Name___Summer
Block______________
Julius Caesar: Act I Reading and Study Guide
I. VOCABULARY: Be able to define the following words and understand them when they appear in
the play.
wherefore_____why______________________________________________
exeunt (k
s
-
nt , -
nt
)go offstage_______________
vulgar__crude, unrefined_______
What part of speech is vulgar when used by Flavius in line 72?__________________________________
construe____interpret__________
II. LITERARY TERMS: Be able to define each term and apply each term to the play.
blank verse __unrhymed lines an iambic pentameter
List characters who speak in verse___________________________________________
prose________________matter of fact, dull quality
List characters who speak in prose___________________________________________
**What possible reason do some characters speak in prose and some speak in
verse?_________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Tragedy drama
pun To make puns
Example from Act I, scene i:_______________________________________________
conflict _______Problem__________________________
External: 1.man vs. man
2 man vs. society
3. Man vs. nattier
Internal: 4.man vs. self
soliloquy (s-l
l
-kw
) _____a long speech given by a character alone on stage, to reveal his/her private thoughts. Example:_______________________________________________________________
iambic meter ________unstressed
iambic pentameter _____5 unstressed 1 stressed
metaphor _______________comparing something not using like or as
Example: _________Santa was redder than a cherry
simile __comparing something using like or as___________________
Example: ___She was a red as a cherry
III. Questions: answer the following questions.
Background
1. Where and when was Shakespeare born?
1564
2. What theatre did Shakespeare help build?
Global theatre
3. When did he die?
4. In what historical period was Shakespeare living? Who was the ruler of England at that time?
Renaissance and elizabeth
5. What three types of plays did Shakespeare write? Give an example of each.
Historic, tragedy and comedies
6. What was it like to go to a play during Shakespeare’s time?
A honor
7. What historian did Shakespeare use as a source for writing Julius Caesar?
8. When and where did Julius Caesar live?
Rome
9. Who is Pompey? Although he is not a character in the play, why is he important to the plot?
Julius Caesar enemy
Scene 1:
10. What is the setting? What holiday is being celebrated?
Rome and idles of March
12. Who are Marullus and Flavius?
Members of the concil
13. Why do they want to drive the commoners from the street?
Because they don’t like Caesar or his celebration
14. What else do Marullus and Flavius do to further hinder the celebration of Caesar’s victory?
Ruin the statues
Scene 2:
15. What does Caesar tell Antony to do to Calpurnia?
Keep her out the house
16. Why might Caesar ask Antony in front of everyone else?
Casue he is his most loyal friend
17. What is a soothsayer? Of what does he warn Caesar?
a poor person that he will killed of the Ides of March
18. What does ides mean?
15th
19. Does Marcus Brutus like Caesar? What does Brutus think of Caesar’s rise to power? Use lines from play to support your answer.
He lovles Caesar but is convinced that he will lead home to its down fell.
20. Brutus says, “For let the gods so speed me as I love / The name of honor more than I fear death.” What do these lines imply about Brutus’s most important value in life?
His country
21. What story does Cassius tell Brutus?
That he had to help Caesar through the water because he was not strong enough to last
22. What is Cassius’s point in telling this story?
That Caesar’s is not fit to ne king
23. What is Caesar’s opinion of Cassius? Why does he feel this way?
He Hates him casue he is not loyal
24. What handicap does Caesar reveal about himself when speaking to Antony?
He has strokes and mental pronlems
25. How many times was Caesar offered a coronet, or a small crown?
5 times
26. What was Caesar’s reaction to the offering, according to Casca?
He did not want it
27. What sickness does Caesar have?
He has some sort of brain problem
28. What happens to Marullus and Flavius?
They are killed
29. What does Cassius plan to do to convince Brutus to conspire against Caesar?
He comes to him in the night and begs him
Scene 3:
30. What unusual events occur during the storm?
Caesar’s wife has night make bout his death
31. What meaning does Cassius interpret from the storm?
That tomorrow Caesar need to be killed
32. According to Casca, what are the senators planning to do to Caesar tomorrow?
Kill caesar
33. Who is definitely part of the conspiracy?
1. cassius 4. metellius
2. brutus 5. denius
3. casca 6. All of council