Julius Caesar

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves..."

The source of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar is the histories by Plutarch. Shakespeare has dramatized many elements and added lines such as the now famous: "Et tu Brute?

Written around 1599, a time when the aging ruler of England, Queen Elizabeth had not yet named a successor and the nation was teetering on the verge of civil war.

Julius Caesar has returned from successful campaigns in France and Spain and has also deposed his most powerful ruler Pompey.

He has also secured Egypt thereby ensuring a constant grain supply for Rome and is now the most powerful man in the city.

Jealous of his success, a group of powerful conspirators led by Cassius, Casca and Cimber plan to assassinate Caesar before he fully secures his power.

Caesar is unaware of the grim fate awaiting him and pays little heed to the bad omens perceived by his wife Calpurnia and to the warnings of a Soothsayer who bids him to 'Beware the Ides of March'.

As Caesar enters the Senate, the conspirators assassinate him by means of daggers concealed in their garments.

Caesar dies after perceiving the treachery of Brutus whom he considered among his closest friends.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (1564-1616) was an English playwright poet, and actor, regarded as the world's pre-eminent dramatist, and the greatest writer in the English language. Author of such timeless works as Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Hamlet and King Lear, he is often called the "Bard of Avon," England's national poet.