The Tragedy of Julius

Caesar

by
William Shakespeare
Caesar Timeline
 Caesar (102-44 B.C.); Son-in-Law, Pompey
 Civil Wars 49 B.C. : Caesar vs. Pompey
 Pompey flees to Egypt, and is murdered.
 Caesar is victorious
 Caesar elected consul (ruling magistrate of
Republic)
 Named dictator for 10 years by Senate
 Bio and play begin w/ Caesar’s victorious return
after defeating Pompey’s son in Spain
 Conspiracy already under way
Roman Empire 44 B.C.
Europe Today
Important Facts

 Type of Plot: Tragedy

 Time of Plot: 44 B.C.
 Locale: Rome
 First Performed: 1599-1600
 First Published: 1601
 Principal Characters
 Julius Caesar, dictator of Rome
 Mark Antony, his friend
 Marcus Brutus, a conspirator against
Caesar
 Caius Cassius, another conspirator
 Portia, wife of Brutus and Cassius’ wife
 Calpurnia, Caesar’s wife
Important Points
 Based on Plutarch’s Lives of the Noble
Grecians and Romans.
 Shakespeare had to work his dramatic art
within the restrictions of known history.
 We know that the play is not just about plot;
they are more about explorations into
human nature, about language, and about
the ambiguity that much of the lang.
presents.
Important Points Cont.
 The historical events associated with
the death of Caesar and defeat of the
conspirators took 3 years; not 3 days.
 Prose used in the play by comic and
less important characters.
 This play is very political; monarchy
vs. democracy.
Important Points Cont.
 Despite the title, Brutus, not Caesar, is
the hero of this play.
 We often forget that these plays were
created to be heard and seen.
 When we read a play, we miss some
of what we call the performance
language of the play.
Format of the Play: 5 Part
Dramatic Structure
 Exposition: to Act I, scene ii
 Complication: Act I, scene ii; to Act II,
scene iv
 Climax: Act III, scene i
 Consequence: Act III, scene ii; to Act
V, scene ii
 Denouement: Act V, scenes iii to v
Key Terms
 Dramatic Irony: when readers or audience know
info that a character does not know.
 Blank Verse: unrhymed poetry written in iambic
pentameter.
 Iambic Pentameter: has five pairs of syllables
(10 in all) with each pair following the pattern
unstressed/stressed.
 Soliloquy: an act of speaking one's thoughts
aloud when alone or regardless of hearers.
 Aside: an actor's remark addressed to the
audience rather than the other characters.
Key Terms Cont.
 Monologue: a long “speech” by one
character to another character.
 Tragic Flaw: a personality trait of the tragic
hero which leads to his downfall.
 Anachronism: the placing of something in
the wrong historical period.
 Tragedy: a play in which events turn out
disastrously for the main character or
characters.
Works Cited
Bloom, Harold, ed. William Shakespeare’s “Julius
Caesar.” New York: Chelsea House, 1988.

O’ Brien, Peggy, ed. Shakespeare Set Free. New

York: Washington Square Press, 1993.

Rosenblum, Joseph, ed. A Reader’s Guide to

Shakespeare. New York: Salem Press, Inc.,
1999.