The Violent Rhetoric of Julius Caesar

Students will learn the basics of persuasive speaking, rhetorical analysis, oratory, and gain an appreciation for Shakespeare's writing. Topics covered:
-Persuasive Speech
-Ethos, Pathos, Logos,
-Rhetoric
-Roman History
-Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
-Oratory
-Public Speaking

Again, though this play is politically charged, it doesn't advocate violence. I have studied the play, acted in it, and written about it as an educator and an MFA. I have studied the arts of rhetoric, oratory, and persuasive speaking at Mary Baldwin College, and received a Master of Fine Arts in 2011. I have a Bachelors's degree in Theater from Ashland University, where I studied acting, voice and articulation, political theory, and rhetoric.

Students will complete a short worksheet where they analyze both the Julius Caesar speech, and 2-3 modern political speeches such as The Gettysburg Address. They will annotate the use of Ethos (appeal to authority), Pathos (appeal to feelings), and Logos (use of facts and figures). They will then write 2-3 sentences about what the speaker is attempting to make them feel/ do.

Students will receive credit for asking questions, completing the worksheet, and delivering a line of the speech to the best of their ability.

55 minutes per week in class, and maybe some time outside of class.

This course is based largely on a post I wrote for my blog entitled: "Close Reading: Friends, Romans, Countrymen: " https://shakespeareanstudent.wordpress.com/2018/04/21/close-reading-friends-romans-countrymen/#:~:text=Friends%2C%20Romans%2C%20countrymen%2C%20lend,Caesar%2C%20not%20to%20praise%20him.&text=Hath%20told%20you%20Caesar%20was%20ambitious%3A&text=Come%20I%20to%20speak%20in%20Caesar's%20funeral. 

You are welcome to read the post if you want to prepare for the classroom activities.