Brutus vows that he will not be taken captive to Rome. They say farewell, and go into battle.

ACT 5 SCENE 2

Brutus sends Messala with messages to Cassius: he can see a possible weakness in Octavius’ army and is going to attack.

ACT 5 SCENE 3

Lines 1–51: Cassius watches as his own troops run. Titinius blames Brutus for attacking Octavius too soon while Cassius’ troops were surrounded by Antony’s. Pindarus arrives, urging Cassius to flee, as Antony has entered the camp. Cassius assures him that he is far enough away and sends Titinius for news. He sends Pindarus farther up the hill to observe the battlefield, before noting that it is his birthday and likely also to be the day he dies: “where I did begin, there shall I end.” Pindarus reports what he believes he can see: Titinius surrounded by horsemen, who kill him. Ashamed of what he perceives as his own cowardice, Cassius calls Pindarus to him and reminds him of the oath he made to do whatever Cassius bid him to. Cassius hands Pindarus his sword and tells him to kill him, thus rendering Pindarus a “freeman” and giving Caesar his revenge. Pindarus does so and flees.

Lines 52–116: Titinius and Messala are discussing the battle, hoping that their tidings will “comfort Cassius.” They see his body and, lamenting, Messala goes to tell Brutus. Titinius addresses Cassius’ body, laying on it a wreath of victory that Brutus had sent for him. He guesses that Cassius has “misconstrued everything” he has seen and heard of the battle, echoing earlier references to the potential to misinterpret events. Titinius stabs himself. Brutus is led in by Messala and, seeing the bodies, claims that the spirit of Caesar “walks abroad.” Promising Cassius that he will “find time” to mourn him, Brutus orders the bodies to be sent to Thasos.

ACT 5 SCENE 4

Brutus rallies his men and exits, fighting. Young Cato fights bravely before he is killed. Lucilius pretends to be Brutus and is taken prisoner. Antony arrives, and his soldiers tell him that they have Brutus. Lucilius claims that Brutus is now “safe enough.” Antony praises Lucilius’ bravery, ordering his men to treat him well.

ACT 5 SCENE 5

Brutus asks his followers to kill him but they refuse. He tells Volumnius of the visions he has had of Caesar’s ghost, saying that he knows his “hour is come.” Increasing alarums are heard and Brutus’ followers urge him to flee, but he bids them farewell in turn. Strato remains and holds Brutus’ sword for him to run onto. He dies as Antony and Octavius arrive and Strato claims that Brutus is now “free,” having given no man the “honour” of his death but himself. Antony says of Brutus that he was “the noblest Roman of them all” and that he alone among the conspirators killed Caesar in the belief that it was for the “common good,” and was not driven by envy. Octavius agrees, and declares that Brutus will be given burial honors befitting a soldier.

JULIUS CAESAR
IN PERFORMANCE:
THE RSC AND BEYOND

The best way to understand a Shakespeare play is to see it or ideally to participate in it. By examining a range of productions, we may gain a sense of the extraordinary variety of approaches and interpretations that are possible—a variety that gives Shakespeare his unique capacity to be reinvented and made “our contemporary” four centuries after his death.

We begin with a brief overview of the play’s theatrical and cinematic life, offering historical perspectives on how it has been performed. We then analyze in more detail a series of productions staged over the last half century by the Royal Shakespeare Company. The sense of dialogue between productions that can only occur when a company is dedicated to the revival and investigation of the Shakespeare canon over a long period, together with the uniquely comprehensive archival resource of promptbooks, program notes, reviews, and interviews held on behalf of the RSC at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-upon-Avon, allows an “RSC stage history” to become a crucible in which the chemistry of the play can be explored.

Finally, we go to the horse’s mouth. Modern theater is dominated by the figure of the director, who must hold together the whole play, whereas the actor must concentrate on his or her part. The director’s viewpoint is therefore especially valuable. Shakespeare’s plasticity is wonderfully revealed when we hear directors of highly successful productions answering the same questions in very different ways.

FOUR CENTURIES OF JULIUS CAESAR: AN OVERVIEW

When Polonius tells Hamlet “I did enact Julius Caesar. I was killed i’th’Capitol. Brutus killed me” (Act 3 Scene 2), we hear what may be one of the earliest theatrical in-jokes.