Take this short summary of William Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar, and condense it down to only 150 words. Don't go over. You need to first read the section, and then go back and decide what should be included and what shouldn't.
"Julius Caesar enters Rome on the Feast of Lupercal as a hero beloved by the populace. He has triumphed first over the Gauls, then over the army of Pompey. When the senators see the reaction—including Mark Antony attempting three times to crown him as a king—some take this as a threat to Rome. Cassius in particular has serious misgivings about Caesar's ambition. However, the popularity that Julius Caesar enjoys makes any plot against him particularly difficult. To offset Caesar's support base, Cassius makes overtures to Marcus Brutus, a nobleman known for his integrity and idealism; if Brutus were to support it, a conspiracy would seem more palatable to the citizens of Rome. Brutus is also a close friend of Caesar, which adds to the moral dilemma presented in the play.
"Julius Caesar enters Rome on the Feast of Lupercal as a hero beloved by the populace. He has triumphed first over the Gauls, then over the army of Pompey. When the senators see the reaction—including Mark Antony attempting three times to crown him as a king—some take this as a threat to Rome. Cassius in particular has serious misgivings about Caesar's ambition. However, the popularity that Julius Caesar enjoys makes any plot against him particularly difficult. To offset Caesar's support base, Cassius makes overtures to Marcus Brutus, a nobleman known for his integrity and idealism; if Brutus were to support it, a conspiracy would seem more palatable to the citizens of Rome. Brutus is also a close friend of Caesar, which adds to the moral dilemma presented in the play.
As a metaphor for the coming action,
a great storm besets Rome. Brutus ponders his course of action, realizing that
the conspiracy may well have to contemplate assassination. Eventually, with the
prodding of Cassius and others, Brutus comes to rationalize such an act as
necessary for a greater good. However, Brutus dissuades the conspirators from
slaying Antony with him. Caesar, already warned by a soothsayer and Calphurnia,
his wife, ignores all advice to the contrary and pays a visit to the Senate.
There he is stabbed to death by Brutus, Cassius, and the rest.
Mark Antony strikes a truce with the
conspirators, asking to accompany Caesar's body and speak at his funeral.
Brutus agrees, and at the funeral delivers a stirring oratory that explains the
reasoning for the assassination. Antony follows with the well-known
"Friends, Romans, and countrymen" soliloquy, and through his
masterful use of irony stirs the crowd—which to this point had been solidly
behind the conspirators—to call for the blood of Cassius, Brutus, and anyone
else associated with Caesar's death.
Antony then plots with Octavius
(nephew to Julius Caesar) and Lepidus to wrest control of Rome by force of
arms. Their ruthlessness exterminates many of the original conspirators, as
well as other perceived enemies. Meanwhile, Brutus and Cassius raise armies
against them. In a final battle, Brutus initially has success against the
forces of Octavius; however, Cassius falls on his own sword when beset by
Antony's army. Faced with both Antony and Octavius, Brutus's army is defeated,
and Brutus takes his own life rather than be taken captive. Upon discovering
the body, Antony laments the tragic fall of Brutus, calling him the noblest of
them all." - Originally Written by Patrick Daly Ph.D. IUS
After Conquering the Gauls and Pompey, Julius Caesar returned home and was offered to be king several times. Although loved by most, a man named Cassius didn't trust him. Cassius decided to get a well-respected and loyal friend to Caesar to plan his fall, so he seeks out Brutus. With time, Brutus was persuaded to go against his morals and help Cassius. Despite the exhortation of his wife and a soothsayer, Caesar goes to the Senate and is stabbed to death by Cassius and Brutus. At his funeral, Brutus gives a speech about why he did what he did and Mark Antony gives his famous speech, "friends, Romans, and countrymen." His speech caused an uproar and the crowd turned against Cassius and Brutus. They were forced into battle and in the end they both died. Cassius was killed in battle and Brutus killed himself instead of being taken captive. Thus is why Brutus was given the title of, "the noblest of them all" by Antony.
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ReplyDeleteJulius Caesar came Rome to the Feast of Lupercal as a brave man. He was victorious over the Gauls, and the army of Pompey. For his braveness, Mark Anthony wanted to make him a king, but some were opposed to it, especially, Cassius.
ReplyDeleteDue to Julius Caesar popularity, it brought difficulty to him. Cassius introduces Marcus Brutus, who is known for being loftiness and honesty. Because of the Marcus close relationship with Caesar’s, it would be viewed as a conflict of interest to those in Rome.
Brutus wanted to think out the process before acting on impulse of others because his conspirator wanted murder. Hearing of Caesar's murder, Mark Antony, Caesar's closest friend, begs permission to speak at Caesar's funeral. Brutus grants this permission, over the objections of Cassius and delivers his own speech first, confident that his words will convince the populace of the necessity for Caesar's death.
Julius Caesar returns to Rome after defeating the Gauls and Pompey. He is a hero and Mark Antony tries to make him the king. Cassius sees this as a threat to Rome and decides to take action. He confronts Brutus, a man trusted by Rome and they start a conspiracy against Caesar. A massive storm falls over Rome and Brutus begins to question whether or not the plan against Julius is the best approach. However, he is persuaded to go through with it anyway. Julius Caesar is warned not to go to the Senate by and his wife. Caesar pays no attention to these warnings and goes anyway, where he is stabbed and killed by Brutus and Cassius. After this, Mark Antony calls for Brutus and Cassius’s death. They battle until eventually, Cassius dies and Brutus commits suicide instead of being taken. Antony calls Brutus the noblest of them all
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