Lesson video

Hello, and welcome to the Oak National Academy for English.

My name is Mr. James, and today we're going to be continuing with our unit on Julius Caesar.

Now the last lesson we saw the conspirators assassinate Caesar, and today Brutus is going to go and face the Roman citizens, and try to convince them that what they did was honourable.

But before we get to that, let's first look at what we are going to learn in today's lesson.

Well, first of all, we're going to learn about persuasion.

Second, we're going to look at rhetorical questions.

Third, we're going to read the text.

Fourth, we're going to answer some questions on the text, and number five, we will complete our quiz.

But before we do any of that, we do need to check that you have everything you need.

So, number one, do you have a pen? Number two, do you have some paper? And number three, hopefully you at least have your brain.

But if you are missing any of those things, pause the video now, go and get them, and come back when you are done.

Okay, welcome back.

So the first thing I would like you to do in today's lesson is to write your title.

So take your pen and on your paper, write the title that's on screen now, pause the video and come back when you have done.

Okay, so let's not waste any time, and get straight into today's lesson.

And first of all, we're going to learn about this word persuasion.

So if you persuade someone, you cause them to do, or to think something by giving them good reasons to do or to think it.

So if you persuade someone, you cause them to do or think something, by giving them good reasons to do or to think it.

Here's a couple of sentences that use the word persuade.

Brutus wants to persuade the people of Rome that he did the right thing, the right thing by killing Caesar.

Brutus wants to persuade the people of Rome that it was honourable to assassinate Caesar.

So he wants to give them good reasons, in order to persuade them, to make them think that what he did was right.

But there's another element to persuasion as well.

Sometimes when you're trying to persuade people, the way you speak can also help to persuade them.

So it's not just about what you say, the reasons you give, it can also be about the way you say it.

And there's techniques such as repetition emotive language and rhetorical questions that can help you to persuade people.

We'll return to this in a minute.

But before we do, I'd like you to pause the video and write this sentence, filling in the gaps, then answer the question at the bottom.

It says, "Why does Brutus want to persuade the Roman people?" What does he want to persuade them of? So pause the video now, complete these two tasks, and when you're done, come back to me, and I'll go through the answers.

Okay, welcome back.

So let's have a look at your answers.

Well, for number one, you should have written this.

If you persuade someone, you cause them to do or think something, by giving them good reasons to do or think it.

That is the answer to number one.

And for number two, you should have written something along the lines of this.

Brutus wants to persuade the Roman people, so they agree it was good to assassinate Caesar.

That is what he wants to persuade them of.

How did you do? Well, I'm sure you wrote some great answers.

Now I mentioned earlier there are ways to persuade people that don't involve giving good reasons.

It can also be done through the way you speak, the way you use language.

For example, you can use repetition, emotive language and rhetorical questions.

And these three techniques, so there's many more, but these three techniques, we're going to investigate over the next few lessons.

And today we're going to look at rhetorical questions.

So a rhetorical question is a question that doesn't expect an answer.

Now there's a reason it doesn't expect an answer, it's because a particular answer is implied.

That means, suggested.

So just by the very act of asking the question, there's a particular answer that is suggested.

Not any old answer, a particular one.

Rhetorical questions are persuasive because they make people think specific things.

So if I wanted you to think something, I might ask a rhetorical question that leads you into thinking that thing.

And that's useful because it's not me telling you what to think, it feels to you like you've come up with the thought yourself.

So it doesn't seem so much like I'm trying to persuade you, just that I'm saying something, and you're coming yourself to a logical conclusion.

So let's have a look, some very obvious rhetorical questions are things like this.

If I said, "Who knows?" I'm implying that nobody knows.

I'm not really asking you to tell me who knows something, I'm saying, "Who knows?" As in, nobody knows, we just don't know.

But I'm getting you to think that rather than telling you.

What if I said, "Who is afraid of a baby wolf?" The answer that I'm expecting you to think is nobody should be afraid of a baby wolf.

Now you might be afraid of a baby wolf, but the very fact that I'm asking the question, is making you feel like you shouldn't be afraid of a baby wolf.

So I'm getting you to think a particular thing, even if it's something you disagree with, just by asking you the question.

So when we hear Brutus' speech to the Roman citizens later, I want you to look out for rhetorical questions, because he uses lots of them, and he uses them to make the Roman citizens think particular things.

So when you see a rhetorical question, ask yourself, why is Brutus using this rhetorical question? And what is Brutus trying to make the audience, the Roman citizens think by asking the question? But before we move on to the speech, I just want you to complete this task.

Pause the video now, copy and complete these sentences, filling in the missing gaps about rhetorical questions.

Pause the video and off you go.

Okay, welcome back, and let's have a look at what you wrote.

What are the answers? Well, hopefully you've got something like this.

A rhetorical question is a question that doesn't expect an answer.

It doesn't expect an answer, because a particular answer is implied.

Remember that word implied means suggested.

Rhetorical questions are persuasive, because they make people think specific things, specific things mean deliberate things.

I'm making you think something that I want you to think, specifically, by asking a particular rhetorical question.

So we've learned about persuasion, and we've learned about rhetorical questions.

Now we're going to have a look at the play, and first we're going to look at it in modern English, so we can find it easy to understand what is happening in this scene.

But before we do, let's have a quick look at what happens.

Firstly, Brutus speaks to the citizens of Rome.

Secondly, he explains to them his actions, why he killed Caesar, why he assassinated, why he joined the conspiracy? Number three, he says, "Caesar needed to die." Number four, he uses persuasive language through his speech.

And number five, the citizens ultimately give their support to Brutus.

So let's have a look at how he manages to achieve this.

Well, first he comes out into the streets of Rome, and he stands in what's called a pulpit.

Now we have pulpits in churches, but this is an area in which Brutus stands, and he delivers his speech, so the people outside in Rome who are in the streets can hear his reasons for doing what he did, and for the conspirators assassinating Caesar.

So he stands in the pulpit, and he starts addressing the citizens.

He says, "Romans, countrymen, and friends! Hear my reasons and be silent so you can hear." He tells them to shut up, essentially.

"Believe me because I'm honourable and respect my honour, so you will believe me." So basically here he's saying, "Believe me because I'm honourable, and because I'm honourable, you should believe me." Which really actually isn't a great argument to make.

But anyway, that's what he says.

And then he continues, "Be wise when you judge me, and listen carefully so you can judge me fairly.

If there's anyone here, any beloved friend of Caesar's, I say to him that my love for Caesar was as much as his.

If that friend demands to understand why I rose up against Caesar, here is my answer.

It is not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more." So he's giving his reasons here.

And then he says, "Would you prefer that Caesar were living, and we all die as slaves, or that Caesar were dead and we all lived as free men?" So here he asked his first rhetorical question, and what is he expecting the citizens to think? He's thinking, "Ooh, it would be better that Caesar's dead and we're free, than Caesar's alive and we're slaves." So he's asking a particular question, that's making the audience think, a crowd.

The Roman citizens think, "Oh actually, it's good that Caesar's dead, because now we will be free." Brutus continues, he says, "I weep for Caesar because he was good to me." He said, "I didn't want to kill him, but I had to.

I celebrate his good fortune, I honour his bravery, but because he was ambitious, I killed him." So he gives a reason here, he says, "He was ambitious so I killed him." Brutus continues, he says, "There are tears for his love, joy for his fortune, honour for his bravery, but death for his ambition.

Who here is so dishonourable that he wants to be a servant?" And another rhetorical question.

"Is there anyone, speak? Because it is he whom I have offended, who here is so uncivilised that he doesn't want to be a Roman?" Another rhetorical question.

"If there is anyone, speak, because it is here whom I've offended.

Who here is so disgusting that he doesn't love his country?" Yet again, another rhetorical question.

If there is anyone, speak, because it is he whom I have offended.

I will pause for a reply." And Brutus is asking these rhetorical questions, because he wants to make the citizens think particular things.

He says, "Who here is so dishonourable that he wants to be a servant?" No one's going to say, "Oh yes, I'm very dishonourable, and I would like to be a servant." So he's asking a deliberate question, he's saying, "Does anyone want to be a dishonourable servant? Well, if you do, you should want Caesar alive." Then says, "Who here is so uncivilised, because he doesn't want to be a Roman?" He's doing the same thing.

People aren't going to think, "Yes, I'm very uncivilised and don't want to be a Roman." And exactly the same thing, with the last rhetorical question, "Who here is so disgusting that he doesn't love his country?" No one is thinking, "Ooh, I'm disgusting by doing these things, by not loving my country, I'm wanting Caesar to destroy it." That's what Brutus is trying to make the people think, by asking these rhetorical questions.

So all, that's who speaks next.

Now this means all of the Roman citizens.

Now of course they all don't shout exactly the same thing.

But this is Shakespeare's way of saying the citizens are answering that, "None, none of us Brutus, none of us feel this way.

We haven't offended anyone." So Brutus responds, "In that case I've offended no one, I will leave you with these words.

I killed my best friend for the good of Rome, and I will kill myself when my country requires my death." Then everyone says, "We want you to live Brutus! Live! Live!" So the question here is, has Brutus persuaded the audience that he was right? And how do you know? Have a think.

Well, what have you said? Well, hopefully you've said, "Brutus has persuaded the audience, because he's come out, he's told them why he did what he did, why he joined the conspiracy, why he assassinated Caesar." And the crowd is saying, "No, we want you to live Brutus." Because they're not saying, "We think you should be punished with death for yourself, by the fact that you have killed Caesar." Because Brutus says, "If my country required it of me, I would actually kill myself, I would do it myself." And they're saying, "No, you should live, we think you've done the right thing." So let's have a look at some questions, and quotations based on this extract.

So the first one that's straightforward, has Brutus persuaded the citizens of Rome, and how do you know? And you should try to use the word persuaded in your answer.

And there's also a quote at the top, "We want you to live, Brutus! Live! Live!" From the citizens that you might use in your answer.

So pause the video now, have a go at answering this question, and come back when you are done.

Okay, welcome back.

So let's have a look at the kind of thing you might have written.

You should say something like this.

Yes, Brutus has persuaded the citizens of Rome, that he was right to assassinate Caesar.

I know this because at the end of his speech, the citizens of Rome say that they want Brutus to live.

They do not want him to be killed as a punishment for assassinating Caesar.

And if you've got something like that, that's a great answer and you've done really well.

So let's have a look at the next question.

It just says, "Complete the sentences above, and use the words in bold underneath to help you finish these sentences." Off you go.

Okay, welcome back.

Let's have a look at how your answer should look.

And hopefully this is what you have written.

Brutus uses lots of rhetorical questions, because he wants to persuade the citizens of Rome, that it was in the best interests of Rome to assassinate Caesar.

I hope you've got that 100% right, I'm sure you did.

Let's move on to the next question.

This time, we've got a quote from Brutus.

He says, "Who here is so disgusting, that he doesn't love his country?" It's a rhetorical question.

And the question that you're going to answer is this, "Why does Brutus ask this rhetorical question? What is he trying to make the citizens of Rome think?" Now, before you answer this, let's go through the quotation together.

So first of all, in bold, we can see he's talking about people who don't love their country.

And Brutus is suggesting that anyone who thinks Caesar should live doesn't love Rome.

That's the first thing he wants the people to think, he doesn't want them to think, "Yes, I'm the kind of person who doesn't love Rome." He wants them to think, "No, I'm the kind of person who does love Rome, therefore Caesar had to die." And he also wants to suggest that anybody who doesn't love Rome is disgusting.

So he's also making the people think, the citizens think, "Oh, I'm not disgusting, I'm not the kind of person who doesn't love his country.

Therefore I understand why Brutus did what he did." So use that information to answer the question, why does Brutus off this rhetorical question, what is he trying to make the citizens of Rome think? Pause the video, have a go, and come back when you are done.

Okay, so let's have a look at the kind of thing you might have written for your answer.

Now, hopefully you wrote something like this.

Brutus uses a rhetorical question, because he wants the citizens of Rome to think that anyone who disagrees with assassinating Caesar doesn't love Rome.

And there you can see again, we've got that embedded quotation, love, built into the sentence.

He also tries to make the citizens of Rome, think that anyone who disagrees with assassinating Caesar is disgusting for not loving Rome.

And again, you can see disgusting this time, another embedded quotation.

So hopefully you got something along those lines.

Now we're going to have a go at another question, and the question is exactly the same.

It says, "Why does Brutus ask this rhetorical question? What is he trying to make the citizens of Rome think?" But this time the quotation is different.

It says, "Who here is so dishonourable that he wants to be a servant." And again, we'll have a quick look at this quotation before you answer the question.

So this idea of being a servant, Brutus is trying to suggest that anybody who thinks Caesars should live, wants to be a servant themself.

Because he's saying, he's suggesting, "Caesar might turn into a tyrant, therefore, anyone who lives under tyranny, under a tyrant, would be a servant to that tyrant." And he's saying, "Who wants to be a servant?" Trying to make the citizens think, "Oh, I don't want to be a servant, no one wants to be a servant, therefore it's good that Brutus and the conspirators assassinated Caesar." And he's doing a similar thing with dishonourable.

He's saying that anybody who wants to be a servant is dishonourable.

Therefore, anyone who wants Cesar to live is dishonourable, and who wants to be dishonourable? Again, he's suggesting, he's hoping the audience think, "I don't want to be dishonourable, none else wants to be dishonourable, therefore, it's a good thing that Brutus and the conspirators assassinated Caesar." So use information on screen to answer the question, why does Brutus ask this rhetorical question? What is he trying to make the citizens of Rome think? Pause the video, have a go, and come back when you're done.

Okay, welcome back.

So let's have a look at the kind of thing you might have written.

You hopefully have written something like this.

Brutus uses a rhetorical question, because he wants the citizens of Rome to think that anyone who disagrees with assassinating Caesar wants to be a 'servant' That embedded quotation servant this time.

He also tries to make the citizens of Rome think that anyone who disagrees with assassinating Caesar is 'dishonourable' for wanting to be a servant.

And again, we've got those embedded quotations again.

So you can see how we're using those things we talked about from the quotations to answer the question.

Now that's all for today's lesson, the only thing to remind you of is to do the quiz.

Don't forget the buttons are down below, do the quiz so that you can remember everything you've learned in today's lesson, and make sure you know everything perfectly.

Guys I've really enjoyed teaching you once again, it's always a real privilege.

The last thing for me to say is well done again today, and I'll see you next time in lesson three of act three, "Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare.