Julius Caesar (play)
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar (First Folio title: The Tragedie of Ivlivs Cæsar), often abbreviated as Julius Caesar, is a history play and tragedy by William Shakespeare first performed in 1599.
In the play, Brutus joins a conspiracy led by Cassius to assassinate Julius Caesar, to prevent him from becoming a tyrant. Caesar's right-hand man Antony stirs up hostility against the conspirators and Rome becomes embroiled in a dramatic civil war.
Shakespeare makes Caesar's triumph take place on the day of (15 February) instead of six months earlier.
Lupercalia
For dramatic effect, he makes the the venue of Caesar's death rather than the Curia Pompeia (Curia of Pompey).
Capitol
Caesar's murder, the funeral, Antony's oration, the reading of the will, and the arrival of Octavius all take place on the same day in the play. However, historically, the assassination took place on 15 March (), the will was published on 18 March, the funeral was on 20 March, and Octavius arrived only in May.
The Ides of March
He combines the two although there was a 20-day interval between them.
Battles of Philippi
Shakespeare has Caesar say ("And you, Brutus?") before he dies. Plutarch and Suetonius each report that he said nothing, with Plutarch adding that he pulled his toga over his head when he saw Brutus among the conspirators,[9] though Suetonius does record other reports that Caesar said "ista quidem vis est" ("This is violence").[10][11] The Latin words Et tu, Brute?, however, were not devised by Shakespeare for this play since they are attributed to Caesar in earlier Elizabethan works and had become conventional by 1599.
Et tu, Brute?
1864: , Edwin and John Wilkes Booth (later the assassin of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln) made the only appearance onstage together in a benefit performance of Julius Caesar on 25 November 1864, at the Winter Garden Theater in New York City. Junius Jr. played Cassius, Edwin played Brutus and John Wilkes played Mark Antony. This landmark production raised funds to erect a statue of Shakespeare in Central Park, which remains to this day.
Junius Jr.
29 May 1916: A one-night performance in the natural bowl of , Hollywood drew an audience of 40,000 and starred Tyrone Power Sr. and Douglas Fairbanks Sr. The student bodies of Hollywood and Fairfax High Schools played opposing armies, and the elaborate battle scenes were performed on a huge stage as well as the surrounding hillsides. The play commemorated the tercentenary of Shakespeare's death. A photograph of the elaborate stage and viewing stands can be seen on the Library of Congress website. The performance was lauded by L. Frank Baum.[24]
Beachwood Canyon
1926: Another elaborate performance of the play was staged as a benefit for the at the Hollywood Bowl. Caesar arrived for the Lupercal in a chariot drawn by four white horses. The stage was the size of a city block and dominated by a central tower 80 feet (24 m) in height. The event was mainly aimed at creating work for unemployed actors. Three hundred gladiators appeared in an arena scene not featured in Shakespeare's play; a similar number of girls danced as Caesar's captives; a total of three thousand soldiers took part in the battle sequences.
Actors Fund of America
1599 in literature
Assassinations in fiction
Caesar's Comet
Mark Antony's Funeral Speech
"The dogs of war"
Text of , fully edited by John Cox, as well as original-spelling text, facsimiles of the 1623 Folio text, and other resources, at the Internet Shakespeare Editions
Julius Caesar
Includes Shakespeare's text with notes, line numbers, and a search function.
Julius Caesar Navigator
Archived 23 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine Includes the play line by line with interpretation.
No Fear Shakespeare
– by The Tech
Julius Caesar
– Searchable and scene-indexed version.
Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar in modern English
Julius Caesar translated into Latin by Dr. Hilgers
at Web English Teacher
Lesson plans for Julius Caesar
at PRX.org (Public Radio Exchange).
Quicksilver Radio Theater adaptation of Julius Caesar, which may be heard online
Read Online in Flash version.
Julius Caesar
– A word-by-word audio guide through the play.