Julius Caesar Lives

."Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears."  For those of you who don't feel the need to know at least bits and pieces of classic literature, that is the speech Marc Antony gave at Julius Caesar's funeral as William Shakespeare imagined it.

Which I didn't know either, but I have heard the phrase before and I knew Brutus stabbed Caesar in the back (and killed him).

In Lynette's AP English class, students were given the opportunity to memorize 35 lines of Julius Caesar. dress up in a historically correct Roman toga, and present it with suitable acting in front of the class for 250 extra credit points. 

So, she began to memorize, and she can't do it alone.  I listened, I corrected, I followed word for word on her paper.  I marked places she was shaky, I made her read it by herself, I listened again.  AAAAAUGH 

Then we need a toga.  All the white sheets were fitted.  So that was out.  So, I go rummaging in the huge tub of material.....hmmm, a white flannel sheet, do you suppose they wore flannel?  Oh, look here is a table cloth...I've been wondering why I was keeping that. It was too long unfolded, too short folded in half, I had to tack up a big hem for the right length.

Thank goodness for google, which can show you how to wear a toga.  You do however, need to be very careful about what you are looking for in the toga department. 

Now for the dress rehearsal.  I thought it would be a nice thing to get a picture of the toga we worked so hard on with a few gestures of her acting out her speech.   

And this is what we get....

By this time we are laughing so hard, not much is getting done except silly photos.

Here are the ones we started out to get, a Roman citizen in her toga, with her tiger.  

Except, women weren't citizens in Rome, and it was lions instead of tigers.