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Cassius accuses Brutus of being distant and withdrawn. But Caesar ignores this warning and the procession continues.Īs the crowd moves by, two Roman politicians remain behind – Cassius and Brutus, longtime friends and intimates of Caesar. As Caesar’s party continues toward the Capitol, a Soothsayer (a prophet who can see the future) calls out to Caesar “Beware the Ides of March.” Ides means the fifteenth day of the month. Caesar encourages his wife Calpurnia to stand in the way of the virile Mark Antony, who is running in the Lupercal race touching the runners brings fertility, and Caesar would like Calpurnia to provide him with an heir. So let’s get back to our story….Ī flourish of trumpets announces the entrance of the victorious Caesar with a great crowd, celebrating the Lupercal, a fertility festival. But that is another story, and Shakespeare didn’t mind playing with time, and so condenses several years of history into this two and a half hour play. It is interesting to note that Caesar actually lived for almost four years after the death of Pompey, when he met and fell in love with Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, all the while maintaining dictatorship of Rome. A year later, Caesar defeated Pompey and it is here that Shakespeare’s story begins. As a result, in 49 BCE, Caesar crossed the Rubicon River into Italy thrusting Rome into Civil War. When Caesar refused, believing (probably rightfully so) that Pompey intended to capture and prosecute him, Pompey had Caesar declared a traitor to Rome. In 50 BCE, Pompey ordered Caesar to return to Rome and disband his armies. When Pompey was named the sole Consul of Rome, effectively cutting Caesar out, and married the daughter of Caesar’s enemy, the Triumvirate dissolved and the two men became known enemies. During Caesar’s absence from Rome for nearly 10 years, his daughter – who had become Pompey’s wife – died, severing the tie between the remaining two members of the original Triumvirate. In 53 BCE, Crassus died in a failed military invasion, eliminating him as a potential political threat to the remaining two leaders. In 58 BCE, Caesar began his military campaigns, conquering, among others, Gaul (now Italy), and parts of Britain and France, all the while maintaining his power, in absentia, in the Roman political machine. However, human nature being what it is, each man soon began to act on behalf of his own personal ambitions for wealth, land and power. In 61 BCE, these two men, along with a third, Crassus, formed the First Triumvirate of Rome – three men chosen to rule equally, and for a limited time the Triumvirate was solidified by inter-marrying amongst each other’s families. Alone, Marullus states his fear that Caesar has grown dangerously high in the esteem of the people.īut allow me to pause here, dear reader/listener, to briefly explain the underlying political state in Rome at the time (which will clarify several plot points along our journey through this play.) You’ve already heard two names important to the background of the story: Caesar and Pompey. He sends the commoners home with: “Run to your houses, fall upon your knees, / Pray to the gods to intermit the plague / That needs must light on this ingratitude” and proceeds to tear down the decorations the commoners have hung in Caesar’s honor. The tribune Marullus, a government official chosen to represent the common people, asks the commoners why they are loitering in the streets, and a cobbler plainly replies: “we make holiday to see Caesar and to rejoice in his triumph.” Marullus mocks the mob for their fickle loyalties, since they used to be loyal to Caesar’s enemy, Pompey, who Caesar has now vanquished. The story begins in the streets of Rome in the year 44 BCE. The Life and Death of Julius Caesar is one of Shakespeare’s most well-known and oft-quoted plays, a classic story of loyalty, politics, murder and intrigue with some of the greatest oratory ever written. Our Future – Setting the Stage for Good.Marin Shakespeare Company - Contact Information.Videos, Creative Writing, Success Stories.Summer Camps - We make Shakespeare fun!.Teen Touring Company - A Unique Acting Opportunity.Classes - Year-round Instruction for Youth and Adults.