Few tragedies embark on such a perilous journey as they ask this crucial question: What happens when freedom-driven individuals eliminate their autocratic leader, only to find out that because of this obtrusive deed, they might have destroyed the very principles that they wanted to protect? The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, authored by William Shakespeare, is compelling because its conflict is not merely between Caesar and his murderers but rather between different political systems, honour, and the crowd’s psychology.
The play was likely written in 1599, a time of great productivity for the playwright. The accessed edition suggests it was first performed no later than 1599. The play was never published separately in the time during which Shakespeare was alive. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar was published for the first time in the First Folio in 1623, when Shakespeare was already dead for seven years.
The brilliance of this work can be regarded as lying in what he decides not to present. Caesar is not shown to be an uncomplicated superhuman conqueror. In the beginning, he seems proud, dramatic, superstitious, and weak, but in the course of the performance, his dignity starts glistening through other characters’ words. More than that, it is noted that Shakespeare’s image is one-sided instead of being simply wrong and is practically constructed on Plutarch’s works.
In this case, Brutus emerges as the most intriguing character. He is neither an entirely virtuous nor an entirely bad actor. Rather, he sincerely believes that the act of killing Caesar is for the benefit of the people. However, Brutus seems to base his argument primarily upon things that may happen in the future rather than upon facts from the past. This gives Brutus’s tragedy a very modern touch: a person with serious morals takes a terrible decision because he is convinced that the pure motives of his actions matter more than the consequences.
In the next scene, Shakespeare shows his unbelievable genius in the speech of Marc Antony at the funeral. Even though Caesar is dead, the power of his political influence seems to be growing stronger than ever before. Thus, once again, Shakespeare proves that rhetoric can do more than an army can.
In history, Caesar was killed on the Ides of March, which falls on the 15th of March, 44 BCE. In his play, however, Shakespeare has magnificently shrunk these events. For instance, historically, Octavius eventually arrived in Rome in May, 44 BCE, whereas, in the tragedy, his arrival appears to take place almost at once. Shakespeare also condenses the events connected with the subsequent war at Philippi to keep the drama intact.
One of the most important features of this masterpiece is that although Caesar gets killed, he, in fact, goes on living. His body disappears, but his name, memory, and political heritage still modify events. At one point even Brutus encounters him like some supernatural force.
Thus, Julius Caesar seems to be extremely relevant today. This play can be called not just a tragedy connected with Ancient Rome but also a warning about bloody politics, the power of charisma, the use of persuasive language, and the dangerous belief that to kill just one man (Caesar) means to kill an entire system. The death of Julius Caesar is the one that took place on the 15th of March, 44 BCE; however, what is really important for the writer is the issue of the consequences of this event for all the world.
