Allow me to step away from Romeo for a moment to share a video The Guardian uploaded last week of Damian Lewis just slaying Antony’s eulogy of Caesar.
If you teach Julius Caesar, you’ll definitely want to fold Mr. Lewis into your Act 3, Scene 2 lessons. To help you out, here’s a free copy of Marc Antony’s funeral oration with space for students to annotate along with a key of my thoughts you could project as an annotation model or just use as lecturer prep if you’re new to the play.
Student handout:
Annotated version:
If you need more, I have three additional annotated speeches and a bunch of other high-interest lessons in my 5-week unit of Julius Caesar materials located here.
Random trivia: In addition to being an accessible Antony, Damian Lewis was also Lord Capulet in the 2013 version of Romeo & Juliet. He also played Nicholas Brody in Homeland, starring opposite of…wait for it…Claire Danes, who played Juliet in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet (1996). Shazam!
Thanks to my teacher bestie Annette A. for sharing the video link.
Teach on, everyone!
That clip gave me chills. I teach middle school and love it, but that one clip could send me packing for a nearby high school just for the remote chance of being able to show it and teach it. ELA nerd to the end!
Jennifer,
I know, right? The monologue builds so beautifully and the intensity of the last minute just stops my breath. Open note to the BBC: Julius Caesar is ripe for a remake and The Guardian has found your Antony. Make it so!
Wow, what a great version! I agree; Caesar IS due for a remake! My sophomores wanted one, too.
Here, here, Kelsey! Let’s start a campaign!
Hi, Laura!
I purchased your Julius Caesar bundle this summer and can’t wait to utilize it. One question… for 90 minute classes would you double up, or would that be overkill? I plan to show one of the archaic videos of JC scene-by-scene, so that will add a bit of time each day. I was wondering what you thought about implementation for block schedules.
Hey katieny1974,
Great questions! Just last year I started teaching on a 90-block for the first time and used all of these JC materials with my sophomores. I think doubling up the rate at which you work through the scenes would be a bit much (at least for my kids, anyway), so I ended up stretching discussions, using more think-pair-share/group techniques, using slices of the BBC film version (this one’s so-so: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X2l1YFuM-w), and adding Quarter Trio games toward the end of most classes to lighten things up. You’ll definitely need to slides things around to fit your calendar (I was teaching 50-minutes classes when I built that original calendar), but you should still be able to get good use from everything.
Happy planning! 🙂
Laura,
I will definitely implement these ideas. Thanks heaps & bunches! <3
Happy to help, katieny1974. That’s what I do! 🙂
I have a 2017 version from the RSC that kind of leaves me uninspired. Damien Lewis–I would love to see a production of JC with him, but who else could be in the cast? A young Alan Rickman would have been a good Cassius!
Oh yes, Rhonena, Caesar is ripe for a remake. Please, casting people…please!