William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar Cast of Characters

Julius
Caesar
Antony
Octavius triumvirs after Caesar’s death
Lepidus

Brutus
Cassius
Casca conspirators against Caesar
Cinna
Trebonius
Cimber

Titinius
Messala friends of Brutus and Cassius
Volumnius

Lena assistant to
Brutus Dardanius servant to
Brutus Clitus servant to
Brutus

Pindarus servant to Cassius

Calpurnia wife of Caesar

Portia wife of Brutus

Cinna a poet
Soothsayer

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CSIS
agents
Soldiers
Citizens

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 William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar Brief summary

Two tribunes, Marullus and Flavius, break up a gathering of Roman

citizens who celebrate Julius Caesar’s triumphant return from war.
The victory is marked by public games in which Caesar’s friend,
Antony, takes part. On his way to the arena, Caesar is stopped by a
stranger who warns that he should “Beware the Ides (15th) of March”.

Fellow senators, Cassius and Brutus, are suspicious of Caesar’s

reactions to the power he holds in the Republic. They fear he will
accept offers to become Emperor. Cassius, a successful general
himself, is jealous, while Brutus is uncertain. Cassius, Casca, and their
allies, visit Brutus at night to persuade him to share their views, and
they plan Caesar’s death. Brutus is troubled, but does not confide in
his devoted wife, Portia.

On the 15th of March, Caesar is urged not to go to the Senate

by his wife, Calpurnia, who has had dreams that he will be
murdered. He is nevertheless persuaded by a conspirator to
go anyway, and as petitioners surround him, Caesar is
stabbed and dies with Brutus giving the final blow. Brutus
then addresses the people of Rome to explain the
conspirators’ motives and their fears about Caesar’s
ambition. Against Cassius’ advice, Brutus allows Anthony to
speak next. While Brutus’ speech calms the crowd, Antony’s
oration stirs them to rioting and the conspirators are forced
to flee the city.

Brutus and Cassius gather an army in Northern Greece and

prepare to fight the forces led by Antony, who has joined with
Octavius, and Lepidus. Brutus and Cassius are now filled with
doubts about the future, and they quarrel bitterly over funds
for their soldiers’ pay. Eventually, they prepare to engage
Antony’s army at Philippi. Brutus stoically receives news of his
wife’s suicide in Rome, but as he tries to rest on the eve of the
conflict, he sees Caesar’s ghost.

In the battle, the conspirators appear at first to be winning,

but when his messenger seems to be overtaken by the enemy,
Cassius fears the worst and gets his servant, Pindarus, to help
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him to a quick death. Brutus, finding Cassius’s body, commits
suicide. To Brutus, this death is the only honourable action
left to him. Antony, triumphant on the battlefield, praises
Brutus as “the noblest Roman of them all”, and orders a
formal funeral before he and Octavius return to rule in Rome.

Two tribunes, Flavius and Marullus, find scores of Roman citizens

wandering the streets, neglecting their work in order to watch Julius
Caesar’s triumphal parade: Caesar has defeated the sons of the
deceased Roman general Pompey, his archrival, in battle. The
tribunes scold the citizens for abandoning their duties and remove
decorations from Caesar’s statues. Caesar enters with his entourage,
including the military and political figures Brutus, Cassius, and
Antony. A Soothsayer calls out to Caesar to “beware the Ides of
March,” but Caesar ignores him and proceeds with his victory
celebration.

Cassius and Brutus, both long time intimates of Caesar and each
other, converse. Cassius tells Brutus that he has seemed distant lately;
Brutus replies that he has been at war with himself. Cassius states that
he wishes Brutus could see himself as others see him, for then Brutus
would realize how honored and respected he is. Brutus says that he
fears that the people want Caesar to become king, which would
overturn the republic. Cassius concurs that Caesar is treated like a god
though he is merely a man, no better than Brutus or Cassius.
Cassius recalls incidents of Caesar’s physical weakness and marvels
that this fallible man has become so powerful. He blames his and
Brutus’ lack of will for allowing Caesar’s rise to power: surely the rise
of such a man cannot be the work of fate. Brutus considers Cassius’
words as Caesar returns. Upon seeing Cassius, Caesar tells Antony
that he deeply distrusts Cassius.

Caesar departs, and another politician, Casca, tells Brutus and

Cassius that, during the celebration, Antony offered the crown to
Caesar three times and the people cheered, but Caesar refused it
each time. He reports that Caesar then fell to the ground and had
some kind of seizure in front of the crowd; his demonstration of
weakness, however, did not alter the plebeians’ devotion to him.
Brutus goes home to consider Cassius’ words regarding Caesar’s
poor qualifications to rule, while Cassius hatches a plot to draw
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Brutus into a conspiracy against Caesar.
That night, Rome is plagued with violent weather and a variety of bad
omens and portents. Brutus finds letters in his house apparently
written by Roman citizens worried that Caesar has become too
powerful. The letters have in fact been forged and planted by
Cassius, who knows that if Brutus believes it is the people’s will, he
will support a plot to remove Caesar from power. A committed
supporter of the republic, Brutus fears the possibility of a dictator-led
empire, worrying that the populace would lose its voice. Cassius
arrives at Brutus’ home with his conspirators, and Brutus, who has
already been won over by the letters, takes control of the meeting.
The men agree to lure Caesar from his house and kill him. Cassius
wants to kill Antony too, for Antony will surely try to hinder their
plans, but Brutus disagrees, believing that too many deaths will
render their plot too bloody and dishonor them. Having agreed to
spare Antony, the conspirators depart. Portia, Brutus’ wife, observes
that Brutus appears preoccupied. She pleads with him to confide in
her, but he rebuffs her.

Caesar prepares to go to the Senate. His wife, Calpurnia, begs him

not to go, describing recent nightmares she has had in which a statue
of Caesar streamed with blood and smiling men bathed their hands in
the blood. Caesar refuses to yield to fear and insists on going about
his daily business. Finally, Calpurnia convinces him to stay home—if
not out of caution, then as a favor to her. But Decius, one of the
conspirators, then arrives and convinces Caesar that Calpurnia has
misinterpreted her dreams and the recent omens. Caesar departs for
the Senate in the company of the conspirators.

As Caesar proceeds through the streets toward the Senate,

the Soothsayer again tries but fails to get his attention. The
citizen, Artemidorus, hands him a letter warning him about
the conspirators, but Caesar refuses to read it, saying that his
closest personal concerns are his last priority. At the Senate,
the conspirators speak to Caesar, bowing at his feet and
encircling him. One by one, they stab him to death. When
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Caesar sees his dear friend Brutus among his murderers, he
gives up his struggle and dies.

The murderers bathe their hands and swords in Caesar’s

blood, thus bringing Calpurnia’s premonition to fruition.
Antony, having been led away on a false pretext, returns and
pledges allegiance to Brutus, but weeps over Caesar’s body.
He shakes hands with the conspirators, thus marking them all
as guilty while appearing to make a gesture of conciliation.
When Antony asks why they killed Caesar, Brutus replies that
he will explain their purpose in a funeral oration. Antony asks
to be allowed to speak over the body as well; Brutus grants
his permission, though Cassius remains suspicious of Antony.
The conspirators depart, and Antony, alone now, swears that
Caesar’s death shall be avenged.

Brutus and Cassius go to the Forum to speak to the public.

Cassius exits to address another part of the crowd. Brutus
declares to the masses that though he loved Caesar, he loves
Rome more, and Caesar’s ambition posed a danger to Roman
liberty. The speech placates the crowd. Antony appears with
Caesar’s body, and Brutus departs after turning the pulpit
over to Antony.
Repeatedly referring to Brutus as “an honorable man,”
Antony’s speech becomes increasingly sarcastic. Questioning
the claims that Caesar acted only out of ambition, Antony
points out that Caesar brought much wealth and glory to
Rome, and three times turned down offers of the crown.
Antony then produces Caesar’s will, but announces that he
will not read it because it would upset the people
inordinately. The crowd nevertheless begs him to read the
will, so he descends from the pulpit to stand next to Caesar’s
body. He describes Caesar’s horrible death and shows
Caesar’s wounded body to the crowd. He then reads Caesar’s
will, which bequeaths a sum of money to every citizen and
orders that his private gardens be made public. The crowd
becomes enraged that this generous man lies dead. Calling
Brutus and Cassius traitors, the masses set off to drive them
from the city.

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Meanwhile, Caesar’s adopted son and appointed successor,
Octavius, arrives in Rome and forms a three-person coalition
with Antony and Lepidus. They prepare to fight Cassius and
Brutus, who have been driven into exile and are raising armies
outside the city. At the conspirators’ camp, Brutus and
Cassius have a heated argument regarding matters of money
and honor, but they ultimately reconcile. Brutus reveals that
he is sick with grief, for in his absence Portia has killed
herself. The two continue to prepare for battle with Antony
and Octavius. That night, the Ghost of Caesar appears to
Brutus, announcing that Brutus will meet him again on the
battlefield.

Octavius and Antony march their army toward Brutus and

Cassius. Antony tells Octavius where to attack, but Octavius
says that he will make his own orders; he is already asserting
his authority as the heir of Caesar and the next ruler of Rome.
The opposing generals meet on the battlefield and exchange
insults before beginning combat.

Cassius witnesses his own men fleeing and hears that Brutus’s
men are not performing effectively. Cassius sends one of his
men, Pindarus, to see how matters are progressing. From afar,
Pindarus sees one of their leaders, Cassius’
best friend, Titinius, being surrounded by cheering troops and
concludes that he has been captured. Cassius despairs and
orders Pindarus to kill him with his own sword. He dies
proclaiming that Caesar is avenged. Titinius himself then
arrives—the men encircling him were actually his comrades,
cheering a victory he had earned. Titinius sees Cassius’s corpse
and, mourning the death of his friend, kills himself.

Brutus learns of the deaths of Cassius and Titinius with a heavy

heart, and prepares to take on the Romans again. When his
army loses, doom appears imminent. Brutus asks one of his
men to hold his sword while he impales himself on it. Finally,
Caesar can rest satisfied, he says as he dies. Octavius and
Antony arrive. Antony speaks over Brutus’ body, calling him
the noblest Roman of all.
While the other conspirators acted out of envy and ambition,
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 he observes, Brutus genuinely believed that he acted for the
benefit of Rome. Octavius orders that Brutus be buried in the
most honorable way. The men then depart to celebrate their
victory.

 Character analysis
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