Julius Caesar's Legacy

This play is titled The Tragedy of Julius Caesar even though Caesar dies in Act Three while the rest of the play focuses on the conflict involving Brutus/Cassius and Antony/Octavius because Julius Caesar really is the main topic in Acts One and Two, as everything revolves around him. Whether it be his “becoming” king, planning for his assassination, or maintaining false friendships with people that are not his friends, like conspirators plotting against him, Acts One and Two were all about Caesar. Caesar does die in Act Three, but the conflict of Brutus/Cassius and Antony/Octavius really centers upon the meaning of Caesar’s legacy. Brutus and Cassius, being conspirators, want everyone to forget about Caesar and continue on with no king. Antony
and Octavius, being dear friends of Caesar, want everyone to remember Caesar and how great of a person he was to all of Rome.
Act Three does have something to do with Caesar, but now that he is dead, he does not have as much of an impact as he does in Acts One and Two. Caesar is still present in the minds of the Romans, however, as the conspirators, ready to fight in battle, had nightmares of Caesar coming back to haunt them in Philippi. In some ways, Caesar was scarier and more threatening while dead than alive. Brutus and Cassius believed that with Caesar gone, Rome would be at peace. But really, Caesar’s death leads to the eventual demise of Brutus and Cassius through the battles against Antony and Octavius, and opens the door for a new Caesar to be crowned king. Julius Caesar is present throughout the entire play, as his words and actions still ring true long after his death.