DRAMA

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DRAMA

• SHAKESPEAREAN TRAGEDY

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TRAGEDY

• Series of events which ends unhappily
• Suffering possibly followed by redemption
• Provides audience with a catharsis (emotional
  purging)

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TRAGIC HERO

• Falls from a high status
• Usually dies
• Commits a hamartia or possesses a fatal flaw
• Often full of hubris (excessive pride)
• Downfall is his/her own fault

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The Tragedy of Julius Caesar

• Takes place in Rome, Italy (44 BC)
• Written by William Shakespeare in 1599

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Background of Caesar

• Ruled Rome as part of a triumvirate
• Military leader left Rome for 9 years to
  conquer what is now Central Europe
• Upon his return, there were mixed emotions about
  him.
• Fearing he would become a tyrant, conspirators
  plotted his assassination .

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PLAY OPENS

• February 15, 44 BC
• Lupercal Roman Fertility Festival
• Caesar has just returned to Rome.
• Some want to celebrate his return others remain
  loyal to Pompey who has recently died.
• Caesar died on March 15, 44 BC.

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MAJOR CHARACTERS

• Julius Caesar last remaining member of
  triumvirate
• Marcus Brutus senator and loyal friend to
  Caesar
• Caius Cassius plotting the conspiracy
• Marcus Antonius (Marc Antony) loyal friend to
  Caesar

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Shakespearean Plays

• Major characters parts are written in BLANK
  VERSE (unrhymed iambic pentameter).

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Common Literary Devices

• Couplets 2 adjacent lines that rhyme
• Similes/Metaphors unexpected comparisons
• Personification giving human qualities to
  non-human objects
• Literary Allusion references to other literary
  works

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ELEMENTS OF PERSUASION

• Appeals LOGICAL, ETHICAL, EMOTIONAL (logos,
  ethos, pathos)
• Anticipation of Opposition and Refutation
• Powerful diction (word choice) with heavy
  connotation
• Imagery (appeal to senses)

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STAGING

• Elaborate costuming
• Props to indicate location/time, etc.
• Simple sets
• Male actors only
• The Globe