Julius Caesar. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a history play and tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599.
It is one of several plays written by Shakespeare based on true events from Roman history, which also include Coriolanus and Antony and Cleopatra. Set in Rome in 44 BC, the play depicts the moral dilemma of Brutus as he joins a conspiracy led by Cassius to murder Julius Caesar to prevent him from becoming dictator of Rome.
Following Caesar's death, Rome is thrust into a period of civil war, and the republic the conspirators sought to preserve is lost forever. Although the play is named Julius Caesar, Brutus speaks more than four times as many lines as the title character; and the central psychological drama of the play focuses on Brutus' struggle between the conflicting demands of honour, patriotism, and friendship.
The play opens with two tribunes discovering the commoners of Rome celebrating Julius Caesar's triumphant return from 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 feast of Lupercal, Caesar holds a victory parade and a soothsayer warns him to Beware the ides of March, which he ignores. Meanwhile, Cassius attempts to convince Brutus to join his conspiracy to kill Caes