Julius Caesar

Title: Julius Caesar

Author: William Shakespeare
Premiere: c. 1599, English
Setting: Ancient Rome, around 44 BCE
Main Characters:

• Julius Caesar (a powerful Roman general and statesman)

• Brutus (a respected Roman senator and Caesar’s friend)

• Cassius (a cunning conspirator against Caesar)

• Mark Antony (Caesar’s loyal supporter)

• Portia (Brutus’s wife)

• Calpurnia (Caesar’s wife)

• Octavius (Caesar’s heir)

Plot Summary:
As Caesar’s popularity grows, many fear he intends to make himself king and end the Roman Republic. Cassius persuades the honorable Brutus to join a conspiracy to assassinate Caesar “for the good of Rome.” Despite warnings and ominous signs, Caesar is stabbed in the Senate by Brutus and the other conspirators. In the aftermath, Mark Antony turns public opinion against the assassins with a powerful funeral speech ("Friends, Romans, countrymen…"). Civil war erupts. Brutus and Cassius are eventually defeated by Antony and Octavius at the Battle of Philippi. Brutus, wracked with guilt and believing all is lost, takes his own life.

Key Themes & Significance:
Julius Caesar examines the tension between personal loyalty and public duty, the fragility of democracy, and the power of rhetoric. The play dramatizes the downfall of noble intentions corrupted by ambition and fear. Its political insights and memorable speeches continue to resonate in debates about leadership and populism.