Julius Caesarby WILLIAM Shakespeare

Background Notes

Historical Events• First 250 years after founding, Rome was

ruled by oppressive kings – Tarquinius Superbus (Tarquin the Proud) was the last

• Romans revolted: Led by Lucius Junius Brutus (in play, Brutus descended from him)

Lucius Junius Brutus pledged to kill anyone who aided the oppressive ruler Tarquinius Superbus. That included his own sons. Painting is by Jacques-Louis David (18th century)

Roman RepublicMade up of • Senators (from the noble class)• Praetors (administered civil justice) –

like police• Tribunes (represented the plebeians,

or common people)• Two consuls (powerful)

– One served in Rome– One commanded the army

The First Triumvirate

• 60 BCE: Caesar-Pompey-Crassus• 59 BCE: Caesar-Pompey became

consuls(Caesar army-Gallic campaigns; Pompey

Rome)• Caesar/Pompey struggled for power• Pompey killed outside Italy• Caesar defeated Pompey’s sons in

Spain in 45 BCE

Opening of Play

• Caesar’s return from defeating Pompey’s sons

• Some [senators] fear Caesar may take absolute power (like kings Lucius Junius Brutus deposed)

• Caesar very popular with commoners

Plutarch

• Source for historical background• Wrote 56 AD (100 yrs after Caesar’s

death)• Elizabethans familiar w/Caesar story• Shakespeare followed Plutarch’s

basic account of historical events.

William Shakespeare vs. Plutarch

• To save time Shakespeare condensed some of the historical events.- Caesar’s murder, funeral, and reading of

the will all happened on the same day in the play.

~He combined the two Battles of Phillipi

Julius Caesar: the play

• Written by William Shakespeare• First performed approx. 1599• Concerns:

– Historical events– Evils of rebellion and civil war– Ambition and its effect on leadership

Elizabethan England

• Queen Elizabeth’s reign a good time in British history

• Long reign ending• Concern about successor• Violence preceded her reign

– Henry VIII’s 6 wives, no certain

successor – lots of instability

Connection: From ancient Roman history to Elizabethan

England

• Attitude of Brits: better to accept power than to have civil war

• In play, those who would fight against Caesar (even for noble cause) would cause suffering for the people

The Globe Theater

Rhetorical Devices

Julius Caesar is about power, ambition, and betrayal. The characters are constantly trying to persuade themselves, each other, and the audience of the rightness of their cause. As a result, the play is full of speeches that make masterful use of rhetorical devices, such as repetition, parallelism, and rhetorical questions.

Watch for them!