Julius Caesar Summary | Play by William Shakespeare | Neb English Support Class 12

Neb English Support Class 12

Julius Caesar Summary | Play by William Shakespeare | Neb English Support Class 12

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare 

SHORT STORYLINE

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare 

Julius Caesar is warned of the Ides of March, ignores it, and dies; ordinary people are too easily swayed; all the conspirators also die.

SHORT SUMMARY

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare 

The jealous conspirators convince Caesar's friend Brutus to join them in their assassination plot against Caesar. To prevent Caesar from getting too much power, Brutus and the conspirators executed him on the Ides of March. Mark Antony chases the conspirators out of Rome and fights them in a battle. Brutus and his friend Cassius are defeated and kill themselves, leaving Antony to rule Rome.

DETAILED SUMMARY

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare 

Act I

The tribunes of Rome, both Marulus and Flavius, break up a gathering of citizens who wish to celebrate Julius Caesar's triumphant coming back from war. The victory is marked by public games in which Caesar's protégé or disciple, Mark Antony, participates.  On his way to the arena, Caesar is halted by a stranger, who warns him that he must 'Beware the Ides of March [15]'.

Fellow senators Caius Cassius and Marcus Brutus doubt Caesar's reactions to the power he holds in the republic. They fear that he will accept offers to become an emperor. He has been gaining a lot of power lately, and people treat him like a god. Cassius, who himself is a successful general, is jealous of Caesar. Brutus has a more balanced view of the political situation. The conspirator Casca enters and tells Brutus about a festival held by the Plebeians. He offered the crown to Caesar three times, and he declined it each time. But conspirators are still wary of his aspirations.

Act II

Cassius, Casca, and their allies plant false documents to manipulate Brutus into their cause to remove Caesar. Having done so, they visit Brutus at night at his house to explain their ideas to him. There, they plan the death of Caesar. Brutus is distraught but refuses to believe his devoted wife, Portia. On March 15, the wife of Caesar Calpurnia urges him not to go to the Senate. She has visionary dreams and is haunted by signs of storms overnight.

Act III 

Caesar is persuaded, by flattery, to go to the Capitol. At the Capitol, he is stabbed in turn by each of the conspirators.  As Brutus delivers the final blow, Caesar utters the famous phrase:

Et tu, Brute?

Act III

Just against Cassius' advice, Brutus allows Mark Antony to speak the funeral oration for Caesar in the marketplace. He is granted permission under the condition that first Brutus must address the people to explain the conspirators' reasons and their fear of Caesar's ambition. After Brutus speaks, the crowd falls silent and supports his cause. However, Antony, in his speech, questions the conspirators' motives and reminds the crowd of Caesar's benevolent actions and his refusal to accept the crown. He even reads out Caesar's will for all of them, in which Caesar leaves public lands and money to every Roman citizen. Antony's speech turns the crowd into a bloody riot, and all the conspirators are forced to flee the city.

Act IV

Both Brutus and Cassius gather an army in northern Greece and get ready to fight an army led by Mark Antony.  Antony is joined by Caesar's great-nephew, Octavius, and a man named Lepidus.  Away from Rome, Brutus and Cassius are filled with doubts about the future and quarrel over money to pay their soldiers. After making amends, they prepare to engage Antony's force at Philippi, despite Cassius' misgivings about the site. In Rome, Brutus receives news of his wife's suicide. Later, he sees Caesar's ghost as he tries to rest and is unable to sleep on the eve of the conflict.

Act V

In the battle at first, the Republicans (led by Brutus) appear to be winning.  But when Cassius' messenger's horse seems to be overtaken by the opponents, Cassius fears the worst and asks his servant to help him to his quick death.  Brutus commits suicide after Cassius' body is found. He believes that this is the only honourable option left for him. Antony, victorious on the battlefield, praises Brutus as 'the greatest Roman of them all' and orders a formal funeral before he and Octavius return to rule in Rome.

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KING LEAR BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE SUMMARY

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