Julius Caesar • 2013 - Chicago Shakespeare Theater

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Spend some time discussing what happened and how it felt to be a speaker and/or an audience member. What
made you want to listen to a speaker? How did you feel about the others when they were in opposition to your
views? How did it feel when others around you responded vocally? What did the reactions from the audience
make you do as a speaker? Now, examine both Brutus’s and Antony’s speeches. Select one person to make
each of these speeches to the class. Spend some time discussing which speech is more powerful and why. You
will notice that one speech is in prose and the other in verse. Discuss together the effects of this difference on
their audience. CONSIDER COMMON CORE ANCHOR STANDARDS R9, SL3, SL4
41 Images
Shakespeare uses heightened language to convey the meaning of a line or phrase—and Antony’s speech is full
of it! Take the line, “O pardon me thou bleeding piece of earth.” Stand up in a circle around the room. The group
leader reads Antony’s speech slowly and clearly. The group’s task is to mime as best it can every single image
people can picture. Just in the first two lines, “bleeding piece of earth,” meek,” “gentle,” and “butchers” all deserve
a different mime. Take time to mime each separate image, and repeat words and phrases if you don’t immediately
spot the potential for an image in, say, “tide of times.” Afterwards, discuss what images came up, whether some
contrasted strongly with others, whether you notice any progression. CONSIDER COMMON CORE ANCHOR STAN-
DARDS L4, L5
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What’s in a Mob?
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the scene in which Cinna the Poet is murdered was often omitted in
performance. But in Julius Caesar the general populace plays a more significant part than in any other Shakespeare
play. Discuss the qualities of a mob. What is true of mobs that might not be true of individuals? Imagine
you are an actor in the show, prepare your argument on why this particular scene should or should not be included
in your performance. CONSIDER COMMON CORE ANCHOR STANDARDS R2, W1
IN SMALL GROUPS/PAIRS
43 Do You Copy?
We all use repetition in everyday life to make our words more emphatic. “I’m really, really mad at you,” carries
stronger meaning than “I’m mad at you.” Shakespeare uses repetition in all of his plays to emphasize the point,
or draw special attention to a word or phrase. In Antony’s funeral oration, you will find five or six key words and
phrases (such as “honorable”) repeated frequently. In pairs find some of Antony’s repetitions. Why might Shakespeare
have chosen to repeat these words or phrases? Does the repetition tell us anything about the character of
Antony and/or what he is communicating in this speech? CONSIDER COMMON CORE ANCHOR STANDARDS L5, W9
www chicagoshakespeare com 63