Explaining Character in Shakespeare

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 15.02.08

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Introduction
  2. Rationale
  3. Content Objectives
  4. The Unit
  5. Teaching Strategies
  6. Classroom Activities
  7. Resource List
  8. Appendix A
  9. Appendix B
  10. Notes

Convincing the Masses: Rhetoric in Julius Caesar

Jennifer Leigh Vermillion

Published September 2015

Tools for this Unit:

Resource List

Classroom Texts

Duarte, Nancy, “The Secret Structure of Great Talks,” TEDx East video, 18:38,

November 11, 2010,

http://www.ted.com/talks/nancy_duarte_the_secret_structure_of_great_talks

Edlund, Dr. John R. "Ethos, Logos, Pathos." Ethos, Logos, Pathos. Accessed July 31,

2015. http://web.calstatela.edu/faculty/jgarret/3waypers.htm.

Epstein, Joseph. "The Divine Miss H, Revisited." The Weekly Standard, June 22, 2015,  

Vol 20, No. 39, 5.

King, Martin Luther. Letter from the Birmingham Jail. San Francisco: Harper San  

Francisco, 1994.

Shakespeare, William, and John D. Cox. Julius Caesar. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview,

2013. One of two indispensable texts for the teacher as it includes discussion of

rhetoric that precedes the play as well as [] excerpts from Plutarch’s Lives

of the Noble Grecians and Romans.

Zigarelli, Michael, “An Introduction to Ethos, Logos and Pathos” You Tube, 4:20, May

30, 2014, http://youtu.be/9L_G82HH9Tg

Bibliography for Teachers

Bean, John C., Virginia A. Chappell and Alica M. Gillam. Reading Rhetorically. New

Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., 2014. This is one of the fundamental texts used by

our ERWC classes in alignment with the Common Core State Standards. Although

written for students, it serves to deconstruct the elements of analysis by teaching

students how to approach thinking, reading and writing from the perspective of

rhetoric and is especially useful in strategies for closely and vigorously annotating

text.

Blits, Jan H. “From Caesar’s Ambiguous End.” In Julius Caesar, edited by S.P.

Cerasano, 199-210. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012.

Bloom, Harold. Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human. New York: Riverhead Books,

1998.

Duarte, Nancy, “The Secret Structure of Great Talks,” TEDx East video, 18:38,

November 11, 2010,

http://www.ted.com/talks/nancy_duarte_the_secret_structure_of_great_talks

Includes references to Aristotle’s rhetoric, a basic plot diagram and close analysis of

two speeches: “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King and a speech by Steve Jobs.

Edlund, Dr. John R. "Ethos, Logos, Pathos." Ethos, Logos, Pathos. Accessed July 31,

2015. http://web.calstatela.edu/faculty/jgarret/3waypers.htm. Great foundational text

to provide students with an opportunity to understand Aristotle’s three most basic

methods of persuasion and can serve to simultaneously teach annotation skills. There

are also great questions at the end of each method that encourage group conversations.

Epstein, Joseph. "The Divine Miss H, Revisited." The Weekly Standard, June 22, 2015,  

Vol 20, No. 39, 5.

Garber, Marjorie B. Shakespeare after All. New York: Pantheon Books, 2004.

Garber, Marjorie B. Shakespeare and Modern Culture. New York: Pantheon Books,

2008.

Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in

Academic Writing. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2010.

Greenblatt, Stephen. Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare. New

York: WW. Norton and Co., 2004. I provide my students with some great handouts

on both Shakespeare and life/theater in Elizabethan times, but this biography is a

delightful exploration of the playwright and his world which will help flesh out my

lectures and commentary.

Heinrichs, Jay. Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can

Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2007.

Joseph, Sister Miriam. Rhetoric in Shakespeare's Time: Literary Theory of Renaissance

Europe. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1962.

McGuigan, Brendan, and Paul Moliken. Rhetorical Devices: A Handbook and Activities

for Student Writers. Rev. ed. Clayton, DE: Prestwick House, 2011.

Miner, Horace. “Body Rituals Among the Nacirema”

Museum of the Moving Image, “The Living Room Candidate: Presidential Campaign

Commercials 1952-2012” http://www.livingroomcandidate.org. Given that I will be

teaching this unit in the midst of campaigning for the next presidential election, an

analysis of one of outgoing President Barack Obama’s speeches that used ethos to

arouse hope and logos to address the economy and war might provide useful as will

viewing current candidate’s debates and ads.

Roskelly, Hepzibah. “What do Students Need to Know About Rhetoric.” College Board

Shakespeare, William, and Susan P. Cerasano. Julius Caesar. New York: W.W. Norton,

2012.

Shakespeare, William, and John D. Cox. Julius Caesar. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview,

2013. One of two indispensable texts for the teacher as it includes discussion of

rhetoric that precedes the play as well as the addition of excerpts from Plutarch’s Lives

of the Noble Grecians and Roman.

Wills, Garry. Rome and Rhetoric: Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. New Haven, CT: Yale

University Press, 2011. Invaluable text in that it analyzes the characters in Julius

Caesar through the lens of rhetoric. While it is far too in-depth an analysis in terms of

depth and breadth for my classroom, it is invaluable to me as an educator to

familiarize myself with Plutarch’s historical take on these men as well as the specific

rhetorical devices in the text.

Zigarelli, Michael, “An Introduction to Ethos, Logos and Pathos” You Tube, 4:20, May

30, 2014, http://youtu.be/9L_G82HH9Tg. Fun introductory clip to the pragmatic use of the art of persuasion through as example of a detective trying to get a confession from a suspect.

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