Lesson Plan 7


Subject: English

10th Grade

Objectives: This two-session lessons are aimed to demonstrate to students how to do English Regents Task I.

My educational goals: Students will write a report based on the notes they took while they were listening to the passage
Materials:


Listening passage:

Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar is based on the actual assassination of Julius Caesar, which occurred on March 15, 44 B.C. Much of Shakespeare's material is drawn from Sir Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Lives of the Noble Romans (c. 1579). As is the case with many of Shakespeare's plays which depict historical events, the source is highly altered and condensed into theatrical form. For example, the duration of the opening two scenes, which actually took several months, is compressed into one day. All together, the action is compressed from an actual time span of three years into a period of five days. The main characters, though drawn from Plutarch's stories, are also altered. For example, some of Caesar's less admirable characteristics, such as his conceit and dynastic ambition, are emphasized. On the other hand, Brutus is treated more sympathetically as a result of the emphasis on his philosophic nature and admirable personal life. The envy and insecurity of Cassius is masterfully drawn, as is Antony's opportunism and his love for Caesar. Thus, in Julius Caesar we see Shakespeare utilizing and transforming historical material to make an exciting stage drama.  
HOW QUICKLY THE WORLD IS OVERTURNED A quick glance at the course of world history reveals many examples of ambitious men and their subsequent assassinations. The 1991 production of Julius Caesar at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival will focus on the timelessness of Caesar's death and the issues raised by the assassination of a man in power. Brutus loves Caesar but he loves Rome more, and is forced to make the difficult decision to destroy a potential tyrant in order to save Rome. The chaos which follows this act eventually destroys Brutus. Therefore, one of the central issues in this production is the power of the "irreversible act," and the relentless momentum of events and circumstances which follow Caesar's death. Many recent productions of Julius Caesar have been set in locales other than Rome, in order to give greater immediacy to the theme of dictatorship and the destruction caused by civil uprising. Instead of placing the story of Julius Caesar in Central or South America, or in the Middle East, our production uses a postmodern approach to create a unique, timeless environment, a world which has its own specific rules and set of references. Therefore, though the setting of the production is clearly Rome, scenery and costumes do not refer to a specific time period. As in Shakespeare's day, there is little emphasis on historical accuracy.

Central to this production concept are images drawn from the text: power, destruction, and the inability to escape the results of an irreversible act. This production uses visual icons and images to vivify the play's events and, instead of reproducing history, explores the deeper issues and the "modern myth" of power and destruction. Like many instances in history, the murder of Caesar was an irreversible act. Caesar's blood stains not only his assassins' hands, but the entire city of Rome, which is forever changed.


Procedures:

related to Julius Caesar

Click here to go to Task II example

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