Introduction to Julius Caesar

History Until 509 B.C. Rome was a monarchy The Brutus family evicted the monarch Rome was established as a republic 100 B.C. Rome was a moderate democracy (rule by the people) The Senate was actually ruling Rome

Roman Government For centuries, Romans debated & even fought civil wars over the best kind of government Monarchy Ruled by one Republic Ruled by a representative group chosen by the people Dictatorship Ruled by one who wields ultimate power by force

60 B.C. A triumvirate (3-man rule) was formed to govern Rome Caesar Crassus Pompey 58 B.C. Caesar was made governor of part of Gaul Age 44: began his military career He conquered all of Gaul (France) in the next 10 years

After Crassus was killed in battle, trouble developed between Caesar & Pompey Pompey was jealous of Caesar’s popularity He persuaded the Senate to order Caesar to disband his army & return to Rome Caesar invaded Rome and made himself absolute ruler of Rome

Caesar & Pompey

Pompey fled to Greece Caesar defeated Pompey’s army and Pompey fled to Egypt (murdered) 3 years after Caesar defeated Pompey’s army, he defeated Pompey’s 2 sons He was made dictator for life

Shakespeare begins his play as Caesar returning from victory in Spain Caesar was the undisputed leader and master of the entire Roman world

Ancient Rome

Hero Julius Caesar is a tragedy like Romeo & Juliet In Romeo & Juliet, the title characters were the heroes of the play In Julius Caesar, Caesar is not the hero The hero in this play is Brutus A noble man who truly believes his actions are for the good of his country

Tragic Hero Main character who comes to an unhappy end A person of importance in society Has many extraordinary abilities Possesses a tragic flaw A fatal error in judgment that leads directly to his or her downfall

The Plot Involves a conflict between the hero and a person or force called an antagonist, which the hero must battle This conflict contributes to the hero’s downfall It is built on a series of casually related events which lead to the catastrophe, or tragic resolution The final stage of he plot usually involves the death of the hero It is resolved when the hero meets his/her doom with courage & dignity

Setting Rome, Italy Along the Tiber River

Life in Rome Two classes of people Patricians (rich people) Plebeians (poor people)

Politics Julius Caesar is a political play It is about a general who would be king, but because of ambition & pride meets an untimely death Shakespeare seems be saying that good government must be based on morality In this respect the play has relevance to the politics of the modern world

The Focus of the Play This play focuses on those men who were responsible for the assassination of Caesar and their ill-fated attempt to control Rome

Timeline Shakespeare compresses the actual historical time of 3 years into a period of 6 days

Shakespeare’s Conventions of Drama Play is divided into acts Acts are divided into scenes Often marking a change in setting Dialogue spoken by the characters is labeled to show who is speaking Stage directions are written in italics and in parentheses and shows characters what to do while on stage

Soliloquy and Aside Soliloquy Aside A speech that a character makes while alone on stage, to reveal his or her thoughts to the audience Aside A remark that a character makes in an undertone to the audience or another character but that others on stage are not supposed to hear