Julius Caesar Act I Test Preview

Due to photocopying issues, tomorrow's test will only be on Julius Caesar.

Please know the following literary terms and rhetorical devices for the test:

• Allusion


• Anaphora


• Apostrophe (not the punctuation)


• Foreshadowing


• Hyperbole


• Metaphor


• Onomatopoeia


• Oxymoron


• Paradox


• Personification


• Pun


• Simile

There will be five multiple choice questions (15 pts. each) and the following essay question. (25 pts.).

Identify (cite) lines from Julius Caesar that echo the idea in Juliet’s soliloquy, below—write the first and last lines of the citation. Then write commentary explaining the point Shakespeare makes through the two speeches.

Juliet:
O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name;
Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love
And I'll no longer be a Capulet.

'Tis but thy name that is my enemy:
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? It is nor hand nor foot,
Nor arm nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O be some other name!
What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
and for thy name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself.

Othello/Julius Caesar Venn Diagram

Othello	Both	Julius Caesar
Suicide	Title Character Dies	Assassination/Murder
Fatal Flaw: Jealousy	Tragedy	Fatal Flaw: "Ambition"/Arrogance
Iago (+Emelia, Roderigo)	Conspiracy	Cassius (+Others) / Brutus
	Epilepsy
Motiveless Crime		Cassius: Avenge Pompey / Brutus: Protect Rome
Fiction	Prose + Iambic Pentameter	True Events
Ends with Othello's Death	Globe Theater Spectacle	Caesar Dies Halfway Through
Moral Message	High and Low Appeal	Political Message to Friend and Foe
"All" Sexual Innuendo		No Sexual Innuendo

Notes on Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

Copy of William Shakespeare & Julius Caesar Background on Prezi

English II: Julius Caesar Act III, Scene i

After reading the opening scene of Act III, answer the following questions:

1. What was Caesar’s reaction to the soothsayer? To Artimedorus’ letter?


2. Who has been selected to be the first to stab Caesar?


3. What is Metellus Cimber’s petition?


4. What is ironic about Caesar’s speech in lines 58-74?


5. What was Antony’s initial reaction to Caesar’s death? Why do you think he reacted like that?


6. What did you think about the conspirators when they bathed their arms in Caesar’s blood?


7. How and why does Antony’s reaction to Caesar’s death change?


8. What bargain does Antony strike with Brutus? What is Cassius’ reaction?

Othello Socratic Seminar Questions

Be prepared to discuss these questions in class on Wednesday, March 23, 2011.


WORLD CONNECTION QUESTIONS
Which is more important, friendship or money? --J.H. 1st

How would you react if your family rejected you because of the person you chose to love? --Y.T. --3rd

How do you think you'd feel if someone gave you something that has been passed down from generation to generation? --L.G. 8th



CLOSE-ENDED QUESTIONS
According to Gratiano in the final scene, how did Brabantio die? --O.G. 8th

When confronted with your guilt -- and you are guilty -- how would you react? --N.G. 7th

How was the Turkish fleet defeated at Cyprus? --Mr. Mikesell

How old was Iago? --Mr. Mikesell



OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS
In 3.3.117, Iago says he loves Othello: Why does he do that when it is obvious he hates him? --L.M. 3rd

Why did Iago kill Roderigo? --P.H. 7th

Why did Desdemona fall in love with Othello? --Y.C. 8th

What is Iago's beef with Cassio? --Mr. Mikesell



UNIVERSAL THEME / CORE QUESTIONS
If someone conned you into doing something foolish or criminal, what would you do? --A.V. 1st

After reading Othello, will you guard against being ruled by your emotions, why, and if so, how? --L.A. 1st

Iago goes back and forth on the value of reputation: what value do you place on it and why? --K.M. 3rd.



LITERARY ANALYSIS QUESTIONS
What tone(s) does Shakespeare use when Iago presents his asides/soliloquies detailing his scheme? --A.S. 1st

How does Shakespeare employ irony in the play? --G.O. 8th

What fatal flaw did Shakespeare give Othello? --Mr. Mikesell

Testing Change

Due to this afternoon's unexpected cancellation of Patriot Academy, students who need to make up the 3/11 test will have to do so during their class period tomorrow. It will be up to those students to get the review/correction information from me after school.

Pre-AP students should review this post for study info: Othello: Acts I-III Test Preview

Students who miss tomorrow's test administration will take an entirely different, and likely more challenging, exam. Don't be that student.

Socratic Seminar Question Types: Othello

In class Mondday, March 21st, you will be creating Socratic Seminar questions (one for each of the following); the class will respond to on Wednesday, March 23rd. They will be due Tuesday, March 22nd.


WORLD CONNECTION QUESTION
Write a question connecting the text to the real world.

Example: How do you deal with jealousy?


CLOSE-ENDED QUESTION
Write a question about the text that will help everyone in the class come to an agreement about events or characters in the text. This question usually has a “correct” answer.

Example: How was the Turkish fleet destroyed at Cyprus?


OPEN-ENDED QUESTION
Write an insightful question about the text that will require proof and group discussion and “construction of logic” to discover or explore the answer to the question.

Example: What reason(s) does Iago give for wanting to destroy Othello?


UNIVERSAL THEME/ CORE QUESTION
Write a question dealing with a theme(s) of the text that will encourage group discussion about the universality of the text.

Example: When circumstantial evidence points to your guilt, how do you prove your innocence?


LITERARY ANALYSIS QUESTION
Write a question dealing with HOW an author chose to compose a literary piece. How did the author manipulate point of view, characterization, poetic form, archetypal hero patterns, for example?

Example: What "fatal flaw" does Shakespeare give Othello?

All questions must be accompanied by a valid answer or no credit will be awarded for those questions. Questions that can only be answered with evidence from the movie will receive no credit. Questions that can be answered with evidence from the movie that also appears in the play will receive 14 points each (for a maximum of 70). Questions that can be answered with evidence only from the play will receive 19 points each (for a maximum of 95). If all five of your questions can only be answered with evidence from the play you will receive an extra 5 points (for a total of 100).

Happy "Death to Caesar" Day

From Conan O'Brien's Twitter feed:

ConanOBrien: Why did that soothsayer tell Caesar to “Beware the Ides of March” when he could've more helpfully said, “Beware the knives of stabbers”?

Hope you're enjoying your Spring Break (Pre-AP: to the extent that your reading of Othello, Acts IV and V, and Caesar, Act I will allow).

English II: Julius Caesar Speeches and Memorization Tips

To hear the speeches, select the links below:

Cassius: Two Stories

Brutus: The Serpent's Egg

Antony: Funeral Oration

(To download for MP3-player use: right click link, choose "save link/target as".)



MEMORIZATION TIPS

1. Use flash cards. Divide the speech into logical sections. Put the beginnings of sections on one side and the remainder of the lines on the other.


2. Draw a series of pictures that represent your speech or your lines. Remember picture stories from preschool? Be very creative and think of a picture story to go along with your lines. After you've created your picture story, go back and say your lines as you look at the pictures.


3. Say your lines in front of a mirror and move your face or your arms a special way to emphasize specific words or passages.


4. Write out your lines. The act of writing the words provides very strong reinforcement.


5. Carry your script or speech with you at all times and read the full text when you get a chance to get a strong emotional "feel" for it.


6. Get to know your character. Understand why you say and do what you do.


7. Act out your lines as you say them, even if this is an unemotional speech. You can exaggerate your words with dramatic gestures. Of course, you may not want to do this during your actual speech, but you will be thinking about it.


8. Record your lines with exaggerated vocal expressions. You may even want to yell your words. Exaggerations leave big imprints in your brain. Carry your recorder with you and listen to it as often as you can.

Audio Files copyright Caedmon Shakespeare, 1996. Academic Fair Use for student analysis. Do not reproduce or distribute these files.

Memorization tips via about.com

Othello Acts I-III Test Preview

You should know the following for tomorrow's quiz on the first three Acts of Shakespeare's Othello:

Scenes

• Act I, scene ii
• Act III, scene iii

Literary Terms

• Allusion
• Anaphora
• Apostrophe
• Parallelism
• Soliloquy
• Synecdoche

Mythological Characters

• Janus

Tone/Mood

• Disinterested
• Magnanimous
• Objective
• Paradoxical
• Partial

Vocabulary

• Contradict
• Gullibility
• Oratorical

Pre-AP: Literary Devices in Othello

Find examples of each of the following literary devices in the text of Othello. Quote the entire sentence it appears in. Cite the speaker and reference for each (either the traditional II.i.37 or the contemporary 2.1.37).

For example, if the literary device was Tactile Imagery, you might select the following line:

Othello: No, my heart is turned to stone: I strike it and it hurts my hand. (IV.i,179-180)

If you do not cite the speaker and the act, scene, and line numbers, you will not receive credit for your work.

The List:

• Adage/Aphorism/Axiom
• Alliteration
• Allusion
• Apostrophe (NOT the punctuation; this is the direct addressing of a personified idea or a person not present)
• Flashback
• Foreshadowing
• Irony
• Metaphor
• Oxymoron/Paradox (pick one and use it properly)
• Personification
• Pun
• Simile

You may use the same quote more than once if the literary devices are present in different parts of the quote. For instance if a simile contains alliteration, you may use the quote for one or the other, but not both; on the other hand, if the simile appears at the beginning of the quote and alliteration elsewhere, you may use the full quote twice.

Googling or visiting Yahoo Answers (or other web source) will not lead to success. Do the work. There are plenty of examples of each literary device in the play. Find them.

Free Othello Text/Audio

There are several versions of the text available free from Project Gutenberg. (Julius Caesar, too.) Please make sure you download a "by William Shakespeare" edition.

There is also a free recording from LibriVox. (Julius Caesar audio.) Note: the free audio recordings aren't great. Check Learn Out Loud for discount-price options. (There are 99-cent options at the iTunes store, but I suspect it's the LibriVox recording; let me know if you download it and it's not.)

If you come across any other free (or low-cost) resources, please leave a message in the comments section.

English II: Julius Caesar Meaningful Sentences

Download and print the worksheet handed out in class.

Complete meaningful sentences for all 15 vocabulary words.

Select three (3) vocabulary words and on separate sheets of paper illustrate your meaningful sentence for that word. Write your meaningful sentence at the bottom of the page large enough to be read from 10-15 feet away.

Remember:

• a meaningful sentence is made up of two independent sentences combined with a semicolon (;)


• the first sentence includes a vocabulary word


• the second sentence contains the definition of that vocabulary word


• the first word of the second sentence is not capitalized


• you should underline the vocabulary word and its definition

For instance, if the vocabulary word was:

Triumvirate (n): a government of three officers or magistrates functioning jointly.

a meaningful sentence would be:

The triumvirate met in the Senate twice a month; Julius Caesar and the two other co-rulers of Rome listened to the petitions of the people and then conferred and made decisions to benefit the country.

Pre-AP: IWA #5

Choose one of the following prompts:

Compare and contrast the traitors Iago and Brutus. Pay attention not only to what they say about themselves and others, but to the trustworthiness of what others say about them, as well. Ultimately conclude whether Iago or Brutus (or both) were justified in their actions against the title character of their respective plays. Focus
on the literary devices (simile, metaphor, etc.) Shakespeare uses, not just plot summary—diction may be addressed, but it must be discussed in terms of tone/mood rather than simple vocabulary; no more than a third of your IWA may focus on diction.

(Alternatively, you may enter the Ayn Rand/Anthem essay contest. Deadline March 20 (the day you return from Spring Break.)

Tips to success:

Extensive plot summary will result in a REDO grade (no points), not a REVISE (85 points). Look at diction, metaphor, imagery, etc., and how the author’s use of these techniques contributes to meaning.

Remember that only REVISE and ACCEPTED essays will be taken for a grade, so submit your IWA early, rather than at the last minute to ensure that your essay will count!

*** More than 5 careless spelling mistakes and 10 careless punctuation errors will result in a REDO grade***

All essays must be typed and adhere to the MLA formatting requirements (see below). All essays must be submitted with the draft in the LEFT pocket (inside front cover) of a 2-pocket portfolio folder. Failure to meet these minimum requirements will result in the draft being returned to the student unevaluated and with no score recorded.

• Type your paper on a computer and print it out on standard, white 8.5 x 11-inch paper.


• Double-space the text of your paper (paragraph settings). Use Times New Roman (Garamond if you're “fancy”); the font size should be 12 pt. (font settings).


• Leave only one space after periods or other punctuation marks.


• Set the margins of your document to 1" on all sides.


• Indent the first line of paragraphs one half-inch from the left margin. MLA recommends that you use the Tab key as opposed to pushing the Space Bar five times, or set your paragraphs to indent the first line 0.5". Do not skip a line (i.e., leave a blank line) between paragraphs.

Drop-Dead Deadline: Friday, April 8, 2011.
(If no work is received by 3/25, a "Missing" grade (counts as a 0) will be entered into the grade book; some work may receive a temporary "Incomplete" grade (no effect on grade), but that will be replaced with a "Missing" on 4/1.)

Iago's Web

Place the following character names in a circle extending to near the edges of your paper.

• Brabantio
• Cassio
• Desdemona
• The Duke
• Emelia
• Othello
• Roderigo

Draw lines citing the relationship between the characters prior to Iago’s campaign of manipulation.

Then place Iago somewhere within the web you’ve made and in a different color, list the relationships he has with the characters and how his involvement has tainted the other characters’ relationships.

Here's an example of a "web in progress." (Note: this is only the beginning of a web. There are many more "before" relationships to be shown, as well as many "afters.")