Julius Caesar

William Shakespeare

GCSE set text AQA GCSE

Rome's celebration of Caesar exposes competing ideas about power, loyalty and the political meaning of public opinion.

Read the book Study guide

Listen free: the LibriVox audiobook, read by volunteers.

Length: 18 scenes
Reading time: About 1 hr 27 min
Words: 20,617

About the book

The opening street scene finds officials challenging tradesmen who have left work to celebrate Caesar's return. Their dispute turns a holiday into an argument about allegiance, reminding the audience how quickly public admiration can change its object.

Shakespeare carries that instability into conversations among men who speak of Rome while weighing personal fears and obligations. The drama gives persuasion a central role: private interpretation and public speech both have consequences, and claims to honour require an audience prepared to accept them.

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GCSE set texts Plays Shakespeare

This edition

Text from Standard Ebooks, who proofread and typeset it and dedicate their edition to the public domain. William Shakespeare died more than 70 years ago, so the work is out of copyright in the UK. Includes the original dramatis personae.

Julius Caesar

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