Julius Caesar

Roles

• Casca - Adult (36-50), Senior (>50), Male

About this piece

Casca tells Cicero something bad is about to happen in Rome

Summary

Caesar is celebrating his victory over Pompey with a military parade through the streets of Rome. The people of Rome show great support for him and some fear that Caesar has gained too much power and will become a dictator. In the first scene of the play we find two tribunes, Flavius and Murellus, scolding two commoners for celebrating Caesar's victory and remove decorations from all Caesar's statues. Brutus confides to Cassius that he is afraid the people of Rome might elect Caesar king. Brutus, as a supporter of the Republic, is afraid of one man having too much power, even if Caesar is his friend. Cassius, an ambitious Roman general, is envious of Caesar's power and tries to get Brutus to help him and other conspirators eliminate Caesar. Casca, another politician, tells Cassius and Brutus that Anthony offered Caesar a crown several times and he refused it. Caesar also had a seizure and fell to the ground while he was on the parade. This endeared him to the people of Rome that seem eager to elect him king. In ACT I, Scene 3, we find Casca with a senator, Cicero. Casca tells him he has never seen a weather like this in his life. This must mean that "there is a civil strife in heaven" and that the gods are angry with the Romans. He also tells him he has seen strange things that he considers bad omens. He has seen a slave with his hands in flames but didn't feel anything. He saw a lion at the Capitol but the lion didn't attack him. Also he saw a "bird of night" at noon at the marketplace. These sightings, he argues, mean that something terrible is about to happen in Rome.

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