This key facts covers Key Facts within Theme: Power & Ambition for GCSE English Literature. Revise Theme: Power & Ambition in Julius Caesar for GCSE English Literature with 10 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 12 of 17 in this topic. Use this key facts to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
📋 Key Facts
- Caesar is offered the crown three times and refuses it — Casca reports this in 1.2, the only direct evidence of Caesar's relationship to kingship
- The historical Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BCE; Shakespeare's source is Plutarch's Lives of the Noble Romans
- Octavius, who ends the play, became Augustus Caesar — the first Roman Emperor — in 27 BCE
- The Essex rebellion (1601) makes the play's assassination theme politically charged for its first audiences
- "Et tu, Bruté?" is Shakespeare's addition — Plutarch records only that Caesar pulled his toga over his face when he saw Brutus
Practice questions for Theme: Power & Ambition
In Act 1 Scene 2, Caesar is offered the crown during the Lupercalia festival. What happens when the crown is offered to him?
Identify one technique Shakespeare uses in the Colossus speech (Act 1 Scene 2) to present Cassius's construction of Caesar's power, and explain what it achieves. (2 marks)