In the following lessons, you will read and study the classic Shakespearean play Julius Caesar.
You will answer questions and learn about this Play’s key elements.
You will play game quizzes reviewing this play’s content.
You will complete a 3 minute timed quiz after each lesson.
Finally, you will complete a 30 minute timed quiz assessing your acquired learning for this course.
Play elements in a ‘nut-shell’…
Plot: the power struggle between leading military and political leaders during a violent but decisive moment in Roman and World history
Setting: Rome and Greece 44 BC – 42 BC at the decline of the Roman Republic
Themes: power, morality, loyalty, honor, betrayal, conviction, ambition
Major Characters
Julius Caesar: an ambitious, pompous, powerful Roman military general and politician who deceived himself to be invincible
Brutus: an idealistic, altruistic but gullible Roman politician seemingly acting on Rome’s best interest
Cassius: Brutus’ perceptive, cold and calculating brother-in-law jealous of Julius Caesar
Mark Antony: Julius Caesar’s loyal, judicious and eloquent general swearing revenge for Caesar’s murder
Octavian: Julius Caesar’s exacting, discerning and aspiring ally of Mark Antony later to become one of the Rome Empire’s greatest leaders
Casca: a ‘dark’ conspirator and assassin in league with Brutus and Cassius
Portia: Brutus’ loyal, insightful but suppressive wife seeking an explanation for Brutus’ ‘somber behavior’
Calpurnia: Julius Caesar’s discerning and caring wife unsuccessfully discouraging him from attending the fateful senate session
The soothsayer: gravely tells Caesar to beware the ides of March (March 15)
