CXC ENGLISH

If we map out this play, we will find that the conspiracy against Caesar builds up in Acts 1 and 2, and reaches its climax in Act 3, where Caesar is stabbed to death in the Capitol. There are joyful shouts of victory and freedom. From that point onwards, though, we will see the downfall of the conspirators, culminating in the deaths of Brutus and Cassius on the battlefield at Philippi, the reported death by suicide of Portia, and the rise to power of Octavius, Mark Antony and Lepidus (though Lepidus is barely tolerated by the others).

If we think in terms of order and disorder, we saw a disorderly scene as the play opened, with workmen openly being impolite to rulers, we saw disorder in the heavens, with fierce storms, and disorder on earth, with the dead coming out of their tombs and animals becoming wild. We saw disorder on the streets of Rome as the mob rush to burn down the homes of the conspirators. Eventually we will see the utter disorder of civil war, as Roman fights against Roman.

What does all this mean? It suggests, surely, that whereas Cassius had persuaded Brutus that we hold our destiny in our own hands (“The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in the stars…”), he perhaps was wrong. The disorder in the heavens and on earth following on the assassination suggests that killing the ruler (even a bad one) may bring about a chain reaction of greater and greater disorder. Shakespeare’s message to his audience seems to be: Never lift your hand against the King (the Lord’s Anointed), but let God be the one to remove him.

Act 4 Scene 1 The new triumvirate makes a hit list!! This lets us know that these rulers will be far more ruthless than Caesar was—so Rome has gone from bad to worse!

Scenes 2 and 3 Brutus is told by Lucilius that Cassius is on his way, but that he seems displeased. Cassius arrives and immediately a quarrel breaks out between the two former friends and allies. Cassius has led his troops and raised funds in the traditional way, but Brutus (always taking the moral high ground) accuses Cassius of having “an itching palm” and of accepting bribes. “I can raise no money by vile means”, he proudly says. The two of them are ready to fight it out! Both men are so angry that they kick out the poet who comes in to try to bring reconciliation!

Brutus and Cassius make friends again, and only then does Brutus tell Cassius that Portia has committed suicide. Cassius and Brutus drink together in friendship once again, and Messala and Titinius arrive with news of 70-100 senators put to death by the new triumvirate! Messala also tells of Portia’s death. Both he and Cassius are amazed at how stoically Brutus deals with his personal tragedy.

Brutus had made big mistakes in not having Mark Antony killed along with Caesar, and in allowing him to make his funeral speech unsupervised. Now he makes another error of judgment. Cassius, the seasoned General, advises waiting for the enemy to come to them so the troops will be rested; Brutus insists on marching to Philippi to engage in battle there against Cassius’s arguments.

The Generals part company for the night, and Brutus asks his servant Lucius to play some music for him. The boy is so weary that he falls asleep over the instrument. (It is significant that there can be no music, no harmony, in a situation of discord—where brother is against brother, and Roman against Roman.)

In the stillness, Caesar’s ghost appears to Brutus, warning him that he will see him again at Philippi. In some agitation, Brutus wakes the others, but no one else has seen anything. Although Brutus believes his actions have been morally upright, it seems that Providence does not agree, and Caesar is allowed to come out of his grave to get revenge on this friend who betrayed him.

For You to Do

Ask yourself these questions: At what points in the play does Brutus make poor decisions? What evidence do we have that Cassius is less honourable than Brutus? What evidence do we have that Cassius makes better decisions? Could Shakespeare saying that in order to be a leader you sometimes have to make moral compromises? What evidence do we have that Rome is worse off after the assassination that was intended to remove the dictator and bring greater freedom? Make a list of the deaths that occur as a consequence of what Brutus and the other conspirators did, thinking they were doing something noble.

SPELLING

Here are 15 words that are frequently misspelt. Ask someone to test you and see if you can spell all of them correctly. Write out any words that you couldn’t spell, and make sure they will never catch you again!

Scarcity, schedule, secretary, separate, sincerely, soldier, solemn, sovereign, specific, squalor, stationary (vehicle), stationery (office supplies), statue, strenuous, strictly.

WRITING A SHORT STORY

When you are writing a short story, these are the things you need to think about: Plot Characters Setting Moral

This week we will talk about plot. Let’s imagine that we want to write a story about someone seeing a ghost. The first thing to ask yourself is What is the climax (the most exciting/dramatic moment)? Certainly in a ghost story, the climax would be the actual meeting with the ghost.

Next, you need to think about how to get your story to that point. And finally you need to think about how everything turned out after the dramatic encounter.

If you list the parts of your story, the list (the plot) would go like this:

a) The situation in which the ghost appeared b) The events that led up to the appearance of the ghost c) The actual visitation of the ghost and its effect on the person being visited d) The outcome of that visit—what the person learnt, what the person resolved, etc.

It is important to focus at all times on the effect you want to create. Since this is a ghost story, you will probably want to create a situation or setting that creates a mood suitable for your story. Which of the two sentences below would you prefer for your story?

Laughter rang out from the porch of the house as we arrived home, our baskets spilling over with plums and cherries from Grandpa’s orchard.

The house stood at the end of the long, lonely road—gloomy and neglected, a broken jalousie window knocking against the wall, swung by the wind that seemed to be growing stronger, judging from the mournful sound it made among the branches of the dark, overhanging trees.

Yes, the second sentence creates a much scarier mood, doesn’t it? For a) above, you could tell us why your characters have sought shelter here, and then continue to narrate how they come into the house and settle down for the evening.

For b) you will perhaps put your characters to bed. You may want to bring in some disturbing noises, a candle blowing out, the wind making a branch graze against a window, and so forth. For c) you will write about the actual appearance of the ghost:

There was no doubt in John’s mind now; the clanking sound was just outside his door. Suddenly the door swung open, its rusty hinges grating in the quiet of the night, and there in the doorway…

For d) you will tell us what the characters did and said after it was all over. Make sure that you don’t leave any unanswered questions in the reader’s mind.

Find a story in the newspaper or something unusual that happened to you, and see if you can work out the outline of a plot for the story—making sure that you have just ONE climax, and that you lead up to that climax and tell us how everything turned out at the end.

Show your teacher your story outline, and get his/her comments.