The Tragedy Of Julius Caesar .

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, also

known simply as Julius Caesar, is a
tragedy by William Shakespeare,
believed to have been written in
1599. It portrays the 44 BC
conspiracy against the Roman
dictator Julius Caesar, his
assassination and the defeat of the
conspirators at the Battle of
Philippi. It is one of several Roman
plays that Shakespeare wrote,
based on true events from Roman
history, which also include
Coriolanus and Antony and
Cleopatra.
Although the title is Julius Caesar,
Caesar is not the most visible
character in its action; he appears
Characters-
Julius Caesar
Calpurnia: Wife of Caesar
Octavius, Mark Antony, Lepidus:
Triumvirs after the death of Julius
Caesar
Cicero, Publius, Popilius Lena:
Senators
Brutus, Cassius, Casca,
Trebonius, Ligarius, Decius
Brutus, Metellus Cimber, Cinna:
Conspirators against Julius Caesar
 Synopsis-
Marcus Brutus is Caesar's close friend and a
Roman praetor. Brutus allows himself to be
cajoled into joining a group of conspiring
senators because of a growing suspicion—
implanted by Caius Cassius—that Caesar
intends to turn republican Rome into a
monarchy under his own rule.
The early scenes deal mainly with Brutus's
arguments with Cassius and his struggle with
his own conscience. The growing tide of
public support soon turns Brutus against
Caesar (this public support was actually faked;
Cassius wrote letters to Brutus in different
handwritings over the next month in order to
get Brutus to join the conspiracy). A
soothsayer warns Caesar to "beware the Ides
of March," which
he ignores, culminating in his assassination at the Capitol by the
conspirators that day, despite being warned by the soothsayer and
Artemidrous, one of Caesar's supporters at the entrance of the Capitol.
Caesar's assassination is one of the most famous scenes of the play,
occurring in Act 3 (the other is Mark Antony's oration "Friends, Romans,
countrymen".) After ignoring the soothsayer as well as his wife's own
premonitions, Caesar comes to the Senate. The conspirators create a
superficial motive for the assassination by means of a petition brought by
Metellus Cimber, pleading on behalf of his banished brother. As Caesar,
predictably, rejects the petition, Casca grazes Caesar in the back of his
neck, and the others follow in stabbing him; Brutus is last. At this point,
Caesar utters the famous line "Et tu, Brute?"("And you, Brutus?", i.e.
"You too, Brutus?"). Shakespeare has him add, "Then fall, Caesar,"
suggesting that Caesar did not want to survive such treachery, therefore
becoming a hero.
The conspirators make clear that they committed this
act for Rome, not for their own purposes and do not
attempt to flee the scene. After Caesar's death,
Brutus delivers an oration defending his actions, and
for the moment, the crowd is on his side. However,
Mark Antony, with a subtle and eloquent speech over
Caesar's corpse—beginning with the much-quoted
"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears"—
deftly turns public opinion against the assassins by
manipulating the emotions of the common people, in
contrast to the rational tone of Brutus's speech.
Antony rouses the mob to drive the conspirators from
Rome. Amid the violence, the innocent poet, Cinna, is
confused with the conspirator Lucius Cinna and is
murdered by the mob.
.
The beginning of Act Four is marked by the quarrel scene, where
Brutus attacks Cassius for soiling the noble act of regicide by
accepting bribes ("Did not great Julius bleed for justice' sake? /
What villain touch'd his body, that did stab, / And not for
justice?"[) The two are reconciled; they prepare for war with
Mark Antony and Caesar's adopted son, Octavian
(Shakespeare's spelling: Octavius). That night, Caesar's ghost
appears to Brutus with a warning of defeat ("thou shalt see me
at Philippi").
At the battle, Cassius and Brutus knowing they will probably
both die, smile their last smiles to each other and hold hands.
During the battle, Cassius commits suicide after hearing of the
capture of his best friend, Titinius. After Titinius, who wasn't
really captured, sees Cassius's corpse, he commits suicide.
However, Brutus wins that stage of the battle - but his victory is
not conclusive. With a heavy heart, Brutus battles again the next
day. He loses and commits suicide
•The play ends with a tribute to
Brutus by Antony, who proclaims
that Brutus has remained "the
noblest Roman of them all"
because he was the only
conspirator who acted for the
good of Rome. There is then a
small hint at the friction
between Mark Antony and
Octavius which will characterize
another of Shakespeare's Roman
plays, Antony and Cleopatra.
Character sketch of Julius caeser
•Julius Caeser is an extremely forceful
personality, with is both his strength and
weakness. He has won the acclaim of the
Roman people because of his military
victories, and we see in the first scenes how
much reverence people show about him.
However, his forceful personality leads to
arrogance - he ignores his wife's warning, is
blind to the conspiracy forming around him,
and the arrogance/desire for power is what
powers the conspiracy and leads to his
murder.
Conclusion-
After this revolution, the Romans established
their famous republic, in which all citizens were
represented in the Senate
They were very proud of their non-king ruled
government, and were determined to preserve it
—but when Caesar arrived, they changed their
minds!
 Now The Question Arises-
1. How important is loyalty?

• Does your country or do your friends

consider “loyalty” something to value? When
can “loyalty” sometimes cause problems?

• What should people do when loyalty to their

country and loyalty to their friend comes
into conflict?

• Are there limits to what people should do in

defense of the nation?
 What will a person do for the sake of
political ideals?
I. Assassinations of political figures are common
in history.

II. What political figures do you know of who

have been assassinated?

III. What effect did these assassinations have on

the general public, a political party, or a cause
at the time of the assassination?
Thank you
English project
by-
Megha Mannan