Modern vs. Julius Caesar Essay Assignment

Essay Assignment – English 9

The Prompt

Modern politicians and other people famous for speaking address many of the themes found in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.

Chose one well-known orator (person who gives a lot of speeches) from the 20^th century and compare their themes to the themes in Julius Caesar.

A “theme” can be…

Power – ways in which orators assert their own power or make you believe in the power (or lack of power) in others.

Fear – how and orator might try to scare listeners – sometimes subtly, sometimes not – in order to persuade them.

Patriotism – look at how speakers talk about their own loyalty to their country, or countrymen, as well as what they think their countrymen owe the country.

Loyalty – this is close to Patriotism, but is more about relationships not based on nationality or governance.

You are free to come up with other themes!

Intro

The first paragraph must be an introduction, containing a hook, a topic sentence and a thesis statement.

Conclusion

The last paragraph must be a conclusion, containing a progressive re-statement of the thesis and summation of the ideas and information you have provided. There can be no new information in the conclusion, but be careful not to sound repetitive either.

Body Paragraphs

Between the first and last paragraph are two body paragraphs.

Each body paragraph must contain a topic sentence, at least one sentence including a quotation from your modern speaker and one quotation from the play. These sentences are called the concrete details, because they simply state that someone said something, but do not contain any opinion or commentary from you. After each concrete detail, you will write two sentences that do contain your opinion about how the theme is used in the quote and what this means in the overall idea you are writing about. At the end of the paragraph, wrap it up with one sentence that lets the reader know you have proven your point. This is called the concluding sentence.

Make sure when you are done writing that you check what you’ve written against these requirements.

Due date

The first draft of this essay is due Friday, November 9, by email.