My students have a "lean and hungry look."
May 27, 2009 6:53 AM Subscribe
Can someone give me concise Julius Caesar background information (both in Shakespeare's play and in real history)?
I will soon be teaching Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and need some background information to share with my students regarding anything that a student might need to know before reading the play. One example of this is an explanation of the various titles that the characters might represent in the play: tribune, consul, plebian, praetor, etc... and how they related to one another. Any other bits of information that you think students would find interesting or relevant might be helpful as well.
The more concise the explanations the better. Thanks, all.
I will soon be teaching Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and need some background information to share with my students regarding anything that a student might need to know before reading the play. One example of this is an explanation of the various titles that the characters might represent in the play: tribune, consul, plebian, praetor, etc... and how they related to one another. Any other bits of information that you think students would find interesting or relevant might be helpful as well.
The more concise the explanations the better. Thanks, all.
Best answer: It might be interesting to point out that Shakespeare relied heavily on Plutarch's Life of Caesar as source material. Regarding the offices of government, there's a good breakdown here.
posted by jquinby at 7:22 AM on May 27, 2009
posted by jquinby at 7:22 AM on May 27, 2009
There's all kinds of fun Julius Caesar trivia out there... don't know if any of it is particularly necessary, though it is certainly interesting.
For example, when he was a young adult, Julius Caesar took a ship to Rhodes to study under the tutor Apollonius Molon. His ship was taken by Sicilian pirates and Caesar held for ransom. The amount they asked for was so low that Caesar was insulted, saying something to the effect of, "I'm worth way more than that!" He then paid the larger ransom himself, and once freed, had the pirates captured and then crucified. Apparently he even warned his captors that he would have them crucified, but they thought he was bluffing.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 8:14 AM on May 27, 2009
For example, when he was a young adult, Julius Caesar took a ship to Rhodes to study under the tutor Apollonius Molon. His ship was taken by Sicilian pirates and Caesar held for ransom. The amount they asked for was so low that Caesar was insulted, saying something to the effect of, "I'm worth way more than that!" He then paid the larger ransom himself, and once freed, had the pirates captured and then crucified. Apparently he even warned his captors that he would have them crucified, but they thought he was bluffing.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 8:14 AM on May 27, 2009
Any forward to a decent printing will have the necessary details
posted by Think_Long at 8:20 AM on May 27, 2009
posted by Think_Long at 8:20 AM on May 27, 2009
Best answer: Episodes 39 and 40 of "The History of Rome" podcast might be of interest. Good stuff.
posted by MonkeyToes at 8:28 AM on May 27, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by MonkeyToes at 8:28 AM on May 27, 2009 [1 favorite]
I will soon be teaching Shakespeare's Julius Caesar...
Well, you could start here and here and here. I could distill the major parts of Caesar's life for you that might give you some context to the play, but you're teaching the class, not me, so you (and your students) would be better served if you had a deeper understanding than what someone on a messageboard (or in a podcast or on wikipedia or anywhere on the freakin' internet) would be able to tell you.
posted by incessant at 8:36 AM on May 27, 2009
Well, you could start here and here and here. I could distill the major parts of Caesar's life for you that might give you some context to the play, but you're teaching the class, not me, so you (and your students) would be better served if you had a deeper understanding than what someone on a messageboard (or in a podcast or on wikipedia or anywhere on the freakin' internet) would be able to tell you.
posted by incessant at 8:36 AM on May 27, 2009
incessant: I could distill the major parts of Caesar's life for you that might give you some context to the play, but you're teaching the class, not me, so you (and your students) would be better served if you had a deeper understanding than what someone on a messageboard (or in a podcast or on wikipedia or anywhere on the freakin' internet) would be able to tell you.
This. Sorry, but Cliff Notes and some humorous anecdotes gleaned online a good teacher do not make.
posted by paisley henosis at 8:46 AM on May 27, 2009 [1 favorite]
This. Sorry, but Cliff Notes and some humorous anecdotes gleaned online a good teacher do not make.
posted by paisley henosis at 8:46 AM on May 27, 2009 [1 favorite]
The first couple chapters of Goldsworthy's biog of Caesar will have the general intro to Roman society and the basic outlines of Caesar's career, as well as a useful-for-you discussion of why Caesar is so interesting to people in various times. It's also very, very readable.
posted by joyceanmachine at 9:00 AM on May 27, 2009
posted by joyceanmachine at 9:00 AM on May 27, 2009
I second paisley and incessant. Unless your students are simply reading the lines in one day for a drama class, you're screwing them out of appreciating a really fun play in which, among other gruesome acts, a lead female character commits suicide by swallowing fiery coals. If you're incredibly pressed for time and resources, check out Marjorie Garber's Shakespeare After All, a collection of her Harvard essays/lectures divided by play. Garber uses accessible, non-academic language to convey key thematic issues, the atmosphere in which Shakespeare was writing, and includes superstitions and interesting Renaissance factoids to keep the assessment lively.
posted by zoomorphic at 10:01 AM on May 27, 2009
posted by zoomorphic at 10:01 AM on May 27, 2009
Literature and Its Times has a big guide (~200 pages) on the historical context in which it's written, as well as info on the time and place of the setting - it might give you some good insight. You can hopefully get it through your public library or I found it online (for pay) here.
posted by lubujackson at 12:06 PM on May 27, 2009
posted by lubujackson at 12:06 PM on May 27, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by thermonuclear.jive.turkey at 7:05 AM on May 27, 2009 [1 favorite]