lowed by strong evidence that vengeance is sure to pursue the assassins. The remainder of the play traces their downfall. Cæsar's avengers combine while his murderers disagree in a manner that leaves small hope of ultimate success. Their friends at Rome are proscribed; Portia dies; the apparition warns Brutus; evil omens dismay the soldiers; on the eve of battle Cassius and Brutus bid each other an "everlasting farewell," and in their self-inflicted deaths, "Cæsar's spirit, raging for revenge," is appeased. THE HISTORIC PERIOD OF THE PLAY As a matter of history the chief events alluded to in the play occurred on the following dates: Cæsar's Triumph, October, 45 B.C. The Lupercal, Cæsar's refusal of the crown, Feb. 15, 44. The Assassination, March 15, 44. The Funeral, March 19 or 20, 44. Arrival of Octavius at Rome, May, 44. Formation of the Triumvirate, Octavius, Antony, Lepidus. Proscriptions at Rome, November, 43. Battles of Philippi, October, 42. The play compresses all this history into six days separated by intervals, thus: Day 1. Act I, Scenes 1 and 2. Feb. 15, 45. " IV. Act IV, Scene 1. In November, 43 It is maintained by some critics that "Brutus" would be a more appropriate name for the play than "Julius Cæsar." It is true that Brutus is the most prominent actor, and that Cæsar appears in only three scenes and does not present an impressive figure, yet it is the fate of Cæsar and the just retribution that follows his murder which give unity of action to the play, and not the evolution of the character of Brutus. The tragedy is built round Cæsar. Though in the working out of the plot Brutus, Cassius, and Antony each plays a more conspicuous part than the Dictator, yet as an overmastering but unseen presence he controls every event, and is the inspiring cause of the whole drama. HISTORICAL TRUTH OF THE PLAY Shakespeare's main purpose was to write a good and attractive play, not to give a lesson in history. Hence he wisely took such liberties with the facts of history as his purpose required. For example, he makes Cæsar's "triumph" occur on the day of the Lupercal instead of six months before. He places the murder of Cæsar in the Capitol building, not in the Curia Pompeiana* where it really occurred. The poet assigns the murder, the reading of the will, the funeral and Antony's oration, and Octavius' arrival at Rome, all to the same day, whereas they occurred on different days, the latter event nearly two months after the others. There were two battles of Philippi, twenty days apart, Cassius falling in the first battle, and Brutus after the second. Shakespeare combines the two battles into one. But these are not important points. In all essentials, excepting the character given to Cæsar, the play is true to history. The disapproval shown of Cæsar's desire to receive the title of King; the motives of the conspirators; the relation of Brutus to Cæsar and to his fellow conspirators; the folly and consequence of their action,-all these essentials are depicted with truth and vividness. *This Curia was a hall with one side curved and furnished with tiers of seats. It was used for meetings of the Senate. In the center was a colossal statue of Pompey, erected by the city in his honor because of the beautiful building-the first theater in Rome built of stone -which he had dedicated to the public. It was near this statue that Cæsar was murdered. WHY IS CAESAR "REDUCED" IN THE PLAY As to why Shakespeare presents in the play such a mere caricature of the real Cæsar, this may be said: In the first place, as a true artist the poet must have realized the impossibility of adequately portraying in a drama the "noble Julius," the most able and perfect all-round man the world has ever seen. Any attempt to do his full character justice could hardly avoid being ridiculous. In the second place, if the poet had presented Cæsar, even approximately, as history reports him, the folly and crime of his murder would have been so aggravated in view of the loss which the world suffered by it, that the scene would be so painful as to be revolting. For the same reason Shakespeare somewhat idealizes the character of Brutus. To have had the "foremost man of all this world" killed by a band of assassins who were led by a man of no nobler character and exalted motives than the Brutus of history would have been too shocking. Cæsar had to be diminished and Brutus somewhat magnified for the sake of dramatic harmony and effect. SHAKESPEARE'S USE OF RHYME AND PROSE Why does Shakespeare so regularly end his scenes with a rhyming couplet? is not an important question. It may have been in order to give a cue to players or audience. There is more force in the question, On what principle does Shakespeare make the same character speak at one time in verse and again in prose? To this we have seen no satisfactory answer. It is altogether likely that the poet would say the thoughts just happened to phrase themselves as they did without any special design on his part. |