julius caesar essay introduction

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Julius caesar: introduction: brief history: plot overview.

A Brief Introduction

Julius Caesar is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, composed at some time around 1599. It is one of a few plays composed by Shakespeare on a genuine event from Roman history. The authentic occurrence encompassing the stratagem against the former Roman pioneer Julius Caesar (c.100-44B.C.) and the civil war that followed his death. Shakespeare depicts Caesar’s death on the Ides of (March 15) by a gathering of backstabbers who dreaded the aspiring leader would transform the Roman Republic into a dictatorial empire.

Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar has the gens of Julia which assert subsiding from Iulus, child of courageous Trojan ruler Aeneas, evidently child of the goddess Venus. Thus Julius Caesar was normally acquainted with the patrician family. The family belongs to Alba Longa twenty miles south of Rome. The surname “Caesar” started as indicated by Pliny the Elder with a predecessor who was conceived by Cesarean section from the Latin verb to cut.

Julius Caesar was a Roman legislator and general who assumed a basic part in the occasions that prompted the disintegration of the Roman Republic and the ascent of the Roman Empire.

Julius Caesar Plot Summary

The play opens with a group that has assembled to praise the triumph of Julius Caesar over the children of Pompey. Before we go any further, we should break for a short Roman history lesson. “Pompey the Great” was an individual from the “principal triumvirate,” and he and Caesar used to share control over Rome. At that point, Caesar and Pompey got into a major battle. Pompey lost when he endeavored to flee to Egypt in 48 B.C. He was killed, Caesar still had an issue: Pompey’s children were intent on vindicating their fathers passing away and depose Caesar. Caesar found Pompey’s children in Spain and stepped them out at the Battle of Munda in 45 B.C. However, Flavius and Marullus being desirous of Julius Caesar restrict this celebration and show feel sorry for Pompey. They drive the crowd to go back to their individual works. So the tribunes fear the developing competency of Julius Caesar.

The triumph is set apart by open amusements in which Caesar’s companion Mark Antony participates. Julius Caesar goes with his better half Calpurnia and his other men to celebrate the jollification of Lupercal. A diviner cautions Julius Caesar to be careful Ides of March (fifteenth of March).However the last disregards this. Julius Caesar is offered crown by Mark Antony, however, he rejects the offer three times and is applauded by the people. Caius Cassius a hater of Julius Caesar tries to harm the brain of Marcus Brutus who is a companion of Julius Caesars. He has a more adjusted perspective of the political position. Cassius, Casca, and their partners visit Brutus during the evening to convince him of their perspectives, and they plan Caesar’s demise. As he talks in a precarious way, he prevails with regards to drawing Brutus into the collusion against Julius Caesar. Amid the night there is a great deal of thunder, lightning, storm and so forth that terrifies Casca who is extremely superstitious. Cassius, being clever, translates the significance of these all happenings to Casca such that Casca likewise joins the plotters. Caius Cassius and Marcus Brutus distrusted Caesar’s responses to the power he holds in the Republic. They fear he will acknowledge offers to wind up Emperor. Being a dedicated companion of Julius Caesar and in addition an admirer of his subjects, Brutus turns out to be twofold disapproved and befuddled to which of them he ought to pick. At last, he agrees with the prosperity of Romans. Plan for the murder of Julius Caesar is made.

After the gathering is finished, Brutus’ better half, Portia, suspecting something and dreading for her husband’s well being, questions him. Touched

by her adoration and dedication, Brutus guarantees to uncover his mystery to her later.

The following scene happens in Caesar’s home. The time is the early morning; the date, the game-changing ides of March. The last night has been an odd one — wild, stormy, and loaded with weird and unexplainable sights and happenings all through the city of Rome. Caesar’s wife Calphurnia, frightened by appalling bad dreams, influences Caesar not to go to the Capitol, persuaded that her dreams are omens of catastrophe. By prearrangement, Brutus and other plotters land to go with Caesar, planning to battle off any conceivable notices until the point that they have him absolutely in their power at the Senate. Uninformed that he is encompassed by professional killers and disregarding Calphurnia’s admonishments, Caesar goes with them.

At the Capitol, solicitors encompass Caesar and stabbed him to death – 33 times, just no doubt. Before falling, Caesar gazes upward and passes on as Brutus gives the last blow. Against Cassius’ recommendation, Mark Antony is permitted to sob over Caesar’s body as he guarantees not to accuse the backstabbers as long as he is permitted to talk a memorial speech in the market after Brutus has tended to the general people of Rome to clarify the conspirators’ reasons and their fear for Caesar’s desire. Brutus quiets the group, however, Antony’s speech mixes them to revolting and the conspirators are compelled to escape from the city.

Antony has gotten together with Lepidus and Caesar’s adopted child, Octavius. Together they’ll frame the new triumvirate to lead Rome and fight against Cassius and Brutus. Brutus and Cassius are loaded with questions about the future and they fight intensely finished assets for their warriors’ compensation. They make up the contention and in spite of the qualms of Cassius over the site, they plan to draw in Antony’s armed force at Philippi. Brutus stoically gets news of his better half’s suicide in Rome, yet he sees Caesar’s apparition as he rests, unfit to consider the eve of the conflict. Cassius fears the most exceedingly terrible and gets his servant Pindarus, to help him to a speedy death. Brutus, discovering Cassius’ body, confers suicide as the main good activity left to him. Antony, triumphant on the

battlefield acclaims Brutus as ‘the noblest Roman of all’, and requests a formal burial service before he and Octavius come back to control in Rome.

Home — Essay Samples — History — Roman Empire — Julius Caesar

Essays on Julius Caesar

Prompt examples for julius caesar essays, the character of julius caesar.

Examine the character of Julius Caesar in Shakespeare's play. Analyze his ambitions, strengths, and weaknesses. Discuss how his actions and decisions contribute to the play's central conflicts and themes.

The Tragic Hero in Julius Caesar

Explore the concept of the tragic hero as it applies to a character in the play. Identify the tragic hero and discuss the traits that make them fit this archetype. Analyze their downfall and its significance in the story.

The Role of Brutus

Discuss the character of Brutus and his role in the conspiracy against Caesar. Analyze his motivations, moral dilemmas, and his ultimate decision to join the conspiracy. Explore how Brutus's actions impact the unfolding of events.

The Power Struggle in Julius Caesar

Examine the theme of power and political ambition in the play. Discuss how characters like Caesar, Brutus, Cassius, and Mark Antony vie for power. Analyze the consequences of their actions and the political turmoil that ensues.

The Role of Fate in Julius Caesar

Explore the theme of fate and prophecy in the play. Discuss how omens and prophecies shape the characters' decisions and the outcome of events. Analyze whether the characters' fates were predetermined or if they had free will.

The Use of Rhetoric in the Funeral Speeches

Analyze the famous funeral speeches delivered by Brutus and Mark Antony. Discuss their use of rhetoric to sway the crowd's opinion. Examine the persuasive techniques, appeals to emotion, and their overall effectiveness in achieving their goals.

The Theme of Betrayal in Julius Caesar

Discuss the theme of betrayal and loyalty in the play. Examine how characters betray one another, whether it's through conspiracy, manipulation, or deceit. Analyze the consequences of these betrayals.

The Gender Roles in Julius Caesar

Examine the portrayal of gender roles in the play. Discuss the limited roles and agency of female characters like Calpurnia and Portia. Analyze how masculinity and femininity are depicted and whether they influence the characters' actions.

The Historical Accuracy of Julius Caesar

Discuss the historical accuracy of Shakespeare's portrayal of Julius Caesar and the events surrounding his assassination. Analyze how Shakespeare adapted historical events for dramatic purposes and the potential impact on the audience's perception of history.

The Legacy of Julius Caesar

Explore the lasting impact of Julius Caesar on literature, politics, and culture. Discuss how the character and events of the play have influenced subsequent works and historical interpretations.

Hook Examples for "Julius Caesar" Essays

Anecdotal hook.

"As I delved into the political intrigue and tragic consequences of betrayal in 'Julius Caesar,' I couldn't help but reflect on the timeless themes of ambition, loyalty, and the perils of unchecked power."

Rhetorical Question Hook

"What drives individuals to conspire against a leader, and what are the consequences of their actions? William Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar' prompts us to explore the complexities of power and ambition."

Startling Quote Hook

"'Beware the ides of March.' These words of warning in the play's opening act set the stage for a tale of betrayal and tragedy. 'Julius Caesar' serves as a cautionary tale for leaders and societies."

Historical Hook

"Set in ancient Rome during a time of political upheaval, 'Julius Caesar' offers insights into the dynamics of power and governance in the Roman Republic. Exploring this historical context adds depth to the narrative."

Narrative Hook

"Step into the world of conspiracy, ambition, and the struggle for control as you follow the tragic fates of Caesar, Brutus, and Cassius. This narrative captures the essence of Shakespearean drama."

Character Analysis Hook

"Delve into the complex characters of 'Julius Caesar,' from the charismatic Caesar himself to the conflicted Brutus. Analyzing their motivations and flaws adds depth to the narrative."

Moral Dilemma Hook

"What moral dilemmas do the characters face in 'Julius Caesar,' and how do these dilemmas resonate with contemporary ethical questions? Exploring the play's ethical dimensions prompts reflection on our own choices."

Political Intrigue Hook

"How does 'Julius Caesar' depict the complexities of political intrigue and manipulation? Delving into the play's political themes sheds light on the strategies and consequences of political actions."

Tragic Consequences Hook

"What are the tragic consequences of conspiring against a leader, and how do they ripple through society? Examining the play's impact on characters and the state offers valuable insights."

Shakespearean Legacy Hook

"How does 'Julius Caesar' contribute to William Shakespeare's enduring literary legacy? Exploring the play's place in Shakespearean drama reveals its significance in literature and theater."

Caesar's Reforms: Visionary Or Power Play

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Who is Casca in Julius Caesar

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Julius Caesar's Rise to Power and Dictatorship

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12 July 100 BC

March 15, 44 BC

Julius Caesar, in full Gaius Julius Caesar, was a politician and general of the late Roman republic. Caesar led the Roman armies to conquer the vast region of Gaul (58–50 BC) and to won in the civil war of 49–45 BC. Caesar played a decisive role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire.

Caesar began his career in politics as a prosecuting advocate and started to study philosophy in Rhodes. In 74 BC, Mithradates VI Eupator, king of Pontus, had declared war on Rome and Caesar defeated him with a private army. Julius Caesar’s power and prestige started to grew.

In 61 to 60 BC, Caesar served as governor of the Roman province of Spain. Soon, in 59 BC, Caesar got elected as senior Roman consul. The First Triumvirate was an informal alliance formed by Caesar, Crassus and Pompey, that soon controlled Rome. Caesar became a governor of the vast region of Gaul in 58 BC. During the subsequent Gallic Wars, Caesar earned a reputation as a formidable and ruthless military leader.

Caesar was master of Rome and made himself consul and dictator. He used his power to carry out drastic reforms to benefit Rome’s lower and middle class. Caesar also resurrected two city-states, Carthage and Corinth. Caesar declared himself dictator for life in 44 B.C.

His success and ambition alienated strongly republican senators. Soon, a group of senators, led by Cassius and Brutus, assassinated Caesar on the Ides of March 44 BC.

Caesar changed the course of the history of the Greco-Roman world decisively and irreversibly. He became the first Roman figure to be deified. The Senate gave him the title "The Divine Julius."

"Veni, vidi, vici. (I came, I saw, I conquered.)" "In the end, it is impossible not to become what others believe you are." "The greatest enemy will hide in the last place you would ever look."

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Julius Caesar

William shakespeare, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

Julius Caesar: Introduction

Julius caesar: plot summary, julius caesar: detailed summary & analysis, julius caesar: themes, julius caesar: quotes, julius caesar: characters, julius caesar: symbols, julius caesar: literary devices, julius caesar: quizzes, julius caesar: theme wheel, brief biography of william shakespeare.

Historical Context of Julius Caesar

Other books related to julius caesar.

• Full Title: The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
• When Written: 1599
• Where Written: England
• When Published: 1623
• Literary Period: Renaissance
• Genre: Tragic drama; history play
• Setting: Rome and environs, 44 B.C.E.
• Climax: Brutus’s suicide
• Antagonist: Cassius
• Point of View: Dramatic

Extra Credit for Julius Caesar

Time Warp. As in many of his plays, Shakespeare manipulates time in Julius Caesar , both for dramatic convenience and to make the setting less foreign to his audience. For example, the time between Caesar's triumphal march with Pompey's sons and the defeat of Cassius and Brutus was around two years in real life, but Shakespeare compresses it into two months. And at one point a mechanical clock strikes the time, yet such clocks wouldn’t be invented for over 1,000 years after the play takes place!

Et tu, Bruté? Despite the title of Julius Caesar , one could argue that this play could just as easily be titled the Tragedy of Brutus . Caesar dies less than halfway through the play and has fewer lines than several other major characters. The story of the noble Brutus being undone by his dispassionate logic and his trust in Cassius conforms much more closely to the literary model of tragedy.

Julius Caesar - Essay Examples And Topic Ideas For Free

Julius Caesar was a Roman general, statesman, and notable author of Latin prose who played a critical role in the events leading to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire. Essays on Julius Caesar might explore his military campaigns, political strategies, or contributions to Roman literature. Other discussions might delve into his controversial actions, his relationships with other significant figures of his time, or the events leading to his assassination and its aftermath. An exploration of his legacy and portrayal in subsequent Roman, medieval, and modern histories or a comparison with other historical or contemporary political leaders might also provide insight into his lasting influence. We’ve gathered an extensive assortment of free essay samples on the topic of Julius Caesar you can find at PapersOwl Website. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

Mark Antony’s Described Julius Caesar

Brutus had just spoken saying that Caesar was a tyrant. however, brutus was one of caesar's assassins. In this play Antony spoke after him in order to help him to argue against his point. This scene has taken place in the roman forum. Mark Antony is addressing the people of rome. In this speech, Anthony agree to follow the speech of brutus and since he agreed to not blame the conspirators, Mark Antony uses the three rhetorical techniques to disabuse […]

Women Roles in Julius Caesar

In the play Julius caesar by William Shakespeare roles of women were briefly included. The two women were Portia, the wife of Brutus, and Calpurnia, the wife of Julius Caesar. These roles are important factors in the foreshadowing and development in the play. To look at the role of women in the play you must look at what these two women did for the characters in the play as well as develop the play. For the first example of foreshadowing […]

Marcus Brutus a Close Friend to Caesar

Brutus is easily the most complex character in William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar. He is a powerful figure in the public's eye, but also appears as a loving friend, a husband, a dignified military leader, a master to his servants, and a man of honor. This tragic hero's sense of honor seems to make him a target for others to try and manipulate. The tragedy of Julius Caesar, is mainly based on the assassination of Julius Caesar. The character who […]

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Julius Caesar Rise to Power

The purpose of this paper is to research Julius Caesar’s contribution to the world. Some people argue that Caesar was a selfish power-hungry emperor while others believe he was an intelligent strategist who developed revolutionary ideas that are still used today. To investigate these claims, several topics will be researched including the details of his rule and the many changes he made to develop Rome into an empire. Some specific research topics include Caesar’s rise to power (The First Triumvirate), […]

Fate in Julius Caesar

Fate is inevitable, unavoidable, and ultimately ends in death. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, multiple characters experience a deadly fate, but it is not completely unavoidable. People also have control of their own lives and the ability to make decisions, affecting them and others. Shakespeare uses characters in this play to illustrate the theme of fate and to project how easily it can be tampered with. Fate, as a theme in this play, is involved in […]

Book Review “Cleopatra: a Life”

In her book Cleopatra: A Life, Stacy Schiff describes in great detail the tense events taking place in ancient Egypt before and after Cleopatra's reign as Queen. Schiff is an acclaimed nonfiction author. She has won the coveted Pulitzer Prize and has written plenty of historical books, essays, and columns featuring historical women such as: Véra (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov): Portrait of a Marriage, Indelible Portraits of Women's Lives, and The Witches: Salem, 1692. Schiff is nondiscriminatory as she presents her […]

Themes of Omens and Superstitions in Julius Caesar

 The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. This play has many omens and superstitions, they play a very prominent role that moves the story along drastically. Some examples of these superstitious are the Feast of Lupercal, the soothsayer, Calphurnia's dream, and the strange occurrences described at the end of act one. The Feast of Lupercal, The Feast of Lupercal is a festival to celebrate Pan, the goddess of fertility. The superstition around this festival is that if you are […]

Julius Caesar Vs. Abraham Lincoln

Many people have heard of the name Julius Caesar, but not many know the story behind the name. A man more famously known is Abraham Lincoln, who played a vital role like Julius Caesar. Both Julius Caesar and Abraham Lincoln have played significant roles during their lifetime, mainly in politics and as public speakers. There are many comparisons between the two political leaders, with only a few contrasts. For example, them both being assassinated is one major comparison between the […]

Napoleon and Caesar Comparison

Bonaparte's prosperity as a tactical pioneer and hero can likewise be found in another incredible pioneer, Julius Caesar. Both Napoleon and Caesar accomplished incredible brilliance by freeing their nations once again from disturbance. It was Caesar, that Napoleon demonstrated himself after, he needed to be as incredible, if not more prominent than Caesar. Looking to the past, Napoleon understood what steps to take to make progress Napoleon ate up books on the craft of war. Significantly more than one volume […]

Julius Caesar: Brutus Tragic Hero

Brutus is known to be unfortunate legend in perspective of steadfastness he shows up toward his friend and country. Notwithstanding the way that there was a to a great degree strong fraternity among Brutus and Caesar, yet there was a relationship that was more grounded than relationship that Brutus had with Caesar which happen to be the relationship with all inclusive community of the country Rome. Brutus genuinely needn't bother accompanied by Caesar to create and be so unbelievable and […]

Julius Caesar an Influential Political Leader

Julius Caesar was born in 100 BC and was assassinated on March 15, 44 BC. Caesar was born into a family that wasn't dominant in politics. However, due to his military and oratory skills, Caesar rose through the Roman political system. Pompey was an influential political leader in Rome who led vast military expeditions as well as being a key ally to Caesar. Their close relationship allowed Ceasar to get voted in as consul in 59 BC. This was only […]

The most Iconic Rulers of Egypt

Who was a one of the rulers of Egypt? Cleopatra was a ruler of Egypt in fact she was the queen. Cleopatra was also a very beautiful queen but that's not all she is, she not always a pretty face like Hollywood always makes her. Queen Cleopatra was the queen of Egypt but she was not the only one at the throne see she inherited the throne when she was 18 but had to share it with her 12 year […]

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar

Compare-and-Contrast Essay: The Tragedy of Julius CaesarBrutus and Mark Antony had two exclusively unfamiliar motives and itinerary in their monologue to the Roman people. Brutus' try to convince the peopleof restless Romans that Rome has been saved thanks to the brave plotters for killing the covetous, lust for power, Caesar. Antony, a loyal friend of Caesar's, going to show Brutus and the plotters on what they really are: nothing but bloodthirsty assassins who executed Caesar out of distress and insecurity […]

Loyalty in Julius Caesar

In William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, the character Portia, second wife to Brutus, seemed to be one of the most burdened with secrets. There were only two women in the play, and Portia was the one who proved strength over most of the male characters, both physically and mentally. Portia was born between 73 BC and 64 BC and loved philosophy and had an obvious understanding of courage (Wikipedia.org). Portia was the only wife in the play […]

Life of Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar is one of the most prominent historical figures in worldwide, who greatly impacted the path of Rome. However, like all historical figures, Caesar did not get to where he did only by coincidence. In order to understand Caesar and what he did throughout his life, one must first understand his rise to power, his achievements, and his death. According to “Julius Caesar” in the year 100 BC, Julius Caesar was born on July 12th or the 13th in […]

Julius Caesar in History

Julius Caesar was born on July 13, 100 BC. He was a controversial figure of ancient Rome. A military general and a Roman politician, he changed the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. Julius Caesar greatly changed Rome's economy and significantly enlarged Rome's territories, which made the Roman Empire one of the largest in history. Julius Caesar was a very talented individual who had mastered different areas of knowledge, along with being very popular with the common people of Rome. […]

Cleopatra the Seventh Queen of the Nile

Arguably one of the most famous Egyptian queens, Cleopatra was a femme-fatale and a powerful women. The Egyptian queen was a very influential political leader, she used her wit and ambition to achieve many goals for her country. Although lacking in external beauty, Cleopatra's mind was gorgeously fascinating and she became a woman known for her intelligence and appeal. She was a very influential woman, a great leader for Egypt and held a much stronger monarch than any of the […]

Julius Caesar Personality Biography

As a person who was cherished but also resented by many, Julius Caesar left a valuable impression on those during his lifetime, and even to this day. Although Caesar was a skillful leader who helped extend the Roman Republic, in reality, he was a greedy, immoral man who used the factors of manipulation in order to bring himself to success. Born on July 12, 100 BC, Julius Caesar’s birth was said to have “marked the start of a new era” […]

The Journey of Julius Caesar Written by Suetonius

Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, Lives of the Caesars is an important account of the journey of Julius Caesar written by Suetonius. In this selection, it is shown how Caesar came to power and the problems he encountered along the way. The reader can also see the distaste that the citizens and the Senate had for him, eventually leading to his assassination. Suetonius explains how the actions of Caesar led to changes in the governing of Rome and gives insight on his […]

Two Julius Caesar Speaches

Losing a loved one no matter the relation is always rough on a person. Whether be a grandparent, or a close friend, their absence affects us in some way. Death is no new concept and has been something philosophers have pondered since the beginning of time and many have created their own theories about what happens after death to coupe with trauma. But in the end its how we coupe with this sudden loss that truly tests our morals. All […]

Julius Caesar in Shakespeare’s Play

William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar as a world-renowned play gains tremendous analysis at various perspectives, such as characters of Caesar, plot of this play, etc.; however, the fake democracy in this play and Shakespeare's satire of it seem to be a vacancy of demonstration. Julius Caesar is a key figure in the transition from Roman Republic to the imperial period of Roma, and in this transition the form of democracy transfers from by lot and election to totally by election. In […]

Cleopatra and her Position in Society

Cleopatra's actions during her lifetime were influenced by her position as a royal woman ruler as well as her position in the Egyptian society. She accepted her position as "the Other" in ancient society to further embrace the role of the exotic Greco-Roman pharaoh using her beauty and seduction methods as a tool in order to stay in control of the throne. Cleopatra and the story of her early life mainly comes from the stories and poems of Greco-Roman scholars, […]

The Role of Julius Caesar in the History

Gaius Julius Caesar was a politically adept and popular military leader of the Roman Republic. (North 23) Best known as Julius Caesar, he critically participated in transforming the Roman republic to what became known as the Roman Empire by expanding its geographic reach and establishing its imperial leadership system . North (25) narrates that Caesar led Army troops across the river Rubicon and through successful battles. At the same time Pompey, a former Roman Kingdom military and political leader was […]

William Shakespeare about the Overthrow of Julius Caesar

Speeches are made for many reasons, the main is to persuade an audience. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare, is a play about the overthrow of Julius Caesar by his conspirators. Following the death of Caesar, Mark Antonius, Caesars prodigee, delivers a very persuasive speech in the most indirect way. Antony's tone, his use of credibility, and rhetorical questions during his speech helped build his reliability with the Romans. Antony follows an ironic tone throughout his speech. […]

The Death of Julius Caesar

Recently seeing Julius Caesar, directed by Lance Marsh, many strong moments stood out to me. One particular moment stayed with me, it made me saddened for the character at hand and made me curious as to what he would do with this pivotal moment. Julius Caesar (played by Austin Wyatt) is reigning over this land, and some being to conspire against him. His right hand man, Brutus (played by Blayne Childers), is one main conspirator against Caesar. Caesar is eventually […]

Brutus’s Speech Analysis in Julius Caesar: Persuasion and Argumentation

Introduction: The Power of Persuasive Speeches Persuasive speeches are quite a tool in order to sway the opinion of an uneducated individual. These speeches must have the power to reform a certain community’s opinion on such a topic that the giver of the speech presents. This form of essay writing follows a strict guideline that must be effective yet, at the same time, subtle in design and composition. They are formed using three such parts of any fundamental argument: the […]

Final: Cleopatra

In Act IV of William Shakespeare's tragedy Antony and Cleopatra, Cleopatra remarks, "All strange and terrible events are welcome, but comforts we despise" ("Cleopatra VII"). Herein lies the life of Cleopatra one fraught with tremendous challenges and marred by tragedy. Born in 69 B.C., Cleopatra VII was the daughter of King Ptolemy XII (Jones). At the age of eighteen, Cleopatra assumed the Egyptian throne (Jones). She would be the last Ptolemy and the last pharaoh to ever rule over Egypt. […]

One of Rome’s Greatest Leaders

Julius Caesar was born on the July 12, 100 BC. His Father was too named Julius Caesar. His father was a Praetor who governed the province of Asia. His mother was named Aurelia Cotta was of noble family. Both his father and his mother help a Popular ideology of Rome. This favored democratization of government and also more rights for the lower class. Julius Caesar was a politically adept and popular leader of the Roman Republic who significantly transformed what […]

Why did Brutus Betray Julius: Analyzing the Motives

Introduction Brutus and Mark had unalike motives during their lecture to the town. Brutus made the people accept being helped by the crazy plotters for killing Julius. Mark is a comrade to Julius by telling Brutus and the plotters what they actually are: ruthless assassins who execute Julius from distress and insecurity and never for Rome. Mark wants to stir up people to act out and end the swindlers. Brutus' words are gibberish and pathetic from start to end. Brutus's […]

Examples of Power Corrupting Leaders: from Caesar to Modern Times

Julius Caesar: A Brilliant Strategist with Unchecked Ambitions Julius Caesar defeated many to earn more power. He killed thousands without care and was physically strong and musically inclined. He was a brilliant man who was great at propaganda. His people did not like Caesar because of his overuse of power. Cesar wrote about his many war experiences. These writings were impersonal and purely factual. The areas he covered were exceedingly specific and puzzled historians about why he chose these events […]

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How To Write An Essay On Julius Caesar

Introduction to julius caesar as a historical and literary figure.

When writing an essay on Julius Caesar, it is essential to clarify whether you are focusing on the historical figure of Julius Caesar or the titular character in William Shakespeare’s play. If your essay is about the historical Roman general and statesman, begin by outlining his significance in Roman history, his political and military achievements, and his impact on the course of the Roman Empire. Alternatively, if your essay centers on Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar," introduce the play as a pivotal work of literature that explores themes of power, betrayal, and political intrigue. Your introduction should provide a brief overview of the key aspects of Julius Caesar's life or the main themes of the play, setting the stage for deeper analysis.

Analyzing Julius Caesar’s Influence and Leadership

In the body of your essay, delve into the details of Julius Caesar’s influence and leadership. If focusing on the historical figure, discuss his military campaigns, such as the conquest of Gaul, his role in the Roman Civil War, and his central part in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. Explore his political strategies, reforms, and the reasons behind his assassination. For an essay on Shakespeare's play, analyze Caesar’s character, the perception of his ambition and power by other characters, and the play’s depiction of his assassination. Discuss how Caesar's character and his assassination contribute to the themes and messages of the play.

Examining the Impact and Legacy of Julius Caesar

The next part of your essay should examine the impact and legacy of Julius Caesar. In a historical context, discuss how Caesar’s actions and policies influenced the structure of the Roman Empire and its subsequent rulers. Comment on how his life and death marked a turning point in Roman history. In a literary context, reflect on how Shakespeare’s portrayal of Caesar has influenced perceptions of his character throughout history. Discuss the play's enduring relevance, its impact on literature, and how its themes resonate with contemporary issues of power and morality.

Concluding Thoughts on Julius Caesar

Conclude your essay by summarizing the main points of your analysis and offering a perspective on the significance of Julius Caesar in history or literature. Reflect on the lessons that can be learned from his life and leadership, or the themes and questions raised by Shakespeare’s play. Your conclusion should not only encapsulate your findings but also invite further contemplation on the enduring influence of Julius Caesar, whether as a historical figure who shaped the course of Western history or as a character in one of Shakespeare’s most studied plays.

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Julius Caesar Introduction

Have your parents ever warned you about hanging out with the wrong crowd? You might be like, "Pssht, whatever Mom, my friends are awesome." And sure, your friends may seem awesome enough, but when push comes to shove, will they have your back, or will they turn around and throw you under the bus?

Julius Caesar found this lesson out the hard way—to the tune of 33 stab wounds and a betrayal so scandalous, we're still talking about it two thousand years later.

Julius Caesar is a tragedy by William Shakespeare , written sometime around 1599. As movie posters and book covers like to say, the play is "based on a true story": the historical events surrounding the conspiracy against the ancient Roman leader Julius Caesar (c.100-44B.C.) and the civil war that followed his death. Fun times—guess they should have thought their plans through a little more. Shakespeare portrays Caesar's assassination on the Ides of March (March 15) by a group of conspirators who feared the ambitious leader would turn the Roman Republic into a tyrannical monarchy.

Julius Caesar was most likely the first play performed at the Globe Theater . Shakespeare wrote the play around 1599, just after he had completed a series of English political histories. Like the history plays, Julius Caesar gives voice to some late-16th-century English political concerns. When Shakespeare wrote Caesar , it was pretty obvious that the 66-year-old Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) wasn't going to produce an heir to the throne, and her subjects were stressed out about what would happen upon the monarch's death. Would chaos ensue when Elizabeth died? Who would take the queen's place? Would the next monarch be a fit ruler or a tyrant? In other words, Julius Caesar asks its audience to think about the parallels between ancient Roman history and contemporary politics. Clever, huh?

Shakespeare' s main source for the play is Plutarch's famous biography The Life of Julius Caesar , written in Greek in the 1st century and translated into English in 1579 by Sir Thomas North. This is no big surprise, since Shakespeare and his contemporaries were completely obsessed with Roman culture and politics. (In fact, Elizabethan schoolboys spent most of their time reading and translating ancient Roman and Greek literature. Apparently that's what kids did in the days before TV and the Internet. )

Today, along with Romeo and Juliet , Julius Caesar is often taught in 9th grade classrooms as an introduction to Shakespeare. The relatively straightforward language and simplicity of plot make it a good starting point for students new to 16th-century drama. Julius Caesar is also considered to be the least sexy of Shakespeare's dramatic works, which, for some, makes it a "safe" option in classrooms full of teenagers.

What is Julius Caesar About and Why Should I Care?

Nothing gets our attention quite like a good, juicy political scandal. Julius Caesar is jam-packed with issues that resonate with our world today. Sorry to go all inventory on you, but Shmoop loves lists:

Betrayal . Brutus places his ideals (Rome as a republic) over his friend, Julius Caesar, and is willing to kill Caesar to protect the Republic.

Fear . Incredibly afraid of losing Rome as a republic, Brutus is willing to murder Caesar before the guy even does anything wrong. In his mind, it's better to sacrifice an innocent ruler than risk his becoming a tyrant.

Political Turmoil . Things don't go according to plan. The politicians are like, "the citizens are going to kiss our togas for eliminating the tyrant Caesar! Down with absolute power." But the citizens are like, "What! You killed Caesar? We loved him." Let's just say that the politicians aren't exactly tuned in to the citizens' wants and needs.

Reason vs. Passion . With his clear, cool logic, Brutus convinces the concerned public that Caesar was a tyrant who needed to be eliminated in order for them to be free. Then along comes Antony, with his passionate, emotional appeal, who just as easily swings the public in the other direction, turning them into an angry mob determined to avenge their beloved Caesar.

Sacrificing Personal Morals for the "Greater Good." Brutus is well-known for being a moral and honest guy, yet he decides to commit murder and sacrifice his morals in hopes of ensuring a better future for Rome.

We're sure you can find other intense issues from the play that are highly relevant to our modern world. Chew on these questions for us, and fill in the blanks about how each of these points resonates with your personal life, your experience at school, or even in the country or world as a whole. It seems like the real question is: how can you not care about Julius Caesar ?

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An Introduction to This Text: Julius Caesar

By Barbara Mowat and Paul Werstine Editors of the Folger Shakespeare Library Editions

Julius Caesar was first printed in the 1623 collection of Shakespeare’s plays now known as the First Folio. The present edition is based directly upon that printing. 1 For the convenience of the reader, we have modernized the punctuation and the spelling of the Folio text. Sometimes we go so far as to modernize certain old forms of words; for example, usually when a means “he,” we change it to he ; we change mo to more , ye to you , and god buy to you to good-bye to you . It is not our practice in editing any of the plays to modernize words that sound distinctly different from modern forms. For example, when the early printed texts read sith or apricocks or porpentine , we have not modernized to since, apricots, porcupine . When the forms an, and , or and if appear instead of the modern form if , we have reduced and to an but have not changed any of these forms to their modern equivalent, if . We also modernize and, where necessary, correct passages in foreign languages, unless an error in the early printed text can be reasonably explained as a joke.

Whenever we change the wording of the First Folio or add anything to its stage directions, we mark the change by enclosing it in superior half-brackets ( ⌜ ⌝ ). We want our readers to be immediately aware when we have intervened. (Only when we correct an obvious typographical error in the First Folio does the change not get marked.) Whenever we change either the First Folio’s wording or its punctuation so that meaning changes, we list the change in the textual notes , even if all we have done is fix an obvious error.

We correct or regularize a number of the proper names in the dialogue and in the stage directions, as is the usual practice in editions of the play. For example, the Folio’s spelling “Murellus” is changed to “Marullus”; the occasional appearance of “Antonio” in the Folio is regularized to “Antonius”; and there are a number of other comparable adjustments in the names. Since no scholars believe that the Folio Julius Caesar was printed directly from Shakespeare’s manuscript, it would be difficult to identify the Folio’s spellings of names as Shakespeare’s personal preferences.

This edition differs from many earlier ones in its efforts to aid the reader in imagining the play as a performance. Thus stage directions are written with reference to the stage. For example, at 3.1.13 , instead of providing a stage direction that says, “Caesar goes into the Capitol,” we have offered something that can be presented on stage, “Caesar goes forward, the rest following.” Whenever it is reasonably certain, in our view, that a speech is accompanied by a particular action, we provide a stage direction describing the action. (Occasional exceptions to this rule occur when the action is so obvious that to add a stage direction would insult the reader.) Stage directions for the entrance of characters in mid-scene are, with rare exceptions, placed so that they immediately precede the characters’ participation in the scene, even though these entrances may appear somewhat earlier in the early printed texts. Whenever we move a stage direction, we record this change in the textual notes. Latin stage directions (e.g., Exeunt ) are translated into English (e.g., They exit ).

We expand the often severely abbreviated forms of names used as speech headings in early printed texts into the full names of the characters. We also regularize the speakers’ names in speech headings, using only a single designation for each character, even though the early printed texts sometimes use a variety of designations. Variations in the speech headings of the early printed texts are recorded in the textual notes.

In the present edition, as well, we mark with a dash any change of address within a speech, unless a stage direction intervenes. When the -ed ending of a word is to be pronounced, we mark it with an accent. Like editors for the past two centuries, we display metrically linked lines in the following way:

( 2.1.104 –5)

However, when there are a number of short verse-lines that can be linked in more than one way, we do not, with rare exceptions, indent any of them.

• We have also consulted the computerized text of the First Folio provided by the Text Archive of the Oxford University Computing Centre, to which we are grateful.

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Introduction

Elizabethans viewed Rome through two historical lenses. On the one hand, Rome was for Elizabethans the great civilization of antiquity. They knew less of Greece than we do, and almost nothing of ancient Egypt or Babylon, much less China. When they traced their cultural genealogy, they traced it back to Rome rather than Athens. As Dartmouth scholar Peter Saccio has pointed out, Rome was more than a historical artefact for Englishmen. Ancient Roman history provided examples of morality and immorality, illustrations of honor and dishonor, parables of political triumphs and political catastrophes. Learning about Rome was part of an educated Elizabethan’s moral and political education. It is no accident that American descendants of Elizabethans studded Washington, D.C., with Roman architecture, nor that Madison, Hamilton, and Jay adopted the Latin pen name Publius when they wrote the Federalist Papers .

On the other hand, Rome was a presence in Shakespeare’s own world, not so much as a political power as a religious influence. A few years before Shakespeare’s birth, English Protestants were still being martyred at the hands of Catholic authorities, and the stirring accounts of these martyrdoms were recorded in one of the biggest best-sellers in early modern England, John Foxe’s The Acts and Monuments of These Latter and Perilous Days , known to posterity as Foxe’s Book of Martyrs . Under Elizabeth, the church of England established the Anglican “middle way?” between Catholic liturgy and Protestant doctrine, but Catholicism continued to threaten England. England’s victory over the Spanish Armada in 1588 was a great patriotic moment in English history, but it was also crucially important because it secured England as a Protestant nation. For many Elizabethans Rome remained the “Great Whore of Babylon” from the Bible’s book of Revelation (see Revelation 17-18), and the Pope was the great beast, the Antichrist (Revelation 13). Few Elizabethan theater-goers could watch a play about Rome, even if it was Caesar’s Rome, without thinking how it compared to the Rome they knew and often hated. When Julius Caesar was first produced in 1599, the battle of 1588 was still very recent history.

In fact, for some Elizabethans the Roman Pope was little more than a Roman emperor by another name. Even the name was not all that different: Julius Caesar, after all, held the highest religious office in Rome, that of pontifex maximus , a title later adopted by Catholic Popes. Sir Thomas North, whose translation of Plutarch’s Lives of Noble Greeks and Romans was Shakespeare’s principal source for this play, translated the phrase as “chief bishop of Rome.” (It is from this title, by the way, that we get the word “pontifical” as an adjective meaning “of or pertaining to the Pope.” Preachers and theologians also connected the Papacy with the Roman empire of antiquity. After 1595, the Geneva Bible included notes by Francis Junius, interpreted the Whore of Revelation 17 as the Catholic church and said that the beast the whore rides on is the Roman Empire, which arose “from Julius Caesar, in respect of beginning.” William Fulke was even more explicit: The beast in Revelation “doth signifye the Empire of Rome, which was most ample and large under Julius, Augustus, Tiberius, and Claudius” and was “raised up againe from hell by the popes and popish cleargie, which usurpe and chalenge to them selves the Empire over the whole world.” Beginning in the high Middle Ages, Catholic Popes had claimed to be rulers over all kings, and Elizabethan Protestants saw this as nothing less than the resurrection of the ancient Roman Empire.

Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar examines Rome from both of these angles. The concern with ancient Rome is obvious: The play is about the final days of the life of Julius Caesar and the aftermath of his assassination. Caesar was one of the gigantic figures of Roman history, indeed of all history, and his death was one of the great events of the past. Though he draws on the life of Caesar written by the ancient historian Plutarch, Shakespeare is not writing a biographical play in any narrow sense. Caesar dies midway through the play, and the play is as concerned about the other characters, particularly Brutus, Cassius and Antony, as it is with the title character. Shakespeare’s play has, we could say, four protagonists, each of them a compelling character and important historical figure. Their struggles with each other, their love and hate for each other, make the play a profound dramatic treatment of how the rich and powerful life and die.

Equally important, Shakespeare’s play is concerned with Rome itself. Behind the events and characters of Julius Caesar are conflicting ideas of Rome, its past and its future. The historical Brutus and Cassius were struggling to maintain what they believed was a traditional Roman system against Caesar’s dangerous innovations. We cannot understand what Caesar represented to such men without knowing something about the history of Republican Rome. Until 509 B.C., Rome had been subjected to the Etruscans but in that year they overthrew the Etruscan king and became independent. By 250 B.C., they founded the Roman Republic, had become the dominant people of Italy, and were on their way conquering most of what today is Europe.

Americans think of a republic as a system in which the rulers are elected by the people and in which those who make and enforce laws are themselves subject to law. These elements were present in Rome but the Roman Republic differed in important respects from the American system. First, economic distinctions were central to Roman politics. Every citizen of Rome, to be sure, was a member of the General Assembly, but only the nobility or patricians could be members of the Senate and a man gained the status of patrician by having a certain amount of property. The Senate, dominated by the wealthy, elected the consuls who governed the Republic. Later the common people, called plebeians, were allowed to elect tribunes and these were eventually given the right to veto the laws of the Senate. In the final analysis, however, Rome was controlled by the rich patricians, supported by “clients” who promised to vote for their Senator and performed other services, while, in exchange, the Senator would use his position and power to protect his clients.

Another difference between the Roman and American systems lies in the conception of citizenship. In the United States, anyone born within the borders of the country is a citizen, and many people from other countries become citizens as well. Roman citizenship was much more restricted. Although it occurred during the time of the Roman Empire, an event in the biblical book of Acts gives evidence of how highly valued it was. As a Roman soldier prepared to whip Paul, the apostle told him he was a Roman citizen, which, to say the least, was troubling to the soldier (Acts 22:22-29). Various movements arose through the history of the Republic to extend citizenship to everyone in Italy, but through most of the Republican period only residents of the capital city could be citizens.

By the time of Caesar, the Republic had changed considerably. Many of the changes were “growing pains,” the result of the Rome’s expansion over about a century to Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Spain, North Africa, and Greece. The plebeians, most of whom were small farmers, were enlisted into the army for wars of conquest, and returned home to continue farming after the war was over. As wars were fought further and further from Italy, many plebeians returned home to find their land had been confiscated for failure to pay taxes. The estates of the ric h nobility were growing at the expense of smaller estates. At the same time, the Romans were bringing huge numbers of slaves into Italy, who took over jobs that had previously belonged to the plebeians. As a result, many plebeians, landless and without work, migrated to the capital. In Shakespeare’s play, this discontented mob plays a crucial role. Control the mob, and you control Rome.

In 60 B.C., power came into the hands of what is called the “First Triumvirate,” a group of three men — Pompey, Caesar, and Crassus — who together controlled the government of Rome. They were elected consul in succession and agreed not to attack each other but instead to fight together against the enemies of any one. In 56, at Luca, they agreed to split up the widespread holdings of the Republic. Pompey became governor of Spain but remained in Rome; Caesar continued his conquest of Gaul (France); and Crassus was sent to fight the Parthians in the East. This arrangement broke down when Crassus died fighting the Parthians. Up to that time, he had been able to mediate between the more ambitious Pompey and Caesar. Now, with Crassus out of the way, Caesar and Pompey went after each other. Civil war broke out in 49/8 B.C. In 49, the Senate ordered Caesar to disband his army. Since his relations with Pompey were already rocky, Caesar feared Pompey would attack him if he relinquished his army and returned to Rome. Rather than put himself at risk, Caesar, starting with only one legion, defied the Senate and illegally crossed the Rubicon and moved south from Gaul into Italy. At the time, he reportedly said, “The die is cast.”

As he marched toward Rome, Caesar gathered troops and support. Because he adopted a policy of clemency, or generosity, toward former adversaries, and because he did not confiscate estates, he won support or at least neutrality from many in Italy. Pompey eventually fled from Rome, so that Caesar entered the capital unopposed. After clearing out pro-Pompey factions in Spain and Gaul, Caesar turned East and fought Pompey at Pharsalus on August 9, 48 B.C., winning a decisive victory despite being greatly outnumbered. Interestingly, Plutarch records that Brutus was captured by Caesar’s army at this battle, and Caesar allowed him to go free, hoping that Brutus would feel obligated to support Caesar in the future. Pompey fled to Egypt, where he was killed. Caesar pursued him to Egypt and took the opportunity while he was there to have an affair with the Egyptian queen, Cleopatra. In 46/5 B.C., Caesar defeated Pompey’s sons, thereby securing his position as sole ruler of the Republic. He had been appointed dictator in 49 and was reappointed several times afterward. Finally, in 44, he was proclaimed dictator for life, which effectively brought an end to the Republican period of Roman history, and inaugurated the empire.

Julius Caesar was, as such things go, an energetic and wise politician and accomplished many useful things for the city and people of Rome. But the proclamation that declared Caesar a god and his appointment as dictator for life offended many who wanted to restore the old Republican system. On February 15, 44 B.C., at the feast of Lupercalia, Mark Antony offered a crown to Caesar three times, which he refused each time. Many, however, believed he intended to become king, a title that repulsed Roman Republicans (as it would repulse most Americans for a President to take the title of “king”. Shortly after Lupercalia, Cassius approached Brutus about an assassination plot, which they carried out in Pompey’s Theater on March 15, 44 B.C. The assassination led to a civil war between the conspirators on the one hand and those who claimed Caesar’s mantle on the other. At the battle at Philippi in 42, both Cassius and Brutus committed suicide. With the conspirators out of the way, the victors began to fight among themselves and Octavius eventually emerged as the victor, taking the title of Augustus Caesar.

Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar begins with the assassination conspiracy, portrays its aftermath, and ends with the battle of Philippi. Though the play bears his name, Julius has comparatively few lines and is killed near the beginning of Act 3. Instead of highlighting Caesar himself, the play concentrates attention on two groups of characters: the conspirators, led by Brutus and Cassius, and their opponents, led by Mark Anthony and Octavius. Throughout, he followed the account of Plutarch quite closely, even to various specific details of events and character and to specific lines spoken by the characters.

Though not as obvious, Julius Caesar is also concerned with Papal Rome. As noted above, Elizabethan theater-goers were largely Protestant and often despised Roman Catholics, and Shakespeare’s depiction of Rome plays to these anti-Catholic sentiments. One sign that Shakespeare is not merely concerned with depicting ancient Rome is the fact that his Roman characters regularly speak as if they were Christians. Casca uses the Christian oath “Marry”; Portia reminds Brutus that they had become “incorporate” (one body), reflecting a Christian rather than a Roman view of marriage; other characters speak of “doomsday,” the devil, and angels, none of which figured into Roman religion. Shakespeare’s theological concerns become even more evident when his play is compared to Plutarch, his main source. He frequently adjusted the language and details of Plutarch’s account in a way that highlights religious issues. In Act 2, for example, Calpurnia, Caesar’s wife, dreams of his death. According to Plutarch, she dreamed that “Caesar was slain, and that she had him in her arms.” In Shakespeare’s hands, the dream suggests that Caesar’s death will be for the salvation of Rome. Caesar summarizes the dream:

She dreamt tonight that she saw my statue Which like a fountain with an hundred spouts Did run pure blood; and many lusty Romans Came smiling and did bathe their hands in it (2.2.76-79).

This rather grotesque image of a literal “blood bath” makes sense against the background of Christian imagery. For Christian theology, Jesus?Eblood cleanses from sin (1 John 1:7).

This is not an isolated instance, for Caesar is described in Christ-like terms in various ways in the play. When he comes to Rome, the people strew flowers in his path, as Jews put palm branches in the way of Jesus (1.1.45-46). Caesar is both divine and human: Cassius bitterly complains that Caesar is being treated as “a god,” though Cassius knows that he is only a man, feeble as a “sick girl” (1.2.129, 141). Caesar is betrayed by one of his closest companions, his “angel,” Brutus (3.2.178), as Jesus was betrayed by his own disciple Judas, and just before he goes to his death in the Capitol, Caesar invites his betrayers to share wine with him (2.4.126-127). In subtly hinting at these parallels, Shakespeare is following a precedent set by Dante and other medieval writers. According to Dante’s Divine Comedy , at the bottom of Hell, chomped by the three mouths of Satan, are the three greatest traitors of history: Judas, Brutus, and Cassius.

Especially in his death, Caesar becomes a Christ-figure. Brutus thinks of the assassination as a sacrifice that will restore and revive the Roman republic, and Calpurnia’s dream draws on this same religious imagery. Decius’s interpretation of that dream makes the Christian imagery even more explicit:

Your statue spouting blood in many pipes, In which so many smiling Romans bathed, Signifies that from you great Rome shall suck Reviving blood, and that great men shall press For tinctures, stains, relics, and cognizance. This by Calpurnia’s dream is signified (2.4.85-90).

Just so, Christians b elieve that on t he cross Jesus shed His blood to bring life to the world. And in medieval England, it was quite common for Christians to seek “relics” of saints, some memento of the saint’s life, believing that they contained miraculous power. Later Antony’s speech at the Forum will pick on this religious theme, turning Caesar’s body into an object of veneration. Decius’s suggestion that Romans will “suck” life from Caesar hints that Caesar is also a mother to Rome, nursing his children at his breast. Even this has a Christian background, for it was common in late medieval Catholicism for Jesus to be depicted nursing believers and for Jesus to be compared to the legendary pelican who picks its own breast to draw blood to feeds its young.

Caesar is also Christ-like in the fact that his influence does not end with his death, but rather increases. Early on, Brutus says that the conspirators must “dismember” Caesar if they are going to “come by” his spirit. Brutus is unhappy that this must be so, for he wishes he could contain and control Caesar’s ambition for power without having to kill his body. As it turns out, Brutus is dead wrong, for Caesar’s spirit does not rest contentedly in the grave after his body is “carved.” Literally, Caesar’s spirit appears to Brutus in his tent before the battle of Philippi, and more importantly several of the other characters, especially Octavius, begin to act according to the “spirit of Caesar.” The “cross” of Caesar’s assassination is followed by his “resurrection” in Antony and a Pentecostal outpouring of Caesar’s spirit. Caesarism, the drive toward empire and dominance, is stronger at the end of the play than at the beginning.

The parallels between Christ and Caesar, however, serve mainly to highlight important contrasts, which play into Shakespeare’s Protestant depiction of Roman corruption. From the first scene, Rome is depicted in a way that would remind Elizabethans of Papal Rome, and overall it is not a flattering picture. Throughout Rome are images or statues, which have been decorated with ceremonious ornaments for Caesar’s coming. Images were characteristic of Catholic worship, but Protestants attacked the veneration of images. During the reign of the Catholic Queen Mary in England, one English writer condemned the images that have been brought into churches, “decked with gold and silver, painted with colours, set them with stone and pearle, clothed them with silkes and precious vestures.” Only Roman Catholics, moreover, would believe in the power of “relics,” as the Decius says the Romans do. English Protestants would have none of that. Shakespeare’s Rome looks a lot like the Pope’s Rome, or like England under the Catholic tyranny of Mary.

Caesar’s Christ-like qualities are eventually inverted, turning “monstrous.” As David Kaula has written, Cassius’s description of Caesar “as the prodigious, terrifying figure who thunders, lightens, opens graves, and roars like a lion . . . reveals a number of analogies to the Protestant polemics against the Pope.” Far from being another Christ, Caesar is a parody of Christ, an Anti-Christ who mimics the true savior and king, much as the Beast of John’s Revelation mimics Jesus.

Shakespeare thus hints that there are similarities between the oppressive Rome of Caesar and the oppressive Rome of the Papacy. But this does not mean that he is sympathetic with radical Protestants. If Caesar represents the “papal” character of the play, Cassius is the “Puritan.” Puritans have been maligned and misunderstood for centuries. As a party within the church of England, the Puritans wanted the Reformation to go even further than it had. They believed there were still remnants of Catholicism in Anglican worship, piety, and government, and they wanted to “purify” the church in all those areas. Puritans were also interested in the reformation of English customs and manners to make them more Christian. Some were scandalized by plays and festivals that were common throughout England and tried to put a stop to them. Though the Puritans were as a group lively and energetic, quite open about sex, lovers of wine and song, they gained a reputation as a dour and humorless group. Already in Shakespeare’s day, long before the American journalist H. L. Mencken coined the definition, Puritanism was seen as “the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.”

In this sense, Cassius is the Roman equivalent of the Puritans. Like them, he wants to throw down the “bishop” Caesar, and return Rome to the purer days of the Republic. And he is a caricature of the Puritan in other ways as well: He has a “lean and hungry look” in contrast to the fat men who surround Caesar. He does not sleep, eats little, reads and thinks much, too much. He does not like games or plays, which would remind an Elizabethan audience of the Puritans. In Shakespeare’s own day, Cassius was most like the Puritans, at least the distorted picture that many had of the Puritans. In our day, Cassius is most like the gaunt thin-lipped, obsessive and humorless men who have been at the forefront of every modern revolution. He is an ascetic revolutionary. He is the prototype of Lenin.

Shakespeare’s contemporaries often wrote theological allegories. The struggle between Protestant and Catholic is one of the main threads in Spenser’s overwhelmingly complex poetic tapestry, The Fairie Queene , the last half of which was published in the 1590s. Though it is perhaps misguided to read Julius Caesar as a consistent religious allegory, the exercise can be intriguing: Caesar, representing the power of the Pope and of Rome, overreaches himself and grasps for too much. Cassius, a radical Protestant, organizes a conspiracy to overthrow Caesar and to revive the Roman Republic. If we follow this allegory, it would appear that Shakespeare is showing that Papalism cannot be defeated in this way, for Julius Caesar is followed by the much more imperial (or pontifical) figure of Octavius. In the struggle between Papalism and Puritanism, Papalism wins, and Shakespeare comes out as an apologist for the Catholic church and the play is subtle Catholic propaganda. This is a highly implausible interpretation, given both the hostility of many Elizabethans to Catholicism and the unflattering way that Shakespeare presents Caesar. It is more plausible that Shakespeare was expressing his Humanist and somewhat skeptical opposition to both extreme Catholicism and extreme Protestantism, and he hints that extremism in religion is as ineffective as extremism in politics.

The political import of Shakespeare’s play is related to these religious themes. Caesar is publicly the center of attention, virtually a god to the people of Rome. In public, he is, as Cassius puts it, a “Colossus,” like the great Colossus of Rhodes that was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. He has grown so great that he seems to fill the whole city of Rome, nearly bursting its walls. He is at the head of every procession, and when he speaks all others become silent. And yet, there are hints throughout the play that Caesar is privately a weak and sickly man. He has not been able to father any children, though he blames it on his wife’s sterility. He is deaf in one ear. He suffers from epileptic attacks, what Brutus calls the “falling sickness.” The contrast between his public role and image and his private person could not be starker.

Julius Caesar thus offers important insights into the relation of public and private life, of great historical events and the movements of individual conscience. The assassination of Caesar was a major event in the political history of Rome and of W estern civilization, an event of enormous political consequence. Shakespeare, however, is also interested in the little twists and turns of private relations and internal argument that contribute to such great events. Brutus is especially important in this regard. In Act 2, Brutus debates with himself about whether he should get involved with the conspiracy, and this is followed by a discussion with his wife Portia. Great political events emerge from and in important ways depend upon these private wrestlings. (In a somewhat similar way, Tolstoy in War and Peace depicts important battles of the Napoleonic Wars as consisting of individual mistakes, cowardice, and incompetence.)

This contrast of public and private is one of the key themes of Shakespeare’s political plays, and has been described as the theory of the “king’s two bodies.” According to this medieval notion, which Shakespeare often employs in his English history plays, the king as individual man can be distinguished from the King (with a capital “K” as the ruler of the people. When the king dies, the King does not; the king is dead, long live the King. This theory was used during the Middle Ages as a way of supporting and defending political power. Cassius raises a crucial political question: Why should a healthy, vigorous man bow and subject himself to another man, who is less vigorous? Why obey any authority? Medieval and Elizabethan Englishmen answered by saying that people are bound to the “King,” however weak and frail the “king” may be. But, this separation also makes it possible for people to oppose the “king” in the name of the “King,” that is, to remove the man in order to save the office. Plots against monarchs were not unknown to Shakespeare’s England, and by depicting an assassination and its consequences Shakespeare was raising issues of contemporary as well as historical importance.

As formulated in the medieval period, this theory is a thoroughly religious idea. The king is considered an image of Christ, and as Christ is both eternally divine and also human so the king is both eternally King and humanly king. And, like Christ, the king was considered to be the head of the kingdom, even the embodiment of the kingdom, just as Christ was considered the head of His church and one body with her. Here we get to the specific idea of “two bodies” The king has a physical body, but the King has a corporate body, the nation. Because of this association, the king’s physical condition becomes a symbol of the King’s political body. If the king is sick, it is a sign of disease in the “body politic.” This notion too enters into Julius Caesar . Caesar’s physical ailments we have already noted, and this stands as a symbol of the condition of Rome herself, which is plagued by various forms of sterility and decay.

Another dimension of this political/bodily symbolism might be noted. The relationship between a ruler and his people is not only described as a relation of head and body, but of a relationship of man and woman. Just as Christ is the Husband and head of His bride, the church, Elizabethans believed, a ruler was the husband of his bride, the people. This sexual dimension of the political situation arises in many ways in Julius Caesar . Cassius believes in a Republic in which all men are horizontally related to one another, without any single man rising to headship, and berates Rome, including himself, for being so “womanish” as to tolerate Caesar’s power (1.3.88-89). He knows that Caesar himself is not such a masculine figure, since he has seen him feeble as a sick girl during an attack of fever (1.2.128-144). The solution, he thinks, is to subdue Caesar’s body, to subject Caesar to the power of the conspiracy. Thus, Caesar’s body, pierced and torn by the daggers of the conspirators, becomes a passive object, blood flowing from each wound. The problem is, once the conspirators have decided to take the masculine role and subdue Caesar, they become rivals striving for leadership and headship of Rome. Cassius and Brutus are subdued by Antony, and later Cassius pleads pathetically like an unloved wife with Brutus. The conspirators want to be men, but they want to be men in such a way that masculinity is ruled out, a manifest impossibility.

This background helps to explain some of the strange sexual symbolisms of the play. Few Shakespearean plays use the word “love” more often than Julius Caesar , yet in the play “love” never refers to a man’s affection for a woman but invariably for one man’s affection for another. Cassius wonders whether or not Brutus still loves him, Brutus loves Caesar and Caesar Brutus, and Antony publicly professes his passionate loyalty and love for the fallen Caesar. These men, moreover, commonly display of their affection for one another. Tears flow freely, handshakes seal bargains, and the men verbally express their love in public and are proud of their passions. The whole play, for all its concern with the masculine world of politics and war, is soft and sentimental, lit in sepia hues.

Shakespeare frequently returns to the dramatic possibilities of the conflict between male love and romantic heterosexual love. Much Ado About Nothing is set up as a contrast and conflict between martial love between men and the disruptive love of men for women. In Julius Caesar , however, there is no balancing romantic love; Caesar and Brutus both have wives who appear in the play but there is not a breath of passion between them. In fact, part of the political tension of the play is the ability of men to ‘seduce” or “woo” other men from their wives. Brutus is convinced by Cassius to join the conspiracy, a decision to become “incorporate” with the conspirators instead of remaining loyal to the wife to whom he was already “incorporate” (1.3.145; 2.1.272-273). Caesar too is wooed away from Calpurnia to the Capitol by Decius’s clever interpretation of Calpurnia’s dream.

The prominence of the language of “love” highlights another important factor in Shakespeare’s political vision: For him, and at least for some of his characters, politics is always personal. It is about personal loves and loyalties, as well as hates and betrayals. Cassius understand this well, and is a discerning politician as a result. Brutus, by contrast, is in the grip of abstractions, guided by ideas and ideals of honor and of “Rome,” and Brutus is always making political blunders. As G. Wilson Knight pointed out, Brutus, Cassius and Antony can be gauged and compared by their attitudes toward Caesar as man and as hero:

Antony Brutus Cassius

Caesar the man loves loves hates Caesar the hero loves fears Caesar is not a hero

The characters’ various actions in regard to the living Caesar and in reaction to his death are guided by their personal bonds of love and loyalty to Caesar.

Seduction plays an important political role in the treatment of the Roman mob, which is almost as important as any individual character. The play begins with a scene on the streets of Rome, and there is conflict between the patricians and the plebeians. Moreover, the response of the people to the funeral orations of Brutus and Antony is at least as important as the speeches themselves. In the last scene of Act 3, Cinna, a poet, is killed by a mob that wrongly assumes he is Cinna the conspirator. Shakespeare knew history well enough to realize that power often flows to the politicians best able to manipulate the passions of the mob, and that, for certain kinds of politicians, mobs are exceedingly easy to control.

Individual characters shape events by influencing the mob, and they influence the mob through rhet or ic, by means of speech, by a kind of verbal seduction. This theme is especially prominent in the great funeral orations in Act 3, in which Brutus and Antony exhibit very different styles of rhetoric with very different results. But the political use of language is a more pervasive concern. Throughout the play Brutus describes events in terms favorable to himself and the conspirators. He insists that the conspirators are “sacrificers, but not butchers” (2.1.166), and others announce the assassination as an act of liberation (3.1.78-81). In the events of its latter half, the plays raises the question, Does calling a murder an act of liberation make it so? Long before the advent of modern communications, Shakespeare was aware of the centrality of propaganda in political life; he knew that a great deal in politics depends on what labels you use. His insight is as relevant for us as it was in Elizabethan England or ancient Rome. Much of the abortion battle in the United States hinges on the words we use. Call abortion a “procedure” and the baby a “foetus,” and it sounds like a harmless operation; how can anyone object to a woman exercising her “free choice.” This is America, after all, the land of the free! Call it “killing” and the baby an “unborn child” or “human being,” and the act takes on a very different character. Debates about words may seem merely “symbolic,” but such symbols are the very substance of politics.

Language is one means of attaining political power, and manipulation or definition of symbols is another. Here, Brutus is wholly insensitive to the desires of the Roman mob. He provides a reasoned speech in favor of the assassination, and it goes over so well that some people want to make him Caesar. Or, maybe not so well, since the whole point of his speech was that any Caesar is dangerous to Rome. The contradiction between Brutus’s argument and the crowd’s reaction shows how completely he fails to communicate. Antony, on the other hand, wins over the crowd not with arguments but with drama, symbols, relics, stirring gestures. He brings the body of Caesar into the Forum, and at the climactic moment unveils it. He weeps publicly. The twin formula for political success in Rome is: Control the mob and you control Rome; and, Control the symbols and you control the mob.

Manipulating signs is a way to power. But interpreting signs is equally important in the play. Reasons for acting one way rather than another may be good or bad, well-considered or ill-considered. The pitfalls that surround human action preoccupied Shakespeare. In Macbeth , he shows insistently that human actions cannot be without consequences, however much Macbeth wishes they could be. In Julius Caesar , the conspirators do not, like Macbeth, wish that they could act without suffering ill effects. Experienced politicians, they know full well their assassination of Caesar will have results. Since no one can know the future, however, the problem for the conspirators is to calculate what those results will be. Thus, the play is full of references to various techniques of divination, of foretelling the future: soothsayers predict disaster, augurers read the entrails of sacrificial animals, characters understand changes in weather and the stars as signs of political events. Other characters try to discern the future with more rational kinds of calculation. Brutus, in the soliloquy in Act 2, tries to anticipate whether or not Caesar will attempt to make himself king and how the new title and position would change Caesar. All of these methods of calculating the future are fallible, and the play is largely about the consequences of wrong decisions and mistakes, mistakes that frequently arise because the characters are overly confident of their own power to control the future.

The most monumental miscalculation in the play is the conspirators’ hope that assassinating Caesar will establish a new order of justice and freedom. Assassinations were the subject of considerable discussion among Elizabethan writers. For some, biblical examples showed that assassinations were not always wrong, and can bring relief from tyranny (see Judges 2:15-31). (In Nazi Germany, some Christians came to similar conclusions and participated in a conspiracy to assassinate Hitler.) Most of the assassinations in Scripture are, however, roundly condemned (e.g., 2 Samuel 4:1-12), and most conspiracies in history have failed to deliver what they promised. Even when an assassination becomes a grim necessity, it is important to recognize that it will not usher in a perfect world. For Brutus, however, calling Caesar’s assassination an act of sacrifice is not merely a piece of political rhetoric, not just an effective way to speak. He really believes that killing Caesar is an act of religious devotion to the ideals of the Republic and to Rome, a sacrifice that will restore Rome’s former greatness. Revolutionaries in the modern world have likewise asserted that man and society can be re-made through violence; they preach a religion of revolution. Shakespeare’s play belies this naive belief. Julius Caesar shows that revolutionaries are no more capable than other men of fully predicting or controlling the events their violence unleashes, and that they are in constant danger of misconstruing everything. And it shows that efforts to establish liberty with the sword not only fail to destroy tyranny, but normally make it a good deal worse.

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Julius Caesar

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Discussion Questions

Though the play is titled The Tragedy of Julius Caesar , much of the play’s action follows the emotional conflict experienced by Brutus. To what extent can Brutus be considered the tragic hero of the play?

What role do omens and prophecies play in Julius Caesar ? What is the consequence of ignoring them?

Hubris, or excessive pride, is a tragic flaw exhibited by dramatic heroes dating back to antiquity. Caesar is proud to the point of arrogance and negligence. To what extent is pride responsible for his downfall?

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