Author: B. Wu, Murry Bergtraum HS, New York, N.Y.

Subject: English
Grade Level: 9-12

Overview: This lesson is designed to assist students in identifying a person, object, or event as symbolic in works of literature. Through the discussion of many references to animals and storm in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, students can more effectively identify symbolism instead of labeling everything as a symbol.

Objective: This lesson will review the characteristics of symbols and students will demonstrate their understanding of the concept by identifying at least three symbols in Julius Caesar and write a coherent composition about 250 words on symbolism.

Materials: Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

• Begin the class with a discussion and analysis of Act III, Scene I, and Act V, Scene i. What might these animal images be doing in a play about politics and human affairs or human nature?( references to "deer", "eagle", "ravens, crows, kites")
• What might be symbolized by the storm and the other disturbances on the eve of Caesar's death(Act I, Scene iii:the conversation between Casca and Cassius, their observation of the natural phenomena)
• What might the apparition of Caesar's ghost in Act V, Scene iii, symbolize?
• Summary of the discussion:

1. A symbol is something that stands for itself but also something larger than itself. It may be a person, an animal, an inanimate object, or an action. A writer often uses a concrete object to express an abstract idea, a quality, or a belief. A symbol may be appeal to a reader's emotions and can provide a way to express an idea, communicate a message, or clarify meaning.
2. There are conventional symbols and private symbols. A conventional symbol is one that is widely accepted and used by many writer; for example, a nightingale is a symbol for melancholy, a bode for peace, a rose foe love and beauty, spring for life, and winter for death. A private symbol is one that an individual writer creates for a particular work of literature.
3. An object is a symbol only it seems to be representative of something of another kind.

• When you are asked to write about the symbol in a work, you will most possibly answer an essay question like the following," Select a central symbol from a work of literature. State what symbol reveals about the characters and the theme."
• Prewriting:

1. To identify a symbol: "Is some person, place, animal, objet, or action emphasized in the work and repeatedly mentioned to the extent that it seems to mean more that itself?" "If so, what else could it stand for besides itself?"
2. Trace your selection of symbols throughout the play to see if it symbolizes something consistently or it gathers new meaning from beginning to end.
3. Analyze what the symbol reveals about the character. Identify the character's key traits and underlying motivation (see handout).
4. Analyze what the symbol reveal about theme. Identify the theme of the selection (see handout).

• Writing paragraph by paragraph:

1. Begin the introductory paragraph with a thesis statement that addresses the major points in the essay question. Finish the introduction by stating in general terms what the symbol tells you about character and perhaps by actually stating the theme of the story.
2. In the next paragraph, explain in more details how the symbol and the character connect.
3. In the next paragraph, explain in more details how the symbol and the theme connect.
4. In the final paragraph, restate in other words the thesis statement from the introductory paragraph. You may conclude by discussing the suitability of the symbol.

• Assessment: the final essay on the topic- "Symbolism in Julius Caesar"
• Follow-up Activities: Following this discussion, have students explore other meanings which might be implied in the symbols they chose to write about in Julius Caesar.

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