Act One
As the play opens, Flavius and Marullus, two tribunes
(officials whose job it is to keep order in the streets),
meet two citizens, a carpenter and a cobbler, who are
dressed in their best. In earlier days, a workman in the
street was required to wear clothes that indicated his
profession. When questioned about their clothes, the
two reply that they have come out to celebrate Caesar’s
return to Rome. They are obviously in a happy mood.
However they are scolded by the tribunes, who insult
them and remind them that it was not so long ago that
they honored their previous ruler, Pompey, by
cheering him as he passed by. They are accused of
being disloyal now, and are ordered back to their
houses.
Caesar arrives, surrounded by a crowd. He
hears the voice of a Soothsayer, or fortune
teller, calling to him from the throng, and he
orders the fellow to appear. He emerges
from the crowd and warns Caesar to beware
the Ides of March, a date in mid-month
when he will be in danger. Caesar decides to
ignore the strange man and his warning.
Cassius, a citizen who fears Caesar’s desire for power,
talks to Brutus, a friend of Caesar and a prominent
Roman known for his honor and integrity. Cassius
declares that each of them is as good as Caesar, and
entitled to the same freedoms. He relates an incident
from earlier days when Caesar challenged him to a
swimming race across the river Tiber in full armor. In
the middle of the river, Caesar weakened, called to
Cassius for help, and had to be carried to shore. It
angers Cassius that he must now bow to this man,
whom he considers a weakling, but who has been
elevated to a position of power.
Cassius is gathering a group of Roman
citizens who share his distrust of Caesar and
who will join in a conspiracy to kill the
Roman leader. He has recruited Cinna and
Casca, and is hoping Brutus will join the
group and lead it. He works on Brutus’
feelings by telling him that men are not
fated to be underlings (servants), and if they
are, it is their own fault, not the fault of the
stars. Brutus does not commit himself, but
says he will think about all this.
Caesar is suspicious of Cassius,
calling him “lean and hungry.”
Mark Antony, Caesar’s loyal friend,
tries to reassure him, but Caesar
replies that Cassius has no interest
in theater or music and seldom
smiles. Caesar believes such men
are dangerous.
Casca describes for Brutus how Mark
Antony had offered a crown to
Caesar three times and how the
crowd had cheered each time.
Caesar rejected the crown, but
Casca believes that in his heart
Caesar truly wanted it because he
really wants to be a king.
A little later, Casca meets Cicero, a public
official called a senator, and describes for
him a series of strange events that appear to
be omens of violence: a slave whose hand
seemed to be on fire but who was unburned,
a lion who wandered calmly through the
streets, strange women who claimed to have
seen men walking engulfed in flames, and
an owl, usually a night bird, hooting and
shrieking in the marketplace at noon.
ONE SPEAKER:
Cassius
THREE SPEAKERS:
Cassius, Casca and Cinna
Casca, Brutus and Cassius
TWO SPEAKERS:
FOUR SPEAKERS:
Marullus and the cobbler Flavius, Marullus, two citizens
Marullus and Flavius
Caesar, Casca, Brutus, Soothsayer
Brutus and Cassius
Caesar and Mark Antony
Casca and Cicero