not criticize the conspirators) while inciting a riot among the plebeians and turning them angrily against Brutus, Cassius and their coconspirators? Be sure to note, and comment on with specific examples, Antony’s use of some of Aristotle's classical rhetorical strategies as well as verbal irony and parallel syntax.