Julius Caesar Act I Study Guide. 2. What does soothsayer tell Caesar in Scene ii? How does Caesar respond?

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1 Julius Caesar Act I Study Guide Directions: Respond to the questions below. Be sure to fully answer each question and to explain your thinking. You may attach additional paper if needed. Reviewing the Text 1. Why are the workers celebrating on Scene I? Why does Marullus yell at them? 2. What does soothsayer tell Caesar in Scene ii? How does Caesar respond? 3. In Scene ii, how does Casca describe what happened when Caesar was offered the crown? 4. Caesar is a powerful ruler, yet he suffers many infirmities. What are his infirmities? 5. At the end of Scene ii, what is Cassius planning to do to persuade Brutus to join the conspiracy against Caesar? 6. At the beginning of Scene iii, what do Cicero and Casca discuss? Why are they disturbed? 7. What happens to move the conspiracy plot forward at the end of Scene iii?

2 Shaping Interpretations 8. Shakespeare uses nature to mirror the disorders in human lives. What details in Scene iii do you think evoke a sense of danger and terror? 9. What is your impression of Cassius in Act I? By the act s end, what steps has he taken toward his goal? 10. How would you describe the play s conflict as established in Act I? 11. A healthy republic requires a reasonably intelligent citizenry. How do the nobles in the play speak of the citizens in Rome? How do their remarks shape your feelings about them? 12. How would you evaluate the character of Brutus? Is he strong, weak, or something in between? Do you think all readers agree? 13. Do you have conflicting feelings about Caesar during this act? Describe your impressions of his character based in your responses to his speeches and actions and on what others say about him.

3 Julius Caesar Act II Study Guide Directions: Respond to the questions below. Be sure to fully answer each question, using textual evidence and to explain your thinking. You may attach additional paper if needed. Reviewing the Text 1. Look at Brutus soliloquy at the beginning of Act II. What are the reasons he gives for killing Caesar? 2. Who proposes the murder of Antony? Why does Brutus oppose it? 3. What does Portia demand of her husband in Scene I? 4. In Scene II, what does Calphurnia try to persuade Caesar to do? Why? 5. How does Decius persuade Caesar to attend the Senate? 6. What is Portia s concern at the end of Scene iv?

4 Shaping Interpretations 7. When you read rather than watch a play, you have to stage it in your imagination, to visualize the movements of characters and the sounds of voices. As you imagine Act II, tell how it compares to Act I- is the pace faster or slower? Are the characters agitated or calmer? Which scenes support your ideas? Why? 8. Why won t Brutus swear an oath (I.ii )? What character traits does this speech reveal? 9. Describe the complexities of Caesar s character that you ve observed in this act. How do you feel about Caesar- is he a monstrous tyrant or a sympathetic man? 10. Where does Shakespeare use thunder and other storm sounds to suggest cosmic disorder? How does this of weather make you feel? 11. Describe how Shakespeare creates and builds suspense during scenes iii and iv.

5 Julius Caesar Act III Study Guide Directions: Respond to the questions below. Be sure to fully answer each question and to explain your thinking. You may attach additional paper if needed. Reviewing the Text 1. In Scene i, a chance still exists that the conspiracy might be foiled. Why does Artemidorus fail to get Caesar to read his warning? 2. What petition serves as an excuse for the conspirators to gather around Caesar? 3. In Scene i, why does Cassius argue against allowing Antony to speak at Caesar s funeral? What reason s does Brutus give for overruling him? 4. After the assassination the protagonist who drives the rest of the play appears. Who is this person and what does he want? How have we been prepared for his appearance? 5. What information concerning Caesar s will does Antony disclose to the crowd in scene ii? How does the crowd react? 6. What do the plebeians do in scene iii?

6 Shaping Interpretations 7. How does Antony s speech at the end of Scene i (lines ) indicate his intentions regarding the assassins? What could this speech foreshadow? 8. In his funeral oration in Scene ii, Antony holds to his agreement with Brutus and Cassius yet destroys the conspirator s reputations. How does he do this and manipulate the Roman mob? 9. Until Act III. Antony has barely figured in the play. How have others characterized him? Do you agree with any of them? Why? 10. In earlier scenes, Shakespeare tells about lions in the streets and people going mad. In scene iii, with the attack on Cinna the poet, he shows something. What does he reveal about the psychology of a mob? 11. The third Act of Shakespeare s tragedies usually contain a turning point, the moment when all action of the play begins to spiral toward the tragic ending. Which event do you think is the turning point in this play: the assassination of Caesar or Brutus or Brutus decision to allow Antony to address the crowd? Why? 12. Lines of Scene I seem to suggest that this play will be staged many ages hence. What other interpretations of this passage do you think are possible?

7 Julius Caesar Act IV/V Study Guide Directions: Respond to the questions below. Be sure to fully answer each question and to explain your thinking. You may attach additional paper if needed. Reviewing the Text 1. Describe the military situation presented in Act IV. What is going on between the conspirators and the triumvirate? 2. Why is Brutus uneasy at the beginning of Scene ii? 3. What vision does Brutus see at the end of Act IV? 4. Which four characters finally confront one another on Scene I of Act v? 5. What mistaken assumptions lead to Cassius s death? 6. How do Antony and Octavius react to Brutus s death?

8 Shaping Interpretations 7. How is Antony characterized by his words and actions in Scene 1? In your opinion, is the Antony we see in this scene consistent with the Antony we saw earlier? 8. In what ways does the meeting of the conspirator in Scene 3 parallel the meeting of the triumvirate in scene i? In what ways is it different? 9. The scene with Cassius shows a harsh Brutus. What kind of kind of Brutus appears with Lucius and the guards? 10. Why is it significant that Octavius delivers the play s final speech? 11. Identify at least three examples of irony in Scene iii, Cassius s death scene. How do these ironies make you feel? 12. In his essay, The Poetics, Aristotle described the tragic hero as a person more noble than evil, whose fortunes go from good to bad. Does Brutus fit this description? Or is the tragic hero someone else, perhaps Caesar? Or does the play lack a tragic hero? Defend your answer.