Brutus and Booth - One and the Same?

We just finished reading Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar.” As we have discussed and experienced, the play deals with many issues of human nature, including: betrayal, trust, loyalty, justice, and leadership. There have been many instances in real life that reflect what happens in plays, one of the most famous is John Wilkes Booth’s assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.

Read this diary entry, which Booth wrote after he killed Lincoln, and compare it to Brutus’s decision to kill Caesar. Be sure to note his mention of Shakespeare’s character, Brutus, in his diary entry.

Once you have read the entry, answer 3 of 7 questions (you decide which 3!) listed below and post them as a comment. Use complete sentences and evidence from the text to support your answers.

1. Describe how Booth justifies the shooting of Abraham Lincoln in his diary entry. How does this compare to the way Shakespeare's character Brutus justifies the assassination of Julius Caesar?

2. Assess Booth's claims that his "action was purer than" that of Brutus and that he never sought any personal gain.

3. How do you think Brutus might respond to the claims made in Booth's diary? What might these two figures, Booth and Brutus, say to each other if they met?

4. Diary entries like Booth's give us access to a writer's innermost thoughts. How do we gain access the innermost thoughts of a dramatic character like Shakespeare's Brutus?

5. Why do you think Booth kept a diary after shooting Lincoln? (Do you think he ever anticipated that the diary would be read and/or published? If so, does this change the way we read and interpret the diary? In other words, is it possible that Booth's journal entries were crafted to sway his potential readers?)

6. Do you think there is ever any way to justify the assassination of a political leader? Why or why not?

7. Has reading Booth's diary changed your perception of Brutus's actions in the play?

Walking in Antony's Shoes

As you know, we have been reading William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, a play that deals with major human issues like loyalty, revenge, and power. We just finished the death of Julius Caesar and Mark Anonty’s speech to the people of Rome, a speech that is so heavily laced with irony and the rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, and logos) that it convinced all of the citizens to believe in his cause. Today, you will be comparing yourself to Mark Antony.

Your Task Today:
Rewrite Anonty’s speech from Act III, Scene II in modern language.

Steps to Take/Questions to Consider:
Step 1- Think about Anonty’s Position. What would you do if you were in his shoes?
Step 2 – Re-read and evaluate Anonty’s speech. How would this speech be different if it were given today?
Step 3 – Rewrite the speech in today’s language as YOU would write it. How can you convert the speech to today’s language while still maintaining the heavy uses of irony and ethos, pathos, and logos?

Rubric for Assignment:
Proficient – the speech is rewritten in modern language, yet still maintains the major points and integrity of the speech, the re-written speech is at least 3 paragraphs long and is well-written with proper grammar and strong vocabulary words
Non-Proficient – The speech is not rewritten in modern language, nor does it maintain the major points or integrity of the speech, the speech is less than 3 paragraphs and does not use proper grammar or a strong vocabulary

Bonus Question (only to be answer if speech is re-written) – In Julius Caesar, Brutus is able to convince the “ignorant masses” relatively quickly, and then Antony is able to convince them just as quickly to agree with him, a completely opposite opinion. With this is mind, what do you think Shakespeare is saying about the rhetoric in our lives?

Et tu - Students?

Time has come for Spring Break 2011, and we would like you to take this time to self-reflect on the past year, specifically in English class. We want you to take a moment and think about some of the things you have learned and how they can affect your life. Remember, we don’t teach you all of the things we do for no reason!

With all of these things in mind, we would like you to think about your upcoming spring break and brainstorm some ideas in which you could incorporate some of the things from English class into your break. Perhaps you could read a bit each day; perhaps you could notice ethos, pathos, and logos in your life.

Your Task Today:
Compose a 3 paragraph entry (minimum 5 sentences each) in which you discuss possible ways you can incorporate the skills learned in English class into your break.

Julius Caesar: Act I, Scene II

Over the past two days, we have been reading Act I, Scene II of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. We are still in the early stages of the play, so it is essential that you understand everything that is going on in the play. Please note: after today’s lesson, we will be moving quite quickly through the play!

Today you will have 2 goals for your blog entry:

• To decide and explain which Rhetorical Appeal that Cassius used best


• To summarize Julius Caesar, Act I Scene II

Rubric for Analysis of Cassius Speech/Summary of Act I, Scene II:
Proficient – analysis of Cassius’s speech demonstrates mastery of the three rhetorical appeals, analysis is supported by textual evidence and all sentences are effectively written. Summary of Act I, Scene II is coherently written, contains all major elements of the scene, and does not add in unnecessary details.

Ethos, Pathos, and Logos in Our Lives

Towards the end of last week, we were looking more in depth into the foundations of public speaking. We discovered and studied the new concepts of the words:

• Ethos – the self, establish credibility, establish strong character, community, trust


• Pathos – evokes emotions: happiness, fear, sadness, anger, “coolness,” etc.


• Logos - based on logic and reasoning, statistics, things that “make sense”

Your Task Today: Over the weekend, your homework was to identify and be able to discuss ethos, pathos, and logos’ role in your life. For today’s blog entry, you are going to explain how these three rhetorical appeals impact you. What to Include:

• The Title/Description of Something with Ethos, Pathos, and/or Logos


• The Medium in which this was displayed (TV Commercial, Speech, Billboard, etc.)


• An Explanation of how Ethos, Pathos, and Logos were present


• An Explanation of how Ethos, Pathos, and Logos impacted this thing

Rubric Proficient – analysis is a minimum of 10 sentences, provides an in-depth look into the significance of ethos, pathos, and logos, provides clear and logical examples, is well-written Non-Proficient – less than 10 sentences, does not provide in-depth look into significance, examples are unclear or illogical

What can YOU do?

There are many things going on in the world today - many of which you have great interest in! Your task today is to find an article that deals with something you care about in the world and post it on the blog. The article that you find should be from one of the websites on the “Popular News” website on the side bar.

Once you have your article, post a link to it on the blog below and answer the following questions:

1. What does you article deal with? What is the overall topic?
2. Why is this topic/issue important to you?
3. Why should others care about this topic?

Be sure to use effective sentences, subject verb agreement, and be thorough (8+ sentences, each!) with your answers!

Edgar Allan Poe: Revenge in Our Lives

This week you have been reading The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe, which deals mainly with revenge. As you could tell by reading, the story uses suspense and tone to create eerie, dismal tone of revenge. Most of us how experienced some type of revenge in our lives – whether it deals with getting revenge, someone getting revenge, or some revenge being done to you.

Your Task Today:
Today, you are going to tell us a story of revenge. You may discuss a time when you got revenge on someone, someone got revenge on you, a “revenge” that happened to your friend, or simply, make one up. At the end, be sure to discuss a “lesson learned” or how you felt about the entire experience.

While writing your story, keep a few things in mind:

• The elements of Plot
• Strong Vocabulary Words
• Effective Sentences
• Pretend you are talking to your friends!

Rubric for Story of Revenge:
Proficient – story is 2+ paragraphs long, story uses strong vocabulary words and effective sentences, story deals mainly with revenge (in some way or another), and story has elements of plot
Non-Proficient – story is less than 2 paragraphs, there are no strong vocabulary words or effective sentences, story does not deal with revenge, no elements of plot