Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar is a tragedy in five acts by William Shakespeare. This tragic drama was produced in 1599–1600 and published in the First Folio of 1623. The setting of this drama takes place after Caesar has returned to Rome. Alarmed by Caesar’s ambition, Cassius forms a ploy among Roman republicans and convinces Brutus—Caesar’s trusted friend—to join them. Brutus joins in the conspiracy against Caesar’s life, convincing himself that Caesar’s death is for the greater good of Rome.

Meanwhile, Alarmed by prophetic dreams, Caesar’s wife, Calpurnia, warns her husband not to go to the Capitol the next day. A planned, Caesar is slain in the Senate on March 15, “the ides of March.” Mark Antony, his friend, gives a stirring funeral oration that inspires the crowd to turn against them. Eventually, Octavius, Caesar’s nephew, forms a triumvirate with Antony and Lepidus. Brutus and Cassius are eventually defeated at the Battle of Philippi, where they kill themselves to avoid further humiliation. Many describe Julius Caesar a history play also as it deals with a non-Christian civilization existing several centuries before Shakespeare wrote his plays.