Preserving the Republic: Brutus in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and “Washington’s Farewell Address”

“He would be crown'd:

How that might change his nature, there's the question” (I.ii.12-13)

–Brutus contemplating Caesar being crowned as emperor, thus destroying the republic.

“These considerations speak a persuasive language to every reflecting and virtuous mind, and exhibit the continuance of the Union as a primary object of patriotic desire.”

—George Washington in his farewell address to the nation

Introduction

The primary aim of this unit is to provide 11th grade English and History teachers with multiple ways to scaffold and incorporate the extremely difficult informational text of Washington’s Farewell Address. The address is among the most influential early historical documents. It was read yearly in the House of Representatives until 1984 and is still read annually in the Senate to this day. Numerous statesmen and presidents have cited Washington’s remarks in subsequent speeches, and many of Washington’s cautionary warnings in his address are prescient today.

Therefore, students can benefit from a thorough and close reading of this seminal U.S. document. However, without scaffolding, the text could prove too daunting for many students.

The goal of the unit is to provide teachers with numerous ways to allow students to interact with the text. Teachers can pick and choose from among the various options to meet the needs of their individual classrooms.

Within the unit two versions of the speech are provided, both with the paragraphs numbered to allow students easier access to information within the address. The first version of the text has no alterations. In the adapted version 126 vocabulary words, not likely known by most students, are defined in the right-hand margin.

The unit provides two different introductory exercises before students tackle the complete text. When reading the complete text, two additional exercises help students to make sense of the difficult address.

Finally, the unit provides an extensive five-part exercise on analyzing the rhetorical features of the address. Teachers can pick and choose from among these five or complete all five exercises. Included in this part of the lesson is a comparison of the address to Patrick Henry’s famous Speech to the Second Virginia Convention.

The secondary aim of the unit is to allow students to compare Washington’s values, as outlined in the speech, with those articulated by Brutus as he arrived at the difficult decision to kill his friend Julius Caesar in the hopes of preserving the Roman Republic.

Learning Outcomes

  • Students will identify more than one theme or main idea in the address and understand the inter-relationship between the different themes/main ideas.
  • Students will explain how Washington’s ideas evolve over the course of his farewell address.
  • Students will determine the meaning of figurative language in the address and in Patrick Henry’s speech.
  • Students will evaluate the effectiveness of the order of Washington’s main ideas and argue how the goals of his address would be adversely affected by a different order.
  • Students will identify, evaluate and argue how rhetorical strategies employed by Washington and Henry reflect their personalities, goals, and positions.
  • Students will evaluate the effectiveness of rhetorical strategies utilized by both Washington and Henry.
  • Students will differentiate between the styles of Washington and Henry.
  • Students will assess the principles of Washington’s address and apply the principles to important contemporary issues.

Curriculum Alignment

  • RI2Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the

text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.

  • RI 3Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, orevents interact and develop over the course of the text.
  • RI 4Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative,

connotative, and technical meanings; analyze how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term or terms over the course of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in Federalist No. 10).

  • RI 5Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her exposition or

argument, including whether the structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging.

  • RI 6Determine an author‘s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective,

analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness or beauty of the text.

  • RI 8Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. texts, including the application of constitutional

principles and use of legal reasoning (e.g., in U.S. Supreme Court majority opinions and dissents) and the premises, purposes, and arguments in works of public advocacy (e.g., The Federalist, presidential addresses).

  • RI 9Analyze seventeenth-, eighteenth-, and nineteenth-century foundational U.S. documents of historical

and literary significance

  • W1Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning

and relevant and sufficient evidence.

  • H-SS R1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting

insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.

  • H-SS R2Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate

summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.

  • H-SS R4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including analyzing how an

author uses and refines the meaning of a key term over the course of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in Federalist No. 10).

  • H-SS R5 Analyze in detail how a complex primary source is structured, including how key sentences,

paragraphs, and larger portions of the text contribute to the whole.

Classroom Time Required

The unit begins after students have finished their reading of Julius Caesar. Depending on the number of exercises the teacher chooses to do, the unit should take anywhere from three-five 60-minute periods.

Period One:Introduce the address (Handout 1) and familiarize students with Washington’s style (Handout 2)

Period Two:Reading and processing the full text day one (Handouts 3-4)

Period Three: Reading and processing the full text day two (Handouts 3-4)

Period Four: A rhetorical analysis of the text and/or application of the address to contemporary issues

Period Five: Assessment comparing Washington’s ideals to those expressed by Brutus in the play.

(The assessment can easily be done at home)

Teacher Preparation

*Note: there are two versions of each handout provided, a Teacher’s Edition (TE) and a Student Edition (SE)

  1. Read Washington’s Farewell Address
  2. Read Henry’s Speech to the Second Virginia Convention
  3. Familiarize yourself with the extensive vocabulary in the address through the adapted text and handout #8

Materials Needed

  1. Copies of Washington’s address(either the unaltered or the adapted version)
  2. Copies of Henry’s speech
  3. Copies of handout #1 (Introductory Exercise)
  4. Copies of handout #2 (Familiarizing Yourself with Washington’s Diction and Syntax)
  5. Copies of handout #3 (Blank S.O.A.P.S. Handout) *If the teacher chooses this strategy from the list of eligible strategies on the handout “Exercises for a Complete Reading of the Address TE”
  6. Copies of handout #4 (Understanding Structure of Washington’s Address)
  7. Copies of handout #5 (A Rhetorical Analysis of Washington’s Address)
  8. Copies of handout #6 (Comparing Washington to Brutus)
  9. Copies of handout #7 (Applying Washington’s Address to Current Events) OPTIONAL ENRICHMENT

Technology Resources

  1. Teachers may need a laptop and projector to play audio clips of the speeches.
  2. Teachers may wish to use a document camera during the analysis of the text, especially the rhetorical analysis exercises.

Pre-Activities

Prior to reading the entire text, students should complete the following introductory exercises in this order:

  1. Introductory Exercise (Handout #1)
  2. Familiarizing Yourself with Washington’s Diction and Syntax (Handout #2)

Activities

  1. Reading the entire text of the address

Guided Practice (As students read the entire text and after reading)

  1. Teachers choose from among four different exercises to enhance and scaffold the reading experience. Each exercise makes use of a different reading comprehension strategy.
  2. Students determine the four main ideas of the address using handout #4 (Understanding Structure of Washington’s Address)
  3. Students can complete between one and five different exercises analyzing the rhetorical devices employed by Washington in the address. Two of the exercises ask students to also read Patrick Henry’s speech and compare and contrast the two orators’ styles.
  4. (Optional Enrichment) Students can apply the principles of the address to current events. (See handout #7)

Assessment

  1. See handout #10 for the concluding assessment for the unit.

Modifications

  1. The adapted version of the text, which defines 126 different words in the address, will help ESL students and struggling readers to complete the second introductory exercise.
  2. The second exercise is a paraphrase of key points. Paraphrasing individually and in groups is an effective strategy for students to grow accustomed to the complicated syntax of the address while building important prior knowledge of key points before they read.
  3. In addition, handout #9 provides additional advice for struggling readers who may lose the thread of Washington’s syntax. This exercise doesn’t exist yet.

Alternative Assessments

  1. Rather than the provided assessment, teachers can have students create a colloquial version of the address individually or in groups. Teachers may wish to show the students the exemplar website noted in the technological resources, but students should create their own without using the example.
  2. Similarly, students could create or send (if they have an account) ten Tweets that encapsulate major ideas expressed by Washington in his address. The tweets should be in colloquial language and meet the requirement of 140 characters or fewer.
  3. As additional enrichment or another assessment, see handout #7. This lesson encourages students to apply the principles in the address to contemporary issues facing the congress.

Supplemental Information

Critical Vocabulary

*Teacher note: While a teacher would never want to hold students accountable for such a large number of words on a test or quiz, several of the words reappear in the text multiple times and others are words that often appear on the SAT. Teachers may wish to provide additional exercises with a small number of the words.

  • See the adapted text of Washington’s address for 126 words defined in the margins.
  • See handout #8 for an alphabetical listing of the words defined in the adapted text.

Websites

  1. The website for Colonial Williamsburg that includes Henry’s speech. Included are some background information and two audio clips: the entire speech and the famous closing of the speech.
  1. Prior to teaching the rhetorical analysis of the address, teachers may wish to read the following essay by Halford Ryan that served as an inspiration for the exercises.
  1. A collection of quotations by Washington needed for the final assessment
  1. A website that allows a free download of an audio version of the address:
  2. A humorous You Tube video of the portrait of Washington reciting the address.
  3. A humorous but really terrible rendering of the address into everyday speech:

Comments

We hope teachers find this lesson plan useful in helping to meet several of the new Common Core Anchor Standards. Even if teachers do not intend to use this particular unit in whole or in part, we hope that it has served as a model or a catalyst for the creation of lesson plans on other works of literature, linking fiction texts to informational texts and primary source documents, especially seminal documents in U.S. History.

Author Info

Geoff Belcher teaches all three levels of senior English (Standard, Honors, and AP) at Wake Forest-Rolesville High School in Wake Forest, North Carolina. He has taught all 20 years of his career in the Wake County Public School System. He holds National Board Certification and was selected as a 2012 Kenan Fellow.

Marlin Jones teaches U. S. History (both levels) and AP Human Geography at Panther Creek High School in Cary, North Carolina. He has taught levels (Standard, Honors, and AP) and all high school grade levels in the last 13 years of teaching. He holds National Board Certification and was selected as a 2012 Kenan Fellow.