julius caesar book report

Julius Caesar

By william shakespeare.

• Julius Caesar Summary

Julius Caesar opens with a scene of class conflict, the plebeians versus the tribunes. The plebeians are celebrating Caesar's victory over the sons of Pompey, one of the former leaders of Rome. The tribunes verbally attack the masses for their fickleness in celebrating the defeat of a man who was once their leader.

Caesar enters Rome accompanied by his supporters and a throng of citizens. It is the feast of Lupercalia, February 15, a day when two men run through the street and strike those they meet with goatskin thongs. Caesar orders Mark Antony to strike his wife Calpurnia in order to cure her barrenness.

A soothsayer calls out to Caesar as he passes and warns him against the ides of March, March 15. Caesar ignores the man and dismisses him as a dreamer. Upon seeing Cassius, Caesar informs Antony that he would rather be surrounded by men who are fat and happy than thin men like Cassius. He is worried that Cassius is dangerous because he "thinks too much" (1.2). Antony tells him not to worry about Cassius.

Meanwhile, Brutus and Cassius meet and talk about how much power Caesar has gained. During their conversation they are interrupted three times by cheers from the crowd. Cassius informs Brutus that he is forming a plot against Caesar and wants Brutus to join it. Brutus tells him he cannot commit to anything immediately. Casca soon joins them, and informs them that the cheers they heard were Caesar turning down the crown. According to Casca, Antony offered Caesar a crown three times, and three times he refused it.

Casca meets with Cicero and tells the orator that there are many strange things happening in Rome that night, such as a lion in the streets and an owl screeching during the day. Cicero tells him that men construe omens the way they see fit. Cassius eventually arrives and learns from Casca that the senators are planning on making Caesar a king the next morning. He starts to tell Casca about the plot to kill Caesar, but Cinna shows up and interrupts him. He hands Cinna some letters to plant anonymously in Brutus's home and invites Casca to dinner that night in order to convince him to join the conspiracy.

Brutus discovers the letters from Cinna, not knowing who wrote them. He reads one of the letters and interprets it as a request to prevent Caesar from seizing power. Brutus attributes the letter to Rome as a whole, saying, "O Rome, I make thee promise" (2.1), implying that he will carry out what he perceives as the will of the Roman people.

Brutus meets with Cassius and the other conspirators and shakes all their hands, agreeing to join their plot. He convinces them to only kill Caesar, and not his most loyal friend Antony, because he does not want them to "seem too bloody" (2.1). After the other men leave, Brutus is unable to sleep. His wife Portia finds him awake and begs him to tell her what is troubling him. At first he refuses, but after she stabs herself in the thigh to prove her strength and ability to keep a secret he agrees to inform her.

Meanwhile, Caesar's wife Calpurnia dreamt of a statue of Caesar bleeding from a hundred wounds. Caesar, naturally superstitious, orders the priests to kill an animal and read the entrails to see if he should go to the Senate that day. The priests tell him that the animal did not have a heart, a very bad sign. However, Decius, one of the conspirators, arrives and reinterprets Calpurnia's dream to mean that all of Rome sucked the reviving blood of Caesar for its benefit. Caesar finally agrees with him that it is laughable to stay home on account of a dream. The other conspirators, including Brutus and Cassius, arrive at his house to escort him to the Senate House.

On the way to the Senate House Caesar is approached by the same soothsayer that previously warned him about the ides of March. He again refuses to listen to the man and continues. A man named Artemidorus then comes up to him and tries to give him a letter revealing the entire conspiracy, but Decius cleverly tells Caesar that Trebonius has a suit he would like Caesar to read instead. Caesar refuses to look at what Artemidorus offers him on account of its being personal. He explains, "What touches us ourself shall be last served" (3.1).

The conspirators arrive at the Senate House and Caesar assumes his seat. A man named Metellus kneels before him and petitions to have his banished brother returned to Rome. Caesar refuses, but is surprised when Brutus and then Cassius come forward and plead for the brother as well. However, he continues to refuse to change the sentence even as all of the conspirators gather around him. On Casca's comment, "Speak hands for me" (3.1) the group attacks Caesar, stabbing him to death.

The conspirators, now led by Brutus and Cassius, dip their hands in Caesar's blood and prepare to run to the streets crying out "peace, freedom, and liberty" (3.1). Antony arrives and begs them to let him take the body and give Caesar a public eulogy. Brutus agrees, overriding Cassius's misgivings about allowing Antony to speak. They move out into the streets of Rome and Cassius and Brutus split up in order to speak to the plebeians.

Brutus defends his murder of Caesar on the grounds that he was removing a tyrant who was destroying the freedom of all Romans. He ends his speech by asking the crowd if they want him to commit suicide for what he has done, to which they reply, "Live, Brutus, live, live!" (3.2). Next, Brutus allows Antony to speak and returns home.

Antony takes full advantage of his speech and informs the crowd that Caesar was a selfless man who cared for Rome above everything. The highlight of his speech is when he pulls out Caesar's will and reads from it, telling the citizens that Caesar has given every Roman a part of his inheritance, in both land and dachmas. The plebeians now believe Caesar to have been great and good, seize his body and vow revenge upon Brutus and the rest of the conspirators. Their rioting develops into pure anarchy. Antony comments that he has done his part in creating social upheaval, and now must wait to see what happens.

Brutus and Cassius are forced to flee the city, and in the meantime the young general Octavius Caesar , loyal to Julius Caesar , arrives and allies with Antony. He, Antony, and Lepidus form a second triumvirate and prepare to purge the city of anyone who is against them. They map out their plans to scour the city and make a list of names of those whom they wish to kill, including relatives and friends.

Cassius and Brutus set up camp in Sardis, located in what is now western Turkey. Cassius arrives with his army at the campsite where Brutus is waiting for him, but is furious with Brutus for having ignored letters he sent asking Brutus to release a prisoner. Brutus has instead punished the man for accepting bribes, an act which provided one of the reason's for Caesar's murder. Cassius and Brutus argue until Cassius, in exasperation, pulls out his dagger and asks Brutus to kill him if he hates so. Of course, Brutus refuses. The two men embrace and forget their differences.

Next, Brutus sadly informs Cassius that his wife Portia is dead. She swallowed live embers after Antony and Octavius assumed power. When two underlings enter the tent, Brutus stops talking about Portia and focuses on the military matters at hand. In fact, when one of the men asks him about his wife, he denies having heard any news about her. Brutus convinces Cassius during the strategy meeting that it would be best for them to march to where Antony and Octavius are located in Philippi (near modern Greece) in order to defeat them before they get too strong, gaining additional soldiers on their march. Cassius reluctantly agrees to Brutus's plan and departs for the night.

Brutus calls some men into his tent in case he needs to send them away as messengers during the night. He makes them go to sleep. He himself stays up reading, but he is disturbed by the ghost of Julius Caesar who appears. The ghost tells Brutus that he is his "evil spirit" (4.2) and that he will be on the battlefield at Philippi. Brutus is so shaken by this image that he wakes up all the men in his tent and sends them to Cassius with orders that Cassius should depart before him the next morning.

On the battlefield at Philippi, Antony and Octavius agree to their battle plans. They meet with Brutus and Cassius before entering battle, but only exchange insults. Battle is imminent. All four men return to their armies to prepare for war.

In the middle of the battle Brutus sees a chance to destroy Octavius's army and rushes away to attack it. He leaves Cassius behind. Cassius, less militarily adept, quickly begins losing to Antony's forces. Even worse, Pindarus misleads him, telling him Titinius has been taken by the enemy near Cassius's tents. Upon hearing this news, Cassius orders Pindarus to kill him. After completing the task, Pindarus flees. Brutus arrives, finds his friend dead and remarks, "O Julius Caesar, thou art mighty yet" (5.3).

Cato is quickly killed, and Lucillius , a man pretending to be Brutus, is soon captured and handed over to Antony. Antony recognizes him and tells his soldiers to keep attacking until they capture Brutus. Brutus, now almost completely defeated, begs several of his soldiers to kill him. They all refuse and leave him rather than carrying his blood on their hands. Finally, Strato accepts Brutus's request. Brutus runs into his sword as Strato holds it for him, killing himself.

Antony and Octavius arrive and find Brutus dead upon the ground. Antony remarks, "This was the noblest Roman of them all" (5.5). Octavius, unemotional through all of the carnage, merely ends the play with the lines, "So call the field to rest, and let's away / To part the glories of this happy day" (5.5).

Julius Caesar Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Julius Caesar is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Julius Caesar Act 2

Brutus decides to join the conspiracy to murder Caesar. Brutus thinks Caesar will become too powerful if he is crowned and Rome will suffer for it.

Thematic analysis of Julius Caesar

This really depends on what specific theme you are referring to. Please check out the themes page below to explore different themes.

https://www.gradesaver.com/julius-caesar/study-guide/themes

17. Who had his birthday in the play? a. Cassius c. Caesar b. Antony d. Brutus

Study Guide for Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar study guide contains a biography of William Shakespeare, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Julius Caesar
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Essays for Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Julius Caesar.

• The Gender Transformation of Caesar
• Classification of the Main Characters of William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
• Shakespeare's Presentation of the Character of Mark Antony in 'Julius Caesar'
• Julius Caesar, Act II, Scene 1: A lesson is dramatic effectiveness
• Self-Deluded Characters in Julius Caesar

Lesson Plan for Julius Caesar

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E-Text of Julius Caesar

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The citizens of Rome gather to celebrate Julius Caesar’s triumphant return from war.

Did You Know? Julius Caesar

Shakespeare probably first learned about the story of Julius Caesar from a history book he read in school. It was called 'Lives of the Great Romans' by Plutarch.

Cassius and Brutus are senators . They feel that Caesar is becoming too powerful and too much like a king. Cassius talks to Brutus about overthrowing Caesar.

Cassius and his fellow conspirators visit Brutus to discuss their plot to murder Caesar at the Senate. Brutus’ wife, Portia , is worried and begs Brutus to tell her what's happening but he refuses.

Caesar’s wife, Calphurnia , warns Caesar to stay indoors as she has dreamt about his death but Caesar is persuaded to go to the Senate by one of the conspirators.

Caesar is stabbed to death by the conspirators on the steps of the senate. Brutus delivers the final wound.

Antony , who was friends with Caesar, shakes hands with the conspirators. When he is left alone, Antony curses the murderers and talks of revenge.

Did you know? Antony

Mark Antony features in another of Shakespeare’s plays, called Antony and Cleopatra. This play takes place years after Julius Caesar finishes and tells the story of his love for the Egyptian queen, Cleopatra, and their tragic end.

Brutus and Antony speak to the crowd at Caesar’s funeral. At first the crowd support Brutus but when Antony shows them Caesar’s wounds and reads his will, the crowd turn against Brutus and the conspirators flee the city. 

Brutus and Cassius gather an army to fight against Antony. They argue before the fight and Brutus sees a vision of Caesar’s ghost.  

Brutus is hopeful in battle but Cassius hears a mistaken report that his own troops are losing and kills himself. When his army is defeated, Brutus refuses to be captured and also kills himself.

Antony wins the battle and praises Brutus’ honour. Antony returns to rule Rome, with Caesar's great-nephew Octavius .

Teacher Notes

The following activity is a great way to introduce the story of Julius Caesar to a group of students who are getting to know the play.

The story in Twenty Minutes (2017)

The activity can be found on page 3 and takes approximately 40 minutes.

You can also print the ten lines on this page and ask students to work in pairs to arrange them in the order they take place in the play.

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Julius Caesar Synopsis & Plot Summary

Plot summary.

Caesar has returned in triumph from the war against Pompey, though tribunes Marullus and Flavius express their discontent to the people at the outcome. During the celebrations, a soothsayer warns Caesar to beware the Ides of March. Cassius amd Brutus discuss their fears that Caesar’s ambition is to become king, despite learning from Casca that he had refused the people’s offer of the crown. Casca, Cassius, and Cinna meet during a stormy night that has been full of unnatural events, and agree the need to win Brutus over to their cause, the elimination of Caesar. Brutus meanwhile has been reflecting on the dangers of having Caesar crowned, so when the conspirators arrive at his house he agrees to the assassination plot. He is reluctant to reveal his intentions to his wife, Portia, but yields to her persuasion. Caesar’s wife Calphurnia, frightened by dreams and omens, tries to persuade him not to go to the Capitol. He agrees, but Decius reinterprets the omens in a favourable light, and he leaves, disregarding a warning on the way from Artemidorus. When Caesar refuses to grant Metellus Cimber’s suit, the conspirators kill him. Caesar’s friend Mark Antony meets the conspirators, who allow him to speak at Caesar’s funeral following Brutus’ own speech. Brutus justifies their action to the citizens and receives their support; but Antony’s speech rouses them against the conspirators, and Brutus and Cassius flee. The angry people kill Cinna the poet, mistaking him for Cinna the conspirator. Antony forms a triumvirate with Octavius Caesar and Lepidus, and they plan the deaths of the conspirators, and form an army. Brutus and Cassius join forces at Sardis, agreeing to fight together at Philippi after a fierce personal quarrel. Messala brings news of happenings at Rome, and reports that Portia has killed herself. Caesar’s ghost visits Brutus at night and warns him that he will meet him at Philippi. The two sides parley, then the battle begins. Thinking they are defeated, Cassius orders his servant Pindarus to kill him. He does so, but it is then revealed that the news was misleading, as Brutus had gained an advantage. A further battle leads to Brutus’ defeat, and he too commits suicide. Antony and Octavius acknowledge Brutus’ nobility, and arrange to bury him with honour. Discuss this play in our forums.

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• Julius Caesar

Maurice Jones (Marc Antony) and Michael Sharon (Julius Caesar),  Julius Caesar,  directed by Robert Richmond, Folger Theatre, 2014. Jeffrey Malet.

Introduction to the play

Shakespeare may have written  Julius Caesar  as the first of his plays to be performed at the Globe, in 1599. For it, he turned to a key event in Roman history: Caesar’s death at the hands of friends and fellow politicians. Renaissance writers disagreed over the assassination, seeing Brutus, a leading conspirator, as either hero or villain. Shakespeare’s play keeps this debate alive.

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Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interrèd with their bones.

There is a tide in the affairs of men Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune

From the audio edition of Julius Caesar

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Essays and resources from The Folger Shakespeare

Learn more about the play, its language, and its history from the experts behind our edition.

About Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar An introduction to the plot, themes, and characters in the play

Reading Shakespeare’s Language A guide for understanding Shakespeare’s words, sentences, and wordplay

An Introduction to This Text A description of the publishing history of the play and our editors’ approach to this edition

Textual Notes A record of the variants in the early printings of this text

A Modern Perspective An essay by Coppélia Kahn

Further Reading Suggestions from our experts on where to learn more

Shakespeare and his world

Learn more about Shakespeare, his theater, and his plays from the experts behind our editions.

Shakespeare’s Life An essay about Shakespeare and the time in which he lived

Shakespeare’s Theater An essay about what theaters were like during Shakespeare’s career

The Publication of Shakespeare’s Plays An essay about how Shakespeare’s plays were published

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Interested in politics and communication? Try our quiz and rearrange the lines of Mark Antony’s “Friends, Romans, countrymen” speech from Julius Caesar, a famous passage from Shakespeare’s plays and a brilliant example of political oratory.

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Beware the Ides of March — and confusing interpretations of 'Julius Caesar'

Brutus (Anthony Cochrane, left) and Julius Caesar (Michael Sharon, right), Julius Caesar, directed by Robert Richmond, Folger Theatre, 2014. Photo by Teresa Wood. In 1599, in the 40th year of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, when she had no heir or obvious…

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Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 118 In 2012, London’s Donmar Warehouse opened an all-female production of Julius Caesar, starring Dame Harriet Walter as Brutus and directed by Tony Award-nominated director Phyllida Lloyd. The production was set in a women’s prison, and it was…

Drawing Shakespeare: Julius Caesar

Artist Paul Glenshaw describes drawing the Folger bas-relief of “Julius Caesar,” in which assassins with their knives start to turn away as Caesar dies. He pairs the image with a painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme at the Walters Art Museum in…

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Julius Caesar was published for the first time in the 1623 First Folio, and that text is the source of all later editions of the play.

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Julius Caesar

55 pages • 1 hour read

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Summary and Study Guide

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a history play and tragedy written by William Shakespeare and first performed in 1599. The play dramatizes the events surrounding the 44 BC assassination of Julius Caesar, a Roman general and statesman. Shakespeare’s main source material for the play was Plutarch’s Lives , a series of biographies of famous men, published in the second century, and translated into English by Thomas North in 1579. Shakespeare sometimes deviated from his source material, presumably to make it easier to stage the play without having to explain long intervals of time in between the story’s main events.

Julius Caesar is one of four Shakespearean tragedies set in Ancient Rome, alongside Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus , and Titus Andronicus. It is also one of the most famous and most often performed of Shakespeare’s tragedies. Its cultural impact is evidenced by its many oft-repeated lines including “Beware the ides of March”; “Friends, Romans, countrymen”; and “Et tu, Brute?”

This guide was written using The Norton Shakespeare , second edition.

Plot Summary

Caesar marches into Rome after defeating Pompey’s sons in battle. As he parades through the city, a soothsayer—a person who tells the future—tells Caesar to “beware the Ides of March,” meaning the 15th of March, a holiday which represented the paying off of debts. Caesar dismisses the warning. Meanwhile, Roman Senator Caius Cassius plots Caesar’s assassination. He and his fellow Roman senator conspirators are nervous over what Caesar would do with more power; they believe his ambition makes him dangerous to the future of Rome as a free republic. Although Caesar secretly wants to rule Rome as a monarch, he presents himself as uninterested in becoming king. Fearing the public’s reaction to his ascension to the throne, Caesar denies the crown three times when Mark Antony presents it to him. Cassius is the instigator behind the assassination plot. He manipulates the other senators who are unsure, like Brutus and Casca, to join the conspiracy.

Brutus is ambivalent about getting rid of Caesar. Although they are close friends and Brutus believes Caesar is a good man, he wonders if power will go to Caesar’s head. He ultimately decides that killing Caesar is the only way to save Rome from possible tyranny. As the conspirators decide how they will kill Caesar, Caesar himself feels a sense of foreboding. He almost decides to stay at home that day, the 15th of March, but ultimately decides it would be weak of him to stay at home due to bad omens alone. Caesar ignores warnings from soothsayers, priests, and even his wife Calpurnia, who dreamed of his death.

The conspirators distract Mark Antony, who would come to Caesar’s aid if he were present. Cimber, one of the conspirators, pleads to Caesar for his brother to be able to return to Rome from exile. Caesar tells him he will not allow his brother back without reason. Brutus, Cassius, and others prostrate themselves before Caesar, which confuses him. He tells them he believes in reason, not in begging. It is all a distraction, as Casca strikes the first blow and stabs Caesar, with Brutus striking last. Caesar utters the famous line “Et tu, Bruté?” and then dies.

Devastated by the death of Caesar, Mark Antony is careful how he acts around the conspirators, lest they decide to do away with him as well. He also burns for revenge but keeps those feelings a secret. Although the conspirators agree to let Mark Antony publicly eulogize Caesar, they insist Brutus explain their actions first. Brutus explains to the public that Caesar’s death was for the good of Rome—his ambition was dangerous. He proclaims that while Caesar was good and honorable, Brutus would do anything for Rome, even murder his best friend. The public then praises him and claims he should be the next Caesar. Brutus brushes this off and turns the crowd to Mark Antony.

Mark Antony then gives his famous eulogy. He is careful in the way he addresses the crowd, as he wants them to revolt but cannot reveal those desires. He appeals to their emotions, in contrast to Brutus’s appeal to their logic. He reminds the crowd of Caesar’s goodness and generosity toward the Roman citizens, and although Brutus claims Caesar was ambitious, Caesar behaved in a way that was not markedly ambitious. He reminds them not to blame Brutus, as he is honorable as well. The public begins to wonder if the conspirators betrayed Caesar. Antony takes advantage of their reaction and shows them the wounds on Caesar’s body. The crowd begins to feel mutinous against the conspirators. Antony holds them off to tell them that Caesar’s will dictates that upon his death every Roman citizen shall receive seventy-five drachmas. The crowd then descends into chaos.

The play moves to Mark Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus, the future leaders of Rome in the Second Triumvirate. There is some tension between Octavius and Mark Antony—a foreshadowing for the events in Antony and Cleopatra . Meanwhile, Brutus and Cassius meet again, somewhat at odds. Brutus accuses Cassius of taking bribes, soiling Brutus’s belief that their murder of Caesar was noble. They argue but ultimately reconcile, as Brutus declares he has no emotional strength left after his wife Portia’s suicide. They speak of the inevitable war coming with the conspirators pitted against Antony and Octavius. When Brutus goes to sleep that night, he is met by the ghost of Caesar, who tells Brutus he will see him at Philippi where the battle will take place.

The battle then begins. With defeat all but certain, Cassius and Brutus agree they will not be led through Rome in chains and depart from each other. Distraught after hearing that his best friend Titinius is captured, Cassius forces his servant to kill him, remarking how Caesar is avenged. Titinius, who had not really been captured, returns and kills himself at the sight of his best friend’s body. Brutus survives the battle, but he knows his side has lost. He ultimately kills himself with his own sword, held by a servant; his sense of honor will not allow him to be led away as a captive. Antony and Octavius discover Brutus’s body. Antony praises Brutus as a noble man and the only one of the conspirators who had a selfless reason for killing Caesar. The play ends with Octavius’s call to celebrate the outcome of the day. 

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Julius Caesar

Synopsis and plot overview of shakespeare's julius caesar.

• In this section

TL;DR (may contain spoilers): Julius Caesar is warned of the ides of March, ignores it, and dies; plebeians are way too easily swayed; all the conspirators die too.

Julius Caesar Summary

Jealous conspirators convince Caesar's friend Brutus to join their assassination plot against Caesar. To stop Caesar from gaining too much power, Brutus and the conspirators kill him on the Ides of March. Mark Antony drives the conspirators out of Rome and fights them in a battle. Brutus and his friend Cassius lose and kill themselves, leaving Antony to rule in Rome. 

More detail: 2 minute read

The tribunes of Rome, Marullus and Flavius, break up a gathering of citizens who want to celebrate Julius Caesar's triumphant return from war. The victory is marked by public games in which Caesar's protégé, Mark Antony, takes part. On his way to the arena, Caesar is stopped by a stranger who warns him that he should 'Beware the Ides [15th] of March.'

Fellow senators, Caius Cassius and Marcus Brutus, are suspicious of Caesar's reactions to the power he holds in the Republic. They fear he will accept offers to become Emperor. He has been gaining a lot of power recently and people treat him like a god. Cassius, a successful general himself, is jealous of Caesar. Brutus has a more balanced view of the political position. The conspirator Casca enters and tells Brutus of a ceremony held by the plebeians. They offered Caesar a crown three times, and he refused it every time. But the conspirators are still wary of his aspirations. 

Cassius, Casca, and their allies plant false documents to manipulate Brutus to join their cause to remove Caesar. After doing so, they visit Brutus at night in his home to persuade him of their views. There they plan Caesar's death. Brutus is troubled but refuses to confide in his devoted wife, Portia. On 15 March, Caesar's wife, Calpurnia, urges him not to go to the Senate. She has had visionary dreams and fears the portents of the overnight storms. 

The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves. — Julius Caesar, Act 1 Scene 2

Caesar is nevertheless persuaded by flattery to go to the Capitol. At the Capitol, he is stabbed by each conspirator in turn. As Brutus gives the final blow, Caesar utters the famous phrase:

Et tu, Brute? — Julius Caesar, Act 3 Scene 1

Against Cassius's advice, Brutus allows Mark Antony to speak a funeral oration for Caesar in the market place. He is allowed under the condition that first Brutus must address the people to explain the conspirators' reasons and their fears for Caesar's ambition. After Brutus speaks, the crowd becomes calm and supports his cause. However, Antony, in his speech, questions the motives of the conspirators and reminds the crowd of Caesar's benevolent actions and of his refusal to accept the crown. He also reads them Caesar's will, in which Caesar leaves public land and money to each Roman citizen. Antony's speech stirs the crowd into a murderous riot, and the conspirators are forced to flee from the city.

Brutus and Cassius gather an army in Northern Greece and prepare to fight the forces led by Mark Antony. Antony has joined with Caesar's great-nephew, Octavius, and with a man called Lepidus. Away from Rome, Brutus and Cassius are filled with doubts about the future and quarrel over funds for their soldiers' pay. After making amends, they prepare to engage Antony's army at Philippi, despite Cassius' misgivings about the site. Brutus stoically receives news of his wife's suicide in Rome. He then sees Caesar's ghost as he tries to rest and is unable to sleep on the eve of the conflict.

Men at some time are masters of their fates. — Julius Caesar, Act 1 Scene 2

In the battle, the Republicans (led by Brutus) appear to be winning at first. But when Cassius' messenger's horse seems to be overtaken by the enemy, Cassius fears the worst and gets his servant to help him to a quick death. After finding Cassius's body, Brutus commits suicide. He believes this to be the only honourable option left to him. Antony, triumphant on the battlefield, praises Brutus as 'the noblest Roman of them all' and orders a formal funeral before he and Octavius return to rule in Rome.

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• Annotated Full Text
• Literary Period: Renaissance
• Publication Date: 1599
• Flesch-Kincaid Level: 6
• Approx. Reading Time: 1 hour and 41 minutes

Julius Caesar

Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar explores the famous betrayal of Roman Emperor Julius Caesar. Drawing on Plutarch’s The Life of Julius Caesar, Shakespeare looks at the motives of the loyal diplomats that enacted Caesar’s tragic and brutal murder. While the story is ostensibly about the emperor, Brutus is the main subject of Shakespeare’s psychological exploration. He has nearly four times as many lines as Caesar, as well as powerful soliloquies outlining Brutus’s motivations, allegiances, and consciousness as he decides to turn against his emperor.

In the age of Elizabeth, an heirless queen aging into her late 60s, the play asks the audience a dangerous question: Could this act of brutal violence be an act of heroism? Brutus rationalizes the murder claiming that Caesar is overstepping his boundaries as an emperor, defying the republic in favor of absolute rule. He claims that he must save Rome from one man’s ambition, and thus joins the plot against a beloved ruler. This play asks readers to consider Brutus’s side of this famous betrayal and determine the potential righteousness of his action. For as he defends himself, it was “Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.”

Table of Contents

• Dramatis Personae
• Act I - Scene I
• Act I - Scene II
• Act I - Scene III
• Act II - Scene I
• Act II - Scene II
• Act II - Scene III
• Act II - Scene IV
• Act III - Scene I
• Act III - Scene II
• Act III - Scene III
• Act IV - Scene I
• Act IV - Scene II
• Act IV - Scene III
• Act V - Scene I
• Act V - Scene II
• Act V - Scene III
• Act V - Scene IV
• Act V - Scene V
• Character Analysis
• Foreshadowing
• Historical Context
• Literary Devices
• Quote Analysis
• Rhetorical Devices

Study Guide

• William Shakespeare Biography

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BOOK REVIEW: Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

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As with Shakespeare’s “Cymbeline,” the titular character isn’t the play’s main character – but is the most “bankable” name. The lead is Brutus, the one member of the cabal of executioners that kill Julius Caesar who does so because he truly believes that Caesar has too much power and that the Roman leader’s ambition will result in yet more power flowing to him at the expense of Romans.

In the first half of the play, the conspirators are assembled and the conspiracy planned — with Cassius leading the charge. Unlike Brutus, Cassius mostly wants Caesar dead because of jealousy over the dictator’s power and popularity. However, even in the opening acts much of the story revolves around Brutus, because Cassius knows Brutus must be on-board because he’s both popular and respected. Brutus’s participation both lends moral authority to the act and will help get others to take part. Early in the play, Caesar returns to Rome and is warned by a soothsayer to “Beware the ides of March” (March 15th.) Near the play’s mid-point, the ides arrive, and the soothsayer is proven correct. The play’s second half involves a battle between pro-Caesar forces and the forces of the conspirators. Caesar’s right-hand man, Marcus Antony, and Caesar’s heir, Octavius, purse the conspirators [notably Brutus and Cassius and their men] who’d been forced to leave the city by an angry citizenry after Mark Antony gave a clever speech at Caesar’s funeral. In tragic style, the ensuing battle doesn’t work out well for Brutus, Cassius, or those who are with them.

In broad strokes, Shakespeare follows the flow of events of recorded history. However, in the details he takes dramatic / poetic license. For one thing, he adds a supernatural element with Brutus seeing the ghost of Julius Caesar toward the play’s end. [I suppose this could also be interpreted as stress-induced mental illness / hallucination on the part of Brutus as he not only realizes things are going poorly for him and his family (he was resigned to his own demise when he signed on,) but, moreover, he may recognize that things might get worse for Rome under Caesar’s successors, rather than better. In the debate about whether to eliminate Antony (and about allowing Antony to speak at the funeral,) Brutus comes down firmly on a side favoring Antony. That said, Brutus is presented as a rock – a stoic to the core.] It should be pointed out that the other apparent supernatural element of the story, the soothsayer’s warning, is recorded in some accounts and wasn’t made up by Shakespeare (which is not so say it wasn’t made up by someone.) However, the bard did make up Caesar’s final words, “Et tu, Brute?” [“You, too, Brutus?”]

Lest one think this is irrelevant Elizabethan Era tragedy with little to say about the world today, the crowd dynamics portrayed in the play’s middle act may feel sadly familiar. All it takes for the crowd to go from “Brutus is honorable, forget Caesar” to “Let’s go burn down Brutus’s house!” is a change of speaker from Brutus to Antony. And Antony is only gently riling them up. Mostly, he’s exploiting the fact that the crowd has intensity and passion, but no intelligence. So, they are ready to go out killing and burning without much spurring them on, but they need a leader to point them in a direction (and they don’t seem to care much what the target is.) This mindless, madness of crowds can be seen when Cinna the Poet is captured by the crowd, and they beat him. Even when it’s recognized that it isn’t the same Cinna that participated in the conspiracy, the crowd continues attacking him on the basis that he’s named Cinna.

Where Titus Andronicus aims for the gut and Romeo & Juliet aims for the heart, “Julius Caesar” is more cerebral – a thinking man’s play. What is the virtuous course of action? That’s the question that plays out from beginning to end as events change. This is one of those works everyone should read.

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4 thoughts on “ BOOK REVIEW: Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare ”

The Ghost appears in Brutus’s tent according to Plutarch, though it’s unclear that it’s Caesar’s ghost. Could just be Brutus’s “evil genius.” Caesar’s recorded final words were, “Και συ, τεκνον;” — “You too, child?” — of which “Et tu, Brute?” seems a reasonable, though not exact, translation into Latin. In general, Shakespeare invents very little in the way of incident in this play. It’s beauty lies in the glory of the language. Note that the envious Cassius is in practical terms a lot smarter than Brutus. He’s right about everything — whether to kill Antony, where and when to meet the armies of Antony and Octavian. But Brutus insists on his way and the conspirators end up losers. Sad — since Shakespeare, unlike Dante, takes the conspiratorial side….

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Thanks for the insights. I didn’t know the ghost was part of the history.

I had heard about the last words. However, also that there were multiple accounts and there was no consensus on the matter.

You got me there. Suetonius is not in my view (or in Voltaire’s) a trustworthy source. Also, I apologize for a typo in my original comment — extraneous comma in what should be “its.”

Ghosts and other supernatural manifestations appear casually in ancient historical accounts. The modern reader doesn’t know whether the author is serious — but the author always is.

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Julius Caesar

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Julius Caesar Shakescleare Translation

Julius Caesar Translation Table of Contents

“Beware the Ides of March!” the Soothsayer warns Caesar in one of Shakespeare’s most famous lines. In Julius Caesar , a historical tragedy, Shakespeare recounts the fall of one of Ancient Rome’s most famous generals, who was instrumental in creating the Roman Empire. Brutus and Cassius hatch a deadly plot against Caesar, and not even Caesar’s champion, Mark Antony, can save him. Julius Caesar features political rivalry and intrigue, and culminates with Antony and Octavius’ final triumph over the rebellious plotters. The Shakescleare modern English translation of Julius Caesar will help you understand the play’s most notable lines, like “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves” and Antony’s famous speech “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.”

Act 1, Scene 1

Act 1, scene 2, act 1, scene 3, act 2, scene 1, act 2, scene 2, act 2, scene 3, act 2, scene 4, act 3, scene 1, act 3, scene 2, act 3, scene 3, act 4, scene 1, act 4, scene 2, act 4, scene 3, act 5, scene 1, act 5, scene 2, act 5, scene 3, act 5, scene 4, act 5, scene 5.

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Julius Caesar

By: History.com Editors

Updated: September 22, 2023 | Original: October 27, 2009

Julius Caesar was a renowned general, politician and scholar in  ancient Rome who conquered the vast region of Gaul and helped initiate the end of the Roman Republic when he became dictator of the Roman Empire. Despite his brilliant military prowess, his political skills and his popularity with Rome’s lower- and middle-class, his rule was cut short when opponents—threatened by his rising power—brutally assassinated him.

Early Life of Gaius Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar was born on or around July 13, 100 B.C., to his father, also named Gaius Julius Caesar, and his mother Aurelia Cotta. He was also the nephew of the famous Roman general Gaius Marius.

Caesar traced his bloodline to the origins of Rome and claimed to be a descendant of the goddess Venus through the Trojan prince Aeneas and his son Iulus. Despite his allegedly noble heritage, however, Caesar’s family was not wealthy or particularly influential in Roman politics.

Did you know? Unlike in the Shakespeare play, Caesar's last words were not "Et tu, Brute?" ("And you, Brutus?"). Instead they were reported as "You, too, my child?"

After his father died suddenly in 85 B.C., Caesar became head of his family at age 16—right in the middle of a civil war between his uncle Marius and the Roman ruler Lucius Cornelius Sulla. In 84 B.C., he married Cornelia, the daughter of an ally of Marius. Caesar and Cornelia had one child, a daughter named Julia.

In 82 B.C., Sulla won the civil war and ordered Caesar to divorce Cornelia. Caesar refused and went into hiding. His family intervened and convinced Sulla to spare Caesar’s life; however, Sulla stripped Caesar of his inheritance.

Despite the reprieve, Caesar left Rome, joined the army and earned the prestigious Civic Crown for his courage at the Siege of Mytilene in 80 B.C. After Sulla’s death in 78 B.C., Caesar returned to Rome and became a successful prosecutor widely known for his oratory skills.

Pirates Capture Caesar

In 75 B.C., as he crossed the Aegean Sea in route to Rhodes to study philosophy and oratory, murderous pirates captured Caesar. Reportedly, Caesar acted more like a domineering leader with the pirates than their captive.

After his ransom was paid, the pirates let him go. But Caesar hired a private fleet to hunt them down and had the pirates crucified for their crimes .

Ancient Empires

Watch the three-episode documentary event, Ancient Empires . Available to stream now.

Political Rise

Caesar soon began his political career in earnest. He became military tribune and then quaestor of a Roman province in 69 B.C., the same year his wife Cornelia died. In 67 B.C., he married Pompeia, a granddaughter of Sulla and relative of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great), with whom he formed an important alliance.

In 65 B.C., Caesar became aedile—an important Roman magistrate—and produced lavish games in the Circus Maximus which endeared him to the public but threw him heavily into debt. Two years later, he was elected Pontifex Maximus.

Caesar divorced Pompeia in 62 B.C. after a politician incited a major scandal by disguising himself as a woman and making his way into a sacred women’s festival hosted by Pompeia.

The First Triumvirate

One year later, Caesar became governor of Spain. A series of successful military and political maneuvers, along with the support of Pompey and Marcus Licinius Crassus (known as the richest man in Rome), helped Caesar get elected as senior Roman consul in 59 B.C.

Caesar, Crassus and Pompey soon formed an informal alliance (strengthened by the marriage of Caesar’s daughter Julia to Pompey) known as the First Triumvirate. The union terrified the Roman Senate who knew that a partnership between three such powerful men would prove unstoppable. They were right, and the triumvirate soon controlled Rome.

How Julius Caesar’s Assassination Triggered the Fall of the Roman Republic

Julius Caesar’s killers attempted to thwart a dictator. They inadvertently created an emperor.

5 Things You Might Not Know About Julius Caesar

Find out five fascinating facts about the man who famously proclaimed “I came, I saw, I conquered.”

Beware the Ides of March. But Why?

It's unlikely even Shakespeare could have predicted how his famous phrase would have evolved.

Caesar in Gaul

Caesar was appointed governor of the vast region of Gaul (north-central Europe) in 58 B.C., where he commanded a large army. During the subsequent Gallic Wars, Caesar conducted a series of brilliant campaigns to conquer and stabilize the region, earning a reputation as a formidable and ruthless military leader. 

Caesar built a bridge across the Rhine River into Germanic territories and crossed the English Channel into Britain. But his great successes in the region caused Pompey to resent him and complicated the already-strained relationship between Pompey and Crassus.

As Caesar conquered Gaul, the political situation in Rome became increasingly volatile, with Pompey its lone consul. After the deaths of Pompey’s wife (and Caesar’s daughter) Julia in 54 B.C. and Crassus in 53 B.C., Pompey aligned with Caesar’s opponents and ordered him to give up his army and return to Rome. 

Caesar refused and, in a bold and decisive maneuver, directed his army to cross the Rubicon River into Italy, triggering a civil war between his supporters and those of Pompey. Caesar and his armies pursued Pompey to Spain, Greece and, finally, Egypt.

Julius Caesar and Cleopatra

Hoping to prevent Caesar from invading Egypt, the child pharaoh Ptolemy VIII had Pompey killed on September 28, 48 B.C. When Caesar entered Egypt, Ptolemy gifted him Pompey’s severed head.

Caesar soon found himself in the middle of a civil war between Ptolemy and his Egyptian co-regent  Cleopatra . Caesar became her lover and partnered with her to overthrow Ptolemy and make her ruler of Egypt. The pair never married but their long-term affair produced a son, Ptolemy XV Caesar, known as Caesarion.

Dictatorship

Caesar spent the next few years wiping out his enemies and what remained of Pompey’s supporters in the Middle East, Africa and Spain. 

In 46 B.C. he was made dictator of Rome for ten years, outraging his political opponents and setting the stage for the eventual end of the Roman Republic. Caesar began making several drastic reforms to benefit Rome’s lower- and middle class, including:

• regulating the distribution of subsidized grain
• increasing the size of the Senate to represent more people
• reducing government debt
• supporting military veterans
• granting Roman citizenship to people in Rome's far-flung territories
• reforming the Roman tax codes
• creating the Julian calendar

Julius Caesar Quotes

Many people still consider Caesar a great leader with keen insights into human nature. Over the centuries, many of his words have become famous quotes, such as:

• “I came, I saw, I conquered.”
• “Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion.”
• “The die has been cast.”
• “If I fail, it is only because I have too much pride and ambition.”
• “In the end, it is impossible to become what others believe you are.”
• “As a rule, men worry more about what they can’t see than about what they can.”
• “No one is so brave that he is not disturbed by something unexpected.”
• “The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.”
• “There are no tricks in plain and simple faith.”
• “Which death is preferable to every other? The unexpected.”

Assassination

Caesar declared himself dictator for life in 44 B.C. However, his crusade for absolute power didn’t go over well with many Roman politicians. Fearing he would become king, a group of senators conspired to end his life.

On the Ides of March (March 15, 44 B.C.), the senators, led by Gaius Cassius Longinus,  Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus  and Marcus Junius Brutus , stabbed Caesar 23 times, ending both his reign and his life as he fell bleeding onto the Senate floor at the feet of a statue of Pompey .

Caesar’s assassination  at age 55 made him a martyr and incited a cycle of civil wars resulting in the downfall of the Roman Republic and the rise to power of his grandnephew and heir Gaius Octavius (Octavian)—later known as Augustus Caesar —to emperor of the Roman Empire. 

Play: 'The Tragedy of Julius Caesar'

In 1599, William Shakespeare wrote The Tragedy of Julius Caesar , a play based on Caesar’s life. Set in 44 B.C., it tells the story of a Roman politician named Brutus who plots with others to assassinate Caesar. It also portrays Caesar’s brutal murder and the aftermath.

The play is thought to have made its debut in 1599 at the Globe Theater in London and continues to mesmerize audiences to this day, inspiring songs, novels, films, television shows and even comedy acts. It has also provided many well-known quotes—attributed to Shakespeare, not Caesar— including:

• “Et tu, Brute?”
• “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.”
• “The fault dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves.”
• “Beware the Ides of March.”
• “Death, a necessary end, will come when it will come.”

A Timeline of the Life of Julius Caesar. San Joseʹ State University. Julius Caesar. Ancient History Encyclopedia. The Reader’s Companion to Military History. Edited by Robert Cowley and Geoffrey Parker. Houghton Mifflin Books . 

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