Our goal today is to examine Julius Caesar from an aesthetic approach by determining the purpose of soliloquies and creation of mood/atmosphere. (RD 3.7)
1. Do Now: Soliloquies (p.85)
What is a soliloquy? Describe what the purpose of a soliloquy is in a play.
Examine the soliloquies on page 833 and 841. Who is speaking and what are they speaking about? What vital thematic ideas are suggested in these lines? How do these soliloquies relate to the conflicts within the play?
2. Read Act II, Scene 2-3
Discuss Brutus’ internal conflict and how the soliloquy reveals his understanding of the truth. Examine the use of irony in Caesar’s misunderstanding of his close relationships. Look at the use of persuasive techniques by Calpurnia and Decius.
3.Socratic Seminar on Mood and Atmosphere (p.79-80)
Work in your study group to identify the play’s atmosphere and mood based on specific details that Shakespeare uses to create that atmosphere. Look at characters’ descriptions of weather, their moods, their descriptions of various omens and strange sights, and their reaction to these things.
Casca, for example, was badly frightened by the storm in Act I; Brutus’ concerns for the future have made him gloomy.
Add the quotes and line references to your dialectical journal on page 79-80.
4. Homework: Finish reading Act II, answer study guide questions, chronology on pages 77-78, create a dialectical journal on pages 79-80, and finish the vocabulary notes for words 21-30 for Friday’s assessments.