Ghost of Caesar

Ghost of Caesar's point of view: Brutus looks troubled and worried tonight as he tries to fall asleep. I know he should be, he will get what what he has coming to him after what he has done to the Romans. I would have served Rome well, and hope that my will has proved that. Tonight I will visit Brutus to make him even more worrisome.

Brutus
How ill this taper burns! Ha, who comes here?
I think this is the weakness of mine eyes
That shapes monstrous apparition.
It comes upon me. Art thou any thing?
Art thou some god, some angel, or some devil,
That mak'st my blood cold and my hair stare?
Speak to me what thou art.

Ghost
Thy evil spirit, Brutus.

Brutus
Why com'st thou?

Ghost
To tell thee thou shalt see me at Phillippi.

Brutus
Well, then I shall see thee again?

Ghost
Ay, at Phillippi.

Brutus
Why, I will see thee at Phillippi then.

URL: http://shakespeare.emory.edu/illustrations/westall_caesar.jpg

Portia's letter to Brutus

Dear Brutus,

This is my last farewell. I hope you understand why I'm doing this. These last few days, you have been different and distracted. I feel I have discovered why. You were a loyal friend to Caesar but the conspirators overruled your trust and made you act this way. You have paid no attention to me and felt as though you did not have to tell me what you have been doing. I will get out of your way, and I won't stop you in the future. By this I mean I will no longer be a part of your life, Brutus. I will lay in bed as my servant is absent and my room will burst into flames.

Goodbye Brutus

I will always love you.

Portia

URL: http://www.txfannin.org/diaries/letter.png

Mark Antony

In Mark Antony's point of view: As I look back on the many tragic happenings that have occured, like Caesar's death and the battle that took some lives. I wonder if it was all worth it? This wouldn't have happened if it weren't for the jealousy from the conspirators. I miss Julius terribly. He would have ruled Rome with great respect, if the conspirators didn't kill him out of disloyalty and doubt. I hope I am making him proud.

Mark Antony was my favourite character because I viewed him as the smartest. In the beggining, he was always loyal to Caesar, and even in the end he proved to be. He was strong throughout the play, and especially stealthy because he tricked the conspirators into thinking he was on their side. To the Romans he is a great public figure. Overall, his intelligence helped him convince the conspirators, win over the Romans and make Julius proud.

URL: http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0cDj2pegPxcwT/340x.jpg

Julius Caesar Quote

"Men are nearly always willing to believe what they wish."

- Julius Caesar

This quote caught my attention when I read it because it explains his death. The reason I think so is because the conspirators felt threatened by Julius Caesar's power, and what he would do with it. They wished that they could be in power and that Julius wouldn't stand in the way of it. They believed he wouldn't treat Rome correctly and thought he meant harm. They assumed that he wouldn't treat the Romans very well and he wouldn't respect his senators. After Julius Caesar's will was read, they realized he would have been smart and giving to the Romans, because it explained that he was going to give some of his money to each Roman. In my opinion, this quote is important in the play because its showing Julius' intelligence.

Julius Caesar Essay

Using Blogger as a method of expressing our thoughts and knowledge was a creative way to learn about Julius Caesar with the original play book. In the reading groups, with the different types of plays and books, I found it easier to follow along the play, even though Shakespeare is known to be complicated and confusing for most. With this method, we could use the graphics to understand what characters looked like, what they were saying, and what the mood or tone was like based on the background. With the original play as well, it was more detailed and offered summaries of the act if I was unsure of an event that happened. With both these types, I found it very effective to understand the feelings, events and ideas that were expressed in Julius Caesar.

Some ideas that could have improved my learning was more group particpation. It would be easier to assign the roles this way, and then making it easier to discuss with the group. Although, this suggestion is not necessarily anyones fault, but it would help significantly. Another suggestion to improve my learning would be if the class all read the same Shakespearean play so we could discuss in class any misunderstandings or confusion in the play. These were the only drawbacks from using this technique, so I would suggest to continue using this method.

Overall, the approach we used was mostly successful. I felt I had a good understanding of the play because we read scripts, and had pictures to refer to for clarification. Discussion within the groups about what happened in the act was a productive way to get feedback from classmates on how they felt about a specific act or event that took place. Also, knowing their thoughts would make me reconsider how I felt if they made a good point. For example, a classmate made me realize Mark Antony was a very intelligent character because of his actions towards the conspirators and Romans. Doing the personal blog posts was a fun way of taking the important events and making them creative in our own way but still using the tone of the original character. I am glad we used the graphic novel and the original play in reading groups to study Julius Caesar.

Act 4 & 5 - Meeting 4 - Comic Commentator

Act 4 &5 - Comic Commentator

How is the mood or tone shown in the comic book?
You can see the human emotion, so you can relate better to how they are feeling. The background and sky colours are always matching the tone of the scene. For example, when Caesar's ghost comes, the mood becomes more gloomy and the background becomes black making it come off as a terrifying scene. At the beggining of the battle, the sky is more friendly, but as the battle progresses, the sky becomes dreary because there are more people dying.

How are the transitions effective in the comic book?
The transitions of the scenes are effective because each scene has some information on what is happening and has some quotes from whoever is speaking. This proves to be effective because it is easy to follow and you can inderstand what is going on with the visuals and quotes.

In our group, we discussed the events that have occured in the past two acts. The original play described Act 4 as being preparation for the battle from both perspectives - the rebels/conspirators versus Octavius, Lepidius, and Antony. Also, we think that Portia feels lonely and troubled because Brutus has been ignoring. She "resolves" this by burning herself to death in her room.

Act 5 is the battle, and how things fall into place in the end. With the many deaths that take place in the battle, there is all kinds of emotions that are expressed. Obviously, Octavius, Lepidius and Mark Antony are all happiest because they got what they want, even though Caesar is gone. They hope continue to serve Rome as well as Julius did.

Julius Caesar's Will

WILL OF Julius Caesar

I, Julius Caesar, a resident of Rome, hereby make this Will and revoke all prior Wills and Codicils.

1. PERSONAL INFORMATION:

a. I was born on January 5 in Rome

b. I am married to Calpurnia, who I will refer to as "my spouse." We were married on August 31 in Rome.

c. I have no living children.

2. BENEFICIARIES: I give my property to the following persons:

One eighth of my earnings goes to my spouse. The rest of my earnings will proceed to go to each Roman in my town for they are deserving and have made me who I am. The title of King of Rome, assuming if I am so when I pass away, will be rewarded to my nephew, Octavius Caesar, for he will serve Rome with great pleasure and duty. My loyal friends, Mark Antony and Lepidious, shall be the senators to assist Octavius. I have great pride to all thee for their support and adoration towards Rome.

If any beneficiary under this Will does not survive me by 30 days, then I shall be deemed to have survived such person.

3. PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OR EXECUTOR:

I appoint Octavius Caesar as Executor of my Will. My Executor shall have all powers granted by applicable laws of my state to carry out all provisions of this Will, may use provisions and procedures for the simplified handling of estates, and shall not be required to post a bond.

I, Julius Caesar, hereby sign this Will at Rome on this eighth day of March, 2010

Julius Caesar

___________

Each of us hereby states, under penalties of perjury, that on this eighth day of March, 2010, in Rome we observed Julius Caesar who we know or who otherwise proved his identity to us, declare the above document to be his Will. He then asked us to serve as his witnesses and then signed the document in our presence. He appeared to be an adult, of sound mind and memory, and acting of his own free will, and not under any force or duress. We are now, immediately after he signed the Will, signing our names in his presence.

Mark Antony, Rome.




Octavius Caesar, Rome.





Calpurnia, Rome.

Act 3 - Third Meeting - Connector

Act 3 - Connector

Some connections that I have made throughout Act 3 was mistaken identity. When Cinna the poet gets killed by angry mob because the mob thought he was one of the conspirators, that is a case of mistaken identity. A story that I can relate this to is a couple years ago, a van holding 9 people was hit head on by a tractor trailer. Five people had died, and one of them the doctors thought was Laura Van Ryn. After realizing their mistake, they found out the one in recovery was actually Whitney Cerak. Thus meaning Laura Van Ryn was buried as Cerak. This event brought some faith for the Cerak family, but sorrow for the Van Ryn family.



URL: http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2008/05/31/laura_wideweb__470x302,0.jpg

As we discussed in the group, we think that Caesar's death could have been avoidable, and as well as Cinna the poets. Cinna's death was very unfortunate because it was a simple case of mistaken identity. The angry mob that killed Cinna the poet were angry because they read Julius Caesar's will and he gave money to Romans, obviously meaning that he had good intentions and would've been a great king. Our group decided that the conspirators should be punished for the actions, and the Romans should be the ones to do so. They shouldn't be viewed as heroes for what they have done, and unfortunately Antony is stuck on what to do. He is friends with the conspirators but we think it is only out of the safety of his life.

Bad Omens

In Calpurnia's point of view: I toss and turn all night, swimming in and out of sleep. Finally, I manage to nap for a few hours but it was not a satisfying slumber. This nightmare, my husband Julius was included, but only his statue. The statue symbolizes the great deeds my husband has accomplished for Rome and it reflects the appreciation of the people. The statue itself is not what I fear, it is the image of blood running down it like a fountain with the Romans bathing their hands in his blood. My nightmare frightens me and I immediately wake, warning Julius to keep away from the Senate that day. My cries are only words to him: empty and meaningless.

URL: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Julius_Caesar_Coustou_Louvre.png/318px-Julius_Caesar_Coustou_Louvre.png

Act 2 - Second Meeting - Discussion Director

Act 2 - Discussion Director

Who are all the conspirators against Julius Caesar? Who is the newest member and why did he decide to be a conspirator?
All the conspirators are Cassius, Casca, Decius, Cinna, Metellus and Trebonius. The newest member of the conspirator party is Brutus. The reason Brutus joined is because he received a letter urging him to rebel against Julius. After much contemplation, he agrees to do so and the conspirators approach him to join; he obliges.

Do you feel that Julius Caesar would let the power "go to his head" like all the conspirators think he will?
Aaron and I think that there was a possibility it would have gone to his head, but they never gave him the chance. Julius could have done wonderful things for Rome and wanted help from all the senators, the opposite of what the conspirators thought would happen.

What happened in Calpurnia's nightmare that was a bad omen?
In Calpurnia's dream, she dreamt of Julius' statue with blood running down it. The Romans were all bathing their hands in it. She sees this as a bad omen and wants him to stay home for the day.

As stated above, Julius Caesar's wife, Calpurnia, has had many signs that symbolize death for Julius, she grows strongly scared and doesn't want him to go to the Senate that day. What event happened that made Julius changed his mind?

The event that happened that made Julius change his mind about staying home was Decius came to bring him to the Senate that day, where the conspirators wanted to kill him, and Caesar rejected his help because he was going to stay home. Julius explained Calpurnia's dream and Decius explained that that was showing the Romans love for him rather than it being a bad omen. Julius agreed and proceeded to the Senate.

In our group, we discussed that Julius should have stayed home because of the overwhelming bad omens from Calpurnia and others. Julius was far too proud to want to stay home in the first place but he should have realized the danger. Another aspect that should have changed his mind was when Artemidorus wrote him a letter of warning and gave it to him before he went to the Senate. Julius refused to read it because he felt his personal problems could wait until after. If he would have read it, he would have still been alive.

Thunder and Lightning poem

I hear the rumble ringing through the night.
I see the streak of flashing light.
It makes the clouds glow all around
As again I hear that rumbling sound
The rain falls harsh and splashes high
As once more the lightning lights up the sky.
There are those who fear this cosmic charge
The sound so loud and the lightning so large
But I watch it as a little child with wondrous eye
As I would watch fireworks of the fourth of July.
It puts on a marvelous and glorious show
As the lightning streaks jump to and fro.
The thunder comes from every side
The lightning makes no attempt to hide
Itself from my curious eye

In Casca's point of view: This poem about thunder and lightning reminds me of the bad omens I witnessed on a stormy night. The bad omens could mean only one thing for the other senators and I, that Julius wanted to rule alone. As I ran through the night, I stumbled upon Cicero, a fellow senator, and he was asked me why I was so breathless and staring at him. I told him what I came upon and we made a plan to resolve our problem: to kill Julius Caesar. We thought about who would be interested in helping us, and soon after Cassius and Cinna became part of our party.

URL: http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewPoetry.asp?id=163393