Biography Help

Posts Tagged ‘julius caesar entire play with line numbers’

Question: Who is the protagonist of the play Julius caesar?

Literary scholars have debated for centuries about the question of who exactly is the protagonist of this play. The seemingly simple answer to this question would be Julius Caesar himself—after all, the play is named after him, and the events of the play all relate to him. However, Caesar only appears in three scenes (four if the ghost is included), thus apparently making him an unlikely choice for the protagonist who is supposed to be the main character. Meanwhile, Brutus, who is in the play much more often than Caesar (and actually lasts until the final scene), is not the title character of the play and is listed in the dramatis personae not only after Caesar but after the entire triumvirate and some senators who barely appear in the play. Determining the protagonist is one of the many engaging issues presented in the play.

Answer: The protagonist is not always the good guy. But in this case I would say it is and go with Mark Anthony as the protagonist. Did he not give the “Friends, Romans, countrymen” speech? And is that not the most famous line in the play, if not one of the most famous in Shakespeare’s work? I think you could argue it is.

“Eventide” duo brothers onstage and off

At 62, Mike Hartman and 73-year-old pal Philip Pleasants are enjoying the roles of a lifetime. Again. In 2008, they created the McPheron Brothers for the DCTC’s world premiere staging of “Plainsong.” This week, they’re back for the sequel, “Eventide.”

Julius Caesar: Introduction to Shakespeare (clip)