Teach Julius Caesar Character Analysis Essay
How to Write a Strong Paper on Shakespeare's Dynamic Characters
Mar 28, 2009
High school students need ample guidance when learning how to analyze complex characters, such as those in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. To begin, encourage students to select a character they would like to analyze when reading Act I. You may want to make a list of suggested characters to help students determine an appropriate choice. For example, major, dynamic characters such as Antony and Brutus are more interesting for students to analyze than minor, static characters such as Lucius or Decius.
Then, instruct students to highlight key scenes and annotate the play while they are reading. Although the essay should not be due until students finish reading the entire play, they should keep in mind this character analysis assignment while reading and take notes in response to the assignment below.
Directions for Character Analysis Essay
Write a five paragraph character analysis essay, using the following suggestions. This rough draft will be will be a separate grade from the revised copy. You will be graded on your rough draft, revisions, and final copy of this essay.
Select a character introduced in Act I of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar and write an essay answering the following questions about him or her. Be sure to specifically respond to all aspects of the prompt.
Think about the different types of conflict that exist. Conflict can be external, such as person versus person, person versus nature or person versus society. It can also be internal, which is person versus self. In each case, a person must respond to the conflict. How does your chosen Shakespearean character experience conflict during the play? Keep in mind how conflict causes a character to change throughout the course of the drama.
Suggestions for Character Analysis
- Try to understand your character. This does not mean that you need to like or even sympathize with your character. However, you do need to try to see events from his or her perspective and identify with your character.
- Determine your character’s motives. Motives encourage a character to act a certain way, and they can serve as either a positive or negative influence on a character. Consider a character’s goals and dreams, as motives are usually linked to these.
- Describe the character’s actions at the beginning, middle and end of the play as they relate to conflict. Consider physical descriptions, speech, and interactions with other characters. Be sure to provide specific quotes and your interpretations of these quotes. Why are they significant? What do they reveal about the character? How do these examples show how the character chooses to deal with conflict?
- Explain specifically how this character changes throughout the course of this play. These changes can be subtle or quite obvious, depending on the character you choose. For example, Antony’s changes are fairly subtle while Brutus’s changes are obvious in both his actions and his speech. Use at least one direct quote from the play and explain how this quote illustrates a change in the character. You should also consider why this change is important.
- Evaluate the character’s level of morality. Do you feel this character has acted in accordance to a personal set of ethics and morals? Explain what the character has learned through his or her experiences with conflict.
By answering these questions, students will be guided to conducting an introductory character analysis. Class discussion can further enhance students understanding of in depth analysis. Be sure to provide students with an editing checklist when revising their rough draft. Students will be expected to proofread their rough draft, edit their work by making revisions on the rough draft, and rewrite a clean, final copy.
 |
