Chapter Introduction of Julius Caesar - Study Guide by William Shakespeare

Introduction

Julius Caesar is the first great tragedy in Shakespeare's oeuvre. When it was first performed in 1599 (it was probably written to open the new Globe Theatre), the play was a new departure for English theatre; nothing quite like it had been seen before. In this short political play, Shakespeare successfully combines high- paced action with powerful rhetoric. Shakespeare swiftly sketches the background to the events that built up to Caesar's assassination on 15th March 44 BC in a manner that effectively manages to capture the emotions of the times. Writing a play about a contentious historical event, Shakespeare manages to balance differing opinions about the validity of the assassination without casting his own verdict.