1. Julius Caesar
Literary Terms to Know

2. Crisis or turning point
Dramatic Structure
Act III
Crisis or turning point
Act II
Rising Acting
(Complications)
Act IV
Falling Action
Act I
Exposition
Act V
Climax and resolution

3. Exposition: introduces conflicts and provides background information
Rising Action – series of complications caused when main characters try to resolve their conflicts
Turning point – main character makes a choice that determines the rest of the play’s actions

4. Falling Action – the results of the actions taken during the turning point
Climax – an action that determines how the conflict will be resolved, moment of greatest tension (near the end of the play, usually the death of the tragic hero in a tragedy)
Resolution: usually closely follows the climax and ties of loose ends in the plot (usually brief)

5. Dialogue
Conversations of the characters on stage

6. Aside
Spoken to the audience or to one character; the other characters on stage do not hear an aside

7. Monologue
Spoken by one character to other characters onstage

8. Soliloquy
A long speech by a character who is alone on stage that reveals the character’s innermost thoughts and feelings. This speech is not heard by other characters.
Brutus in his orchard:
It must be by his death. And for my part
I know no personal cause to spurn him
But for the general. (II.i.10-12)

9. Irony
The contrast between appearance and reality, between expectation and fulfillment.
What is ironic about Caesar’s confidence in his own unassailability?

10. Dramatic Irony
When the audience knows something that a character does not
Anthony says this to Caesar:
Fear him [Cassius] not, Caesar, he’s not dangerous.
He is a noble Roman, and well given
(I.ii )

11. Verbal Irony When the words spoken are the opposite of what is meant
Decius says to Caesar to get him to the Capitol:
Pardon me, Caesar, for my dear dear love
To your proceeding bids me tell you this,
And reason to my love is liable.
II.iv
What is ironic about Anthony’s statement when he says,
“Good friends, sweet friends, let me
not stir you up/To such as sudden
flow of mutiny”?

12. Foil A character who serves as a contrast to another character
How is Cassius a foil to Brutus?
(consider their motivations to kill Caesar)

13. Tragedy
A serious work of literature that narrates the events leading to the downfall of a tragic hero. It evokes fear and pity in the audience.
Ends with the death of the tragic hero

14. Tragic hero
A character who displays noble qualities but has a serious flaw.
Classical Definition: When dying, he/she gains some awareness or self-knowledge usually accepting death and acknowledging that it is to some degree just.
Who is the tragic hero in this play?

15. Tragic flaw
A defect in character or judgment in the tragic hero that directly causes the hero’s downfall (usually death)
Examples: pride, rebelliousness, jealousy
What is Brutus’ tragic flaw?

16. Iambic Pentameter “The Art of the Poet”
10-syllable lines of rhymed, unstressed/stress meter. The stressed syllables are red.
‘T’is three o’clock; and, Romans, yet ere night
We shall try fortune in a second fight
FYI: Shakespeare’s plays are about 90 % verse and 6% prose

17. Label the unstressed/stressed syllables
And after this let Caesar seat him sure:
For we will shake him, or worse days endure.
Cassius: I.ii
When iambic pentameter is read out loud it will follow a beat such as –da DUM, da-DUM or toe-heel, toe-heel

18. Blank Verse Unrhymed, 10-syllable lines of unstressed/stressed meter
Are yet two Romans living such as these?
The last of all the Romans, fare thee well!
Do you notice a pattern as to when Shakespeare uses verse and when he uses prose? (look at pages )