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Julius Caesar is a Shakespeare play with many instantly recognisable quotes – ‘Friends, Romans, countrymen’ anyone? As with so many of his plays Shakespeare brings the characters to life with fantastic dialogue and some very memorable quotes.
- Brutus. A supporter of the republic who believes strongly in a government guided by the votes of senators. While Brutus loves Caesar as a friend, he opposes the ascension of any single man to the position of dictator, and he fears that Caesar aspires to such power.
- Julius Caesar. A great Roman general and senator, recently returned to Rome in triumph after a successful military campaign. While his good friend Brutus worries that Caesar may aspire to dictatorship over the Roman republic, Caesar seems to show no such inclination, declining the crown several times.
- Antony. A friend of Caesar. Antony claims allegiance to Brutus and the conspirators after Caesar’s death in order to save his own life. Later, however, when speaking a funeral oration over Caesar’s body, he spectacularly persuades the audience to withdraw its support of Brutus and instead condemn him as a traitor.
- Cassius. A talented general and longtime acquaintance of Caesar. Cassius dislikes the fact that Caesar has become godlike in the eyes of the Romans. He slyly leads Brutus to believe that Caesar has become too powerful and must die, finally converting Brutus to his cause by sending him forged letters claiming that the Roman people support the death of Caesar.
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These lines come from Caesars speech in Act III, scene i, just before his assassination. The conspirators have come to Caesar in the Senate under the pretense of pleading for amnesty for Metelluss banished brother, Publius Cimber. Caesar replies that he will adhere to his word and not change his earlier decision.
Comparing himself to the North Star, Caesar boasts of his constancy, his commitment to the law, and his refusal to waver under any persuasion. This comparison implies more than steadfastness, however: the North Star is the star by which sailors have navigated since ancient times, the star that guides them in their voyages, just as Caesar leads the ...
As it comes mere moments before the murder, the speech adds much irony to the scene: having just boasted that he is unassailable, Caesar is shortly assailed and killed. In announcing his constancy, Caesar claims permanency, immortality even. The assassins quickly prove Caesar mortal, however. But as the later events of the play reveal, Caesars infl...
For he loves to hear That unicorns may be betrayed with trees, And bears with glasses, elephants with holes, Lions with toils, and men with flatterers. But when I tell him he hates flatterers, He says he does, being then most flatterèd. Let me work. (2.1.210-217)
These quotes from Julius Caesar are pivotal in understanding the characters, themes, and dramatic developments of the play. Each quote serves to highlight significant moments, reveal character motivations, and advance the central conflicts.
Find the quotes you need in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, sortable by theme, character, or scene. From the creators of SparkNotes.
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It is the feast of Lupercalia, a fertility rite, and Caesar has told his wife, Calpurnia, to stand in the path of Caesar’s loyal friend Mark Antony, who runs in the race, for people believed...
