Blogger #10, Daria Golitsyna, Period 2, 11/30/21. Freshman Lit 2021

 Blogger #10, Daria Golitsyna, Period 2, 11/30/21. Freshman Lit 2021

Julius Caesar: Part Four. Act I scene ii (part two)

The Aim: How has Shakespeare’s presentation of characters provided both clarity and context through characterization (meaning what they say of themselves and others)? 

Brutus and Cassius talking

The first thing we addressed was the do now, where we had a pair/share about the question: 

Why do you think it’s important for an author to establish a mood to convey themes and characterization?

Me and my partner discussed how Shakespeare created a setting right on stage, without going into the details in his writing. Also, we discussed how a crowd cheering in scene one was important to convey a theme of glory around Caesar, and how praised he was by the public. But, as soon as the main crowd left, the theme shifted to something sketchy since Brutus                      a rebuilt version of Shakespeare's theatre:“The Globe”

and Cassius were left alone, and 

Cassius introduced his desire to take Caesar down.

When the class discussion started, we talked about how it is important to establish a mood so that we could relate to the characters more, and be more intrigued in the scene and plotline. Ms. Peterson also mentioned indirect vs direct characterization and how it can be used to characterize people in the plot. 

Next, we started reading part two of part one scene two of Shakespeare’s: Julius Caesar. We also listened to an audio version of the scene. This is what we listened to. 

The scene started with a crowd praising Caesar,The second part of the scene started with Brutus and Cassius, with Cassius trying to convince Brutus that Caesar didn’t deserve all the fame and honor he has gotten, and that he is being selfish by keeping all of it to himself. An important line he says was a metaphor: 

“Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world

Like a Colossus, and we petty men

Walk under his huge legs and peep about

To find ourselves dishonourable graves.

Men at some time are masters of their fates:

The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,

But in ourselves, we are underlings.”

This text is basically Cassius telling Brutus that Caesar is like a giant, and everyone else wont ever have his glory, and will die a dishonorable death for not stepping up. Cassius knows that Brutus wants to be honorable, so he might have said this to manipulate Brutus to follow him and take down Caesar. Brutus responded saying he will consider Cassius’s words, but he would rather be humble than try to take down Caesar. 

Next, Casca told Brutus and Cassius what happened at the celebrations: the crowd was cheering for Caesar and trying to give him a crown. But, Caesar rejected the crowd several times, before fainting because of “the falling sickness”, or epilepsy. Casca made some sceptical comments about Caesar and how much the crowd praised him. This made me think back to the aim and I considered that Caesar was outlining that Casca was two faced, since one minute ago he was part of the crowd, praising Caesar, and the next he was telling two people who appear to be plotting against Caesar about how weak he is. 

Next, we transfer to a conversation between Antony and Caesar. Caesar mentions how he does not trust Cassius, and Antony convinced him that he has nothing to be scared of since he is a god. After, the scene goes back to Cassius, Casca, and Brutus discussing how Caesar fell. Cassius asks Casca to meet with him on the next day, and Casca agrees. Next, everyone except Cassius leaves, and he has a soliloquy about how he will convince Brutus to conspire against Caesar with him.

I found this scene extremely interesting, since it revealed more about all the main characters, emphasising Caesar's glory and weaknesses, Cassius’s sharp mind, Brutus’s honor, and Casca’s two-facedness. 

Referring to the aim, after reading the scene, I saw that Shakespeare used both monologue, dialogue, and soliloquy (a long speech where a character is talking to themself) to refine character traits of some of the main characters. For example, we could see Cassius having a soliloquy with himself in lines 320 - 334:

 “Well, Brutus, thou art noble; yet, I see, 320

Thy honourable metal may be wrought

From that it is disposed: therefore it is meet

That noble minds keep ever with their likes;

For who so firm that cannot be seduced?

Caesar doth bear me hard; but he loves Brutus: 325

If I were Brutus now and he were Cassius,

He should not humour me. I will this night,

In several hands, in at his windows throw,

As if they came from several citizens,

Writings all tending to the great opinion 330

That Rome holds of his name; wherein obscurely

Caesar's ambition shall be glanced at:

And after this let Caesar seat him sure;

For we will shake him, or worse days endure.”

Here, we can observe Cassius discussing how he will manipulate Brutus, a main character who is loyal to Caesar even though he is a bit jealous of him, to think that Brutus is more important than Caesar. He promised to throw papers with writing in different handwriting at Brutus's window, talking about how great Brutus is. We could observe from that that Cassius is sneaky and cunning. From the other dialogues and monologues Cassius had, we could see that he was jealous of Caesar's glory and fame, and he was two - faced, because when he was with Caesar he was also treating him like a god. 

Lastly, we started working in groups on several questions addressed to us about the scene, but we didn’t get to finish it today. 

I definitely learned a lot about Caesar today, and I developed better skills in assessing another person's personality based on their thoughts. This scene had many intricate details that revealed a lot about certain characters, and it was important not to miss them. So, this will definitely prove useful both in reading other books and real life. This could also be used for writing, if I ever try to write anything myself, I will definitely use some of Shakespeare's devices like repetition, metaphors, monologues, and soliloquies to help the reader understand the characters better or to see a certain side of them which wasn't visible in the characters interactions with certain other people.