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New Class: The Violent Rhetoric Of “Julius Caesar” (Flex Schedule Edition)
Course Description
- Concept: To explore the plot, characters, and themes of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar while also gaining an insight into Ancient Roman history and culture.
- Student Description: Delve into the passionate speeches of Brutus and Antony in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, which led a whole country to revolution.
- Parent Description Using self-paced online activities, and a helpful handout, your child(ren) will analyze the rhetoric and persuasive power in two speeches from Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar.” The course will also cover the culture of Ancient Rome, and the circumstances that led to Julius Caesar’s assasination, which inadvertently led to the birth of the Roman Empire.
- Course Organizaiton (the class is divided into 4 parts that students can complete at their own pace over a week-long period
- Each lesson will have:
- “That Is the Question” (Essential Question)
- Lesson Objectives
- Set the Scene (Background and context)- 1-3 slides
- The Players (biography) 1-3 slides
- Go Deeper (Webquest)
- Explore military life and the lives of women in Rome using my blog and other websites as a guide.
- Post 3 things you learned to the Outschool page or send a photo of your completed handout.
- Words, Words Words (Vocabulary, famous lines)
- A Taste of Your Quality (Independant Project)
- Show us your mettle (Test)
- So each class should be 14-15 slides long.
- Each lesson will have:
Outline
Class I- Background on Caesar and Roman Culture
- That is the Question:
Why did Brutus feel Julius Caesar had to die?What was the aftermath?Can one person’s speech effect an entire nation?
- Lesson Objectives
To provide historical and political context to explain why Julius Caesar was assassinated, and how his death inadvertantly created the Roman Empire.To explain the Rhetorical Triangle, the building blocks of persuasive speech.To go through the story of Julius Caesar focusing on the effect of the speeches.To study the famous “Friends, Romans Countrymen” speech.To contrast this speech with some more recent political speeches and you think critically about:What does the speaker want?What tactics does he use?How effective is it?
- Set the Scene
- History
- Government
- Horrible History
- Military
- Government
- Culture
- Fashion: https://shakespeareanstudent.com/2022/03/11/the-fashion-is-the-fashion-ancient-roman-fashion-and-beauty/
- Role of Women: https://shakespeareanstudent.com/2021/03/29/i-lift-the-veil-on-shakespeares-celebrated-roman-female-characters-and-discuss-the-social-norms-they-embodied-and-challenged/
- The Lupercal- https://wordpress.com/post/shakespeareanstudent.com/4545
- History
- The Players (slides)
- Julius Caesar Julius Caesar – Greatest Conqueror Ever?
- Cassius Longinus
- Marcus Brutus
- Marc Antony
- Go Deeper-
- Go to Google Arts and Culture and find 3 facts and 3 pictures of Caesar
- Answer the following Questions:
- Name 3 jobs Caesar had in the Roman Republic
- Was Caesar Deaf? Was he epileptic?
- Name 3 things Caesar accomplished during his career.
Go to opensourceshakespeare.com and look at Caesar’s lines- how does Caesar view himself? Write 3 examples.
- Words Words Words
- Republic
- Dictator
- Lupercal
- Assassinate
- Senate
- A Taste Of Your Quality
- Make a news headline about Caesar’s triumph. How would you report on it? Would you be allowed to say anything bad about Caesar?
- Show Us Your Mettle
- Quizlet for the terms
Class 2- Cassius Manipulates Brutus
That Is the Question-
How does Cassius convince his brother-in-law Brutus to betray and assassinate Caesar, his friend and colleague?
Learning Objectives-
- To give historical context as to why the Senate in general, (and Cassius in particular), feared and hated Caesar.
- To examine Brutus’ character
- To demonstrate how Cassius uses persuasive speech
Setting the Scene- The Plot
The Players-
Cassius- slide/ https://www.rsc.org.uk/shakespeare-learning-zone/julius-caesar/character/whos-who
Write 3 facts we learn about Cassius at the start of the play:
Brutus:
https://www.rsc.org.uk/shakespeare-learning-zone/julius-caesar/character/whos-who
Go Deeper-
Brutus- Podcast episode. I posit in this episode that Brutus is
Words, Words, Words-
- Traitor
- Republic
- Dictator
- Revolution
- Ethos
- Pathos
- Logos
- Rhetoric
- Colossus
- Aeneus
A Taste Of Your Quality:
(Independent work): We’ll examine a painting of Brutus’ ancestor Lucius and learn why Brutus values Rome more than even family.
Show Us Your Mettle:
Quizzes on Brutus
Class 3- Antony and Brutus’ Dueling Speeches
That Is the Question
- After Caesar’s Death, his friend Marc Antony held a funeral for him where he gives the famous “Friends, Romans, Countrymen” speech. How did Antony’s speech affect the crowd?
- Brutus has a speech where he explains why he killed Caesar. What does he say, and how effectively does he say it?
- Antony was secretly plotting to take power for himself, and get Brutus and Cassius killed. How did he do it?
- Do speeches have the power to change a nation?
Learning Objectives
- To explain the Rhetorical Triangle, the building blocks of persuasive speech.
- To study the famous “Friends, Romans Countrymen” speech, as well
- To look at these speeches and get you to think critically about:
- What does the speaker want?
- What tactics does he use?
- How effective is it?
Setting the Scene
RSC Learning Zone- Act III, Scene 2 https://www.rsc.org.uk/shakespeare-learning-zone/julius-caesar/story/scene-by-scene
The Players (use the videos from the RSC)
Brutus- Man of Honour VS Man of Action | Julius Caesar | Royal Shakespeare Company
Antony Julius Caesar, Act 3 Scene 2 | 2012 | Royal Shakespeare Company
Go Deeper
- Go to my blog post and learn about the terms for rhetorical devices:
- https://shakespeareanstudent.com/2018/04/21/close-reading-friends-romans-countrymen/
Words, Words, Words
- Irony
- Antimetabole
- Rhetoric
- Countrymen
- Lend
- Interred
- Noble
- Hath
- Grievous
- Coffer
- Honorable
- Lupercal
- Cause
- Mourn
A Taste Of Your Quality
- Watch the video of Antony’s speech:
- fill out the handout:
- Write 2-3 sentences about Marc Antony’s speech about what he was trying to
- get the crowd to do and how he used rhetoric to do it.
- Use at least 2 quotes and identify whether they use Ethos, Pathos, or Logos
- https://myshakespeare.com/julius-caesar/act-3-scene-2
- https://www.bardweb.net/content/readings/caesar/lines.html
Quizzes
Class 4- After Caesar-
We’ll talk about the consequences of violent revolutions and how Julius Caesar has inspired some of the greatest speeches in political history.
-Patrick Henry
– Gettysburg Address
– Mean Girls
That Is the Question
- How have people interpreted the play “Julius Caesar” in America?
- Does this play promote violence?
- What kind of violent speech do we deal with in politics today?
Learning Objectives
- To show the link between American History and Julius Caesar
- To address the controversy and the misconception that the play promotes violent assassination.
- To end on a cautionary note people must think critically about what they hear in politics and not make rash decisions based on appeals to fear.
Setting the Scene- US History
- America was founded using the principles of republican government that Ancient Rome used- with a senate, and a series of checks and balances to ensure no one has too much power.
- America was founded in a violent revolution, and some of our country’s early leaders used Brutus as an inspiration- to overcome a tyrannical king.
- In later years, however, some people have forgotten what happened to Brutus
- Today, we are often bombarded with speech that encourages fear and anger and we must think critically when we hear such speech in whatever forum- Roman, or Reddit.
The Players (use my JC lecture?)
- Patrick Henry
- Abraham Lincoln
- John Wilkes Booth
- Donald Trump
Go Deeper
-Watch the Caesar Video
– How does the play promote nonviolence?
– How did Brutus’ assassination fail to save the Roman Republic?
Words, Words, Words
Four-score
Dedicate
proposition
Civil War
Endure
Consecrate
Devotion
A Taste Of Your Quality (Night Cafe)
- Use AI to create your own image for Julius Caesar
- What time and place would you set the play in?
- how do you see him- is he a hero, or a tyrant?
Six: Teen Edition
Last weekend I saw a wonderful production of “Six” The Musical at the Cab Calloway School Of the Arts in Wilmington DE. After seeing the professional production, I was worried that I wouldn’t enjoy these student performers but it was incredible! The young performers were all terrific and the director managed to use inventive, creative, and entertaining setpieces to both capture the essence of the Broadway show, and also make a version that is distinct and its own with student performers!
The Direction
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
Marjorie Eldreth
I thought original I’d never Broadway get a show chance only to has direct six it at actors Cab. in AS the luck cast, would so/
have it, the teen edition came out this past summer, which allows
the addition of a singing and dancing ensemble. I immediately
applied for the rights and we were one of the lucky schools to
get them. This new teen edition is the perfect fit for our school
community and it highlights the talents of studentsfrom every
arts area.
I wanted to create a Beyoncé or Taylor Swift concert-type at-
mosphere, and I think we have achieved that with our show.
The fabulous lighting, the beautiful costumes and make-up, the
rocking pit band, the fabulous cast and crew and especially the
epic choreography have culminated into quite a spectacle! It has
always been a joy to work with my colleagues on these projects.
and I want to give a particular shout-out to my team of choreog-
raphers. They have taken my vision and turned it into something
amazing. The creativity in this team is fierce, and if ever there was
a group that fed off of each other’s ideas, it’s this one. We’ve had
a blast collaborating on this production
Also, I would like to acknowledge Brian Touchette, Peter Kuo and
Jared DeStafney for their tireless work on this production. With-
out them, this show would not be possible.
As the director notes in the program, the challenge with doing a musical like “Six” at a high school or community setting is that there are only six major roles, which means it would be hard to find ways for the whole student body to participate. What I loved about this version is that, by utilizing dance, pantomime, and choruses, the director has found ways to not only involve more people, but help use the additional cast to tell the story in ways that the professional touring production I saw earlier didn’t!
My Favorite Moments
Normally I hate dance numbers in musicals. Don’t get me wrong, I admire the skill and athleticism that dancers have, but when I see a play or musical, I come for the story and the songs. Dance always seems like the black sheep in the musical theater trifecta to me. Not so with this production of “Six.” The dance numbers help tell the story in clever and moving ways! For instance, during Anne Boleyn’s “Don’t Lose Your Head,” a team of dancers with green sticks accompanied her. Their movements were cheeky and brash, which helps encapsulate her bubbly yet tart personality. During the choruses, the dancers and Anne rested their hands on the sticks, drawing attention to their heads moving back and forth, which reinforced both the title, and Anne’s air-headedness. Then, at the end of the number, the dancers got into a circle and pointed their sticks at Anne’s neck- pantomiming how she would eventually be beheaded! Thus, the dancers complimented Anne’s song perfectly, in a way that was not originally part of the show!
“My Heart Of Stone”
The most moving moment of dance was during Jane Seymore’s song “My Heart Of Stone.” When I saw this number in Hershey, it was by far my least favorite. I thought the lyrics were generic, that the song itself was bland, and that gave little depth to Jane character. All that changed this time around. While Jane belted her heart out about the son she never got to raise and the husband who mistreated her, we got to see elegant ballet dancers perform those moments for us. I particularly liked that the male dancers had red hair, (much like the real Henry VIII and his son). The dance actually helped me see Jane’s conflicting feelings for Henry- how she feels genuine love and affection one minute, and terror the next. How she and her son are both ghosts, now that they were denied the chance to live together on Earth. I don’t wish to diminish the wonderful singing and acting of the Hershey production, but Six: Teen Edition did a masterful job of showing, in addition to telling Jane’s story.
THe Cast
The Cab Calloway School of the Arts boasts some of the top young actors in the country, and all of them have tremendous chops as actors, dancers, and singers. Some of them already have professional acting credits. So it should come as no surprise that all the performances were incredible. It was very exciting, however to see a real 19-year-old play Catherine Howard, (since that was the real age she was when she died).
This production also took the bold leap of casting two men in the show. In one cast Anne of Cleaves was played by a man, and in the other (the one I watched), Katherine of Aragon was played by a man. I have no problem with this choice, (after all boys have been playing Katherine ever since Shakespeare’s Day), but I was a little disappointed that the actor had to modify the song to fit his range- I was looking forward to the extravagantly high Shakira and Beyonce inspired vocals that I’ve come to expect from the part. Nevertheless, the actor I saw was incredibly talented and his acting and dancing were completely appropriate for the part.
THe Dramaturg
For those of you who don’t know, a dramaturg’s responsibility is to help the actors, director, and production designer by doing research into the play’s historical or political context. It’s a role that is very important in period plays like Shakespeare. I’ve worked as a dramaturg myself and, though the work one does as a dramaturg is mostly unnoticed by the audience, the dramaturg can greatly contribute to the way the actors understand the text and give the director tools and ideas with which to explore themes and ideas present in it. I don’t know what the dramaturg did for this production, but I could tell based on the performances that every cast member was fully committed to their character. Each actor was able to clearly articulate their character’s emotional journey and that meant they must have learned the history and context of the Tudor period. Again, I don’t know if the dramaturg had any effect on this, but I’m going to assume they did a terrific job, because their end goal was accomplished- the actors and director gave a coherent and well thought out performance that captures the spirit of the Tudor period, so great job!
Brava/ Bravo
And the Oscar Goes To… Shakespeare!
You may not know it, but literally thousands of movies and TV shows are based on Shakespeare’s works- he even has an IMDb page! Since today the academy announced this year’s Oscar nominations, I thought I would give you a list of films Shakespeare has won awards for, (posthumously of course). List of Oscar wins for Shakespeare
Let me know in the comments if you want me to review one of these films!
Shakespearean Art: Portia
Portia (Or Porcia), was the wife of Marcus Brutus. Many ancient writers emphasize her courage, beauty, and devotion to her husband and Rome. Many painters and illustrators have chosen to depict her as a model of courage and grace.
https://portiacatonis.weebly.com
Happy International Women’s Day
Happy International Women’s Day! I would like to dedicate my posts today to my daughter, a wonderful strong girl, a Shakespeare fan, and a lifelong lover of the musical “Six”.
Some of Shakespeare’s Best Female Characters
I’ve discussed Shakespeare’s best Mother characters before, and his Roman characters as well, but I thought I should include some of the ones who are not mothers and/or unmarried (at least for most of the play). I don’t want to rank these characters since I detest ranking women in general, so here are some of Shakespeare’s best characters, and some of their immortal speeches:
CleoPatra
Katherine Of Aragon
Even though “Henry the Eighth” is my least favorite Shakespeare play, I love how strong Katherine is and how well she fights against the machinations of Cardinal Woosey and her husband. She is a courageous, virtuous, and strong-minded woman, who when Henry demands that she consent to a divorce, Katherine simply says: “No Way!”
Lady Macbeth
A fascinating and electrifying character. She seduces her husband and makes him fully commit to murdering the king. If you look at the post above, you can see the multiple potential readings for why she courts evil spirits to convince her husband to murder the king. Her strength and energy is highly attractive and it was easy for me to see how a man might do anything to make her happy.
Isabella From “Measure For Measure”
I think Elizabethans would have seen the connection between the Virgin Queen who fought off assassination from the Pope, and Isabella, a virgin who fights off the advances of Angello, who seems pious, but who secretly is degenerate and cruel. Isabella even becomes a princess at the end of the play, (assuming she marries the Duke), which means she could literally become a Queen Elizabeth to English eyes.
https://www.rsc.org.uk/shakespeare-learning-zone/measure-for-measure/character/analysis
Portia Catonis (Wife of Brutus)
One of the best female characters in the Roman plays, Portia demands to be taken seriously as a wife and as a Roman citizen. In her one great scene we see her demand that Brutus tell her why he has been so distant and cold:
Some have speculated that in real life Portia helped Brutus with the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar, after all, she was the daughter of Caesar's great rival senator Cato, who was willing to die when he realized the Roman republic was finished.
Not only was the real Portia a great woman, she also inspired some great art. Below is the great masterpiece: Portia Wounding her Thigh, by Elisabetta Sirani (1664). According to Dr. DR. MAURA GLEESON, the painting was commissioned by a fabric merchant, which explains Portia's sumptuous outfit. Portia remains totally calm, yet focused and determined as the other women in the background idly spin clothes in the background. For more information on this masterpiece, click the link below:
If you’d like to learn more about Portia and Julius Caesar, sign up for my online class on the play via Outschool.com. Get a $5 discout with coupon code HTHES6Q5XA5 until Apr 2, 2024. Get started at https://outschool.com/classes/the-violent-rhetoric-of-julius-caesar-flex-schedule-edition-fwB3cwQM and enter the coupon code at checkout.
So happy International Women’s Day ladies! Hope you get some of the love and appreciation you deserve today! More posts coming soon!
My Birthday Trip to Drunken Smithy
I just had an amazing birthday gift! My wife took me to a real modern-day blacksmith to create my very own Viking axe! This was a really cool, really challenging, and very educational experience that taught me a lot about how medieval blacksmiths and armorers made axes, swords, and other weapons. So join me on an intoxicating trip to the forge!
The Armorers
Yes, sir. Here is now the smith‘s note for shoeing and
Henry IV.
plough-irons.
What IS Drunken Smithy?
Drunken Smithy
Modern Vs. Medieval Blacksmiths
I saw a smith stand with his hammer, thus,
King John
The whilst his iron did on the anvil cool,
With open mouth swallowing a tailor’s news;
Who, with his shears and measure in his hand,
Standing on slippers, which his nimble haste
Had falsely thrust upon contrary feet,
Part I- Selecting the Weapon
A weapon is a tool used in battle. Like any tool, it depends on who uses it and for what purpose. As my video below about swords demonstrates, many medieval weapons were designed to defeat the armor of the period- whether the chain mail of the early 12th century or the advanced suits of armor of the 15th:
So choosing a weapon to fight with depends on the warrior using it. For example, a Viking warrior in the early Middle ages might only be armed with a spear, while a late medieval knight might have plate armor and use weapons like a pole axe or a mace to concuss or punch through plate armor.
Part II- HEating the Steel
Part III- Shaping
and from the tents
Henry V
The armourers, accomplishing the knights,
With busy hammers closing rivets up,
Give dreadful note of preparation:
Pattern Welding
Part IV- Quenching it
For More Information:
https://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/iss/kap_b/backbone/rb_3_3.html
Shakespeare On Dragons
Tonight is the Chinese New Year, beginning the Year of the Dragon. I’ve talked before about the fascinating relationship between Shakespeare and China, and I thought I’d illustrate it here by talking about a shared cultural mythology- the concept of dragons. Both Western and Eastern cultures use dragons in their myths, but as you’ll see, they have very different cultural meanings.
Quotes from Shakespeare About Dragons
Before thee stands this fair Hesperides,
Antiocus, Pericles
With golden fruit, but dangerous to be touch’d;
For death-like dragons here affright thee hard:
Sometimes we see a cloud that’s dragonish;
Antony and Cleopatra
A vapour sometime like a bear or lion,
A tower’d citadel, a pendent rock,
A forked mountain, or blue promontory
In Western myths, dragons are symbols of wrath and fierceness. In ancient Greek and Viking myths, dragons are often guards of treasure, (and sometimes in modern stories like Harry Potter). In the myth of Hercules, a multi-headed dragon guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides, (the apples that kept the gods young and immortal). King Antiochus wants to scare Pericles by comparing his daughter to the apples; if he fails to win her love, he’ll be devoured as Hercules almost was.
Coriolanus and Dragons
His CORIOLANUS is grown
Coriolanus
from man to dragon: he has wings; he’s more than a
creeping thing.
Shakespeare’s Roman general Coriolanus is frequently compared to a dragon in Shakespeare’s play. According to Dr. Peter Saccio of Dartmouth College, this is because the general is unable to relate to other humans- he is solitary, violent, jealous of his power and wealth, and prefers to strike first, then retreat from other people when the battle is won. This is why he utterly fails to get the Roman people to elect him consul in this scene from Ralph Fiennes’ movie. I find it ironic that Fiennes has played not only this character, (who is associated with dragons), but with Lord Voldemort, (who controls several large serpents), and also Francis Dollarhyde in the film Red Dragon:
Swift, swift, you dragons of the night, that dawning
Cymbeline
May bare the raven’s eye! I lodge in fear;
Though this a heavenly angel, hell is here.
Sometime he angers me
Hotspur, Henry IV, Part I
With telling me of the mouldwarp and the ant,
Of the dreamer Merlin and his prophecies,
And of a dragon and a finless fish,
A clip-wing’d griffin and a moulten raven,
A couching lion and a ramping cat,
And such a deal of skimble-skamble stuff
As puts me from my faith.
A thousand hearts are great within my bosom;
Advance our standards, set upon our foes
Our ancient word of “courage,” fair Saint George,
Inspire us with the spleen of fiery dragons!
Richard III
St. George and the Dragon
In the medieval story of St. George, the titular knight defeats a dragon, which is basically a stand-in for Satan. George was seen as the ideal knight- virtuous, devoted to his cause, strong, and patriotic. His defeat of the dragon was an allegory for how knights should devote themselves to protecting their lords, ladies, and the innocent against evil. Therefore, it’s intentionally unsettling that Shakespeare has Richard III telling his soldiers to act not like the virtuous St. George, but like the cruel and violent dragon. Richard is Shakespeare’s most villainous king, so it makes sense in context that he would side with the dragon, and thus his defeat would seem even more like a triumph of good over evil. In addition, the real King Richard flew this flag with a dragon on it during the actual Battle of Bosworth Field.
Peace, Kent!
King Lear
Come not between the dragon and his wrath.
Dragons and Chinese Culture
None of the animals is so wise as the dragon. His blessing power is not a false one. He can be smaller than small, bigger than big, higher than high, and lower than low.”
–Chinese scholar Lu Dian (AD 1042-1102)
Qualities of Dragons
Dragons didn’t have the negative connotations of Western myths. In China, they were symbols of good luck, strength, and success. They were also known to be proud and temperamental-sometimes kind but sometimes vengeful to people who didn’t show them proper respect. In a sense, the dragon was like the ancient Greek gods- they should be viewed with respect and gratitude as well as fear.
Zodiac
The Chinese calendar goes by a cycle of years, not months. It has 12 animals that represent various qualities and those qualities will characterize the coming year. So hopefully a year of a dragon will be a year marked with courage, good fortune, and justice.
IV. What would a Chinese Lear look like?
Looking at the quotes I showed you earlier, it’s interesting that King Lear calls himself a dragon, and it made me think- Lear is a powerful warlord who demands absolute loyalty from his children. Would a Chinese version of King Lear work?
There was a Chinese production of King Lear back in 2017, where the translator and director traveled to the Royal Shakespeare Company in England and worked with the actors and directors of a London production to make their production gain insight into the characters’ motivations. However, I wonder how successfully they translated the Western ideas and values of the play for a Chinese audience. One of the reviews from China Daily.com describes the play like this:
Originating from old British legend, King Lear is one of Shakespeare’s four most famous tragedies. Through the internal disorder of the royal family, the rise and fall of King Lear’s fate and the final punishment of evil powers, Shakespeare expresses his optimistic views in the future of society, thereby adding the glory of strong idealism into his work.
ChinaDaily.com
The last word I would use to describe King Lear is “optimistic”. It is the only tragedy where not only does everyone die, but the entire future of the monarchy is in question. Nevertheless, reading about this production makes me interested in imagining my own version of King Lear, one that emphasizes Chinese values, but also questions them.
Many Chinese stories stress family loyalty, communalism, and respect for elders. You could portray King Lear as a story about the disastrous consequences of self-interest. After all, Regan and Goneril cast their father out and dismissed his followers, and it led their kingdom into civil war. In that version, Lear is like the Dragon King, who in Chinese folklore, was a powerful ruler of the seas, (giving new meaning to the lines “Blow winds, and crack your cheeks”). As a bonus, historically, many imperial Chinese rulers decorated their palaces with images of dragons, and the emperors themselves were associated with the creature, (especially during the Han Dynasty), so when Lear says “Come not between the dragon and his wrath,” In his mind, he literally is a dragon.
In 1736, Jean-Baptiste Du Halde wrote about the Emperor: “His clothing is embroidered with dragons: they are his emblem, and only He can wear dragons with five claws – any infringement to this rule is punished severely.”
Cornell University: Emblems and Mascots of Rulers:
Chinese Imperial Dragons
That said, some dragons were associated with bad luck and ill omens. I’ve said before that Lear’s biggest flaw is that he fails to take time to examine himself or think about the consequences of his actions until it is too late. Maybe Lear thinks of himself as a benevolent dragon, but really is a bad man cursed with bad luck; he is not a dragon, he just has one on his back. So, in short, a Chinese re-imagining of King Lear could be a fascinating look at Chinese culture and give a fresh re-imagining of Shakespeare’s tragic story.
I hope you enjoyed this look into dragons in Shakespeare and Chinese culture. Joseph Campbell said that all cultures share and interpret archetypes to understand their own culture, but also to grasp what makes us all human. For whatever reason, every culture on Earth has some kind of large serpent- Chinese dragons, European dragons, The Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, the Viking Yormungand, even the Piasa of the native tribes of the Mississippi. and they can mean many different things to many different people, which means that we as humans are in some way tied to gether through all these dragon tales (no pun intended).
V. Sources
- https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/explore-by-genre/young-audiences/2023-2024/dragon-kings-daughter/#:~:text=Chinese%20dragon%20mythology%2C%20martial%20arts,inspiring%20songs%20by%20Marcus%20Yi.
- https://www.historyskills.com/classroom/year-7/chinese-dragons/#:~:text=Another%20well%2Dknown%20legend%20involves,benevolent%2C%20divine%20force%20in%20nature.
- https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/mythic-creatures/dragons/asian-dragons
- https://www.topchinatravel.com/china-guide/chinese-dragon-language.htm
- https://studycli.org/chinese-culture/chinese-dragons
- https://rmc.library.cornell.edu/AnimalLegends/exhibition/emblems/dragons.html#:~:text=Already%20a%20royal%20symbol%20in,and%20his%20brother%20Yan%20Di.
New Outschool Class: Gravity Falls Inspired Game- Crack the Codes and Beat the Cypher!
Greetings mystery lovers! This project started out as a labor of love to keep my own children entertained, but since they loved it so much, I thought I’d adapt it for my own students over Outschool. Get ready to take a trip to the wild and mysterious town known as Gravity Falls!
- Concept: To create a fun, informative program on astronomical subjects for children ages 8-12
- Student Description: Save the Mystery Shack from Bill Cypher, and learn about secret codes!
- Parent Description Using self-paced online activities, and a helpful handout, your child(ren) will learn about secret codes and cyphers as they defeat Bill, the villain from the popular Disney show Gravity Falls. The class will cover the basics of codes, cyphers, and computer coding.
- The goal of the class is to introduce young people to codes and ciphers, with a little introduction to computer coding as well. Students will learn by translating the coded messages, learning about computer code, and practicing it in online games.
Class Experience Outline
The class is organized into 5 parts that students can complete at their own pace over a week-long period). When you sign up for the class, I will send you a link to a website, (powered by Google Sites), that will feature embedded YouTube videos and Google slides that you can complete at your own pace. Some pages require you to search for a picture and click on it to advance (a sort of I-spy game). If you are confused, a handout will be provided that gives helpful hints and answers the questions.
- Part I: Introduction to Bill and Ciphers
- The class will begin with a short YouTube video embedded into a Google Slide where the evil Bill Cipher appears and demands that the learner must solve his puzzles and codes. The learner will get a background on codes via a video starring Waddles the Pig. The next few slides will introduce the concept of a cipher- a code where a number, letter, or symbol represents a letter of the alphabet. You will be given the real cipher used in the show and use it to translate Bill’s cryptic poem.
- Unlock the Ciphers– You will unlock a series of messages using an atbash and a Caesar Cypher. Enter the answer on the websites. Then you will go to the actual Gravity Falls website to unlock the final one.
- Find the Tokens To stop Bill, you need to trap him using 8 magical tokens. You’ll find these tokens by finding and clicking them within the pages of the Google Sites website. Each one is inspired by a prop from the show- a hat, an image on a sweater, etc. While you are there, you will play a series of mini-games to test your knowledge and introduce you to the world of computer coding. The final activity introduces you to the website Scratch, a website that teaches children the basics of computer coding. Using a handout and the Scratch website, you will create a short animation using computer code! You will unlock a series of messages using an atbash and a Caesar Cypher. Enter the answer on the websites. Then you will go to the actual Gravity Falls website to unlock the final one.
- IV. Home Activity: Dipper’s Guide to Everyday Weirdness
- You will be provided with a handout that teaches you how to spot a conspiracy, how to research online safely, and a hidden secret code that answers one of the show’s biggest mysteries!
- Conclusion: Fight BIll! In an animation, you will trap Bill within a book using the tokens! As a reward for your bravery and intelligence, the heroes of the show will give you a few more special handouts and printables to help you continue your fight against evil. Stay curious and STAY WEIRD!
Learning Goals
Students will learn about the science of cryptology by practicing their code-breaking skills. This in turn will develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The course also touches on the science of optical illusion and computer coding, which helps students understand how their brains work and how computer programmers create their favorite games. Finally, the course teaches about the concept of conspiracies and how important it is to use verified legitimate sources when looking at information, especially on the internet.
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The Shakespearean Student 