Restorative Imagination: Portia and Calphurnia

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In Act 2 of Julius Caesar, students meet Portia, Brutus’s wife, and Calphurnia, Caesar’s wife. Both women express concern for their husbands; Portia worries about what troubles Brutus and Calphurnia worries for Caesar’s safety. I designed a restorative imagination assignment for my students.

Pretend that a lost scene from Act 2 has been discovered. It features a conversation between Portia and Calphurnia. Write the script, using their previous comments in Scenes 1 and 2 as the inspiration for their dialogue. How could they support each other?

The students can revisit this assignment after Caesar is murdered or after Brutus reveals that Portia has died. You can ask the students how their restorative scene creates dramatic irony due to the outcomes of the play.


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