Julius Caesar • 2013 - Chicago Shakespeare Theater

IN SMALL GROUPS/PAIRS
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Why “No” to Pact?
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Cassius never gets make his pact in 2.1 (“And let us swear our resolution”). In groups of three, discuss what it
might have been and write it down (no more than two lines). Share your version of his oath with the rest of the
class. This may give you some ideas about Cassius and the conspiracy. CONSIDER COMMON CORE ANCHOR
STANDARDS R2, W3
Justify the Assassination
In 2.1, Metellus sees that the conspirators have a public image problem (“...his silver hairs will purchase us a good
opinion...”), and so does Brutus (“Our course will seem too bloody...”). Brutus shows the conspirators how to think
of their task in a high-minded way. But he doesn’t explain how to help the general public think of the assassination
in the same way. Spin! In groups of four or five, form a public relations firm sympathetic to the conspirators’
cause. You have secretly been asked to prepare a ’package,’ using all modern forms of media at your disposal,
to give an immediate explanation and justification of the assassination. Outline a PR campaign that will convince
everybody that Caesar’s death is the best thing for Rome. Provide such detail (posters, slogans, etc.) as you think
necessary. CONSIDER COMMON CORE ANCHOR STANDARDS L3, R2, R7, W4
No Words
As one person reads Portia’s lines in 2.1 (“…yesternight at supper / You suddenly rose and walked about), action
by action and pausing after each, two others act out the scene without a sound, as you might watch it through a
window. (This same activity can be used with Casca’s report of Caesar’s refusal of the crown in 1.2.) CONSIDER
COMMON CORE ANCHOR STANDARDS L1, R1, SL2
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Lucius probably knows as little as Portia does about what’s going on, but has watched the Conspirators coming
and going. He must have sensed the atmosphere, seen expressions on faces, observed how people moved,
heard the tone of their voices. In groups of three or four, improvise a conversation Lucius holds with the other
slaves the next morning, describing the night. The slaves ask many questions and have plenty of ideas about
what it all means. They may get it right—or they may not! CONSIDER COMMON CORE ANCHOR STANDARDS R1, SL6
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Third Person
Caesar often refers to himself not as ’I’ or ’me,’ but as ’Caesar.’ In groups of four, try holding a conversation where
you always refer to yourself by your last name. Topics can range from what you had for breakfast to your grandest
personal ambitions. Afterwards, talk together about the effect it had on your conversation; then discuss why
you think Caesar does it. Create a tableau (a wordless picture using your bodies as statues to convey the image
you have in mind) dramatizing how Caesar sees himself. CONSIDER COMMON CORE ANCHOR STANDARDS L3, R4
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