William Shakespeare

Although Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar is named after the legendary Roman political leader, the central character is thought by many to be Marcus Brutus, Caesar's friend turned foe who struggles throughout the play with conflicting obligations of friendship and duty. While Caesar is warned in a prophecy to "beware the Ides of March" the Roman senators, including Brutus are secretly plotting his assassination, hoping to rid Rome of the

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Breaking all conventional rules of drama, Shakespeare creates neither a clear-cut hero nor a villain. Instead, this great tragedy presents complicated human beings in agonizing conflict with one another, and themselves.