Julius Caesar, Rhetoric, and Relevance: Shakespeare Uncovered

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

Subject Area

English Language Arts

Grade(s)

12

Overview

Learn about how Shakespeare uses rhetoric in his play Julius Caesar in two videos from Shakespeare Uncovered. After the assassination of Julius Caesar, Antony and Brutus both do what they think is best to protect Rome. This resource works best after students have read Act III, sc. 2, to ensure they are already familiar with the speeches of Antony and Brutus before Caesar’s burial. How do the two characters frame their choices through language? How do they persuade or fail to persuade their audience? This resource also addresses how Shakespeare’s use of rhetoric can inform our understanding of how rhetoric is used today. During a time when our sources of information are increasingly fractured and curated, how do we make sense of opinions versus facts? How does rhetoric operate in the realm of social media? Support materials engage students with contemporary connections through discussion questions, teaching tips, and a background essay.

Be sure to read the Background Reading and Julius Caesar, Rhetoric, and Relevance | Shakespeare Uncovered - Activity, along with the other materials under the Support Materials for Use with Students section to fully teach the standard.

English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 12

ELA21.12.1

Read, analyze, and evaluate complex literary and historical texts written from particular points of view or cultural experiences, with an emphasis on works of literature from the British Isles.

UP:ELA21.12.1

Vocabulary

  • Analyze
  • Evaluate
  • Complex literary text
  • Complex historical texts
  • Points of view
  • Cultural perspectives
  • British Isles literature

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Necessary skills to read, analyze, and evaluate complex literary and historical texts.
  • Strategies to identify and describe various points of view and cultural perspectives.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Read complex texts.
  • Analyze elements within complex texts.
  • Evaluate text based on specific criteria provided by the teacher.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Texts written from various cultural perspectives and viewpoints can provide them with valuable information about the thoughts, opinions, and experiences of others in the present and in the past.

CR Resource Type

Audio/Video

Resource Provider

PBS

License Type

Custom
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