Study Questions &
Essay Topics
Study Questions
1. Discuss the
attention paid (or not paid) to omens, nightmares, and other supernatural
events. What do the various responses to these phenomena show about
the struggle between fate and free will in Julius Caesar? Can the
play’s tragedies be attributed to the characters’ failure to read
the omens properly, or do the omens merely presage the inevitable?
The characters in Julius Caesar neglect
nearly universally the play’s various omens (dead men walking, sacrificed
animals who lack hearts), nightmares (Calpurnia’s vision of Caesar’s
statue running with blood), warnings (the Soothsayer’s advice to
Caesar to avoid the Ides of March, Artemidorus’s letter about the
conspiracy), and supernatural events (Brutus’s visitation by the
Ghost). Caesar believes that the omens in Rome could apply just
as easily to Rome in general as to him personally, and he quickly
comes to believe that Calpurnia has misinterpreted her dream. As
the plot unfolds, it becomes clear that these omens warn of events
that take place without exception. The hand of fate, or of the gods,
appears to strike with undeniable omnipotence; and yet, it seems
peculiar to provide omens without allowing individuals time to alter
their behavior or choose among fates. In any case, the characters
fail to heed the warnings in almost every instance. Tragically,
the characters often believe that their refusal to heed these signs
proves their strength, courage, and indomitable nature; thus, Caesar
believes that he is displaying the force of his will by ignoring
the warnings and attending the Senate, though, ironically, it is
precisely this action that precipitates his fated death.
2. Think about
Caesar the mortal man as opposed to Caesar the public figure. How
does he continue to wield power over events even after he is dead?
Do the conspirators succeed in their goals by killing him, or is Caesar’s
influence too powerful to be contained even by his death?
The conspirators manage to kill Caesar, the
physically infirm man, who is deaf in one ear, probably epileptic,
and aging; indeed, it may be Caesar’s delusions about his own immortality
as a man that allow the conspirators to catch him off guard and
bring about his death. In many ways, however, Caesar’s faith in
his permanence proves valid: the conspirators fail to destroy Caesar’s
public image, and Antony’s words to the crowd serve to burnish Caesar’s
image. Additionally, the conspirators fail to annihilate the idea
that Caesar incarnated: that of a single supreme leader of Rome.
Death does not diminish Caesar’s influence on matters
or his presence in the minds of those who loved him. Caesar seems
to speak from the grave when Antony reads his will, stirring the
people to rebellion. Cassius and Brutus attribute their deaths to
Caesar when they fall in battle. Perhaps most important, Antony
begins to call Octavius “Caesar” when Octavius starts to display
an undeniable authority in military strategizing. This appellation
has a double significance: it reveals both Octavius’s future as
the bearer of Caesar’s personal legacy and the metamorphosis of
Caesar the man into Caesar the institution. Even with his death,
Caesar has initiated a line of Roman emperors, ending the era of
Brutus’s beloved republic.
3. As Caesar’s
appointed successor, how does Octavius carry on the great general’s
legacy? Consider his use of language and commands as well as the
ways in which the other characters regard him and refer to him.
Early in the play, Caesar gives an order
to Antony, who declares that Caesar is so powerful that words equal
action by the mere fact of his having pronounced them. After Caesar’s
death, words cease to have this kind of absolute power until Octavius
arrives on the battlefield. When Antony tells him to attack from
one side of the field, Octavius announces his intention to do the
opposite. Like Caesar, Octavius is able to effect his will merely
by speaking. Antony’s earlier recognition of Caesar’s power epitomizes
one of the driving forces behind this power—the self-fulfilling
prophecy of believing in Caesar’s supremacy. As a public figure,
Caesar depends on the acceptance and awe of those over whom he rules
to sustain the legendary, godlike aura surrounding him. With little
resistance, Antony submits to Octavius’s notion of how they should
proceed in battle. This recognition of Octavius’s inherently supreme
nature and the consequent deference it inspires cements Octavius’s
status as the emerging successor to Caesar’s great legacy. It is
at this moment, notably, that Antony begins to call Octavius “Caesar.”
Suggested Essay Topics
1. Though Julius Caesar focuses
on the struggles between powerful men, what role do the plebeians,
or common people, play? Are they as fickle as Flavius and Murellus
claim in the opening scene? How important is their support to the successes
of the various military leaders and the outcome of the play? The
play depicts Rome at a time of transition between republic and empire—a
time in which, theoretically, the Roman people are losing their
power. What role do the people themselves play in this transition?
2. Consider Brutus’s actions.
Is he right to join the conspiracy against Caesar? What are his
reasons? Does he choose to join the conspiracy, or is he tricked
by Cassius? How do Cassius’s motivations compare to Brutus’s? Are
they more noble or less noble?
3. Julius Caesar, a
play about statehood and leadership, is one of the most quoted of
Shakespeare’s plays in modern-day political speeches. Why do you
think this play about conspiracy and assassination might appeal
to politicians today? Also, discuss how this play might have been
a reflection on Elizabethan politics, keeping in mind that Queen
Elizabeth, like Caesar, was an aging, heirless leader.
4. Discuss friendship in the
play. Consider Caesar and Brutus, Caesar and Antony, Brutus and
Cassius, Antony and Octavius, or any other pairings. Are these true
friendships or merely political alliances forged for the sake of
convenience and self-preservation? How do they compare with the heterosexual
relationships in the play—the relations between husbands and wives?
Are they more profound or less profound, more revealing or less
revealing of their participants’ characters?
5. Who is the protagonist in
this play? Is it Caesar, who dies well before the end but whose
power and name continue on? Or is it Brutus, the noble man who falls
because of his tragic flaws?
6. Consider theatricality in
this play. Think particularly of the scene of Caesar’s murder (and
Cassius’s reference to future productions of the scene), the speeches
in the Forum (particularly Antony’s), and the speeches given over
the dead conspirators. How do acting and rhetoric affect the events
of the play? How do they interact with politics? Does the play reference
its own political power as a theatrical production?
7. Discuss inflexibility in this
play, focusing on Caesar and Brutus. How is each man inflexible?
Is this rigidity an admirable trait or a flaw? Do the rewards of
this rigidity outweigh the consequences, or vice versa?
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