When the text was written
Willian Shakespeare’s tragic drama, Julius Caesar was believed to have been written in 1599 in London. The play was published in 1623, when it appeared in the first folio, the first collected edition of Shakespeare’s plays. This timeless tragic play which is full of poetic elements has fifty one characters and is based on an actual figure of the same name who made himself a ruler of Rome in 44 BC. This is speculated to be his 21st play.
What the society was like at the time the text was written
William Shakespeare wrote the play during a period in England’s history that people generally referred to as the English Renaissance. According to Sweeney (2000) this era was a period of rapid development of art, literature, science, and politics. As the play was written during renaissance it features the changes that renaissance experienced.
Shakespeare’s contemporaries believed that the humour determined personality and temperament. Sweeney (2000) stated,” If a person’s dominant humour was blood, he was considered lighthearted, if dominated by yellow bile (or choler), that person was irritable, the dominance of phlegm led a person to be dull and kind and if black bile prevailed, he was
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Instead, society believed women to take up domestic roles of the home. This is clearly shown in the play as there are only two women in the whole play. However, in Act II, Scene 1, Brutus wife, Portia is concerned about her husband’s recent unpredictable behavior. Instead of remaining the silent, she confronts her husband, asking him to treat her as a respected equal, by revealing his secrets to her. She reminds him that she is an honorable and constant woman, strong enough to bear anything her husband may reveal to her. Brutus eventually tells Portia his plans. It is evident here, how women’s role started changing in that