LAFS.1112.RL.1.3 Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
Monday Whole Group Passage, Act 2, Scene 1 The Tragedy of Julius Caesar pg., 876
1. Whole Group Question: What does Cassius want and why does he want it? What ramifications could his actions have later?
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CASSIUS
Decius, well urged: I think it is not meet,
Mark Antony, so well beloved of Caesar,
Should outlive Caesar: we shall find of him
A shrewd contriver; and, you know, his means,
If he improve them, may well stretch so far
As to annoy us all: which to prevent,
Let Antony and Caesar fall together.
BRUTUS
Our course will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius,
To cut the head off and then hack the limbs,
Like wrath in death and envy afterwards;
For Antony is but a limb of Caesar:
Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius.
We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar;
And in the spirit of men there is no blood:
O, that we then could come by Caesar's spirit,
And not dismember Caesar! But, alas,
Caesar must bleed for it! And, gentle friends,
Let's kill him boldly, but not wrathfully;
Let's carve him as a dish fit for the gods,
Not hew him as a carcass fit for hounds:
And let our hearts, as subtle masters do,
Stir up their servants to an act of rage,
And after seem to chide 'em. This shall make
Our purpose necessary and not envious:
Which so appearing to the common eyes,
We shall be call'd purgers, not murderers.
And for Mark Antony, think not of him;
For he can do no more than Caesar's arm
When Caesar's head is off.
Exit Slip: www.mrspsela.com
Work Period Questions: For the following questions read pages 876-879
1. At this point in the text what are Brutus’ motives in assassinating Caesar?
2. Using the Whole Group Passage explain how Brutus evolves based on the desires of Cassius in our Whole Group question? Analyze his reply, and include what he means by his answer.
3. At this moment in the text what does Portia want from Brutus, why does she want this?
Exit Slip: What does Cassius want and why does he want it? What ramifications could his actions have later?
Name Date Class and Period
Proficiency on this assignment
Week 7, LAFS.910.RL.1.3, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar,
Act 2, Scenes 2-4
/100
Turn in this assignment at the end of class on Friday.
Staple this assignment to your completed work for both days.
Friday: Whole Group Passage, Act 2, Scene 2 The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Exit Slip: www.mrspsela.com
PORTIA
I should not need, if you were gentle Brutus.
280 Within the bond of marriage, tell me, Brutus,
Is it excepted I should know no secrets
That appertain to you? Am I yourself
But, as it were, in sort or limitation,
To keep with you at meals, comfort your bed,
285 And talk to you sometimes? Dwell I but in the suburbs
Of your good pleasure? If it be no more,
Portia is Brutus' harlot, not his wife.
BRUTUS
You are my true and honourable wife,
As dear to me as are the ruddy drops
290 That visit my sad heart
PORTIA
If this were true, then should I know this secret.
I grant I am a woman; but withal
A woman that Lord Brutus took to wife:
I grant I am a woman; but withal
295 A woman well-reputed, Cato's daughter.
Think you I am no stronger than my sex,
Being so father'd and so husbanded?
Tell me your counsels, I will not disclose 'em:
I have made strong proof of my constancy,
300 Giving myself a voluntary wound
Here, in the thigh: can I bear that with patience.
And not my husband's secrets?
BRUTUS
O ye gods,
Render me worthy of this noble wife!
Exit Slip: www.mrspsela.com
Whole Group Question: How did Portia evolve from her dialogue previously (last class on 879) to the above excerpt? What effect does this change have on Brutus based on his initial reaction to her inquiry on page 879?
Work Period Questions: Read Page 879-884 and answer the following questions.
1. What effect does Calpurnia talking in her sleep have on Caesar?
2. Do you believe Calpurnia to be a superstitious character or a cynical character? What does she believe her dream to mean based on the following quote from the text?
“When beggars die, there are no comets seen; The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes.”
Exit Slip: How did Portia evolve from her dialogue previously (last class on 879) to the above excerpt? What effect does this change have on Brutus based on his initial reaction to her inquiry on page 879?
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Exit Slip: www.mrspsela.com
Tuesday: Whole Group Passage, Act 2, Scene 2 The Tragedy of Julius Caesar pg.,885-886
Tragic Flaw: a defect in character or judgment.
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CAESAR
Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste of death but once.
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard.
It seems to me most strange that men should fear;
Seeing that death, a necessary end,
Will come when it will come.
Re-enter Servant
What say the augurers?
Servant
They would not have you to stir forth to-day.
Plucking the entrails of an offering forth,
They could not find a heart within the beast.
CAESAR
The gods do this in shame of cowardice:
Caesar should be a beast without a heart,
If he should stay at home to-day for fear.
No, Caesar shall not: danger knows full well
That Caesar is more dangerous than he:
We are two lions litter'd in one day,
And I the elder and more terrible:
And Caesar shall go forth.
CALPURNIA
Alas, my lord,
Your wisdom is consumed in confidence.
Do not go forth to-day: call it my fear
That keeps you in the house, and not your own.
We'll send Mark Antony to the senate-house:
And he shall say you are not well to-day:
Let me, upon my knee, prevail in this.
CAESAR
Mark Antony shall say I am not well,
And, for thy humour, I will stay at home.
Whole Group Question: Calpurnia puts her finger on Caesar’s tragic flaw. What is Caesar’s big mistake? What effect does Calpurnia’s pleading have on Caesar?
Exit Slip: www.mrspsela.com
Work Period: Read pages 885-889 and answer the following questions.
1. Explain how Julius Caesar changes at the end of the passage. Then, provide a detail from the passage to support your choice. Include the effects that Calpurnia and Decius Brutus both had on him and how their actions influence the plot. You must answer in 7-10 sentences minimally and use at least 2 quotes from the text.
Exit Slip
BRUTUS
[Aside] That every like is not the same, O Caesar,
The heart of Brutus yearns to think upon!
Brutus grieves that those who appear friendly are not friends at all. Do you think he is having second thoughts? Why or why not?
Tuesday: Whole Group Passage, Act 2, Scene 4 The Tragedy of Julius Caesar pg.,889
SCENE III. A street near the Capitol.
Enter ARTEMIDORUS, reading a paper
ARTEMIDORUS
'Caesar, beware of Brutus; take heed of Cassius;
come not near Casca; have an eye to Cinna, trust not
Trebonius: mark well Metellus Cimber: Decius Brutus
loves thee not: thou hast wronged Caius Ligarius.
There is but one mind in all these men, and it is
bent against Caesar. If thou beest not immortal,
look about you: security gives way to conspiracy.
The mighty gods defend thee! Thy lover,
'ARTEMIDORUS.'
Here will I stand till Caesar pass along,
And as a suitor will I give him this.
My heart laments that virtue cannot live
Out of the teeth of emulation.
If thou read this, O Caesar, thou mayst live;
If not, the Fates with traitors do contrive.
Exit
Whole Group Question: Explain how the contrast the author creates between Calpurnia in Act 2, Scene 2, Brutus at the end of Act 2, Scene 2 and Artimidorous in Act 2, Scene 3 help develop the theme of heeding warnings.
Work Period: Read pages 890-891, and answer the following questions.
PORTIA
Prithee, listen well;
I heard a bustling rumour, like a fray,
And the wind brings it from the Capitol.
1. Explain how Portia’s actions highlight the theme of deception and fear.
PORTIA
I must go in. Ay me, how weak a thing
The heart of woman is! O Brutus,
The heavens speed thee in thine enterprise!
Sure, the boy heard me: Brutus hath a suit
That Caesar will not grant. O, I grow faint.
Run, Lucius, and commend me to my lord;
Say I am merry: come to me again,
And bring me word what he doth say to thee
2. Explain what theme Shakespeare furthers by choosing to end Act 2 in this way. Choose from deception and fear or heeding warnings.
Exit Slip: Explain how Portia shows herself to be a complex character using textual evidence. What does she attempt to do in this scene to foil her husband?
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