NOTE: Read Act 1 for Thursday, but no questions this time around. Just try to enjoy the Act and your increasing fluency and comfort in Shakespeare's language. We're going to watch some of Act 1 in class so we can see how some modern versions of Shakespeare decide to stage his work, and help us see the politics going on behind the words.
SOME IDEAS TO CONSIDER AS YOU READ...
* Cassius makes a
famous speech on page 21 (Act 1.2) with the phrase “the fault, dear Brutus, is
not in our stars.” Taken in context, what is he trying to say about fate and
human action?
* What is Brutus worried about in Act 1? How does Cassius have to “woo” him to his side?
* Why isn’t Caesar shaken by the Soothsayer’s warning? Also, what do you think he means by calling him a “dreamer?”
* What does Caesar men when he dismisses Cassius in favor of “fatter” men? Why does he fear/distrust him?
* How is this opening act very theatrical, or meta-theatrical? How are the various characters trying to stage themselves to the audience (both their audience, and ours)?
* Why does Casca make his speeches in prose unlike everyone else around him? Why don’t the others speak prose with him (or he speak verse with them)?
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