56 pages • 1 hour read
Julius Caesar
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Summary and Study Guide
Overview
Book Details
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a history play and tragedy written by William Shakespeare and first performed in 1599. The play dramatizes the events surrounding the 44 BCE assassination of Julius Caesar, a Roman general and statesman. Shakespeare’s main source material for the play was Plutarch’s Lives, a series of biographies of famous men, published in the second century CE and translated into English by Thomas North in 1579. Shakespeare sometimes deviated from his source material, presumably to make it easier to stage the play without having to explain long intervals of time in between the story’s main events.
Themes
Julius Caesar is one of four Shakespearean tragedies set in Ancient Rome, alongside Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, and Titus Andronicus. Its setting in the waning days of the Roman Republic informs its thematic interests, which include the dangers of tyranny, the nature of political virtue, The Persuasive Power of Rhetoric in civic life, and How Hubric Can Lead to One's Downfall.
Film Adaptations
Julius Caesar is one of the most famous and most often performed of Shakespeare’s tragedies.
Unlock all 56 pages of this Study Guide
Plus, gain access to 8,850+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
Related Titles
By William Shakespeare
