LITA/2: JULIUS CAESAR By William Shakespeare

Julius Caesar, tragedy in five acts by William Shakespeare, produced in 1599–1600 and published in the First Folio of 1623 from a transcript of a promptbook. Based on Sir Thomas North’s 1579 translation (via a French version) of Plutarch’s Bioi parallēloi (Parallel Lives), the drama takes place in 44 BCE, after Caesar has returned to Rome. Fearing Caesar’s ambition, Cassius forms a conspiracy among Roman republicans. (For Caesar’s view of Cassius, see video.) He persuades the reluctant Brutus—Caesar’s trusted friend—to join them.