McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson LXXVII · Part 8: Webster, Evangeline and the poets of death and toil

83. Antony over Caesar's Dead Body (William Shakespeare)

Goal: Your student can explain how Antony turns the crowd against Brutus while seeming to praise him, and can recite the opening of the speech.

⏱ About 45 minutes · 7 steps

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You'll need

  • The book, open to this lesson
  • A notebook and pen
  • A dictionary

What's in the book

Mark Antony's funeral speech from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, starting at the bottom of the page. Notes at the end explain Caesar's rule and death, Antony, the Lupercal, Caesar's will, the Nervii and Pompey.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Words and meanings

    Look over the notes and definitions printed at the end of the lesson before you start, so names and hard words don't trip up the reading.

    Read the notes on Caesar first: they say Caesar's death at once produced a state of anarchy. One note explains that statua is an old form of statue, used here because the meter needs it.

    Your student picks three unfamiliar words, guesses each meaning from the sentence, then checks a dictionary.

  2. About the author

    Shakespeare was introduced earlier in the book. This scene comes right after Caesar has been killed by Brutus and others; Brutus has just spoken to the crowd.

  3. Read aloud

    Your student reads Antony's part; you read the citizens. Antony starts quietly and grows stronger. Watch how often he repeats one phrase about Brutus.

    Listen for these lines:

    Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears:

  4. Talk about it

    SayAntony keeps calling Brutus an honorable man. Does he mean it? How does the meaning change each time?

    SayWhat does Antony show the crowd, and in what order: the mantle, the wounds, the will? Why that order?

    SayHow do the citizens change from the start of the speech to the end?

    SayAntony says he is no orator. Is that true?

  5. Narration

    Your student tells, step by step, how Antony moves the crowd from calm to fury.

  6. Memorize or copy

    Learn the opening line and the next few that follow it in the book:

    Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears:

  7. Writing (optional)

    Write a short paragraph explaining how a speaker can say one thing and mean the opposite. Use an example from Antony's speech.

Afterwards

Practice the opening lines daily for a week and perform them for the family.

Tip

This is one of the best lessons in the book for reading aloud. Give it two days if needed.

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