This play would more appropriately be called The Tragedy of Marcus Brutus. While Caesar was certainly central to the plot, and far more famous than any of his assassins, he’s dead by the beginning of Act 3. Even before that, he’s little more than a pompous windbag who considers himself by divine right the legitimate ruler of Rome. It is Brutus who must make the hard decisions: do I murder this man who has been so kind to me, or let him destroy Rome’s fledgling liberty? Which path is more honorable for a man to whom honor is more important than life?

As with his other plays based on Roman history, Shakespeare’s source was his one-stop shop for information on classical Rome: Sir Thomas North’s translation of Plutarch’s Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans. Most scholars date the play to 1599, but the earliest existing copy was the First Folio, printed in 1623.

According to tradition, Brutus was one of history’s greatest hypocrites and traitors for murdering a man who considered him almost like a son. In fact, centuries later, Dante would equate Brutus and Cassius, the men who betrayed Caesar, with Judas Iscariot, the man who betrayed Jesus Christ! The three of them are found in the deepest ring of hell, forever being chewed by the three mouths of Satan, if Dante‘s Divine Comedy is to be believed.

Historically, though, there was very little affection between the two men. Brutus’ republican sentiments were well-known to Caesar, and he openly supported Pompey against Caesar in the civil war that preceded the play. However, Caesar was far too effective an administrator to be vindictive, especially not to a capable and popular leader such as Brutus. He pardoned Brutus, and gave him important government posts in the years following the war. In my opinion, if he truly did say “Et tu, Brute?” before he died, it was in surprise that a man known universally for his sense of honor could have thrown in his lot with assassins.

As the conspirators make clear, however, they could not have conducted their plot without him. He was the perfect public face of their endeavor: a man of unimpeachable virtue, known to all as incorruptible. Best of all, his family was connected with the idea of overthrowing kings to set up a republic; one character mentions a Brutus who had lived centuries before. That Brutus, also mentioned in Shakespeare’s poem “Rape of Lucrece”, had helped oust the evil Tarquin line from power, ushering in Rome’s age of republicanism, which ended with Caesar’s rise to power and that of his nephew Octavius, who would later be known as Augustus Caesar.

Antony’s “Friends, Romans, Countrymen” speech is one of the most famous in all of literature, right up there with “To be or not to be” and rightly so. No one knows exactly what Antony actually said to convince the citizens to turn on Brutus and his co-conspirators, but Shakespeare’s version certainly captures the spirit. There is no better example in English of the concept of “irony” — which is the use of words which the audience understands are the exact opposite of the speaker’s intent.

Brutus calls Cassius “brother”; actually Cassius was married to his sister.

“He hath the falling sickness” – traditionally Caesar was believed to have the disease epilepsy. While several incidents resembling seizures were recorded during his life, it’s impossible to know for certain the cause, and several other medical reasons have been suggested.

In Act 4 scene 3 Brutus tells Cassius that Portia is dead; a few lines later, Messala delivers the news to Brutus, who acts surprised to hear it. Most likely, this is an example of bad editing: the scene was rewritten, but the printer mistakenly included both versions in the Folio text.

Vocabulary

• brook’d – allowed
• bondman – slave
• cautelous – deceitful
• corse – corpse, dead body
• couchings – kneeling down
• fearful – scary, causing fear
• fleering – mocking
• fond – foolish
• general – the public good
• Genius – the mind, the spirit
• hart – deer
• humour – bad mood; also, whim
• itching palm – sign of greediness for money, as in taking bribes
• jades – worthless horses
• napkin – handkerchief
• neat’s leather – cowhide
• nice – trivial
• stale – cheapen, diminish
• taper – candle
• tributaries – captives, hostages –
• void – empty
• wafture – waving

Classical references

• Aeneas – according to legend Rome was founded by Aeneas, a prince of Troy, who carried his father Anchises on his back. Cassius compares this to the way he pulled Caesar out of the river.
• Ate – Roman goddess of discord
• augurers – priests who sometimes sacrificed animals and examined their entrails to try to tell fortunes
• Cato – Roman statesman and writer, father of Portia
• Colossus – one of the Wonders of the Ancient World, this was a huge statue in Rhodes, which travelers had to pass by sailing between the legs.
• Erebus – hell
• Et tu, Brute – Latin “You too, Brutus?” By most accounts, these are the actual last words spoken by Caesar.
• Ides of March – March 15th
• Lupercal – traditional Roman feast in which priests strike childless women in the street in hopes of bringing them fertility. When Caesar later instructs Antony to touch his wife Calpurnia as he passes, it is a reference to this custom and a blatant reference to Calpurnia having borne him no children.
• Pompey – Pompey the great, Caesar’s opponent in the civil war
• triumph –  Romans traditionally held a celebration in honor of a victorious general after a great battle

Act 1

scene 1 

The citizens of Rome cheer the approach of Caesar after defeating Pompey. Flavius and Marullus, two of Rome’s leaders, chide them for taking the side of Caesar when so recently they were on Pompey’s side. The expectation is that he will be crowned king, even though Rome is a republic.

scene 2  

Caesar enters Rome in triumph. A soothsayer warns him to “beware the ides of March.” Off stage, Antony three times offers Caesar a crown, but he refuses. Still, Brutus and Cassius discuss the imminent loss of freedom if Caesar makes himself emperor, and they bring Casca into the plot to assassinate Caesar.

scene 3 

The plotters meet. Rome is beset by strange weather which is taken as a bad omen by all. Knowing the excellent reputation of Brutus for nobility among the Roman people, they all suggest that his participation in the plot is necessary for it to succeed.

Act 2

scene 1 

Brutus can’t sleep, and broods over what he must do. His wife Portia pleads with him to share his thoughts with her, but he must keep the secret from her. The other conspirators meet him to persuade him to join the plot, and he agrees. Cassius wants Antony to be killed as well as Caesar, but Brutus won‘t allow it.

scene 2  

Caesar also can’t sleep. His wife Calpurnia tries to convince him to stay home that day, citing the bad omens in the weather and a dream she had, but when the conspirators arrive, they warn him that he will seem cowardly for canceling his plans just because his wife had a bad dream.

scene 3 

Artemidorus is worried that Caesar is in danger, and decides to slip him a piece of paper with a warning.

scene 4 

Portia discusses her misgivings with the Soothsayer.

Act 3

scene 1 

Artemidorus and the Soothsayer try to warn Caesar, but Brutus and the others kill him anyway. They celebrate, and predict that they will forever be remembered as great patriots. Antony cautiously approaches them, and gets their permission to give Caesar a funeral. Cassius is still worried about Antony’s influence on the people, but Brutus overrules him again.

Antony contacts Octavius, Caesar’s nephew and heir, and warns him not to come into Rome until the situation is safer.

scene 2  

Brutus gives his reasons for killing Caesar to the citizens, and they agree with him. Then Antony gives his eulogy, slyly always agreeing with Brutus, but causing the people to believe the exact opposite of what he’s saying. By the end of the speech, the crowd is firmly on Antony’s side.

scene 3 

The mob mistakes one of the conspirators for an innocent man who happens to have the same name.

Act 4

scene 1 

Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus divide dictatorial powers among themselves, and decide what to do about the surviving conspirators. Even their own relatives will not be spared.

scene 2  

Cassius meets Brutus at his camp for a discussion of strategy.

scene 3 

Brutus and Cassius argue bitterly over accusations of bribery and who is the better soldier. Finally they make up, and Cassius is deeply sorry to learn that Portia has died. Together with the other conspirators they decide to face the army of Octavius and Antony at the field of Philippi.

Brutus is haunted by the ghost of Caesar as he sleeps.

Act 5

scene 1 

Antony and Octavius prepare for battle with the forces loyal to Brutus. Though he is young, Octavius is already asserting himself as a leader.

scene 2  

Short scene: Brutus gives instructions to one of his soldiers.

scene 3 

Cassius loses the first battle to Antony and commits suicide, not knowing that Brutus has won a great victory over Octavius.

scene 4

In the second battle, Lucilius pretends to be Brutus, and is captured by Antony’s forces.

scene 5  

Brutus asks each person with him to help him commit suicide. Only one agrees, and Brutus dies. With the last of the assassins dead, Octavius declares the crisis, and the play, ended.

The following biographical information courtesy of Microsoft Encarta:

Caesar, Gaius Julius (100-44 BC), Roman general and statesman, who laid the foundations of the Roman imperial system.

                II              EARLY LIFE  
Born in Rome on July 12 or 13, 100 BC, Caesar belonged to the prestigious Julian clan; yet from early childhood he knew controversy. His uncle by marriage was Gaius Marius, leader of the Populares. This party supported agrarian reform and was opposed by the reactionary Optimates, a senatorial faction. Marius was seven times consul (chief magistrate), and the last year he held office, just before his death in 86 BC, he exacted a terrifying toll on the Optimates. At the same time he saw to it that young Caesar was appointed flamen dialis, one of an archaic priesthood with no power. This identified him with his uncle’s extremist politics, and his marriage in 84 BC to Cornelia, the daughter of Marius’s associate, Cinna, further confirmed him as a radical. When Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Marius’s enemy and leader of the Optimates, was made dictator in 82 BC, he issued a list of enemies to be executed. Although Caesar was not harmed, he was ordered by Sulla to divorce Cornelia. Refusing that order, he found it prudent to leave Rome. He did not return to the city until 78BC, after Sulla’s resignation.

Caesar was now 22 years old. Unable to gain office, he left Rome again and went to Rhodes, where he studied rhetoric; he returned to Rome in 73 BC, a very persuasive speaker. The year before, while still absent, he had been elected to the pontificate, an important college of Roman priests.

                III             TRIUMVIRATE  
In 71 BC Pompey the Great, who had earned his epithet in service under Sulla, returned to Rome, having defeated the rebellious Populares general Sertorius in Spain. At the same time Marcus Licinius Crassus, a rich patrician, suppressed in Italy the slave revolt led by Spartacus. Pompey and Crassus both ran for the consulship—an office held by two men—in 70 BC. Pompey, who by this time had changed sides, was technically ineligible, but with Caesar’s help he won the office. Crassus became the other consul. In 69 BC, Caesar was elected quaestor and in 65 BC curule aedile, gaining great popularity for his lavish gladiatorial games. To pay for these, he borrowed money from Crassus. This united the two men, who also found common cause with Pompey. When Caesar returned to Rome in 60BC after a year as governor of Spain, he joined forces with Crassus and Pompey in a three-way alliance known as the First Triumvirate; to cement their relationship further, Caesar gave his daughter Julia to Pompey in marriage. Thus backed, Caesar was elected consul for 59BC despite Optimate hostility, and the year after (58BC) he was appointed governor of Roman Gaul.

                A             Gallic Wars  At that time Celtic Gaul, to the north, was still independent, but the Aedui, a tribe of Roman allies, appealed to Caesar for help against another Gallic people, the Helvetii, during the first year of his governorship. Caesar marched into Celtic Gaul with six legions, defeated the Helvetii, and forced them to return to their home area. Next, he crushed Germanic forces under Ariovistus (flourished about 71-58BC). By 57BC, following the defeat of the Nervii, Rome was in control of northern Gaul. (A last revolt of the Gauls, led by Vercingetorix, was suppressed in 52BC.)

                B              Power Play  While Caesar was in Gaul, his agents attempted to dominate politics in Rome. This, however, threatened Pompey’s position, and it became necessary for the triumvirs to arrange a meeting at Luca in 56BC, which brought about a temporary reconciliation. It was decided that Caesar would continue in Gaul for another five years, while Pompey and Crassus would both be consuls for 55BC; after that, each would have proconsular control of provinces. Caesar then went off to raid Britain and put down a revolt in Gaul. Crassus, ever eager for military glory, went to his post in Syria. Provoking a war with the Parthian Empire, he was defeated and killed at Carrhae in 53BC. This removed the last buffer between Caesar and Pompey; their family ties had been broken by the death of Julia in 54BC.

                IV            CIVIL WAR  
In 52BC, with Crassus out of the way, Pompey was made sole consul. Combined with his other powers, this gave him a formidable position. Jealous of his younger rival, he determined to break Caesar’s power, an objective that could not be achieved without first depriving him of his command in Gaul. In order to protect himself, Caesar suggested that he and Pompey both lay down their commands simultaneously, but this was rejected; goaded by Pompey, the Senate summarily called upon Caesar to resign his command and disband his army, or else be considered a public enemy. The tribunes, who were Caesar’s agents, vetoed this motion, but they were driven out of the Senate chamber. The Senate then entrusted Pompey with providing for the safety of the state. His forces far outnumbered Caesar’s, but they were scattered throughout the provinces, and his troops in Italy were not prepared for war. Early in 49BC Caesar crossed the Rubicon, a small stream separating his province from Italy, and moved swiftly southward. Pompey fled to Brundisium and from there to Greece. In three months Caesar was master of all Italy; his forces then took Spain and the key port of Massalía (now Marseille).

In Rome Caesar became dictator until elected consul for 48BC. At the beginning of that year he landed in Greece and smashed Pompey’s forces at Pharsalus. Pompey escaped to Egypt, where he was assassinated. When Caesar arrived there, he installed Cleopatra, daughter of the late King Ptolemy XII, as queen. In 47BC he pacified Asia Minor and returned to Rome to become dictator again. By the following year all Optimate forces had been defeated and the Mediterranean world pacified.

                V              DICTATORSHIP AND ASSASSINATION  
The basic prop for Caesar’s continuation in power was the dictatorship for life. According to the traditional Republican constitution, this office was only to be held for six months during a dire emergency. That rule, however, had been broken before. Sulla had ruled as dictator for several years, and Caesar now followed suit. In addition, he was made consul for ten years in 45BC and received the sanctity of tribunes, making it illegal to harm him. Caesar also obtained honors to increase his prestige: He wore the robe, crown, and scepter of a triumphant general and used the title imperator. Furthermore, as Pontifex Maximus, he was head of the state religion. Above all, however, he was in total command of the armies, and this remained the backbone of his power.

As a ruler Caesar instituted various reforms. In the provinces he eliminated the highly corrupt tax system, sponsored colonies of veterans, and extended Roman citizenship. At home he reconstituted the courts and increased the number of senators. His reform of the calendar gave Rome a rational means of recording time.

A number of senatorial families, however, felt that Caesar threatened their position, and his honors and powers made them fear that he would become a rex (king), a title they, as Republicans, hated. Accordingly, in 44BC, an assassination plot was hatched by a group of senators, including Gaius Cassius and Marcus Junius Brutus. On March 15 of that year, when Caesar entered the Senate house, the group killed him.

                VI            PERSONAL LIFE  

After Caesar’s first wife, Cornelia, died in 68BC, he married Pompeia, a granddaughter of Sulla. When the mysteries of the Bona Dea, over which she presided, were violated, she was maligned by gossips, and Caesar then divorced her, telling the Senate that Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion. His next marriage (59BC) was to Calpurnia and was politically motivated. Since Caesar had no male heirs, he stipulated in his will that his grandnephew, Octavius, become his successor. It was Octavius who became Rome’s first emperor under the name of Augustus.

Caesar was a gifted writer, with a clear and simple style. His Commentaries, in which he described Gaul and his Gallic campaigns, is a major source of information about the early Celtic and Germanic tribes.

                VII           ACHIEVEMENTS  

Scholarly opinion of Caesar’s accomplishments is divided. Some regard him as an unscrupulous tyrant, with an insatiable lust for power, and blame him for the demise of the Roman Republic. Others, admitting that he could be ruthless, insist that the Republic had already been destroyed. They maintain that to save the Roman world from chaos a new type of government had to be created. In fact, Caesar’s reforms did stabilize the Mediterranean world. Among ancient military commanders, he may be second only to Alexander the Great.

Brutus, Marcus Junius (85?-42BC), Roman political leader, son-in-law of the Roman philosopher Marcus Porcius Cato the Younger, born in Rome, and educated in law. During the civil war between Pompey the Great and Julius Caesar, Brutus supported Pompey. After Caesar’s victory at Pharsalus in 48BC, Brutus was pardoned and taken into Caesar’s favor. He became governor of Cisalpine Gaul in 46BC and praetor of Rome two years later. During the spring of 44BC, however, he joined the Roman general Gaius Cassius Longinus in a conspiracy against Caesar. Together they were the principal assassins of Caesar. Brutus then fled to Macedonia, raised an army among the Greeks, and joined Cassius in Asia Minor to fight for the Roman Republic. At the First Battle of Philippi (42), he was successful, but Cassius was defeated. Twenty days later his army was defeated by troops led by Mark Antony and Caesar’s heir, Octavius, who later became emperor. Brutus committed suicide.

Cassius Longinus, Gaius (flourished 53-42BC), Roman general and one of the assassins of Julius Caesar. Cassius distinguished himself in the war against the Parthians (53-51BC). In 49BC, he fought against Caesar in a civil war as fleet commander under the Roman general and statesman Pompey the Great. Although pardoned by Caesar, who made him a legate, Cassius subsequently became one of the leaders of the conspiracy against Caesar and participated in Caesar’s assassination. Subsequently, he raised an army to fight against Caesar’s commander in chief, Mark Antony, and later against the Triumvirate, the three men who ruled Rome after Caesar’s assassination. With his fellow conspirator, the Roman politician Marcus Junius Brutus, Cassius besieged his foes at Philippi in Macedonia but was defeated in battle. Cassius committed suicide so that he would not be captured. Parts of his life are presented in Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar.