Background information Julius Caesar Background information

Mini History Lesson For centuries, Romans debated and even fought civil wars while trying to decide whether a monarchy, a republic or a dictatorship was the best form of government. Monarchy: king or queen in power (inherits power) Republic: chief of state who is not a monarch; supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote (elected leader) Dictatorship: (takes the power)

Rome the Republic Until 509 B.C., Rome was a monarchy, but, in that year, Rome was established as a republic. By 100 B.C., Rome was a moderate democracy in form; in actual practice, the Senate was ruling Rome. In 60 B.C., a triumvirate (a 3-man rule) of Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey was formed to govern Rome.

Caesar In 58 B.C., Caesar was made governor of part of Gaul, and at the age of 44 began his military career. During the next ten years, he proceeded to conquer all of Gaul. After Crassus was killed in battle, trouble began to develop between Pompey and Caesar. Pompey, jealous of Caesar’s popularity, persuaded the Senate to order Caesar to disband his army and return to Rome. But Caesar invaded Rome and made himself absolute ruler of Rome. Meanwhile, Pompey fled to Greece. Caesar defeated Pompey’s army and Pompey fled to Egypt where he was later murdered.  Three years after Caesar defeated Pompey’s army, Caesar defeated Pompey’s two sons. By now, Caesar had been made dictator for life. Thus, as Shakespeare begins his play with Caesar returning in victory from Spain, Caesar was the undisputed leader of master of the entire Roman world.

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar Setting of the play: Ancient Rome (that’s why we had the mini history lesson) The play starts with Caesar returning from battle Several Roman senators are disturbed by Caesar’s growing ambition. Their fear is legitimate because Caesar makes himself dictator, but the people love him. Senators resent him for having too much power.

Senators Conspire Brutus, Caesar’s friend who believes that he must act against Caesar for the good of Rome Casca, who hates the ordinary citizens of Rome yet is jealous because they love Caesar and not him Cassius, a greedy and jealous man who wants to take drastic measures to keep Caesar from winning any more power—and to take away any power that Caesar previously had!

Tragedy Tragedy: drama in which series of actions leads to the downfall of the main character, or tragic hero. In Shakespeare’s tragedies, the hero is usually the title character (like in Romeo & Juliet), but not in this play. Brutus is the tragic hero Person of high rank Has a tragic flaw-a fatal error in judgment or a weakness that contributes to downfall

Moral Dilemma Can your conscience mislead you? When making a difficult decision, you may be urged to let your conscience be your guide. But how foolproof is your conscience? In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, a man guided by the highest ideals fails to foresee the consequences of his actions. Discussion: Think of a time when you made a wrong decision, even though your intention was good. We will be sharing these.