Julius Caesar 935with Elizabethan audiences, given its combination
of intrigue, colorful characters, and the nostalgic
splendor of the Roman Empire.
The play opens with Caesar’s triumphant return
to Rome following the defeat of his rival Pompey
in battle. As the crowds celebrate and offer him the
crown of Rome, several of his advisers reveal that
they fear Caesar is becoming too powerful. Cassius
convinces Brutus that they are right in this assump-
tion, and together with Casca, Cinna, Decius,
Metellus, and Trebonius, they plot to murder Cae-
sar. Although he is warned by an aged soothsayer,
Caesar refuses to stay home on the appointed day,
the 15th of March, fearing that he will be seen as
a coward, and he is murdered in the Senate House;
Mark Antony publicly charges Brutus with assassi-
nation and demands justice. Brutus, haunted by the
ghost of Caesar and his own guilt and hunted down
by Mark Antony and his followers, commits suicide,
prompting Mark Antony to claim him as the sole
noble figure among the conspirators. Through these
characters and the events of the play, Shakespeare
incorporates such themes as ambition, ethics,
fate, guilt, justice, pride, and violence.
Although Shakespeare’s interweaving of Eliza-
bethan issues with Roman subject matter is complex
and can be confusing at times, Julius Caesar stands
as one of his most readable and performable plays
because of the timelessness of its study of the human
condition.
Melissa Ridley-Elmes
ambItIon in Julius Caesar
The ambition of the real-life Julius Caesar, who rose
from lesser patrician roots to become the emperor of
Rome, serves as the inspiration for William Shake-
speare’s fictional account of Caesar’s final days and
assassination. Returning to Rome amid celebration
following his defeat of Pompey, Caesar wastes no
time in mustering his allies and seeking to claim
Rome for himself. It is clear that he wishes to begin
a dynastic succession to the throne as he reminds his
friend Mark Antony to touch his wife, Calpurnia,
during the celebratory races, a practice thought to
restore fertility to barren women. It is further clear
that he desires to impress all with his largesse, as
he bids Antony to “set on and leave no ceremony
out” (1.2.14) in the festivities being held in honor
of his return. Although he refuses the proffered
crown three times, this is calculated not to prevent
himself from ascending to the throne but, rather, to
garner the goodwill of the senators in light of his
self-effacement, a move ultimately based in ambi-
tion, not humility. Caesar’s ambition fuels his every
move in the play. He is determined to be in control
of every aspect of his life in his quest for the rule of
the Roman Empire. After the assassination, Brutus
tells the horrified onlookers that “Ambition’s debt is
paid” (3.1.91), indicating that it is Caesar’s ambition
that has led to his death.
Although Caesar’s ambition is at the heart of
the play, it is the ambition of those around him that
creates the drama and the tragedy. Shakespeare plays
up the ambitions of Cassius and Brutus prior to the
assassination in order to provide a clear motive for
their deed. Cassius complains that Caesar holds
too much power, and it is clear that he wishes to
preserve his own agency: “I had as lief not be as live
to be / In awe of such a thing as I myself ” (1.2.102–
103). Cassius views himself as Caesar’s equal and
believes himself as capable as Caesar to rule Rome;
it is this ambition that gives rise to the central con-
spiracy in the play. For his part, Caesar recognizes
this ambition in Cassius: “Yond Cassius has a lean
and hungry look; / He thinks too much. Such men
are dangerous” (1.2.204–205). Shakespeare deliber-
ately juxtaposes the ambitions of these two men, so
alike except in circumstance, in order to heighten
the dramatic tone of the play. Brutus reveals himself
as possessing similar ambitions to power: Although
at first he repudiates Cassius’s contention that he is
as worthy as Caesar to rule, he also acknowledges
that “What you would work me to, I have some
aim” (1.2.172). Furthermore, he does not refuse the
conspirators entry into his home or deny his role
in the murder of Caesar. Following Caesar’s death,
Brutus expends a great deal of energy in justifying
the action and cajoling the horrified onlookers. His
words are calculated to instill a sense of stability and
control in the face of the chaos that ensues following
Caesar’s death, and it is clear that Brutus is seeking
to establish himself as the voice of reason in a bid for
authority as a result of his ambition.