Timeline of Important Events
I. THE EXPOSITION, OR INTRODUCTION
Act I, Scene i. The popularity of Cæsar with the Roman mob and the
jealousy of the official classes--the two motive forces of the play--are
revealed. The fickleness of the mob is shown in a spirit of comedy; the
antagonism of Marullus and Flavius strikes the note of tragedy.
Act I, Scene ii, 1-304. The supreme characters are introduced, and in
their opening speeches each reveals his temperament and foreshadows the part
which he will play. The exposition of the situation is now complete.
II. THE COMPLICATION, RISING ACTION, OR GROWTH
Act I, Scene ii, 305-319. In soliloquy Cassius unfolds his scheme for
entangling Brutus in the conspiracy, and the dramatic complication begins.
Act I, Scene iii. Casca, excited by the fiery portents that bode
disaster to the state, is persuaded by Cassius to join "an enterprise of
honourable-dangerous consequence" (lines 123-124). The conspirators are assigned
to their various posts, and Cassius engages to secure Brutus before morning.
Act II, Scene i. The humane character of Brutus, as master, husband,
and citizen, is elaborated, and his attitude to Cæsar and the conspiracy of
assassination clearly shown. He joins the conspirators--apparently their leader,
in reality their tool. In lines 162-183 he pleads that the life of Antony be
spared, and thus unconsciously prepares for his own ruin.
Act II, Scene ii. Cæsar is uneasy at the omens and portents, and gives
heed to Calpurnia's entreaties to remain at home, but he yields to the
importunity of Decius and starts for the Capitol, thus advancing the plans of
the conspirators. The dramatic contrast between Cæsar and Brutus is strengthened
by that between Calpurnia in this scene and Portia in the preceding.
Act II, Scene iii. The dramatic interest is intensified by the warning
of Artemidorus and the suggestion of a way of escape for the protagonist.
Act II, Scene iv. The interest is further intensified by the way in
which readers and spectators are made to share the anxiety of Portia.
III. THE CLIMAX, CRISIS, OR TURNING POINT
Act III, Scene i, 1-122. The dramatic movement is now rapid, and the
tension, indicated by the short whispered sentences of all the speakers except
Cæsar, is only increased by his imperial utterances, which show utter
unconsciousness of the impending doom. In the assassination all the complicating
forces--the self-confidence of Cæsar, the unworldly patriotism of Brutus, the
political chicanery of Cassius, the unscrupulousness of Casca, and the
fickleness of the mob--bring about an event which changes the lives of all the
characters concerned and threatens the stability of the Roman nation. The death
of Cæsar is the climax of the physical action of the play; it is at the same
time the emotional crisis from which Brutus comes with altered destiny.
IV. THE RESOLUTION, FALLING ACTION, OR CONSEQUENCE
Act III, Scene i, 123-298. With Brutus's "Soft! who comes here? A
friend of Antony's" begins the resolution, or falling action, of the play. "The
fortune of the conspirators, hitherto in the ascendant, now declines, while
'Cæsar's spirit' surely and steadily prevails against them."--Verity. Against
the advice of Cassius, Brutus gives Antony permission to deliver a public
funeral oration. Antony in a soliloquy shows his determination to avenge Cæsar,
and the first scene of the falling action closes with the announcement that
Octavius is within seven leagues of Rome.
Act III, Scene ii--Scene iii. The orations of Antony, in vivid
contrast to the conciliatory but unimpassioned speeches of Brutus, fire the
people and liberate fresh forces in the falling action. Brutus and Cassius have
to fly the city, riding "like madmen through the gates of Rome." In unreasoning
fury the mob tears to pieces an innocent poet who has the same name as a
conspirator.
Act IV, Scene i. Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus, having formed a
triumvirate of which Antony is the master spirit, agree on a proscription list
and join forces against Brutus and Cassius, who "are levying powers."
Act IV, Scene ii. Brutus and Cassius, long parted by pride and
obstinacy, meet to discuss a plan of action.
Act IV, Scene iii. This is one of the most famous individual scenes in
Shakespeare.... Its intensely human interest is always conceded, but its
dramatic propriety, because of what seems a 'dragging' tendency, has been often
questioned. The scene opens with Brutus and Cassius bandying recriminations, and
the quarrel of the two generals bodes disaster to their cause. As the discussion
proceeds, they yield points and become reconciled. Brutus then quietly but with
peculiar pathos tells of Portia's death by her own hand. In all the great
tragedies, with the notable exception of Othello, when the forces of the
resolution, or falling action, are gathering towards the dénouement, Shakespeare
introduces a scene which appeals to an emotion different from any of those
excited elsewhere in the play. "As a rule this new emotion is pathetic; and the
pathos is not terrible or lacerating, but, even if painful, is accompanied by
the sense of beauty and by an outflow of admiration or affection, which come
with an inexpressible sweetness after the tension of the crisis and the first
counter-stroke. So it is with the reconciliation of Brutus and Cassius, and the
arrival of the news of Portia's death."--Bradley. While the shadow of her tragic
passing overhangs the spirits of both, Brutus overhears the shrewd, cautious
counsel of Cassius and persuades him to assent to the fatal policy of offering
battle at Philippi. That night the ghost of Cæsar appears to Brutus.
Act V, Scene i. The action now falls rapidly to the quick, decisive
movement of the dénouement. The antagonists are now face to face. Brutus and
Cassius have done what Antony and Octavius hoped that they would do. The
opposing generals hold a brief parley in which Brutus intimates that he is
willing to effect a reconciliation, but Antony rejects his proposals and bluntly
charges him and Cassius with the wilful murder of Cæsar. Cassius reminds Brutus
of his warning that Antony should have fallen when Cæsar did. Antony, Octavius,
and their army retire, and the scene closes with the noble farewell without hope
between Brutus and Cassius.
Act V, Scene ii. The opposing armies meet on the field, and a final
flare-up of hope in the breast of Brutus is indicated by his spirited order to
Messala to charge. The scene implies that Cassius was defeated by being left
without support by Brutus.
V. DÉNOUEMENT, CATASTROPHE, OR CONCLUSION
Act V, Scene iii. The charge ordered by Brutus has been successful,
and Octavius has been driven back, but Cassius is thus left unguarded, and
Antony's forces surround him. He takes refuge on a hill and sends Titinius to
see "whether yond troops are friend or enemy." Believing Titinius to be slain,
he begs Pindarus to stab him, and Cassius dies "even with the sword that kill'd"
Cæsar. With the same sword Titinius then slays himself, and Brutus, when Messala
bears the news to him, exclaims in words that strike the keynote of the whole
falling action and dénouement:
O Julius Cæsar, thou art mighty yet!
Thy spirit walks abroad,
and turns our swords
In our own proper entrails.
Act V,
Scene iv. Like Hamlet, Brutus at the last is a man of supreme action. He
rallies his forces for a last attack. With hopeless failure before him, he is at
once a heroic figure and one of infinite pathos. Young Cato falls. Lucilius is
attacked; assuming the name of Brutus, he is not killed but taken prisoner.
Antony recognizes him and gives orders that he be treated kindly.
Act V, Scene v. Brutus dies by his own sword, and his last words tell
the story of failure and defeat. Like a true Roman, he meets his doom without a
murmur of complaint. He had been true to his ideals. The tragic dénouement comes
as the inevitable consequence, not of wilful sin, but of a noble mistake. In
death he commands the veneration of both Antony and Octavius, who pronounce over
his body the great interpretation of his character, and in their speeches the
tragedy closes as with a chant of victory for the hero of defeat.
VI. MANAGEMENT OF TIME AND PLACE
1. Historic time. Cæsar's triumph over the sons of Pompey was
celebrated in October, B.C. 45. Shakespeare makes this coincident with "the
feast of Lupercal" on February 15, B.C. 44. In the play Antony delivers his
funeral oration immediately after Cæsar's death; historically, there was an
interval of days. Octavius did not reach Rome until upwards of two months after
the assassination; in III, ii, 261, Antony is told by his servant immediately
after the funeral oration that "Octavius is already come to Rome." In November,
B.C. 43, the triumvirs met to make up their bloody proscription, and in the
autumn of the following year were fought the two battles of Philippi, separated
historically by twenty days, but represented by Shakespeare as taking place on
the same day.
Act I, Scene i. The popularity of Cæsar with the Roman mob and the
jealousy of the official classes--the two motive forces of the play--are
revealed. The fickleness of the mob is shown in a spirit of comedy; the
antagonism of Marullus and Flavius strikes the note of tragedy.
Act I, Scene ii, 1-304. The supreme characters are introduced, and in
their opening speeches each reveals his temperament and foreshadows the part
which he will play. The exposition of the situation is now complete.
II. THE COMPLICATION, RISING ACTION, OR GROWTH
Act I, Scene ii, 305-319. In soliloquy Cassius unfolds his scheme for
entangling Brutus in the conspiracy, and the dramatic complication begins.
Act I, Scene iii. Casca, excited by the fiery portents that bode
disaster to the state, is persuaded by Cassius to join "an enterprise of
honourable-dangerous consequence" (lines 123-124). The conspirators are assigned
to their various posts, and Cassius engages to secure Brutus before morning.
Act II, Scene i. The humane character of Brutus, as master, husband,
and citizen, is elaborated, and his attitude to Cæsar and the conspiracy of
assassination clearly shown. He joins the conspirators--apparently their leader,
in reality their tool. In lines 162-183 he pleads that the life of Antony be
spared, and thus unconsciously prepares for his own ruin.
Act II, Scene ii. Cæsar is uneasy at the omens and portents, and gives
heed to Calpurnia's entreaties to remain at home, but he yields to the
importunity of Decius and starts for the Capitol, thus advancing the plans of
the conspirators. The dramatic contrast between Cæsar and Brutus is strengthened
by that between Calpurnia in this scene and Portia in the preceding.
Act II, Scene iii. The dramatic interest is intensified by the warning
of Artemidorus and the suggestion of a way of escape for the protagonist.
Act II, Scene iv. The interest is further intensified by the way in
which readers and spectators are made to share the anxiety of Portia.
III. THE CLIMAX, CRISIS, OR TURNING POINT
Act III, Scene i, 1-122. The dramatic movement is now rapid, and the
tension, indicated by the short whispered sentences of all the speakers except
Cæsar, is only increased by his imperial utterances, which show utter
unconsciousness of the impending doom. In the assassination all the complicating
forces--the self-confidence of Cæsar, the unworldly patriotism of Brutus, the
political chicanery of Cassius, the unscrupulousness of Casca, and the
fickleness of the mob--bring about an event which changes the lives of all the
characters concerned and threatens the stability of the Roman nation. The death
of Cæsar is the climax of the physical action of the play; it is at the same
time the emotional crisis from which Brutus comes with altered destiny.
IV. THE RESOLUTION, FALLING ACTION, OR CONSEQUENCE
Act III, Scene i, 123-298. With Brutus's "Soft! who comes here? A
friend of Antony's" begins the resolution, or falling action, of the play. "The
fortune of the conspirators, hitherto in the ascendant, now declines, while
'Cæsar's spirit' surely and steadily prevails against them."--Verity. Against
the advice of Cassius, Brutus gives Antony permission to deliver a public
funeral oration. Antony in a soliloquy shows his determination to avenge Cæsar,
and the first scene of the falling action closes with the announcement that
Octavius is within seven leagues of Rome.
Act III, Scene ii--Scene iii. The orations of Antony, in vivid
contrast to the conciliatory but unimpassioned speeches of Brutus, fire the
people and liberate fresh forces in the falling action. Brutus and Cassius have
to fly the city, riding "like madmen through the gates of Rome." In unreasoning
fury the mob tears to pieces an innocent poet who has the same name as a
conspirator.
Act IV, Scene i. Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus, having formed a
triumvirate of which Antony is the master spirit, agree on a proscription list
and join forces against Brutus and Cassius, who "are levying powers."
Act IV, Scene ii. Brutus and Cassius, long parted by pride and
obstinacy, meet to discuss a plan of action.
Act IV, Scene iii. This is one of the most famous individual scenes in
Shakespeare.... Its intensely human interest is always conceded, but its
dramatic propriety, because of what seems a 'dragging' tendency, has been often
questioned. The scene opens with Brutus and Cassius bandying recriminations, and
the quarrel of the two generals bodes disaster to their cause. As the discussion
proceeds, they yield points and become reconciled. Brutus then quietly but with
peculiar pathos tells of Portia's death by her own hand. In all the great
tragedies, with the notable exception of Othello, when the forces of the
resolution, or falling action, are gathering towards the dénouement, Shakespeare
introduces a scene which appeals to an emotion different from any of those
excited elsewhere in the play. "As a rule this new emotion is pathetic; and the
pathos is not terrible or lacerating, but, even if painful, is accompanied by
the sense of beauty and by an outflow of admiration or affection, which come
with an inexpressible sweetness after the tension of the crisis and the first
counter-stroke. So it is with the reconciliation of Brutus and Cassius, and the
arrival of the news of Portia's death."--Bradley. While the shadow of her tragic
passing overhangs the spirits of both, Brutus overhears the shrewd, cautious
counsel of Cassius and persuades him to assent to the fatal policy of offering
battle at Philippi. That night the ghost of Cæsar appears to Brutus.
Act V, Scene i. The action now falls rapidly to the quick, decisive
movement of the dénouement. The antagonists are now face to face. Brutus and
Cassius have done what Antony and Octavius hoped that they would do. The
opposing generals hold a brief parley in which Brutus intimates that he is
willing to effect a reconciliation, but Antony rejects his proposals and bluntly
charges him and Cassius with the wilful murder of Cæsar. Cassius reminds Brutus
of his warning that Antony should have fallen when Cæsar did. Antony, Octavius,
and their army retire, and the scene closes with the noble farewell without hope
between Brutus and Cassius.
Act V, Scene ii. The opposing armies meet on the field, and a final
flare-up of hope in the breast of Brutus is indicated by his spirited order to
Messala to charge. The scene implies that Cassius was defeated by being left
without support by Brutus.
V. DÉNOUEMENT, CATASTROPHE, OR CONCLUSION
Act V, Scene iii. The charge ordered by Brutus has been successful,
and Octavius has been driven back, but Cassius is thus left unguarded, and
Antony's forces surround him. He takes refuge on a hill and sends Titinius to
see "whether yond troops are friend or enemy." Believing Titinius to be slain,
he begs Pindarus to stab him, and Cassius dies "even with the sword that kill'd"
Cæsar. With the same sword Titinius then slays himself, and Brutus, when Messala
bears the news to him, exclaims in words that strike the keynote of the whole
falling action and dénouement:
O Julius Cæsar, thou art mighty yet!
Thy spirit walks abroad,
and turns our swords
In our own proper entrails.
Act V,
Scene iv. Like Hamlet, Brutus at the last is a man of supreme action. He
rallies his forces for a last attack. With hopeless failure before him, he is at
once a heroic figure and one of infinite pathos. Young Cato falls. Lucilius is
attacked; assuming the name of Brutus, he is not killed but taken prisoner.
Antony recognizes him and gives orders that he be treated kindly.
Act V, Scene v. Brutus dies by his own sword, and his last words tell
the story of failure and defeat. Like a true Roman, he meets his doom without a
murmur of complaint. He had been true to his ideals. The tragic dénouement comes
as the inevitable consequence, not of wilful sin, but of a noble mistake. In
death he commands the veneration of both Antony and Octavius, who pronounce over
his body the great interpretation of his character, and in their speeches the
tragedy closes as with a chant of victory for the hero of defeat.
VI. MANAGEMENT OF TIME AND PLACE
1. Historic time. Cæsar's triumph over the sons of Pompey was
celebrated in October, B.C. 45. Shakespeare makes this coincident with "the
feast of Lupercal" on February 15, B.C. 44. In the play Antony delivers his
funeral oration immediately after Cæsar's death; historically, there was an
interval of days. Octavius did not reach Rome until upwards of two months after
the assassination; in III, ii, 261, Antony is told by his servant immediately
after the funeral oration that "Octavius is already come to Rome." In November,
B.C. 43, the triumvirs met to make up their bloody proscription, and in the
autumn of the following year were fought the two battles of Philippi, separated
historically by twenty days, but represented by Shakespeare as taking place on
the same day.