Editing Julius Caesar (play)

{{Short description|Play by William Shakespeare (1564-1616)}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{italic title}}
[[File:Edwin Austin Abbey - Within the Tent of Brutus, Enter the Ghost of Caesar, Julius Caesar, Act IV, Scene III - 1937.1148 - Yale University Art Gallery.jpg|thumb|''Within the Tent of Brutus: Enter the Ghost of Caesar, Julius Caesar, Act IV, Scene III'', a 1905 portrait by [[Edwin Austin Abbey]]]]
'''''The Tragedy of Julius Caesar '''''([[First Folio]] title: '''''The Tragedie of Ivlivs Cæsar'''''), often shortened to '''''Julius Caesar''''', is a history play and [[Shakespearean tragedy|tragedy]] by [[William Shakespeare]] first performed in 1599.

In the play, [[Brutus the Younger|Brutus]] joins a conspiracy led by [[Gaius Cassius Longinus|Cassius]] to assassinate [[Julius Caesar]], to prevent him from becoming a tyrant. Caesar's right-hand man [[Mark Antony|Antony]] stirs up hostility against the conspirators and [[Roman Empire|Rome]] becomes embroiled in a dramatic civil war.

==Synopsis==
The play opens with two [[tribunes]] [[Flavius]] and [[Gaius Epidius Marullus|Marullus]] (appointed leaders/officials of Rome) discovering the [[plebeians|commoners]] of Rome celebrating [[Julius Caesar]]'s [[Roman triumph|triumphant return]] from [[Battle of Munda|defeating]] the sons of his military rival, [[Pompey]]. The tribunes, insulting the crowd for their change in loyalty from Pompey to Caesar, attempt to end the festivities and break up the commoners, who return the insults. During the [[Lupercalia|feast of Lupercal]], Caesar holds a victory parade and a [[Fortune-telling|soothsayer]] warns him to "Beware [[Ides of March|the ides of March]]," which he ignores. Meanwhile, [[Gaius Cassius Longinus|Cassius]] attempts to convince [[Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger|Brutus]] to join his [[Liberatores|conspiracy]] to kill Caesar. Although Brutus, friendly towards Caesar, is hesitant to kill him, he agrees that Caesar may be abusing his power. They then hear from [[Servilius Casca|Casca]] that [[Mark Antony]] has offered Caesar the crown of Rome three times. Casca tells them that each time Caesar refused it with increasing reluctance, hoping that the crowd watching would insist that he accept the crown. He describes how the crowd applauded Caesar for denying the crown, and how this upset Caesar. On the eve of the ides of March, the conspirators meet and reveal that they have forged letters of support from the Roman people to tempt Brutus into joining. Brutus reads the letters and, after much moral debate, decides to join the conspiracy, thinking that Caesar should be killed to ''prevent'' him from doing anything against the people of Rome if he were ever to be crowned.

[[File:'Julius Caesar', Act III, Scene 2, the Murder Scene George Clint (1770–1854) Royal Shakespeare Theatre.jpg|thumb|''"Julius Caesar", Act III, Scene 2, the Murder Scene'', [[George Clint]] (1822)]]After ignoring the soothsayer, as well as his wife [[Calpurnia (wife of Caesar)|Calpurnia]]'s own premonitions, Caesar goes to the Senate. The conspirators approach him with a fake petition pleading on behalf of [[Metellus Cimber]]'s banished brother. As Caesar predictably rejects the petition, Casca and the others suddenly stab him; Brutus is last. At this, Caesar asks "[[Et tu, Brute?]]"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://shakespeare-navigators.com/JC_Navigator/JC_3_1.html#speech36|title=''Julius Caesar,'' Act 3, Scene 1, Line 77.}}</ref> ("And you, Brutus?"), concluding with "Then fall, Caesar!"

[[File: Herbert Beerbohm Tree (1852–1917), as Mark Anthony in 'Julius Caesar' by William Shakespeare Charles A. Buchel (1872–1950) Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|thumb|''[[Herbert Beerbohm Tree]] (1852–1917), as Mark Anthony in 'Julius Caesar' by William Shakespeare'', [[Charles A. Buchel]] (1914)]]
The conspirators attempt to demonstrate that they killed Caesar for the good of Rome, to prevent an autocrat. They prove this by not attempting to flee the scene. Brutus delivers an oration defending his actions, and for the moment, the crowd is on his side. However, Antony makes a subtle and eloquent speech over Caesar's corpse, beginning "[[Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears]]!"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.shakespeare-navigators.com/JC_Navigator/JC_3_2.html#speech30|title='' Julius Caesar,'' Act 3, Scene 2, Line 73.}}</ref> He deftly turns [[public opinion]] against the assassins by manipulating the emotions of the [[plebeians|common people]], in contrast to the rational tone of Brutus's speech, yet there is a method in his rhetorical speech and gestures. Antony reminds the crowd of the good Caesar had done for Rome, his sympathy with the poor, and his refusal of the crown at the Lupercal, thus questioning Brutus's claim of Caesar's ambition; he shows Caesar's bloody, lifeless body to the crowd to have them shed tears and gain sympathy for their fallen hero; and he reads Caesar's will, in which every Roman citizen would receive 75 [[Ancient drachma|drachmas]]. Antony, even as he states his intentions against it, rouses the mob to drive the conspirators from Rome. The mob takes Caesar's body to the Forum, lights his funeral pyre, and uses the pyre to light up torches for burning down the homes of the conspirators. Amid the violence, an innocent poet, [[Helvius Cinna|Cinna]], is confused with the conspirator [[Lucius Cornelius Cinna (praetor 44 BC)|Lucius Cinna]] and is taken by the mob, which kills him for such "offences" as his bad verses.

Brutus then attacks Cassius for supposedly soiling the noble act of [[regicide]] by having accepted bribes. ("Did not great Julius bleed for justice' sake? / What villain touched his body, that did stab, / And not for justice?"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://shakespeare-navigators.com/JC_Navigator/JC_4_3.html#speech8|title='' Julius Caesar'', Act 4, Scene 3, Lines 19–21.}}</ref>) The two are reconciled, especially after Brutus reveals that his [[Porcia (wife of Brutus)|beloved wife]] committed suicide under the stress of his absence from Rome; they prepare for a [[Liberators' civil war|civil war]] against Antony, Caesar's adopted son [[Caesar Augustus|Octavius]], and [[Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (triumvir)|Lepidus]] who have formed a triumvirate in Rome. That night, Caesar's ghost appears to Brutus with a warning of defeat. (He informs Brutus, "Thou shalt see me at Philippi."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://shakespeare-navigators.com/JC_Navigator/JC_4_3.html#282b|title=''Julius Caesar,'' Act 4, Scene 3, Line 283.}}</ref>)[[File:Brutus and the Ghost of Caesar 1802.jpg|thumb|right|220px|The ghost of Caesar taunts Brutus about his imminent defeat. ([[Copperplate engraving]] by Edward Scriven from a painting by [[Richard Westall]]: London, 1802.)]]

At the [[Battle of Philippi]], Cassius and Brutus, knowing that they will probably both die, smile their last smiles to each other and hold hands. During the battle, Cassius has his servant kill him after hearing of the capture of his best friend, [[Titinius]]. After Titinius, who was not captured, sees Cassius's corpse, he commits suicide. However, Brutus wins that stage of the battle, but his victory is not conclusive. With a heavy heart, Brutus battles again the next day. He asks his friends to kill him, but the friends refuse. He loses and commits suicide by running on his sword, held for him by a loyal soldier.
[[File: Henry Fuseli, The Death of Brutus, a charcoal drawing with white chalk (c.1785).jpg|thumb|''[[Henry Fuseli]], The Death of Brutus, a charcoal drawing with white chalk'' ({{Circa|1785}})]]
The play ends with a tribute to Brutus by Antony, who proclaims that Brutus has remained "the noblest Roman of them all"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://shakespeare-navigators.com/JC_Navigator/JC_5_5.html#speech36|title='' Julius Caesar,'' Act 5, Scene 5, Line 68.}}</ref> because he was the only conspirator who acted, in his mind, for the good of Rome. There is then a small hint at the friction between Antony and Octavius which characterizes another of Shakespeare's Roman plays, ''[[Antony and Cleopatra]].''

[[File:Caesar-Coulouris-Welles.jpg|thumb|250px|Antony ([[George Coulouris]]) kneels over the body of Brutus ([[Orson Welles]]) at the conclusion of the [[Mercury Theatre]] production of ''[[Caesar (Mercury Theatre)|Caesar]]'' (1937–38)]]

== Characters ==

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Julius Caesar]]

''[[Triumvirate (ancient Rome)|Triumvirs]] after Caesar's death''
* [[Augustus|Octavius Caesar]]
* [[Mark Antony]]
* [[Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (triumvir)|Lepidus]]

''Conspirators against Caesar''
* [[Marcus Junius Brutus|Marcus Junius Brutus (Brutus)]]
* [[Caius Cassius Longinus| Caius Cassius]]
* [[Servilius Casca|Casca]]
* [[Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus|Decius Brutus]]
* [[Lucius Cornelius Cinna (praetor 44 BC)|Cinna]]
* [[Tillius Cimber|Metellus Cimber]]
* [[Gaius Trebonius|Trebonius]]
* [[Quintus Ligarius|Caius Ligarius]]

''Tribunes''
* [[Lucius Caesetius Flavus|Flavius]]
* [[Gaius Epidius Marullus|Marullus]]

''Roman Senate Senators''
* [[Cicero]]
* Publius
* [[Gaius Popillius Laenas|Popilius Lena]]

''Citizens''
* [[Calpurnia (wife of Caesar)|Calpurnia]] – Caesar's wife
* [[Porcia (wife of Brutus)|Portia]] – Brutus' wife
* [[Oracle|Soothsayer]] – a person supposed to be able to foresee the future
* [[Artemidorus Knidos|Artemidorus]] – [[sophist]] from [[Knidos]]
* [[Helvius Cinna|Cinna]] – poet
* [[Shoemaking|Cobbler]]
* [[Carpenter]]
* [[Poet]] (believed to be based on [[Marcus Favonius]])<ref>Named in ''[[Parallel Lives]]'' and quoted in {{cite book|last=Spevack|first=Marvin |title=Julius Caesar|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, England|year=2004|edition=2|series=New Cambridge Shakespeare|page=74|isbn=978-0-521-53513-7}}</ref>
* [[Lucius]] – Brutus' attendant

''Loyal to Brutus and Cassius''
* [[Publius Volumnius|Volumnius]]
* [[Titinius]]
* [[Marcus Porcius Cato (son of Cato the Younger)|Young Cato]] – Portia's brother
* [[Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus|Messala]] – messenger
* [[Varrus]]
* Clitus
* Claudio
* Dardanius
* Strato
* [[Lucilius]]
* [[Flavius]] (non-speaking role)
* Labeo (non-speaking role)
* Pindarus – Cassius' bondman

''Other''
* [[Caesar]]'s [[servant]]
* Antony's [[servant]]
* [[Augustus|Octavius]]' [[servant]]
* [[Courier|Messenger]]
* Other [[soldiers]], [[Roman Senate|senators]], [[plebeians]], and [[Servant|attendants]]
{{div col end}}

==Sources==
The main source of the play is [[Thomas North]]'s translation of [[Plutarch]]'s ''[[Parallel Lives|Lives]]''.<ref>{{cite book | last = Shakespeare | first = William | editor=Arthur Humphreys | title =Julius Caesar | publisher=Oxford University Press | year = 1999 | page = 8 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Soh9UVaIqRMC&pg=PA1 | isbn = 0-19-283606-4 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.shakespeare-navigators.com/plutarch_caesar/index.html Pages from Plutarch, Shakespeare's Source for ''Julius Caesar''].</ref>

===Deviations from Plutarch===
* Shakespeare makes Caesar's triumph take place on the day of [[Lupercalia]] (15 February) instead of six months earlier.
* For dramatic effect, he makes the [[Capitoline Hill|Capitol]] the venue of Caesar's death rather than the ''Curia Pompeia'' ([[Curia of Pompey]]).
* Caesar's murder, the funeral, Antony's oration, the reading of the will, and the arrival of Octavius all take place on the same day in the play. However, historically, the assassination took place on 15 March ([[Ides of March|The Ides of March]]), the will was published on 18 March, the funeral was on 20 March, and Octavius arrived only in May.
* Shakespeare makes the [[Second Triumvirate|Triumvirs]] meet in Rome instead of near [[Bologna|Bononia]] to avoid an additional locale.
* He combines the two [[Battle of Philippi|Battles of Philippi]] although there was a 20-day interval between them.
* Shakespeare has Caesar say ''[[Et tu, Brute?]]'' ("And you, Brutus?") before he dies. [[Plutarch]] and [[Suetonius]] each report that he said nothing, with Plutarch adding that he pulled his [[toga]] over his head when he saw Brutus among the conspirators,<ref>Plutarch, ''Caesar'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html#66.9 66.9]</ref> though Suetonius does record other reports that Caesar said "{{lang|la|ista quidem vis est}}" ("This is violence").<ref>Suetonius, ''Julius'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#82.2 82.2]).</ref><ref>Suetonius, ''The Twelve Caesars'', translated by Robert Graves, Penguin Classic, p. 39, 1957.</ref> The Latin words ''Et tu, Brute?'', however, were not devised by Shakespeare for this play since they are attributed to Caesar in earlier Elizabethan works and had become conventional by 1599.

Shakespeare deviated from these historical facts to curtail time and compress the facts so that the play could be staged more easily. The tragic force is condensed into a few scenes for heightened effect.

==Date and text==
[[File:Second Folio Title Page of Julius Caesar.jpg|thumb|The first page of ''Julius Caesar'', printed in the Second Folio of 1632]]
''Julius Caesar'' was originally published in the [[First Folio]] of 1623, but a performance was mentioned by [[Thomas Platter the Younger]] in his diary in September 1599. The play is not mentioned in the list of Shakespeare's plays published by [[Francis Meres]] in 1598. Based on these two points, as well as several contemporary allusions, and the belief that the play is similar to ''[[Hamlet]]'' in vocabulary, and to ''[[Henry V (play)|Henry V]]'' and ''[[As You Like It]]'' in metre,<ref>Wells and Dobson (2001, 229).</ref> scholars have suggested 1599 as a probable date.<ref>Spevack (1988, 6), Dorsch (1955, vii–viii), Boyce (2000, 328), Wells, Dobson (2001, 229)</ref>

The text of ''Julius Caesar'' in the First Folio is the only [[authority (textual criticism)|authoritative]] text for the play. The Folio text is notable for its quality and consistency; scholars judge it to have been set into type from a theatrical prompt-book.<ref>Wells and Dobson, ''ibid''.</ref>

The play contains many [[anachronistic]] elements from the [[Elizabethan era]]. The characters mention objects such as [[Doublet (clothing)|doublets]] (large, heavy jackets) – which did not exist in ancient Rome. Caesar is mentioned to be wearing an Elizabethan doublet instead of a Roman toga. At one point a clock is heard to strike and Brutus notes it with "Count the clock".

==Analysis and criticism==
{{expand section|date=February 2021}}
===Historical background===
Maria Wyke has written that the play reflects the general anxiety of Elizabethan England over a succession of leadership. At the time of its creation and first performance, [[Elizabeth I of England|Queen Elizabeth]], a strong ruler, was elderly and had refused to name a successor, leading to worries that a [[English Civil War|civil war]] similar to that of Rome might break out after her death.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wyke|first=Maria |title=Julius Caesar in western culture|publisher=Blackwell|location=Oxford, England|year=2006|page=5|isbn=978-1-4051-2599-4}}</ref>

===Protagonist debate===
[[File:Brutus sees Caesar's ghost.jpg|thumb|A late 19th-century painting of Act IV, Scene iii: Brutus sees Caesar's ghost]]

Critics of Shakespeare's play ''Julius Caesar'' differ greatly in their views of Caesar and Brutus. Many{{who|date=October 2024}} have debated whether Caesar or Brutus is the protagonist of the play. Intertwined in this debate is a smattering of philosophical and psychological ideologies on [[republicanism]] and [[monarchism]]. One author, Robert C. Reynolds, devotes attention to the names or epithets given to both Brutus and Caesar in his essay "Ironic Epithet in ''Julius Caesar''". He points out that Casca praises Brutus at face value, but then inadvertently compares him to a disreputable joke of a man by calling him an [[alchemist]], "Oh, he sits high in all the people's hearts,/And that which would appear offense in us/ His countenance, like richest alchemy,/ Will change to virtue and worthiness" (I.iii.158–160). Reynolds also talks about Caesar and his "Colossus" epithet, which he points out has obvious connotations of power and manliness, but also lesser-known connotations of an outward glorious front and inward chaos.<ref>Reynolds 329–333</ref>

Myron Taylor, in his essay "Shakespeare's ''Julius Caesar'' and the Irony of History", compares the logic and philosophies of Caesar and Brutus. Caesar is deemed an intuitive philosopher who is always right when he goes with his instinct; for instance, when he says he fears Cassius as a threat to him before he is killed, his intuition is correct. Brutus is portrayed as a man similar to Caesar, but whose passions lead him to the wrong reasoning, which he realizes in the end when he says in V.v.50–51, "Caesar, now be still:/ I killed not thee with half so good a will".<ref>Taylor 301–308</ref>

Joseph W. Houppert acknowledges that some critics have tried to cast Caesar as the protagonist, but that ultimately Brutus is the driving force in the play and is, therefore, the tragic hero. Brutus attempts to put the republic over his relationship with Caesar and kills him. Brutus makes the political mistakes that bring down the republic that his ancestors created. He acts on his passions, does not gather enough evidence to make reasonable decisions, and is manipulated by Cassius and the other conspirators.<ref>Houppert 3–9</ref>

Traditional readings of the play may maintain that Cassius and the other conspirators are motivated largely by [[envy]] and ambition, whereas Brutus is motivated by the demands of [[honor]] and [[patriotism]]. Certainly, this is the view that Antony expresses in the final scene. But one of the central strengths of the play is that it resists categorizing its characters as either simple heroes or villains. The [[political journalist]] and classicist [[Garry Wills]] maintains that "This play is distinctive because it has no villains".<ref>Wills, Garry (2011), ''Rome and Rhetoric: Shakespeare's Julius Caesar''; [[New Haven]] and [[London]]: [[Yale University Press]], p. 118.</ref><blockquote> It is a drama famous for the difficulty of deciding which role to emphasize. The characters rotate around each other like the plates of a [[Calder mobile]]. Touch one and it affects the position of all the others. Raise one, and another sinks. But they keep coming back into a precarious balance.<ref>Wills, ''[[Op. cit.]]'', p. 117.</ref></blockquote>

==Performance history==
The play was probably one of Shakespeare's first to be performed at the [[Globe Theatre]].<ref>[[G. Blakemore Evans|Evans, G. Blakemore]] (1974). ''[[Riverside Shakespeare|The Riverside Shakespeare]]''. Houghton Mifflin Co. p. 1100.</ref> [[Thomas Platter the Younger]], a [[Swiss people|Swiss]] traveler, saw a tragedy about [[Julius Caesar]] at a [[Bankside]] theatre on 21 September 1599, and this was most likely Shakespeare's play, as there is no obvious alternative candidate. (While the story of Julius Caesar was dramatized repeatedly in the Elizabethan/Jacobean period, none of the other plays known is as good a match with Platter's description as Shakespeare's play.)<ref>[[Richard Edes]]'s Latin play ''Caesar Interfectus'' (1582?) would not qualify. The [[Admiral's Men]] had an anonymous ''Caesar and Pompey'' in their repertory in 1594–95, and another play, ''Caesar's Fall, or the Two Shapes,'' written by [[Thomas Dekker (poet)|Thomas Dekker]], [[Michael Drayton]], [[Thomas Middleton]], [[Anthony Munday]], and [[John Webster]], in 1601–02, too late for Platter's reference. Neither play has survived. The anonymous ''Caesar's Revenge'' dates to 1606, while [[George Chapman]]'s ''Caesar and Pompey'' date from ca. 1613. E. K. Chambers, ''Elizabethan Stage'', Vol. 2, p. 179; Vol. 3, pp. 259, 309; Vol. 4, p. 4.</ref>

After the theatres re-opened at the start of the [[English Restoration|Restoration]] era, the play was revived by [[Thomas Killigrew]]'s [[King's Company]] in 1672. [[Charles Hart (17th-century actor)|Charles Hart]] initially played Brutus, as did [[Thomas Betterton]] in later productions. ''Julius Caesar'' was one of the very few Shakespeare plays that was not adapted during the Restoration period or the eighteenth century.<ref>Halliday, p. 261.</ref>

===Notable performances===
[[File:Booths Caesar.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[John Wilkes Booth]] (left), [[Edwin Booth]] and [[Junius Brutus Booth Jr.]] in Shakespeare's ''Julius Caesar'' in 1864.]]
* 1864: [[Junius Brutus Booth Jr.|Junius Jr.]], [[Edwin Booth|Edwin]] and [[John Wilkes Booth]] (later the assassin of U.S. President [[Abraham Lincoln]]) made the only appearance onstage together in a benefit performance of ''Julius Caesar'' on 25 November 1864, at the [[Winter Garden Theater (1850)|Winter Garden Theater]] in New York City. Junius Jr. played Cassius, Edwin played Brutus and John Wilkes played Mark Antony. This landmark production raised funds to erect a [[Memorials to William Shakespeare#United States|statue of Shakespeare]] in Central Park, which remains to this day.
* 29 May 1916: A one-night performance in the natural bowl of [[Beachwood Canyon, Los Angeles|Beachwood Canyon]], Hollywood drew an audience of 40,000 and starred Tyrone Power Sr. and Douglas Fairbanks Sr. The student bodies of Hollywood and Fairfax High Schools played opposing armies, and the elaborate battle scenes were performed on a huge stage as well as the surrounding hillsides. The play commemorated the tercentenary of Shakespeare's death. A photograph of the elaborate stage and viewing stands can be seen on the Library of Congress website. The performance was lauded by [[L. Frank Baum]].<ref>{{cite magazine |first=L. Frank |last=Baum |author-link=L. Frank Baum |title=Julius Caesar: An Appreciation of the Hollywood Production |magazine=Mercury Magazine |date=15 June 1916 |access-date=15 March 2024 |url=http://www.hungrytigerpress.com/tigertreats/juliuscaesar.shtml |via=[[Hungry Tiger Press]]}}</ref>
* 1926: Another elaborate performance of the play was staged as a benefit for the [[Actors Fund of America]] at the [[Hollywood Bowl]]. Caesar arrived for the [[Lupercal]] in a chariot drawn by four white horses. The stage was the size of a city block and dominated by a central tower {{convert|80|ft}} in height. The event was mainly aimed at creating work for unemployed actors. Three hundred [[gladiator]]s appeared in an arena scene not featured in Shakespeare's play; a similar number of girls danced as Caesar's captives; a total of three thousand soldiers took part in the battle sequences.
[[File:Welles-Caesar-1938.jpg|thumb|200px|right|[[Orson Welles]] as Brutus in the [[Mercury Theatre]]'s ''[[Caesar (Mercury Theatre)|Caesar]]'' (1937–38)]]
* 1937: ''[[Caesar (Mercury Theatre)|Caesar]]'', [[Orson Welles]]'s famous [[Mercury Theatre]] production, drew fevered comment as the director dressed his protagonists in uniforms reminiscent of those common at the time in [[Fascist Italian|Fascist Italy]] and [[Nazi Germany]], drawing a specific analogy between Caesar and Fascist Italian leader [[Benito Mussolini]]. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine gave the production a rave review,<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,758411,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091216072510/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,758411,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 December 2009 |title=Theatre: New Plays in Manhattan: Nov. 22, 1937 |magazine=TIME |access-date=13 March 2010 | date=22 November 1937}}</ref> together with the New York critics.<ref name="Houseman RT">{{cite book |last=Houseman |first=John |author-link=John Houseman |title=Run-Through: A Memoir |url=https://archive.org/details/runthroughmemoir00hous |url-access=registration |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |location=New York |year=1972 |isbn=0-671-21034-3}}</ref>{{Rp|313–319}} The fulcrum of the show was the slaughter of Cinna the Poet ([[Norman Lloyd]]), a scene that stopped the show.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://eatdrinkfilms.com/2014/07/17/orson-welles-world-and-were-just-living-in-it-a-conversation-with-norman-lloyd/ |title=Orson Welles' World, and We're Just Living in It: A Conversation with Norman Lloyd |last=Lattanzio |first=Ryan |year=2014 |website=EatDrinkFilms.com |access-date=5 November 2015 }}</ref> ''Caesar'' opened at the [[Comedy Theatre (New York City)|Mercury Theatre]] in New York City in November 1937<ref name="Welles TIOW">{{cite book |last1=Welles |first1=Orson |author-link1=Orson Welles |last2=Bogdanovich |first2=Peter |author-link2=Peter Bogdanovich |last3=Rosenbaum |first3=Jonathan |author-link3=Jonathan Rosenbaum |title=[[This is Orson Welles]] |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] Publishers |location=New York |year=1992 |isbn=0-06-016616-9}}</ref>{{Rp|339}} and moved to the larger [[Nederlander Theater|National Theater]] in January 1938,<ref name="Welles TIOW"/>{{Rp|341}} running a total of 157 performances.<ref>{{cite news |date=28 May 1938 |title=News of the Stage; 'Julius Caesar' Closes Tonight |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=950DE2DD1238EE3ABC4051DFB3668383629EDE |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=5 November 2015}}</ref> A second company made a five-month national tour with ''Caesar'' in 1938, again to critical acclaim.<ref name="Callow">{{cite book |last=Callow |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Callow |title=Orson Welles: The Road to Xanadu |publisher=[[Viking]] |location=New York |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-670-86722-6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/orsonwellesvolum00simo }}</ref>{{Rp|357}}
* 1950: [[John Gielgud]] played Cassius at the [[Shakespeare Memorial Theatre]] under the direction of [[Michael Langham]] and [[Anthony Quayle]]. The production was considered one of the highlights of a remarkable [[Shakespeare Memorial Theatre|Stratford]] season and led to Gielgud (who had done little film work to that time) playing Cassius in [[Joseph L. Mankiewicz]]'s 1953 [[Julius Caesar (1953 film)|film version]].
* 1977: Gielgud made his final appearance in a Shakespearean role on stage as Caesar in [[John Schlesinger]]'s production at the [[Royal National Theatre]]. The cast also included [[Ian Charleson]] as Octavius.
* 1994: [[Arvind Gaur]] directed the play in [[India]] with Jaimini Kumar as Brutus and Deepak Ochani as Caesar (24 shows); later on he revived it with [[Manu Rishi]] as Caesar and Vishnu Prasad as Brutus for the Shakespeare Drama Festival, [[Assam]] in 1998. Arvind Kumar translated ''Julius Caesar'' into [[Hindi]]. This production was also performed at the Prithvi international theatre festival, at the [[India Habitat Centre]], New Delhi.
* 2005: [[Denzel Washington]] played Brutus in the first Broadway production of the play in over fifty years. The production received universally negative reviews but was a sell-out because of Washington's popularity at the box office.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://theater.nytimes.com/2005/04/04/theater/reviews/04caes.html?scp=1&sq=A%20Big-Name%20Brutus%20in%20a%20Caldron%20of%20Chaos&st=cse |title=A Big-Name Brutus in a Caldron of Chaosa |work=The New York Times |access-date=7 November 2010 | date=4 April 2005}}</ref>
* 2012: The [[Royal Shakespeare Company]] staged an all-black production under the direction of [[Gregory Doran]].
* 2012: An all-female production starring [[Harriet Walter]] as Brutus and [[Frances Barber]] as Caesar was staged at the [[Donmar Warehouse]], directed by [[Phyllida Lloyd]]. In October 2013, the production transferred to New York's [[St. Ann's Warehouse]] in Brooklyn.
* 2018: The [[Bridge Theatre]] staged ''Julius Caesar'' as one of its first productions, under the direction of [[Nicholas Hytner]], with [[Ben Whishaw]], [[Michelle Fairley]], and [[David Morrissey]] as leads. This mirrors the play's status as one of the first productions at the [[Globe Theatre]] in 1599.

==Adaptations and cultural references==
[[File:Julius Caesar (play) in The Doon School.jpg|thumb|1963 production of ''Julius Caesar'' at [[The Doon School]], India.]]
One of the earliest cultural references to the play came in Shakespeare's own ''[[Hamlet]]''. [[Prince Hamlet]] asks [[Polonius]] about his career as a thespian at university, and Polonius replies: "I did enact Julius Caesar. I was killed in the Capitol. Brutus killed me." This is a likely [[metafiction|meta-reference]], as [[Richard Burbage]] is generally accepted to have played leading men Brutus and Hamlet, and the older [[John Heminges]] to have played Caesar and Polonius.

In 1851, the German composer [[Robert Schumann]] wrote a [[concert overture]] ''[[Julius Caesar (overture)|Julius Caesar]]'', inspired by Shakespeare's play. Other musical settings include those by [[Giovanni Bononcini]], [[Hans von Bülow]], [[Felix Draeseke]], [[Josef Bohuslav Foerster]], [[John Ireland (composer)|John Ireland]], [[John Foulds]], [[Gian Francesco Malipiero]], [[Manfred Gurlitt]], [[Darius Milhaud]], and [[Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco]].<ref>Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th edition, ed. [[Eric Blom]], Vol. VII, p. 733</ref>

The Canadian comedy duo [[Wayne and Shuster]] parodied ''Julius Caesar'' in their 1958 sketch ''Rinse the Blood off My Toga''. Flavius Maximus, Private Roman Eye, is hired by Brutus to investigate the death of Caesar. The police procedural combines Shakespeare, ''[[Dragnet (series)|Dragnet]]'', and vaudeville jokes and was first broadcast on ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.canadianshakespeares.ca/multimedia/video/rinse_the_blood.cfm |title=Rinse the Blood Off My Toga |publisher=Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare Project at the University of Guelph |access-date=13 March 2010 |archive-date=26 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626214317/http://www.canadianshakespeares.ca/multimedia/video/rinse_the_blood.cfm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1984, the [[Riverside Shakespeare Company]] of New York City produced a modern dress ''Julius Caesar'' set in contemporary Washington, called simply ''CAESAR!'', starring [[Harold Scott, Director|Harold Scott]] as Brutus, Herman Petras as Caesar, Marya Lowry as Portia, Robert Walsh as Antony, and Michael Cook as Cassius, directed by W. Stuart McDowell at [[The Shakespeare Center]].<ref>[[Herbert Mitgang]] of ''The New York Times'', 14 March 1984, wrote: "The famous Mercury Theater production of ''Julius Caesar'' in modern dress staged by [[Orson Welles]] in 1937 was designed to make audiences think of [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]]'s [[Blackshirts]] – and it did. The Riverside Shakespeare Company's lively production makes you think of timeless ambition and antilibertarians anywhere."</ref>

In 2006, [[Chris Taylor (comedian)|Chris Taylor]] from the Australian comedy team [[The Chaser]] wrote a comedy musical called ''[[Dead Caesar]]'' which was shown at the Sydney Theatre Company in Sydney.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dead Caesar |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/dead-caesar-20070130-gdpcnl.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1 |last=Taylor |first=Andrew |date=2007-01-30 |website=[[Sydney Morning Herald]]}}</ref>

The line "The Evil That Men Do", from the speech made by Mark Antony following Caesar's death ("The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones.") has had many references in media, including the titles of:
* [[The Evil That Men Do (song)|A song]] by [[Iron Maiden]].
* A politically oriented [[The Evil That Men Do (film)|film]] directed by [[J. Lee Thompson]] in 1984.
* [[The Evil That Men Do (Buffy novel)|A novel]] in the [[List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer novels|''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'']] series.

The 2008 movie ''[[Me and Orson Welles]]'', based on a book of the same name by [[Robert Kaplow]], is a fictional story centered around [[Orson Welles]]' famous 1937 production of ''Julius Caesar'' at the [[Mercury Theatre]]. British actor [[Christian McKay]] is cast as Welles, and co-stars with [[Zac Efron]] and [[Claire Danes]].

The 2012 Italian [[Drama (film and television)|drama film]] ''[[Caesar Must Die]]'' ({{langx|it|Cesare deve morire}}), directed by [[Paolo and Vittorio Taviani]], follows convicts in their rehearsals ahead of a prison performance of ''Julius Caesar''.

In the [[Ray Bradbury]] book ''[[Fahrenheit 451]]'', some of the character Beatty's last words are "There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats, for I am armed so strong in honesty that they pass me as an idle wind, which I respect not!"

The play's line "the fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves", spoken by Cassius in Act I, scene 2, is often referenced in popular culture. The line gave its name to the [[J.M. Barrie]] play ''Dear Brutus'', and also gave its name to the best-selling young adult novel ''[[The Fault in Our Stars]]'' by [[John Green]] and its [[The Fault in Our Stars (film)|film adaptation]]. The same line was quoted in [[Edward R. Murrow]]'s epilogue of his famous 1954 ''[[See It Now]]'' documentary broadcast concerning Senator [[Joseph R. McCarthy]]. This speech and the line were recreated in the 2005 film ''[[Good Night, and Good Luck]]''. It was also quoted by [[George Clooney]]'s character in the [[Coen brothers]] film ''[[Intolerable Cruelty]]''.

The line "And therefore think him as a serpent's egg / Which hatched, would, as his kind grow mischievous; And kill him in the shell" spoken by Brutus in Act II, Scene 1, is referenced in the [[Dead Kennedys]] song "[[California über alles]]".

The title of [[Agatha Christie]]'s novel ''[[Taken at the Flood]]'', titled ''There Is a Tide'' in its American edition, refers to an iconic line of Brutus: "There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune." (Act IV, Scene III).

The line "There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures" is recited by [[Jean-Luc Picard]] at the end of the ''[[Star Trek: Picard]]'' series finale, "[[The Last Generation (Star Trek: Picard)|The Last Generation]]." The play was previously discussed in a conversation between [[Julian Bashir]] and [[Elim Garak]] in the ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' episode "[[Improbable Cause]]".

===Film and television adaptations===
{{see also|List of William Shakespeare screen adaptations}}

''Julius Caesar'' has been [[Film adaptation|adapted]] to a number of film productions, including:
* ''Julius Caesar'' ([[Vitagraph Company of America]], 1908), produced by [[J. Stuart Blackton]] and directed by [[William V. Ranous]], who also played Antony.<ref>Maria Wyke, ''Caesar in the USA'' (University of California Press, 2012), p. 60.</ref>
* ''[[Julius Caesar (1950 film)|Julius Caesar]]'' (Avon Productions, 1950), directed by [[David Bradley (director)|David Bradley]], who played Brutus; [[Charlton Heston]] played Antony and Harold Tasker played Caesar.<ref name="MovingImage">'' Shakespeare and the Moving Image: The Plays on Film and Television'' (eds. Anthony Davies & Stanley Wells: Cambridge University Press, 1994), pp. 29–31.</ref>
* ''[[Julius Caesar (1953 film)|Julius Caesar]]'' ([[MGM]], 1953), directed by [[Joseph L. Mankiewicz]] and produced by [[John Houseman]]; starring [[James Mason]] as Brutus, [[Marlon Brando]] as Antony and [[Louis Calhern]] as Caesar.<ref name="MovingImage"/>
* ''[[An Honourable Murder]]'' (1960), directed by [[Godfrey Grayson]];<ref>Darryll Grantley, ''Historical Dictionary of British Theatre: Early Period'' (Scarecrow Press, 2013), p. 228.</ref> depicted the play in a modern business setting.<ref>Stephen Chibnall & Brian McFarlane, ''The British 'B' Film'' (Palgrave Macmillan/[[British Film Institute]], 2009), p. 252.</ref>
* ''[[The Spread of the Eagle]]'', a 1963 BBC series comprising ''[[Coriolanus]]'', ''Julius Caesar'', and ''[[Antony & Cleopatra]]''.
* ''Julius Caesar'' (BBC, 1969), a television adaptation in the [[Play of the Month]] series, directed by [[Alan Bridges]].
* ''[[Julius Caesar (1970 film)|Julius Caesar]]'' ([[Commonwealth United Entertainment|Commonwealth United]], 1969), directed by [[Stuart Burge]], produced by [[Peter Snell (producer)|Peter Snell]], starring [[Jason Robards]] as Brutus, [[Charlton Heston]] as Antony and [[John Gielgud]] as Caesar.<ref name="MovingImage"/>
* ''[[Heil Caesar]]'' ([[BBC]], 1973), a three-part television play written by [[John Griffith Bowen]] that was "a modern-dress modern-dialogue rewrite of the play, updated to an unnamed present-day regime that's about to switch from democracy to dictatorship unless Brutus and his conspirators act to prevent it." It was intended as an introduction to Shakespeare's play for schoolchildren, but it proved good enough to be shown on adult television, and a stage version was later produced.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/566329/index.html |title=Julius Caesar on Screen |publisher=[[British Film Institute]]|work=[[Screenonline]]|author=Michael Brooke}}</ref> The [[British Universities Film & Video Council]] database states that the work "transforms the play into a modern political conspiracy thriller with modern dialogue and many strong allusions to political events in the early 1970."<ref>[http://bufvc.ac.uk/screenplays/index.php/prog/1238 Heil Caesar, Part 1: The Conspirators], ''Learning on Screen'', [[British Universities Film & Video Council]].</ref>
* ''[[BBC Television Shakespeare#Julius Caesar|Julius Caesar]]'' ([[BBC Television Shakespeare|BBC]]/[[Time-Life Television|Time-Life TV]], 1978), a television adaptation in the [[BBC Television Shakespeare]] series, directed by [[Herbert Wise]] and produced by [[Cedric Messina]], starring [[Richard Pasco]] as Brutus, [[Keith Michell]] as Antony and [[Charles Gray (actor)|Charles Gray]] as Caesar.<ref name="MovingImage"/>
* The [[HBO]] series ''[[Rome (TV series)|Rome]]'' frequently referenced notable moments and lines from the Shakespeare play.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384766/|title = Rome (2005-2007) - IMDb| website=[[IMDb]] }}</ref> 
* ''Julius Caesar'' (2010), is a short film starring [[Randy Harrison]] as Brutus and [[John Shea]] as Julius Caesar. Directed by Patrick J Donnelly and produced by Dan O'Hare.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1699188/|title = Julius Caesar (2010) - IMDb| website=[[IMDb]] }}</ref>
* ''[[Caesar Must Die]]'' (2012), is an Italian film about a group of prison inmates rehearsing a play. Ultimately, the prison life and the play become indistinguishable and Mark Antony's [[Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears|Friends, Romans...]] speech is delivered in a prison courtyard with hundreds of prisoners peeking from their cell windows taking the role of Roman citizens. While the film is fictional, the actors are actual prison inmates [[Cameo role|playing themselves]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/mar/03/caesar-must-die-review-philip-french|title=Caesar Must Die – review|first=Philip|last=French|newspaper=The Guardian |date=3 March 2013|via=www.theguardian.com}}</ref>
* ''Julius Caesar'' (2012), a [[BBC Television|BBC]] [[television film]] adaptation of the Royal Shakespeare Company stage production of the same year directed by [[Gregory Doran]] with an all-Black cast, sets the tragedy in [[Decolonisation of Africa|post-independence]] [[Africa]] with echoes of the [[Arab Spring]]. The film stars [[Paterson Joseph]] as Brutus, [[Ray Fearon]] as Antony, [[Jeffery Kissoon]] as Caesar, [[Cyril Nri]] as Cassius and [[Adjoa Andoh]] as Portia.<ref>
{{cite web | url = https://www.films.com/ecTitleDetail.aspx?TitleID=201982 | title = Julius Caesar (Royal Shakespeare Company) | website = Films Media Group | publisher = [[Infobase]] | access-date = November 24, 2023}}</ref>
* ''[[Zulfiqar (film)|Zulfiqar]]'' (2016), a [[Bengali language|Bengali-language]] Indian film by [[Srijit Mukherji]] that is an adaptation of both ''Julius Caesar'' and ''[[Antony and Cleopatra]]'' and a tribute to the film ''[[The Godfather]]''.<ref>Anindita Acharya, [http://www.hindustantimes.com/regional-movies/my-film-zulfiqar-is-a-tribute-to-the-godfather-says-srijit-mukherji/story-qHyDQlVqcqePyOaPBrfHXK.html My film Zulfiqar is a tribute to The Godfather, says Srijit Mukherji], ''Hindustan Times'' (20 September 2016).</ref>

===Contemporary political references===
Modern adaptions of the play have often made contemporary political references,<ref name="Marks">Peter Marks, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/06/16/calpurnia-as-melania-octavius-as-jared-the-public-theater-goes-full-trump-with-julius-caesar-in-central-park/ When 'Julius Caesar' was given a Trumpian makeover, people lost it. But is it any good], ''Washington Post'' (16 June 2017).</ref> with Caesar depicted as resembling a variety of political leaders, including [[Huey Long]], [[Margaret Thatcher]], and [[Tony Blair]],<ref name="Pallotta">Frank Pallotta, [https://money.cnn.com/2017/06/12/media/julius-caesar-public-theater-shakespeare/index.html Trump-like 'Julius Caesar' isn't the first time the play has killed a contemporary politician], CNN (12 June 2017).</ref> as well as [[Fidel Castro]] and [[Oliver North]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Della Gatta |first1=Carla |title=Latinx Shakespeares: Staging US Intracultural Theater |date=2023 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |location=Ann Arbor |isbn=978-0-472-05577-7 |pages=184–85 |url=https://press.umich.edu/Books/L/Latinx-Shakespeares}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Tragedies - Julius Caesar |url=https://www.latinxshakespeares.org/tragedies |website=Latinx Shakespeares |access-date=13 August 2023}}</ref> Scholar [[A. J. Hartley]] stated that this is a fairly "common trope" of ''Julius Caesar'' performances: "Throughout the 20th century and into the 21st, the rule has been to create a recognizable political world within the production. And often people in the title role itself look like or feel like somebody either in recent or current politics."<ref name="Pallotta"/> A 2012 production of ''Julius Caesar'' by the [[Guthrie Theater]] and [[The Acting Company]] "presented Caesar in the guise of a black actor who was meant to suggest [[Barack Obama|President Obama]]."<ref name="Marks"/> This production was not particularly controversial.<ref name="Marks"/>

In 2017, however, a modern adaptation of the play at [[Shakespeare in the Park (New York City)|New York's Shakespeare in the Park]] (performed by [[The Public Theater]]) depicted Caesar with the likeness of then-president [[Donald Trump]] and thereby aroused ferocious controversy, drawing criticism by media outlets such as ''[[The Daily Caller]]'' and ''[[Breitbart]]'' and prompting corporate sponsors [[Bank of America]] and [[Delta Air Lines]] to pull their financial support.<ref name="Marks"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Delta and Bank of America boycott 'Julius Caesar' play starring Trump-like character|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/12/delta-pulls-sponsorship-julius-caesar-play-trump-killed-on-stage|access-date=17 June 2017|work=The Guardian|date=12 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Alexander|first1=Harriet|title=Central Park play depicting Julius Caesar as Donald Trump causes theatre sponsors to withdraw|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/12/central-park-play-depicting-julius-caesar-donald-trump-causes/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/12/central-park-play-depicting-julius-caesar-donald-trump-causes/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=17 June 2017|work=The Telegraph|date=12 June 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/06/12/532593994/delta-bofa-drop-support-for-julius-caesar-that-looks-too-much-like-trump|title=Delta, BofA Drop Support For 'Julius Caesar' That Looks Too Much Like Trump|publisher=NPR|date=12 June 2017}}</ref> The Public Theater stated that the message of the play is not pro-assassination and that the point is that "those who attempt to defend democracy by undemocratic means pay a terrible price and destroy the very thing they are fighting to save." Shakespeare scholars [[Stephen Greenblatt]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Beckett|first1=Lois|title=Trump as Julius Caesar: anger over play misses Shakespeare's point, says scholar|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/jun/12/donald-trump-shakespeare-play-julius-caesar-new-york|access-date=17 June 2017|work=The Guardian|date=12 June 2017}}</ref> and Peter Holland agreed with this statement.<ref name="Pallotta"/> Pallotta stated that "I have never read anyone suggesting that 'Julius Caesar' is a play that recommends assassination. Look what happens: Caesar is assassinated to stop him from becoming a dictator. Result: civil war, massive slaughter, creation of an emperor, execution of many who sympathized with the conspiracy. Doesn't look much like a successful result for the conspirators to me."<ref name="Pallotta"/> The play was interrupted several times by [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]] protesters, who accused the play of "violence against the right", and actors and members of theatres with Shakespeare in the name were harassed and received [[death threats]], including the wife of the play's director [[Oskar Eustis]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Al-Sibai|first1=Noor|title=Shakespearean actors across the US are receiving death threats over New York's Trump-as-Caesar play|url=https://www.rawstory.com/2017/06/shakespearean-actors-across-the-us-are-receiving-death-threats-over-new-yorks-trump-as-caesar-play/|access-date=23 June 2017|work=[[The Raw Story]]|date=17 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title='Trump death' in Julius Caesar prompts threats to wrong theatres|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40332236|access-date=23 June 2017|work=CNN|date=19 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Wahlquist|first1=Calla|title='This is violence against Donald Trump': rightwingers interrupt Julius Caesar play|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/17/trump-supporter-interrupts-controversial-julius-caesar-play-in-new-york|access-date=23 June 2017|work=The Guardian|date=17 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Link|first1=Taylor|title=Cops investigate death threats made against "Caesar" director's wife|url=http://www.salon.com/2017/06/22/shakespeare-in-the-park-julius-caesar-donald-trump-death-threats-oskar-laurie-eustice/|access-date=23 June 2017|work=Salon|date=22 June 2017}}</ref> The protests were praised by [[American Family Association]] director Sandy Rios who compared the play with the [[Damnatio ad bestias#Execution of Christians|execution of Christians by damnatio ad bestias]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Mantyla|first1=Kyle|title=Sandy Rios Sees No Difference Between Shakespeare And Feeding Christians to the Lions|url=http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/sandy-rios-sees-no-difference-between-shakespeare-and-feeding-christians-to-the-lions/|access-date=23 June 2017|work=Right Wing Watch|date=20 June 2017}}</ref>

The 2018 [[Bridge Theatre]] production also incorporates modern political imagery. The commoners in the first scene sing modern punk music and Caesar distributes red hats to the audience that are remarkably similar to [[Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign#Campaign branding|Donald Trump's campaign merchandise]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Julius Caesar: Full Play - Julius Caesar |url=https://www.ntathome.com/julius-caesar/videos/julius-caesar-full-play |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=National Theatre at Home |language=en}}</ref> The conspirators also use modern firearms during the assassination and the [[Battle of Philippi|Battle of Phillipi]].<ref name=":0" />

== See also ==
* [[1599 in literature]]
* [[Assassinations in fiction#Plays|Assassinations in fiction]]
* [[Caesar's Comet]]
* [[Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears|Mark Antony's Funeral Speech]]
* [[The dogs of war (phrase)|"The dogs of war"]]
* [[List of idioms attributed to Shakespeare]]

==References==

===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
* Boyce, Charles. 1990. ''Encyclopaedia of Shakespeare'', New York, Roundtable Press.
* [[E. K. Chambers|Chambers, Edmund Kerchever]]. 1923. ''The Elizabethan Stage''. 4 volumes, Oxford: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-811511-3}}.
* [[F. E. Halliday|Halliday, F. E.]] 1964. ''A Shakespeare Companion 1564–1964''. Shakespeare Library ser. Baltimore, Penguin, 1969. {{ISBN |0-14-053011-8}}.
* Houppert, Joseph W. "Fatal Logic in 'Julius Caesar'". South Atlantic Bulletin. Vol. 39, No. 4. Nov. 1974. 3–9.
* Kahn, Coppelia. "Passions of some difference": Friendship and Emulation in Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar: New Critical Essays. Horst Zander, ed. New York: Routledge, 2005. 271–83.
* Parker, Barbara L. "The Whore of Babylon and Shakespeares's Julius Caesar." Studies in English Literature (Rice); Spring '95, Vol. 35 Issue 2, p.&nbsp;251, 19p.
* Reynolds, Robert C. "Ironic Epithet in Julius Caesar". Shakespeare Quarterly. Vol. 24. No.3. 1973. 329–33.
* Taylor, Myron. "Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and the Irony of History". Shakespeare Quarterly. Vol. 24, No. 3. 1973. 301–8.
* [[Stanley Wells|Wells, Stanley]] & Michael Dobson, eds. 2001. ''The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare'', [[Oxford University Press]]
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Wikisource|Julius Caesar (Shakespeare)}}
{{wikiquote}}
{{Commons category|Julius Caesar (play)
}}
* Text of ''[https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Foyer/plays/JC.html Julius Caesar]'', fully edited by John Cox, as well as original-spelling text, facsimiles of the 1623 Folio text, and other resources, at the [http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/ Internet Shakespeare Editions]
* [http://shakespeare-navigators.com/JC_Navigator/ ''Julius Caesar'' Navigator] Includes Shakespeare's text with notes, line numbers, and a search function.
* [http://nfs.sparknotes.com/juliuscaesar/ No Fear Shakespeare] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151123084515/http://nfs.sparknotes.com/juliuscaesar/ |date=23 November 2015 }} Includes the play line by line with interpretation.
* [http://www.bl.uk/works/julius-caesar ''Julius Caesar''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160721190220/http://www.bl.uk/works/julius-caesar |date=21 July 2016 }} at the British Library
* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/william-shakespeare/julius-caesar}}
* {{gutenberg|no=1522|name=Julius Caesar}}
* [https://archive.today/20121212071742/http://tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/julius_caesar/ ''Julius Caesar''] – by The Tech
* [http://www.maximumedge.com/shakespeare/juliuscaesar.htm ''Julius Caesar''] – Searchable and scene-indexed version.
* [http://www.nosweatshakespeare.com/ebooks/modern-julius-caesar.htm ''Julius Caesar'' in modern English]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=UOM ''Julius Caesar'' translated into Latin by Dr. Hilgers]{{Dead link|date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* [http://www.webenglishteacher.com/juliuscaesar.html Lesson plans for ''Julius Caesar''] at Web English Teacher
* {{librivox book | title=Julius Caesar | author=William Shakespeare}}
* [http://www.prx.org/pieces/23945/ Quicksilver Radio Theater adaptation of ''Julius Caesar'', which may be heard online], at PRX.org (Public Radio Exchange).
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150402101642/http://read.libripass.com/william_shakespeare-julius_caesar.htm ''Julius Caesar''] Read Online in Flash version.
* [http://clearshakespeare.com/category/caesar/ Clear Shakespeare ''Julius Caesar''] – A word-by-word audio guide through the play.

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{{Julius Caesar (play)}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Julius Caesar (Play)}}
[[Category:Julius Caesar (play)| ]]
[[Category:1599 plays]]
[[Category:English Renaissance plays]]
[[Category:Shakespearean tragedies]]
[[Category:Plays set in ancient Rome]]
[[Category:Plays based on actual events]]
[[Category:Depictions of Julius Caesar in plays]]
[[Category:Plays based on real people]]
[[Category:British plays adapted into films]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Cicero]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Marcus Junius Brutus]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Calpurnia (wife of Caesar)]]
[[Category:Plays based on works by Plutarch]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Augustus]]
[[Category:Fictional depictions of Augustus in literature]]
[[Category:Depictions of Mark Antony in plays]]
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