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Julius Caesar Characters guide studies each
character's role and motivation in this play.
Julius Caesar: The victorious leader of Rome, it is the
fear that he may become King and revoke the privileges
of men like Cassius that leads to his death at the hands
of Cassius, Brutus and their fellow conspirators.
The threat that Caesar was moving away from the
ideals of the Roman republic towards an Empire ruled
directly by himself is the chief reason so many
senators, aristocrats and even Caesar's friend Brutus,
conspired to kill him.
Introduced early in the play as a great (and arguably
arrogant) leader who fears nothing, Caesar is warned by
Artemidorus, The Soothsayer and wife (Calphurnia) alike
not to go to the Senate on the "ides of March" the very
day he is assassinated.
Caesar later returns in the play as a ghost which
haunts Brutus in Act V. Easily flattered by Decius
Brutus (not to be confused with Brutus), Caesar appears
to us as a man almost guided not so much by his own will
but what he believes are the expectations his people
have of "Caesar." This is why he is reluctant to show
fear, Caesar, as he frequently refers to himself in the
third person, fears nothing and can show no sign of
weakness or indeed mortality...
Note: The "ides of March" is the fifteenth of March
(See Act II, Scene I, Line 58).
Octavius Caesar: The adopted son of Caesar,
Octavius by history, ultimately became ruler of the
Roman Empire following his defeat of Mark Antony in
Egypt (See Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra). In this
play, Octavius with Mark Antony and Lepidus (The Second
Triumvirate), destroy the forces of Brutus and Cassius
on the Plains of Philippi, which results in the death of
both these conspirators (Act V).
Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony): One of the
Triumvirs (leaders) who rule Rome following Caesar's
assassination. Mark Antony (Marcus Antonius) is famous
in this play for his speech, which turns the Romans
against Brutus following his group's assassination of
Caesar. Famous for the immortal lines "Friends, Romans,
countrymen, lend me your ears;" (Act III, Scene II, Line
79), Mark Antony with fellow Triumvirs, Octavius and
Lepidus later defeat Brutus and Cassius on the Plains of
Philippi in Act V.
M. Aemilius Lepidus: The last of the
Triumvirs, this old man holds little real power and is
used in Mark Antony's own words as a loyal, trusted man
"Meet [fit] to be sent on errands:" (Act IV, Scene I,
Line 13).
Cicero: A well-known orator (public speaker)
and Senator, Cicero is killed by the Triumvirs (Mark
Antony, Octavius and Lepidus) following Caesar's
assassination.
Publius: A Senator who travels with Caesar to
the Senate House the day Caesar is killed, he witnesses
Caesar's assassination. Though deeply "confounded" or
confused and shaken by the assassination of Caesar (Act
III, Scene I, Line 86), he is used by Brutus to tell the
citizens of Rome that Caesar aside, no one else will be
hurt (Act III, Scene I, Lines 89-91).
Popilius Lena: The Senator who terrifies
Cassius by telling Cassius that he hopes his "enterprise
[assassination attempt] today may thrive" or be
successful just as Caesar goes into the Senate house on
the "ides of March" (Act III, Scene I, Line 13).
Marcus Brutus: The most complex character in
this play, Brutus is one of the men who assassinate
Caesar in the Senate. Brutus is complex, because he does
not kill Caesar for greed, envy nor to preserve his
social position like so many of the other conspirators
against Caesar. This Brutus makes very clear in his
speech in Act III, Scene II (Lines 12-76), when he
explains his actions as being for the good of Rome.
Unlike the other conspirators, Brutus is in fact a
dear friend of Caesar's but kills his beloved friend not
for who he is, but what he could become as a King. It is
for this reason that when Brutus dies by suicide in Act
V, Mark Antony describes his bitter enemy by saying
"This [Brutus] was the noblest Roman of them all;" (Act
V, Scene V, Line 68). Mark Antony recognizes with these
words that Brutus acted from a sense of civic duty, not
malice, nor greed nor envy.
In academic circles, Brutus is still a source of much
heated debate; does assassinating a leader for the good
of the people constitute bravery worthy of a tragic hero
or can the end never justify the means? The controversy
on whether Brutus is tragic hero or villain still
rages...
Ironically, though it can be argued that Brutus
assassinated his friend to prevent one man ruling the
Roman Empire, history was later to make this a reality.
Octavius, one of the Triumvirs who defeated Brutus and
Cassius, was later to become a Roman Emperor ruling the
entire Roman Empire alone following his victory over
Cleopatra and Mark Antony.
Cassius: One of the original conspirators
against Caesar. Like the other conspirators he fears
what life under King Caesar's rule could mean for him
and the privileges he has.
Unlike the other conspirators however, Cassius plays
a leading role in Caesar's assassination. It is he who
gathers those against Caesar around him and it is
Cassius who carefully manipulates Brutus to their cause
by appealing to Brutus' sense of civic duty which
believes that Caesar as a King would be bad for the
people of Rome and by Cassius' clever use of forged
letters.
The great thinker of the conspiracy, his advice is
continually overruled by Brutus with tragic results for
the conspirators.
First, his advice to kill Mark Antony as well as
Caesar is ignored leading to Mark Antony becoming their
greatest enemy.
Later at Caesar's funeral, Cassius' advice that Mark
Antony should not speak at the funeral is also ignored
leading to Antony turning the masses against the
previously popular conspirators.
Finally in Act V, Brutus ignores Cassius' advise to
stay on high ground, leading to a battle in the plains
of Philippi, a battle favored by Mark Antony and
Octavius, their enemies. Like Brutus, he dies by suicide
in Act V, when fearing Brutus dead, he commits
suicide.
Casca: One of the conspirators against Caesar,
he starts the actual assassination of Caesar by stabbing
first from behind.
Terminus: The only conspirator who does not
actually stab Caesar, he is the man responsible for
saving Mark Antony's life following Caesar's
assassination. He leads Mark Antony away from the Senate
house following the assassination and he backs up
Brutus' suggestion that Mark Antony's life be
spared.
Ligarius: The reluctantly assassin, Caius
Ligarius at first hesitates in killing Caesar, but later
enthusiastically follows the others in killing Caesar
after Brutus restores his conviction.
Decius Brutus: A man who lures Caesar to his
death by his deep understanding of Caesar's true
vanity...
Not to be confused with Marcus Brutus, who is
referred to in Julius Caesar simply as as Brutus.
It is Decius Brutus who convinces Caesar to turn up to
the Senate on the "ides of March" after Caesar announces
that he is unwilling to attend the day's Senate because
of his wife Calphurnia's dream foretelling doom. Decius
Brutus turns Calphurnia's dream into a reason to attend
the Senate by cleverly reinterpreting its negative
imagery to instead symbolize Caesar's triumph.
Metellus Cimber: A conspirator against Caesar,
it is his petition or request to Caesar for his
brother's banishment to be overturned, that allows the
conspirators to move close to Caesar, before they
assassinate him with multiple stab wounds...
Cinna: A conspirator against Caesar, who plays
a key role in enlisting Brutus to their cause. It is
Cinna who suggests to Cassius that Brutus join their
conspiracy. Also assists Cassius' manipulation of Brutus
by placing Cassius' letters responsible for manipulating
Brutus where Brutus is sure to find and read them...
Indirectly responsible for Cinna, the poet's death;
since it is he the mob originally wished to kill...
Flavius and Marullus: Two Tribunes introduced
to us at the beginning of the play. Their conversation
reveals the deep mistrust and fear many in Rome have
about Caesar's growing popularity, which eventually
leads to Caesar's assassination. These two men criticize
Rome's citizens for praising Caesar almost without
reason and are later put to death or "put to silence"
for "pulling scarfs off Caesar's images," (Act I, Scene
II, Line 291) during the Feast of Lupercal in Act I,
Scene I (Note: Flavius the Tribune is not the same
person as Flavius, a soldier whom appears in Act
IV).
Artemidorus: The man who nearly saves Caesar,
he presents Caesar with a letter warning warning Caesar
that he will be killed (Act II, Scene III). Caesar
however does not read the letter and so proceeds to his
doom...
Cinna, the Poet: A humble poet, this man dies
because he has the wrong name at the wrong time. After
Mark Antony incites (angers) the people of Rome against
Caesar's assassins, Cinna who shares the same name as
one of the assassins, is killed despite his explaining
his identity as a poet. The mob, eager for blood, kill
him regardless and use the excuse that they never liked
his poems much anyway (Act III, Scene III, Lines
1-43).
Lucilius, Titinius, Messala, Young Cato and
Volumnius: Friends to Brutus and Cassius.
Varro, Clitus, Claudius, Strato, Lucius and
Dardanius: Servants to Brutus.
Pindarus: A servant to Cassius, he is also
the messenger bearing the wrong news... In Act V,
Pindarus misreports to Cassius that Titinius, a scout
sent to Brutus' forces was captured by the Triumvir's
forces when he was actually welcomed by Brutus' army. On
Pindarus' information, Cassius assumes that Brutus has
been defeated and so thinking all is lost, decides to
kill himself, using Pindarus to hold a sword out which
he runs onto, the very sword, Cassius used against
Caesar...
Calphurnia: The wife of Caesar, she begs her
husband not to go to the Senate on "the ides of March"
(March 15) when she cries out "'Help, ho! They murder
Caesar!'" three times in her sleep, the day before
Caesar's death. This and strange occurrences such as a
lioness whelping in the streets of Rome,"Fierce fiery
warriors" fighting in the clouds (Act II, Scene II,
Lines 12-24) and graves yawning and yielding up their
dead, convince Calphurnia that her husband Julius
Caesar, must stay home on the "ides of March" (the
fifteenth of March). Unfortunately just as Calphurnia
convinces Caesar to stay home and avoid the death that
awaits him, Decius Brutus (not to be confused with
Brutus), arrives at Caesar's home convincing him that
these images mean that Rome will be revived by Caesar's
presence at the Senate the following day. Caesar ignores
his wife's pleas and meets his bloody destiny at the
hands of Brutus and company the very next day.
Portia: The wife of Marcus Brutus, she tries
to learn from Brutus the assassination conspiracy he is
hiding from her. She is later assumed to have committed
suicide at the end of the play when her death is
reported as being under strange circumstances...
Senators, Citizens, Guards, Attendants and
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