Julius Caesar
Setting: February 15, the feast of Lupercal, Rome
Characters:
 Marullus: Supporter of Pompey. Along with Flavius, he undecorates the statues in protest of Caesar’s
conquest.
 Flavius: Supporter of Pompey.
 Commoners: Fickle-They jump on the bandwagon of whoever is in power at the time.
 Caesar: Ruler of Rome. Ignores Soothsayer’s warning.
 Calpurnia: Caesar’s wife. She is barren.
 Antony: Caesar’s best friend.
 Brutus: Caesar’s friend. Having an internal conflict. Does not trust Cassius. He does not want Caesar
to be the king. “I love the name of honor more than I fear death.”
 Soothsayer: Fortune teller. “Beware the Ides of March.”
 Cassius: Against Caesar. He lists Caesar’s weaknesses (poor swimmer, physically weak). He is a
thinker, smart, analytical, observer, ambitious, reads, doesn’t like entertainment, doesn’t smile much.
 Casca: against Caesar.
 Portia: Brutus’s crazy wife.
 Pindarus: slave
 Titinius: Cassius’s best friend
 Messala: General on Brutus’s side

Caesar’s Side
Conspirators
Caesar
Cassius
Commoners
Casca
Antony
Brutus
Calpurnia
Decius
Cinna
Metellus Cimber
Trebonius
Caius Ligarius
Act I Scene i:
 exposition-sets up the conflict that not all the people like Caesar.
Scene ii
 soothsayer’s warning
 Cassius trying to talk Brutus into going against Caesar.
 Cassius: “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,/But in ourselves, that we are underlings.”
 Caesar is deaf in his left ear.
 Caesar doesn’t like or trust Cassius.
 Antony offers Caesar the crown, but Caesar doesn’t take it. The people shout for joy.
 Caesar wants the crown
 Caesar has seizures (epilepsy).
 Marullus and Flavius were “put to silence” for going against Caesar.
 Casca pretends to be stupid to learn stuff about Caesar.
 Cassius asks Brutus to “think of the world.”
 Cassius in his soliloquy reiterates that Caesar must taken down. He will ensure that Brutus will
cooperate by forging letters from several citizens saying how great Brutus is.
Act I Scene iii:
 Casca sees…Foreshadowing: earthquake, storm, lightning,

Omens: slave’s left hand on fire but not burning; lion passed him in the street and didn’t attack him;
women saw men in fire walking in the street; owl hooting at noon in the market place.
 Casca thinks these bad omens come from the gods, and they should not follow through with their
plan to kill Caesar.
 Cassius says that the omens are because Caesar is such a tyrant that he needs to be killed.
 Casca thinks these omens are because of their plan to kill Caesar.
 Cassius says that Caesar’s bad actions have caused these omens.
 Cassius says he would rather die than live under Caesar’s rule
 Cinna will put the letters where Brutus can find them.
Themes:
 Flattery can seduce people into doing things they normally wouldn’t.
 Brutus feels like he should kill one to save the many people of Rome from suffering.
Act II Scene i:
 Brutus’s orchard, March 15
 Brutus wants to kill Caesar because he may become a tyrant.
 Meteor shower
 Brutus reads Cassius’s letter that tells him to “Speak, strike, redress!”
 Cassius says they should swear an oath; Brutus says no. Not going to swear.
 Cassius says to include Cicero; Brutus says no. They will not include him.
 Cassius says to kill Antony. Brutus says no because he doesn’t want people to see them as butchers.
He also says that Antony is like Caesar’s arm and he can do nothing after Caesar is dead. They decide
to let Antony live.
 Decius will get Caesar to the Capitol with flattery.
 Portia wants to know what’s bothering Brutus.
 Portia thinks Brutus is disturbed in his mind.
 Portia says that since Brutus is not telling her what his problem is, he is treating her as his mistress,
not as his wife.
 Portia stabs herself in the leg to prove her loyalty to Brutus.
 Brutus says he will tell Portia what is wrong.
 Caius is introduced to show how much power Brutus has over people. They will follow him just
because they love him.
Act II Scene ii:
 Three times Calpurnia cried out in her sleep “They murder Caesar!”
 Guard tells of the strange things he saw lioness had a cub in the street, bodies coming out of their
grave, big storm, blood raining down on capitol, ghosts.
 Calpurnia: “When beggars die there are no comets seen;/The heavens themselves blaze forth the
death of princes.”
 Caesar: “Cowards never die many times before their deaths;/The valiant never taste of death but
once.”
 Caesar doesn’t believe that he can escape his death.
 Augurers say he should stay home because their sacrifice didn’t have a heart.
 Caesar says he is more dangerous than danger. Conceited, arrogant
 Caesar decides not to go, then Decius shows up.
 Calpurnia’s dream: Caesar’s statue was running blood out of 100 spouts, and the Romans were
bathing in his blood.
 Decius says that the dream is good because through Caesar Rome will be revived.
 Decius says the senate will offer him a crown, and if he doesn’t go they will call him a coward.
 Caesar decides to go, and all the conspirators show up to take him.
Act II Scene iii:
 Artemidorus’s letter: Warns Caesar against the conspirators.
 Arty will give the letter to Caesar when he walks by.
Act II Scene iv:
 Portia is worried about Brutus; Soothsayer is worried about Caesar.
Act III Scene i:
 Caesar doesn’t take Arty’s letter.
 Brutus gets Antony away from Caesar so he can’t help Caesar.
 Caesar said that he never does anything wrong.
 Conspirators are asking for Publius Cimber to be unbanished.
 Caesar says he is constant as the Northern Star.
 “Et tu Brute—Then fall Caesar.”
 Tragic hero characteristics: high estate, flaw, downfall b/c of flaw, realization that they cause their
downfall.
 Conspirators yell, “Liberty, freedom, tyranny is dead.”
 Conspirators bathe their hands in Caesar’s blood just like Calpurnia’s dream.
 Antony wants to know why they killed Caesar.
 apostrophe: speaking to someone or something that is not there.
 Antony speaks to Caesar’s body.
 Antony shakes hands with them to make them think he is on their side.
 Antony compares Caesar to a deer.
 Antony wants to speak in Caesar’s funeral.
 Cassius says no, Brutus says yes. They let him with some conditions.
 Rules: Don’t speak bad about conspirators; speak good of Caesar; speak after Brutus in the same
pulpit.
 Extra credit: Memorize and say Antony’s speech p. 1247 or 1250.
 Antony wants war and the death of the conspirators.
 Octavius Caesar, Caesar’s nephew and heir is outside Rome with his army.
Act III Scene ii:
 Brutus says that he killed Caesar for the good of Rome because Caesar was ambitious.
 When Rome calls for Brutus’s death, he will kill himself. (foreshadowing)
 The fickle crowd is on Brutus’s side.
 Brutus leaves. (mistake)
 Antony speaks and says that Caesar was not ambitious because he earned money for Rome, wept
with the people, refused the crown thrice. Manipulating the people.
 He points out each conspirator’s name individually so the crowd will go get them.
 He says that Brutus made “The most unkindest cut of all.”
 Caesar’s will read that each citizen would receive 75 drachmas; his orchards will be converted into
public parks.
 People are on Antony’s side.
 Brutus and Cassius fled the city.
Act III Scene iii
 Rioters attack Cinna the Poet just because his name is like one of the conspirators.
Act IV Scene i:
 Antony, Octavius and Lepidus are the 2nd triumvirate.
 Conspirators agree to let some members of their family die to avoid seeming biased.
 Antony feels Lepidus is not worthy of ruling 1/3 of the world.
Act IV Scene ii:
 Brutus and Cassius are unhappy with each other. They go inside a tent to argue.
Act IV Scene iii:
 Cassius is mad because Brutus condemned Lucius Pella for taking bribes even though Cassius said he
wouldn’t do that.
 Brutus says that Cassius denied him gold to pay for his army.
 After the argument, the poet comes in to provide comic relief.
 Portia killed herself by swallowing hot coals.
 Messala says that Antony and the rest killed 100 senators. Brutus says he heard 70, one being Cicero.
 Should they march to Philippi? Cassius says no; Brutus says yes; they go to Philippi.
 Caesar’s ghost comes to say he will see Brutus at Philippi.
Act V Scene i:
 Antony and Octavius are still arguing.
 The leaders are going to have parley where they get together to insult each other.
 Octavius says that Caesar’s 33 wounds need to be avenged.
 Brutus says the battle will just last one day.
Act V Scene ii:
 Brutus says he sees weakness in Octavius’s army, so Messala should attack now.
Act V Scene iii:
 Cassius sends Titinius below to the camp to see if the people there are friends or enemies.
 Cassius sends Pindarus to higher ground so that he can see what happens to Titinius.
 Today is Cassius’s birthday.
 Pindarus reports that Titinius is taken prisoner.
 Cassius asks Pindarus to stab him. He does. Cassius last words are “Caesar, thou are revenged/Even
with the sword that killed thee.”
 Pindarus runs away.
 Titinius wasn’t really captured, so Cassius killed himself for no reason on his birthday.
 Titinius kills himself because Cassius is dead.
Act V Scene iv:
 Cato pretends to be Brutus to trick the other army in giving up.
Act V Scene v:
 Brutus asks Clitus, Dardanius and Volumnius to hold his sword while he runs on it. They refuse.
 Strato (bondman) agrees and holds the sword while Brutus runs on it.
 Brutus dies. His last words are “Caesar now be still/I killed not thee with half so good a will.”
 Antony says that Brutus was “the noblest Roman of them all” because he killed Caesar for the good of
Rome.
 Octavius says they will give Brutus full military honors when they bury him.
 THE END!