In 58 BCE, Caesar began his military campaigns, conquering, among others, Gaul (now Italy), and parts of Britain and France, all the while maintaining his power, in absentia, in the Roman political machine. However, human nature being what it is, each man soon began to act on behalf of his own personal ambitions for wealth, land and power. In 61 BCE, these two men, along with a third, Crassus, formed the First Triumvirate of Rome – three men chosen to rule equally, and for a limited time the Triumvirate was solidified by inter-marrying amongst each other’s families. Alone, Marullus states his fear that Caesar has grown dangerously high in the esteem of the people.īut allow me to pause here, dear reader/listener, to briefly explain the underlying political state in Rome at the time (which will clarify several plot points along our journey through this play.) You’ve already heard two names important to the background of the story: Caesar and Pompey.
He sends the commoners home with: “Run to your houses, fall upon your knees, / Pray to the gods to intermit the plague / That needs must light on this ingratitude” and proceeds to tear down the decorations the commoners have hung in Caesar’s honor. The tribune Marullus, a government official chosen to represent the common people, asks the commoners why they are loitering in the streets, and a cobbler plainly replies: “we make holiday to see Caesar and to rejoice in his triumph.” Marullus mocks the mob for their fickle loyalties, since they used to be loyal to Caesar’s enemy, Pompey, who Caesar has now vanquished. The story begins in the streets of Rome in the year 44 BCE. The Life and Death of Julius Caesar is one of Shakespeare’s most well-known and oft-quoted plays, a classic story of loyalty, politics, murder and intrigue with some of the greatest oratory ever written.
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