2 pt3 pt4 pt5pt1 pt2 pt3 pt4 pt5 pt1 pt2pt3 pt4pt5 pt1pt2pt3 pt4 pt5 pt1 pt2 pt3 pt4pt5 pt1pt TragedyCharactersMiscellany Shakespear e And More Plot

What is the character trait called that leads to the death of the tragic hero?

Tragic Flaw

What is the name for the decision that leads to a tragic character’s downfall?

Tragic Error

In which act of a 5-act Shakespearean tragedy does the tragic hero make a tragic error?

Act III

Who is the tragic hero of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, in terms of their tragic error, tragic flaw, and tragic downfall?

You decide based on their tragic flaw, tragic error, and tragic downfall.

List at least three possible tragic errors for Brutus.

Deciding to kill Caesar, not killing Antony, letting Antony speak at the funeral.

Who says “beware the ides of March”?

The Soothsayer

Who had a bad vision about Caesar’s future in her dream and persuaded him to not go to the Senate?

Calphurnia

Give the names of four conspirators.

Cassius, Trebonius, Cinna, Casca, Mettelus, Brutus, Decius

Who persuades Caesar to go to the Senate using flattery?

Decius

Who do Cassius, Casca, Cinna, and Metellus want to be part of their plot only to have Brutus take the lead and change their minds?

Cicero

What is Iambic Pentameter and what is Prose?

Iambic pentameter is a line of poetry made up of 10 syllables in an unstressed/stressed pattern (5 iambs). Prose is not poetry in that it mimics normal patterns of speech.

Give two examples of characters who speak in Prose and the reason why they use prose.

The cobbler in Act I because he is a commoner, a workman. Brutus when talking to the commoners after assassinating Caesar. He was trying to act/talk like them to show that he was on their side. Casca also speaks in prose during Act I even though he is noble. Shakespeare made him speak in prose because his personality is “low class”: he is gossiping about what he saw.

What does thou mean?

You in informal address.

Give an example of a time in the play when knowing the difference between thou and you helped you better understand the play.

Brutus’ argument with his wife, Portia. He addresses her formally as “you” at the beginning, only to change to the informal “thou” when she has deeply moved him emotionally and he agrees to tell her his secrets.

On which date in which year was Caesar assassinated?

March 15 th, 44 B.C.

What is a monologue?

A speech made by a character on stage directed to other characters on stage.

What is a soliloquy?

A speech made by a character on stage when no other characters are present. It reveals the characters thoughts and/or feelings.

Did Shakespeare’s stages have elaborate set designs and how did this affect his writing?

No: he relied on the audience to imagine the setting and scenery, and helped by writing a lot of imagery into his plays.

Explain what the following lines spoken by Cassius mean, AND explain the theme from the play that they relate to: “The fault, dead Brutus, is not in our stars, / but in ourselves that we are underlings.”

Cassius is saying that we control our destinies (in their case, being servants to Caesar), and we cannot blame forces outside of ourselves for current situations. This relates to the theme that humans cannot blame forces outside of themselves for the bad situations they find themselves in.

Did Brutus speak in prose or iambic pentameter at Caesar’s funeral, and why?

Brutus spoke in prose which is normally only spoken by commoners. Since prose is the “language” of the commoners, it is clear that Brutus was trying to act like he was one of them, in order to get them on his side.

What plot developments take place in each act of a 5-act tragedy?

Act I - Exposition; Act II - Rising Action or complication; Act III - Turning Point/Crisis; Act IV - Falling Action; Act V - Tragic Downfall and Resolution

How are the crisis and tragic downfall defined in a tragedy?

Crisis = Tragic Error --the tragic hero makes a decision which guarantees their downfall Tragic Downfall = the death (or banishment) of the tragic hero

What three things are established in the exposition of a story?

Setting, characters and their conflicts, and background

Give at least three examples of characters or groups of people who had their minds changed and tell what strategy was used to change their minds.

Brutus to kill Caesar; Caesar to go to the Senate; the commoners for Antony and against Brutus.

Once the commoners were on Antony’s side, how did he “seal the deal”?

He presented them with and read Caesar’s will.