Your guide to Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar – a play packed with politics, plots and powerplays. Compiled by Andy McLean.
The story of Julius Caesar in five simple steps
1. Conspiracy theory: Fresh from a major military triumph, Julius Caesar, the ruler of the Roman Republic, is urged to accept a crown by the adoring masses. He publicly declines but some of Caesar’s political colleagues suspect he secretly harbours royal aspirations – which would give him and any heir enduring power over Rome.
2. Pre-emptive strike: A group of senators, led by Cassius, plots to assassinate Caesar. Knowing the Roman population will take a lot of convincing that this act is justified, the conspirators enlist Caesar’s close friend, Brutus, to join their cause. Brutus is widely respected as a woman of honour, so Cassius persuades her that Caesar’s death would be for the greater good.
3. No turning back: Believing his own hype, Caesar ignores several warning signs and attends the city’s political HQ (the Capitol). Sure enough, the conspirators stab Caesar to death, with Brutus striking the final blow. After some debate, the life of Caesar’s protégé, Mark Antony (aka Antony), is spared. Afterwards, Antony sends a warning to Caesar’s absent nephew, Octavius, that he should not return to Rome until after Antony has spoken at Caesar’s funeral.
4. Figures of speech: At the funeral, Brutus delivers a speech to the Roman public, reasoning with them that Caesar’s death was necessary. His words appear to sway them, but Brutus then makes the mother of all PR blunders: he hands the mic to Antony and departs. Antony’s speech then deftly undercuts everything Brutus has just said. The mob turns against the conspirators and the ensuing riots soon turn into civil war.
5. Regime change: Cracks appear in the relationship between Brutus and Cassius but they agree to attack the army led by Antony and Octavius. Wrongly believing the battle is lost, Cassius persuades a servant to kill him. Brutus then dies by suicide before he can be captured. The end result? Rome is ruled by three leaders who share power: Octavius Caesar, Mark Antony and Lepidus.
Julius Caesar Popular, powerful, and recently victorious over Pompey, the ruler of Rome appears to have the world at his feet until he is assassinated in Act 3.
Calphurnia Caesar’s wife is haunted by dreams of her husband’s death, but her fears fall on deaf ears.
Brutus Moral compass firmly fixed on thinking and acting “honourably”. Her devotion to Caesar is surpassed only by her devotion to Rome and its ideals.
Portia Wife of Brutus and daughter of Cato the Roman statesman, but Portia is so much more than her relationships to these people. She is strong, trustworthy and highly intelligent.
Cassius Politically shrewd and pragmatic. Prepared to protect his vision of Rome by whatever means necessary.
Casca, Decius, Cinna, Metellus Cimber Roman senators-cum-conspirators in thrall of Cassius.
Mark Antony A general in the Roman army, Caesar’s right-hand man is a friend of the family.
Octavius Caesar Caesar’s great-nephew (and potential heir), Octavius might be a Nepo-Baby but he’s restrained and considered in his ambition.
Lepidus Roman general and third member of an alliance of convenience with Mark Antony and Octavius Caesar.
Soothsayer Caesar dismisses her as “a dreamer”, but the Soothsayer turns out to have an uncanny knack for seeing into the future.
Cinna the Poet As the name suggests: a Roman poet. Speaking of names, Cinna shares his with one of the conspirators.
Generations of actors, directors and scholars have been mesmerised by Julius Caesar. Here’s what a few of today’s luminaries make of it.
“The play is heartbreaking. And it’s heartbreaking in the sense that nothing is resolved; that everything stays the way it is, and actually everything goes from bad to worse. That stable quality is what makes the play heartbreaking, because nobody wins in the play. Nobody wins. Everybody loses.”
- British actor Brian Cox
“If he [Brutus] can be persuaded that he needs to defend Rome by killing the leader of Rome then that’s what he’s going to do. And then at the same moment, he’s sort of being torn apart. It’s not easy for him to commit to the assassination.”
- Professor Michael Dobson, Shakespeare Institute
“Cassius is the most purely revolutionary character in the play. He is not hampered by love of Caesar as Brutus is. He is clear-eyed about the situation…”
- British actor Harriet Walter, author of Brutus and Other Heroines
“Something extraordinary was beginning to happen as Shakespeare wrote Julius Caesar in the spring of 1599. The various strands of politics, character, inwardness, contemporary events, even Shakespeare’s own reflections on the act of writing, began to infuse each other. Brutus’ and Antony’s long funeral orations notwithstanding, Shakespeare was writing in an exceptionally spare and compressed style.”
- Professor James Shapiro, author of 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare
“Julius Caesar sees Shakespeare’s understanding of rhetoric feed fluently into a vision of how politics works. People are desiring machines: proud, envious, acquisitive, vengeful. To understand how words can be used to turn an audience into a community, or a crowd into a mob, is to understand the roots of power and the roots of human nature.”
- Sam Leith, author of You Talkin’ To Me: Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama
Julius Caesar contains some of the most famous lines in theatre, as well as several phrases that are still heard in everyday life:
They vanish tongue-tied in their guiltiness.
(Act 1 Scene 1)
Beware the Ides of March.
(Act 1 Scene 2)
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.
(Act 1 Scene 2)
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look.
(Act 1 Scene 2)
For mine own part, it was Greek to me.
(Act 1 Scene 2)
Et tu, Brute! Then fall, Caesar.
(Act 3 Scene 1)
Cry ‘Havoc!’ and let slip the dogs of war.
(Act 3 Scene 1)
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
(Act 3 Scene 2)
This was the most unkindest cut of all.
(Act 3 Scene 2)
The evil that men do lives after them.
(Act 3 Scene 2)
There is a tide in the affairs of men.
(Act 4 Scene 3)
1. It’s a date: World Speech Day is celebrated on 15 March. Coincidentally, that’s also the date that Brutus and Antony deliver their very famous funeral speeches in Julius Caesar.
2. Girl power: In Shakespeare’s day, female characters were all played on stage by men. Bell Shakespeare has turned that on its head in Julius Caesar many times. We had a female Cassius in 2012 (played by Kate Mulvany), a female Antony in 2018 (Sara Zwangobani) and now in 2026 Brutus is played by Brigid Zengeni.
3. Master of invention: Shakespeare is credited with inventing many English words. In Julius Caesar, we have the first recorded appearances of “gusty” and “misgiving”, among others.
4. Still calling the tune: Musicians from many genres have been inspired by this play, including Duke Ellington (Sonnet for Caesar), Elton John (The King Must Die) and Conor Oberst (You All Loved Him Once). Iron Maiden even quoted from the play in two separate songs (The Ides of March and The Evil That Men Do).
5. World premiere: Julius Caesar may have been the first of Shakespeare’s plays to be written for performance at London’s Globe Theatre when it first opened in 1599.
Join us for one of the most famous political plays of all time, centred on the most famous murder in western history. Julius Caesar plays at Sydney Opera House from 7 March – 5 April, Canberra Theatre Centre 10–18 April and Arts Centre Melbourne 23 April – 10 May. Book now.
You can read further about Shakespeare's political masterpiece on the Shakespeare Hub, our free digital resource for teachers, students and anyone looking to learn more about Shakespeare and his plays.
