JuliusCaesar

byWil l iam Shakespeare

Born in England in 1564, William Shake-speare wrote Julius Caesar in 1599. Theplay follows events that actually took place

in ancient Rome in the first century B.C., but alsoreflects to some degree the realities of English lifein the late sixteenth century, during what isknown as the Elizabethan era.

Events in History at the Time the PlayTakes Place

The Roman Senate. All the central characters ofJulius Caesar—Caesar, Mark Antony, the con-spirators—are members of the senate, Rome'smain governing body. The senate controlled bothdomestic and foreign policy, publishing decrees,arresting and convicting citizens, levying fines,and convening public assemblies. Senate mem-bers generally worked hard; their meetingsstarted very early in the day and often continueduntil dark. Though its size varied over the years,the Roman Senate had about 600 members dur-ing the time covered in Julius Caesar. Any adultmale citizen automatically became a senator af-ter serving as a junior government official. Inpractice, the body was dominated by Rome's aris-tocrats, who were called patricians. This domi-nance of the senate by rich citizens was due inpart to the low salaries pulled in at even high-level government posts; one had to be wealthyto be able to afford to take such a position.

The principal officials of the senate, and ofRome, were two consuls. Selected from amongthe senators by the general population, they each

THE LITERARY WORKA play set in ancient Rome, about 45 B.C.; firstperformed in 1599.

SYNOPSISJulius Caesar is assassinated by a conspiracyof senators, a murder that has importantconsequences.

served during alternate months for about oneyear. A consulship was the supreme honor avail-able to a Roman citizen. Consuls summoned andpresided over the senate, conducted the mainelections, and commanded armies during war-time. Though they wielded great influence, theirpower was checked by the presence of the sec-ond consul with whom they served and the shortduration of their term in office.

The rise of Julius Caesar. In 60 B.C., about fif-teen years before the events depicted in JuliusCaesar took place, Caesar, Gneius Pompeius(Pompey), and Marcus Licinius Crassus werethree of the most powerful senators in Rome.They decided to form a pact to support eachother politically. This pact, which became knownas the First Triumvirate, allowed each to supportthe others in accomplishing their respective po-litical goals. Armed with such power, the threeallied senators were able to get laws passed moreeasily than they had been able to do individu-ally. The alliance served each of the senators well

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for a number of years. In 53 B.C., however, Cras-sus was killed in a war and the alliance betweenCaesar and Pompey gradually began to disinte-grate. Caesar tried to salvage the relationship. Heoffered to divorce his wife, Calpurnia, and marryPompey's daughter, Pompeia. At the same time,Pompey would marry Caesar's great-niece Oc-tavia. Such intermarriage between families was acommon way of solidifying political bonds. Pom-pey refused the proposal, however, and marriedthe daughter of one of Caesar's enemies, a cer-tain sign of hostility. Before long, violence andcivil war broke out between supporters of Cae-sar and supporters of Pompey. In 49 B.C., Cae-sar's army forced Pompey and his followers outof Italy. Battles continued between the two for anumber of years in such places as Greece, Egypt,and Africa. Caesar finally emerged victorious in45 B.C. at the battle of Munda, Spain.

ROMAN NAMES

patrician or aristocratic families had three names—praenomen, nornen, and cognomen. For example, Cae-

sar's full name was Gaius Julius Caesar The no/ne/T—Julius-indicated the person's clan. The cognomen—Caesar—speci-fied the family branch of the clan. This was the name that aperson was normally called by colleagues. The praenomen—Caius—was only used by relatives or close friends. Women ofthe period legally had no name* They were called by the fem-inine form of the nomen, their clan name. Thus, Caesar'sdaughter was called JuHa, If a family had more than one daugh-ter, affectionate personal names could be used within the fam-ily to avoid confusion.

Caesar's popularity grew tremendously dur-ing the civil war. In 46 B.C. the senate appointedhim to be "dictator" for ten years. This new sta-tus as Rome's supreme leader made him muchmore powerful than a consul. Upon his tri-umphant return to Rome in 45 B.C., the senatevoted him a great number of honors. He wasawarded the title pater patriae (father of the coun-try). His statue was placed in all the temples ofRome and the towns of Italy. He was also allowedto use several significant emblems of power onall occasions. These symbols included a ward-robe of a purple triumphal toga and a laurelwreath and use of a gilded chair. Other honors

followed as well. A religious temple—where fes-tivals in his honor would be celebrated annu-ally—was to be built in memory of the peaceCaesar had restored. An ivory statue of his like-ness was to be carried with those of the gods inprocessions. His birthday was made a public hol-iday and the month Quinctilis renamed as Julyin his honor. On February 15, 44 B.C., he as-sumed the title dictator perpetuus: "dictator forlife." Previously, dictators had only been ap-pointed to serve temporarily to deal with stateemergencies. As dictator perpetuus, however,Julius Caesar was assured that he would bethe most powerful man in Rome for the rest ofhis life.

What Caesar was really like. Though not de-scribed as a particularly likable man, Caesar hadsuch skill in politics, generalship, public speak-ing, and writing that he has been called a genius.So generous was he to the enemies he had de-feated (if they were Roman) that he forgave somewithout doling out punishment. Sometimes heeven gave them posts in his own government.Two such former foes were Cassius and Brutus.Both would later turn against Caesar. Caesar'spained cry, "Et tu, Brute?" (And you, Brutus?)became famous; it is often used today by thosewho wish to convey feelings of betrayal.

How well did Caesar rule? As dictator, JuliusCaesar proved generous in granting Roman citi-zenship to foreigners. He also had the cities ofCorinth and Carthage rebuilt for his dischargedsoldiers and for the workers of Rome. He furtherincreased the size of the senate and made it bet-ter represent all of Rome. But Caesar also had anair of haughtiness that apparently contributed tohis downfall. He, for example, disregarded pub-lic opinion when, in 46 B.C., he welcomed theEgyptian ruler Cleopatra to Rome. Along withother ill-considered acts, such disdain for publicsentiment was one factor that prompted oldfriends to turn against him.

While Caesar had the support of the senate,some members were not happy about his rise todictatorship. They chafed under a political ar-rangement that greatly diminished their influ-ence. In addition, Rome's republican traditionseemed to be in tremendous jeopardy. Prior toCaesar's ascendancy, even the most influentialRomans had checks on their powers in the formof popular elections and term limits for consuls.No single person had ever before wielded somuch power. So, as reenacted in Shakespeare'splay, a conspiracy that included about sixty sen-ators formed. Led by Gaius Cassius Longinus

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(Cassius) and Marcus Junius Brutus (Brutus), theconspirators assassinated Caesar on March 15,44 B.C.

Roman religious holidays. The Romans be-lieved in a pantheon of gods, each linked to aparticular human activity. For example, therewere gods of war (Mars), home life (Vesta), andagriculture (Ceres). Every activity was performedunder the authority of a particular god. Beforebeginning any significant action, people custom-arily performed a ritual or made a sacrifice inhonor of the appropriate god. The Roman cal-endar also consisted of a large mixture of regu-lar daily, monthly, and yearly religious rituals cel-ebrating the cult of a particular god or gods.Some of these holidays, such as the Ides of Marchand the Feast of Lupercal, are mentioned in JuliusCaesar.

The Feast of Lupercal was a major publicevent that took place yearly on February 15. TheLuperci were a group of priests associated withMars, the god of war. Every February 15 theymet at Lupercal, a sacred cave at the southwestfoot of the Palatine hill in Rome. According tolegend, this was the place where a wolf had suck-led Romulus and Remus, the twin sons of Marsand the mythic founders of Rome. The ritual be-gan with a sacrifice of goats and a dog, and an

offering of sacred cakes. The priests smearedblood on the foreheads of two young men fromnoble families. Afterwards the blood was wipedoff with wool dipped in milk and the young menlaughed in accordance with the rules of the rit-ual. A feast followed. Next the priests cut up thesacrificial goat skins into strips. Naked except forthe skins, the priests ran from Lupercal, travel-ing several times around the Palatine hill. Alongthe way they struck bystanders—especially wom-en who wanted to be cured of barrenness—withthongs. Mark Antony is portrayed in Julius Cae-sar as one of the Lupercal runners. Caesar alludesto this when he tells him:

Forget not in your speed...To touch Calpurnia, for our elders sayThe barren, touched in this holy chase,Shake off their sterile curse.

(Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, 1.2.6-8)

Jupiter, the god of the sky, was also thesupreme god of the Roman pantheon. In fact, thecity of Rome was a domain dedicated to him, andhis temple on the capitol was the center of na-tional religious life. The Ides, or midpoint, ofevery month was devoted to him; honorary rit-uals called for a number of sheep to be led alonga road called the Via Sacra and then sacrificed toJupiter. In addition to this ritual of recognition

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of the Ides of March, another festival dedicatedto Anna Perenna was celebrated. In ancient RomeMarch was the first month of the year, and AnnaPerenna was honored as the goddess of the newyear. Her festival took place in a grove nearRome's Tiber River. After a formal sacrifice andpublic prayers to secure a healthy year, peoplespent the day socializing, drinking, singing pop-ular songs, and dancing. It was in 44 B.C., on thesame day these festivities would have been tak-ing place, that Caesar was killed in the senate.

BRUTUS AND THE ORIGINS OF THE REPUBLIC

According to Roman legend, the city of Rome was founded inthe eighth century B.C. Before then, it was one of many small,independent cities in Italy ruled by a line of kings. Its oppres-sive seventh king, Lucius Tarqutnius Superbus/ was overthrowntoward the end of the sixth century B.C. Lucius Junius Brutus,who led the revolt, was known as the traditional founder ofthe Roman Republic and served as one of its first consuls. Mar-

cus Brutus was the descendant of this esteemed leader, a factthat is referred to in Julius Caesar. As Cassius says to him:

G, you and I have heard our fathers sayThere was a Brutus once that would have brookedTh'eternaJ devil to keep his state in RomeAs easily as a king.

(Julius Caesar, 1.2.158-61)

Brutus later remarks that "rny ancestors did from the streets ofRome / The Tarquin drive when he was called a king" (JuliusCaesar, 2.1,53-4}. Brutus ultimately follows the precedent setfor him by his famous ancestor and joins the conspiracy to de-stroy Caesar, seen by the plotters as the contemporary threatto the republic.

The Play in Focus

The plot. The play opens on the Roman religiousfeast of Lupercal. In addition to the feast, JuliusCaesar's triumph over Pompey and his followersand his recent return to Rome are also being cel-ebrated. Caesar is cautioned by a soothsayer tobeware the Ides of March, but he decides to ig-nore the warning. A number of senators expressconcern about Caesar's rapidly increasing powerand popularity, especially after he is publicly of-fered a crown by Mark Antony. Though he re-fuses it, Rome's long tradition as a republic—and

the senators' positions in it—seem to be in greatjeopardy. Cassius forms a conspiracy to kill Cae-sar that includes a large number of senators.

Brutus, a well-respected senator, is ap-proached by Cassius and informed of the plot.He deliberates over whether to become involvedin the conspiracy. During a night full of ominousthunder, lightning, storms, and strange happen-ings, he finally decides that his duty is to helpsave the Roman republic; Caesar must be killed.The conspirators meet Brutus at his house, andthey agree to carry out their plan that day.

The foreboding storms of the night, alongwith her own nightmares, have disturbed Cae-sar's wife Calpurnia. Interpreting them as warn-ings that something terrible is about to happento Caesar, she begs him to stay home that day.The conspirators convince him otherwise, how-ever, and escort him to the senate. Soon afterhis arrival, he is stabbed to death by the con-spirators.

Despite Caesar's popularity, the conspiratorsbelieve that they will be able to convince the Ro-man people of the Tightness of their action. AtCaesar's funeral, Brutus's speech does win themover, but only temporarily. After Brutus leaves,Mark Antony convinces them instead that Cae-sar's death was unjust, and he manages to workthe crowd into a fury against the murderers.

Brutus and Cassius flee Rome and gather anarmy. At Philippi, in Macedonia, they fight a bat-tle against the armies of Mark Antony and Oc-tavius, who is Caesar's great-nephew. Cassius,believing the war to be lost, commits suicide.Soon after, Brutus decides to run upon his ownsword, held by his faithful servant Strato, ratherthan die at the hands of enemies. Rome is thusleft in the control of Mark Antony and Octavius.

The character of Brutus. Brutus seems to beguided in the play at least partly by the philos-ophy of stoicism, a school of thought that waspopular among the ancient Romans. Stoics be-lieved that there was a rational force pervadingreality and guiding all things to their perfection.Every person had a share of this force. It wasone's duty to try to identify oneself with the forcewhile training oneself to feel indifference toeverything else. According to the Stoics, the ra-tional soul should dominate one's actions. Per-sonal emotions, which are motivated by serviceto oneself rather than by rational considerationof what is universally beneficial, are seen as pow-erful and disabling distractions. The Stoics be-lieved that only by putting aside passion, unjustthoughts, and self-indulgence, and by performing

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sar incorporate phrases that are very similar tothose employed by Plutarch.

Plutarch

"I dare assure thee, that no enemy hath takennor shall take Marcus Brutus alive . . . forwheresoever he be found, alive or dead, he willbe found like himself."

(Dorsch in Shakespeare, p. xiv)Shakespeare

"I dare assure thee that no enemy shall ever takealive the noble Brutus / . . . When you do findhim, or alive or dead, / He will be found likeBrutus, like himself."

(Julius Caesar, 5.4.21-5)

Other similar examples can be found through-out the play. Still, while Plutarch evidently pro-vided a basis for some of the elements of Shake-speare's Julius Caesar, there were marked dif-ferences between the versions. For example,Shakespeare condenses the actions described byPlutarch a great deal. The play moves veryquickly from scene to scene. What really tookplace over the course of two years seems inShakespeare's play to unfold in less than amonth. Moreover, the scene in which Cassiusand Brutus first speak about Caesar is presentedin much more detail by Shakespeare. Finally, theplaywright added the speeches Brutus andAntony give to the Roman people after Caesar'sdeath. Though Plutarch's narrative seems to havebeen an important influence, the play that Shake-speare wrote is ultimately his own interpretationof the story.

Numerous other plays were written aboutJulius Caesar in the Elizabethan era. These in-cluded Caesar Interfectus, presented at Oxford in1582, the anonymous Caesar's Revenge, and SirWilliam Alexander's Tragedy of Julius Caesar.Shakespeare's work was first staged in September1599 and proved immediately popular. The playwas later included in the first published collectionof Shakespeare's plays, the First Folio, in 1623.

Events in History at the Time the PlayWas Written

Shakespeare and Elizabethan politics. Al-though the political events that take place inJulius Caesar do not correspond directly to eventsof the Elizabethan era, there were similarities be-tween the two. Like the rule of Julius Caesar,Queen Elizabeth's monarchy was not immune toplots and conspiracies against it. The career ofRobert Devereux, Lord of Essex, which reached

its high point around the time Shakespeare wrotethis play, illustrates this fact.

In the 1590s the charismatic Essex becamea favorite of the queen and one of the most pop-ular men in England. His career began to de-cline toward the end of the decade, however.He was appointed to crush a rebellion in Ire-land and left on March 27, 1599. After sixmonths there, he concluded a truce that was ex-tremely favorable to the Irish and returned toEngland against orders. Bursting into QueenElizabeth's chamber early on September 28,1599, he threw himself on her mercy. The nextday he was taken prisoner. He underwent trialand was eventually freed from custody on June5, 1600. Disgraced by the experience, Essex wasalso financially ruined when the queen deprivedhim of a monopoly on sweet wines from whichhe drew his income.

Essex's anger against the queen grew; he ravedto one colleague about "the old woman, ascrooked in her mind as in her carcase" (Essex inHalliday, p. 226). In those times, it was a veryserious matter to criticize the monarch in thisway. Essex went further, however. He began toform a conspiracy against the government. OnFebruary 3, 1601, he and five other conspiratorslaid plans for seizing the court and gathering thesupport of the people. The next day some of Es-sex's followers staged Shakespeare's Richard II (aplay that chronicles the successful overthrow ofa monarch), most likely as a means of gatheringsupport for their cause. On the morning of Feb-ruary 8 about 300 followers met at Essex's house.Essex and his followers marched into London,brandishing swords and appealing to their fellowcitizens to rise up and join them. None did.When a royal herald publicly proclaimed Essexto be a traitor, his own followers deserted him.The plot quickly deteriorated. Essex turned backtoward home and was soon arrested. Within twoweeks he was convicted of treason. He was exe-cuted on February 25, 1601.

Shakespeare finished Julius Caesar during1599, the same year of Essex's disgraced returnfrom Ireland. By the time of the failed conspiracyof 1601, the play was widely known. The Eng-lish people took note of the similarities betweenthe play and the actual events that unfolded andmarveled anew at Shakespeare's work.

The Elizabethan conception of the world.Though Julius Caesar takes place in ancient Rome,Shakespeare's Elizabethan conception of theworld influenced the content of the play. One el-ement reflected in his work is the common belief

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in a direct connection between the phenomena ofthe natural world and the course of humanevents. A belief in the influence of the stars uponweather, plant and animal life, people, and eventswas probably held by a majority of Shakespeare'saudience. While many were skeptical of claims ofspecific knowledge about individuals based on as-trological information, general predictions aboutfuture events were quite respected. A number ofdistinguished astronomers, including TychoBrahe (1546-1601) and Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), were also practicing astrologers. Further-more, it was common for people of the Eliza-bethan period to interpret comets, eclipses of thesun or moon, earthquakes, and unusual sights asportents or warnings. When something of majorimportance was about to happen, or people werein any particular danger of suffering from divineanger for misdeeds, they believed that God pro-vided warning in the form of portents.

Such ominous signs are plentiful in Julius Cae-sar—thunder, lightning, storms, and manystrange happenings occur the night before Cae-sar's murder. The characters experiencing thesephenomena interpret them as omens for the fu-ture. As Casca says,

. . . never till tonight, never till now,Did I go through a tempest dropping fire.Either there is a civil strife in heaven,Or else the world, too saucy with the gods,Incenses them to send destruction.

(Julius Caesar, 1.3.9-13)

He goes on to describe other strange imageshe has seen that night—a man's hand on fire yetnot burned, a lion near the capitol, and a hun-dred ghastly women who swore they saw menon fire walking the streets. Caesar's wife Calpur-nia is concerned as well, disturbed by accountsof strange sights seen by the night watchmen—graves opening up, blood drizzling upon thecapitol, and ghosts. She also has nightmares ofCaesar being murdered. She takes these portentsvery seriously and begs her husband not to leavethe house the next day. He does so anyway andis subsequently killed.

Another Elizabethan belief reflected in JuliusCaesar is that human beings were composed offour elements, or humours: choler, phlegm, san-guine (blood), and melancholy. These humourswere constantly flowing and never completelystable. When these elements were in balance, aperson was at the height of mental and physicalhealth. Any humour could become dominant fora period of time, however, thus affecting per-sonalities in particular ways.

Humour

Choler

Phlegm

Sanguine(Blood)

Associated PersonalityTraits

Impetuous, cunning, quick toanger, lean, greedy

Sluggish, forgetful, dull, slow

Cheerful, talkative

JuliusCaesar

Melancholy Stable, grave, deliberate

Cassius is characterized in Julius Caesar ascholeric. While arguing with him, Brutus says,"Must I give way and room to your rash choler?...Go show your slaves how choleric you are, / Andmake your bondmen tremble" (Julius Caesar,4.3.39-44). In accordance with Elizabethan be-lief, Cassius's choler made him quick to angerbut also quick to calm down. Though extremelyangry at the beginning of the discussion, Cassiusbecomes immediately apologetic when he learnsthat Brutus's wife, Portia, is dead. Other charac-teristics associated with choler were leanness andgreediness, two qualities linked to Cassius dur-ing the play. Caesar notes at one point that hedistrusts such a lean, cunning-looking man,while Brutus later accuses him of acceptingbribes and having "an itchy palm" (Julius Caesar,4.3.10).

On the other hand, Brutus is remembered asa man whose humours were well-balanced.Antony says of Brutus,

His life was gentle, and the elementsSo mixed in him that Nature might stand upAnd say to the world, This was a man!'

(Julius Caesar, 5.5.73-5)

For More Information

Crawford, Michael. The Roman Republic. Cam-bridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press,1992.

Dodd, A. H. Life in Elizabethan England. New York:G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1961.

Dupont, Florence. Daily Life in Ancient Rome. Trans-lated by Christopher Woodall. Cambridge,Mass.: Blackwell, 1989.

Guy, John. Tudor England. Oxford: Oxford Uni-versity Press, 1988.

Halliday, F. E. Shakespeare in His Age. London:Gerald Duckworth, 1956.

Kay, Dennis. Shakespeare: His Life, Work, and Era.New York: William Morrow, 1992.

Scullard, H. H. Festivals and Ceremonies of the RomanRepublic. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press,1981.

Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. Edited by T. S.Dorsch. London: Methuen, 1977.

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