McKay's Annotated Bibliography (2)

By: Unknown on 8:16 PM

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Working Title: Well I like “Julius Caesar and Fate vs. Destiny.”

Working Thesis: In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, the idea of fate is heavily explored as Caesar comes to believe that he must become emperor and Brutus thinks he must assassinate him. While both stoics believe they have no choice in the matter, Shakespeare identifies that both men were guided by their own decisions rather than outside forces.

Social Sources

1.     Expert- Professor Brandie Siegfried was able to meet with me and we discussed the literary concept of fate v. destiny and how Shakespeare really wrestled with this concept in his plays. She also talked about how fate and destiny could be seen through an ethical lens and how some characters made their decisions based on whether they saw the world- a world determined by choices or a world shaped by outside forces.

This source will really help me because it gives me specific ideas about my thesis as well as background to the ideas of Shakespeare. She was really great to bounce ideas off and get specific ideas for other sources that I could use.

2.     Enthusiast- A blogger from Tumblr, costlyblood, not sure what his real name is, but he is really into Shakespeare and was able to analyze some lines from Julius Caesar and talked specifically about some literary devices.

I was able to contact him and ask about his ideas of fate and destiny in the play, he hasn’t responded yet but I am hoping to get some specific ideas from him as well as use some of his ideas about form and rhythm in what he has said about the play already.

3.     Peer- Deborah Jensen, a fellow student in my British Literary History class, was able to help me out and discussed with me her thoughts on Julius Caesar and why Brutus decided to kill Caesar.

This helps my paper because she really gave me specific insight on Brutus which will be vital to my piece because I am going to analyze his decisions and speeches.

4.     Homie- Micah Campbell, my wife, was able to contribute to my paper by talking about the ethical dilemmas behind prescribing to a life of fate or a life of destiny.

This was an important source because I was able to seek an outside source of someone who does not have an opinion on the characters of the play but rather solely on the topic of the paper.

Performances

1.     Royal Shakespeare Company. “Julius Caesar, Act 3 Scene 2|2012|Royal Shakespeare Company.” YouTube. YouTube, 2012. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.

This is a performance of Brutus’ speech after Caesar died, set in a more modern time in Africa. The backdrop is dark, with a single spotlight on Brutus, surrounded by his countrymen.

This is a video of one of the most important scenes of the play and is great to analyze how the people’s attitude towards Brutus and Caesar change.

2.     Royal Shakespeare Company. “Man of Honour VS Man of Action| Julius Caesar|Royal Shakespeare Company.” YouTube. YouTube, 2012. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.

This is commentary on the scene mentioned above and how Brutus and Antony have a speech dialogue and are opposed to one another. Both actors defend their character’s stance towards the death of Caesar and the reasons for why they did what they did.

This is perfect to use in my paper because the actors talk about the ethics of the decision of Brutus. They also characterize their characters by “man of honour” and “man of action,” which in a way goes along with my thesis.