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Julius Caesar
Background
Iacta alea est
“The die has already
been cast”
The Play: The Results of Violence

Assassination:
 The
murder of a public figure is an act that
can take place in a split second yet change
the course of history
 March
15, 44 BC Julius Caesar is assassinated
on the floor of the Roman Senate
The Play

The play is about the
assassination of a Roman
general and dictator who lived
and died more than 2000 years
ago.

Shakespeare drew his material
from the ancient biographical
text The Lives of Noble
Grecians and Romans written
by Plutarch (Greek writer and
biographer)
War & Individual Power

It seems that the
Roman world in
Caesar’s time was
continually at war.

But in Rome, the
general had enormous
individual power.

Powerful generals like
Caesar moved with their
plundering armies over
the entire
Mediterranean World.
The Roman Empire during the
life of Caesar
Private Armies &
Betrayal
 These
powerful armies would rule the
territory with Roman governors who
exacted cruel taxes.
 Sometimes
the generals turned on
one another
Strong
men battling for power
Caesar and Pompey:
jealousy and murder
Crassus
 First
Triumvirate: Gaius Julius Caesar,
Gnaeus Pompey Magnus, and Marcus
Licinius Crassus
 Caesar
Caesar
and Pompey were friends
 In
60 B.C. the two generals
helped to bring order to a
weakened government
Pompey
Jealousy!

Crassus is killed in Syria;
eager for more power,
Caesar leaves Rome

Caesar conquers the Gauls
in Europe, sending back
loads of money to the
people, and the people give
Caesar their favor
Jealousy!

Jealous of Caesar’s military triumphs in the Gallic
wars, Pompey looks towards success in the
Senate
Caesar’s standard
(i.e. his symbol)

The Senate is wary of Caesar’s ambition and
fear that with the love of the people Caesar
might declare himself king
Views of Caesar…
 Caesar saw himself
himself as aa defender
defender
of
of the
the people
people
 Critics said
said he
he bought
bought support
support
with
with bribes
bribes and
and handouts
handouts
 Enemies said
said he
he deprived
deprived Romans
of
of their
their liberty
liberty
Unconquerable God

Caesar the invincible; the son of
Zeus

Declared dictator for 10 years
and saw to it that his supporters,
including Brutus, became
senators

Built a statue to himself with the
inscription “To the Unconquerable
God”
Caesar’s arrogance

Common people loved him

The month of Quintilis is renamed to the month
of July in his honor

Later he was declared dictator for life (Feb. 15,
44 B.C.)

Offered the crown 3 times
but refused

Why? Looked down upon to be
a king – not democratic, the
Roman’s had killed their previous
king for being a tyrant
Caesar was the first to
print his own bust on a
Roman minted coin
(Denarius)
Caesar’s arrogance

His arrogance and thirst for power became
unbearable to some senators

Members of the Roman senate create plans to
assassinate him on March 15, 44 B.C.
because of his threat to the Republican
traditions

They succeed.
“Sic semper tyrannis”
-thus always to tyrants-
Shakespeare’s Play
 Shakespeare’s
play starts
with events that happened a
month before the murder.
 The
play condenses 3 years
of history into one play in
which 6 days are acted out.
Julius Caesar Roman Terms

Forum: The public square or marketplace of an ancient

Ides: In the ancient Roman calendar, the fifteenth day of

Feast of Lupercal: A Roman festival supervised by
Roman city that was the assembly place for judicial activity
and public business.
March, May, July, or October, and the thirteenth day of the
other months.
priests on February 15th celebrating the god of fertility. The
festival included a race in which men dressed in sacrificial
goat skins would run through spectators in the streets, and
their touch was thought to cure sterility.
Julius Caesar Roman Terms

Plebeians: Of or relating to the common people of

Patricians: A member of one of the noble families of

Triumvirate: A government of three officers or
ancient Rome
the ancient Roman Republic, which before the 3rd
century B.C. had exclusive rights to the Senate and the
magistracies (a position where one has the power to
enforce or create laws)
magistrates functioning jointly
Julius Caesar Roman Terms

Tribune:
(A) an officer of ancient Rome elected by the
plebeians to protect their rights from
arbitrary acts of the patrician
magistrates.
(B) a protector or champion of the people.

Senate: The supreme council of state of the ancient
Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire
Julius Caesar Roman Terms

Stoicism: A philosophy that focuses on





Duty, self-discipline, and subjection to the natural order of things
Civic obligations; duty BEFORE self!
Repressing all emotions—do not outwardly show happiness, sadness,
etc.
Speaking in a calm and emotionless manner
Epicurean: A philosophy that focuses on




Human freedom; “I am the center of my universe” attitude
being good only to increase one’s own happiness; self BEFORE duty!
Eliminating fear from life, especially fear of death and the fear of the
supernatural (the gods live in their own world and are too busy to
bother with us on earth).
Speaking in a vibrant and emotional manner
Julius Caesar Literary & Drama Terms

Anachronism: person, place, or thing placed in the
wrong time period.

Apostrophe: An address to the absent or dead are
spoken to as if present or the inanimate, as if alive.

Aside: remarks unheard by other actors on stage when
an actor turns his head toward the audience to speak.
Julius Caesar Literary & Drama Terms

Pun: a humorous play on words indicating different

Comic Relief: humor inserted into the play to break a

Foreshadowing: the dropping of important hints by the

Soliloquy: speech delivered while the actor is alone on
meanings
serious mood
author to prepare the reader for what is to come
stage. It informs the audience of what is happening in
the character’s mind or gives needed information about
other characters.
Julius Caesar Literary & Drama Terms

Hyperbole: the conscious use of overstatement or
exaggeration by a writer for effect

Oxymoron: a figure of speech which combines two
terms that in ordinary usage are contraries or opposites

Blank Verse: Unrhymed lines written in iambic
pentameter, each line has 5 sets of unstressed syllables
– 10 syllables total