Julius Caesar

The Feast of Lupercal

Feb 15, 1044

On the day of the Feast of Lupercal, a race is held and the winner of the race has the ability to cure infertility, according to legend. Caesar is having Antony to run and touch Calpurnius. After Antony wins the race and, touches her there is a celebration. In the midst of all of the shouting, a soothsayer warns Caesar. "Beware the Ides of March." Caesar ignores the warning and this will end up killing him. The soothsayer is warning him of the incoming assassination.

Cassius's soliloquy

Mar 14, 1044

Cassius talks to the audience about how is going to sway Brutus into helping him with the assassination. He says he is going to write multiple anonymous letters talking about how great Brutus is. He hopes that this will help spark Brutus and make him realize how important he is to Rome. This will make him believe that something needs to be done about Caesar.

The Storm

Mar 14, 1044

Cassius and Casca are talking about the storm and what they believe caused it. Casca says its the gods taking revenge on the people of Rome for doing something wrong. Cassius believes that the storm is a warning from the gods, because the storm is a lot like Caesar. Cassius compares the storm to Caesar and reveals his plan to Casca. This adds another person to the assassin group. The more people Cassius can gather the more acceptable and honorable the cause will become.

Brutus's Soliloquy

Mar 15, 1044

Brutus talks to the audience about what is going on and what he thinks about the conspiracy. One of the reasons that this is important is because it establishes Brutus as part of the assassins. This helps the conspiracy because Brutus becomes a powerful leader and he also helps add credibility to the assassins. Without Brutus, the assassins would have been thought of as people who were jealous of Caesar's power.

Decius's Flattering

Mar 15, 1044

Decius visits Caesar to tell him how great he is and assure him that nothing will happen at the capitol today. This gives Caesar more confidence and makes him more urged to go to the capitol. By doing this Decius has ensured that Caesar will be at the capitol so that the assassins can kill him.

Artemidorus's Letter

Mar 15, 1044

Artemidorus writes a letter to Caesar telling him who the assassins are. This will give Caesar a warning as to who to look out for but he will ignore it due to his high confidence and thinking that no one could kill him. If Caesar listens to the letter he will live. If he does not he will die.

Then Fall Caesar

Mar 15, 1044

In this scene, the conspirators surprise Caesar and stab him to death. Upon his death, Caesar says his final words. "Et Tu Brute? Then fall Caesar." This scene is important because it is the climax of the play. With Caesar dead, it opens up the door for the conspirators to prove that they were just to the people of Rome. Without Caesar Brutus believes that Antony will be powerless, but Brutus underestimates Antony.

Antony and Caesar's Body

Mar 15, 1044

After slaying Caesar, Brutus and Cassius stay and talk. While this is happening Antony returns after telling his servant to see if it is safe. Antony talks to the body of Caesar and prophesies that the death of Caesar will cause havoc and curses to the people. This is important because Antony plans on avenging Caesar. He is going to do this by persuading the people at Caesar's funeral that they are murderers.

Caesar's Funeral

Mar 15, 1044

After Caesar is killed they have a funeral. At this funeral, Brutus has allowed Antony to talk after he does. First Brutus gives a speech about the reason they killed Caesar. After Brutus is done talking the crowd is cheering for him to be king. Then Antony talks and persuades the crowd that the conspirators and murderers. This is important, because Brutus believed without Caesar that Antony would be useless. Now Antony has risen up a rebellion that wants to kill the conspirators.

Caesar's Ghost

1046

It was late at night after Brutus's servants have gone to sleep. He is reading a book and he is visited by Caesar's ghost. This scene makes Brutus sure that he needs to go to Philipi, because the ghost said he will see him again there. The ghost of Caesar shows that Caesar's spirit will not die. This scene also shows some of Brutus's regrets and doubts about killing Caesar.

Cassius and Brutus's argument

1046

Cassius and Brutus are having disagreements about what to do with the troops. Before arguing Brutus asks Cassius if they could go into the tent. This is important because if the troops saw their two leaders arguing it would cause the overall morale of the troops to drop and they would begin to lose faith in their leaders. Brutus says the reason he is acting differently is that he has things going on and later he reveals that Portia killed herself. This makes Cassius doubtful of his choices.

The Triumphant's choices

1046

After forming the Second Triumphant Octavius and Antony decide to make a list of people who they need to get rid of. This scene goes to show how Antony's motivation is changing. In act three Antony was motivated by the grief he felt after losing Caesar. In act four Antony is being more motivated by greed and power than by grief. This is especially obvious when Antony changes the will so that the people get less money. He uses this money for the triumphant

Pindarus' Misconception

1046

Cassius tells Pindarus to go up on a hill and watch to see what happens to Titinius. Pindarus thinks that he has been captured and tells Cassius what he thinks he saw. This makes Cassius think there is no hope left in the battle. This is important because if Pindarus had seen the right thing Cassius wouldn't have killed himself. With Cassius still alive Brutus wouldn't have killed himself, and they may have won the battle.

Lucilius' Loyalty

1046

Lucilius pretends to be Brutus while on the battlefield. He fights with an enemy soldier and once he is going to lose he says that he's Brutus. This makes the soldier go get Antony who informs the soldiers that he isn't Brutus but if he's that loyal he will be valuable to him. Lucilius shows his loyalty by trying to take whatever punishment they are going to give to Brutus and taking it upon himself. He also bought Brutus enough time to escape and take his own life.

Brutus' Suicide

1046

Brutus knows that after Cassius took his life there is no winning the battle so after retreating he asks all his close soldiers to hold his sword while he runs onto it. They all decline him except for Strato. The reason Brutus decided to kill himself is that he would rather take his own life than be captured by Antony. Brutus believes if he's captured that he will be hauled around Rome as a prisoner and Antony will get the glory of being the one who captured him