The play takes place in the ancient Roman Republic, following the civil war that was caused by the rivalry for power between generals Julius Caesar and Pompey. The scene in which the story begins implies that the conflict between Caesar (and his supporters) and the conspirators are foreshadowed. A statue of each general is shown in the opening scene of ACT I to illustrate the celebration of Caesar's triumph by the public. In contrast to Pompey's plain statue, Caesar's is draped in purple cloth and a laurel wreath, along with citizens shouting "Hail, Caesar!" and throwing flowers (12-13). However, many of Pompey's old friends, such as Flavius and Murellus, are angry and are attempting to stop the parade by reminding crowds of how they used to cherish Pompey and urging them to go home. …show more content…
In the meantime, Murellus keeps scolding the citizens "And do you now cull out a holiday . . . that comes in triumph over Pompey's blood?” (14). As the celebrations get started, the soothsayer is introduced, crying out from the crowd, "Beware the ides of March," to warn Caesar of future danger (15). The crowd then moves to the races, leaving the troublemaker Cassius and Brutus, whose ancestors helped in the creation of the Roman Republic, alone by Pompey's statue discussing Caesar's likely desire to become king, which the Romans viewed as being evil. After commenting on Caesar, “Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus,” (18) Cassius, suggests to Brutus that he might become the next leader of Rome. By the end of Act I, the conspirators started to unite in rebellion to figure out the best way to solve the problem if Caesar is ambitious enough to become