plot

Act I

The play stars on a Roman holiday, the Lupercalia (February 15). On this day, Caesar comes back to Rome after he defeated Pompey, a former leader of the Roman Empire. This victory makes Caesar so powerful, that he almost rules the empire by himself. On the street, a fortune-teller warns Caesar of the ides of March, which will be on March 15. But Caesar does not take him seriously and leaves.

Meanwhile, Cassius plans a plot to murder Caesar for having too much power over the empire and asks Brutus to join. Brutus shares the sorrows over the current political situation but does not want to join the plot of Cassius immediatly. They get interrupted by Casca, who tells them that Caesar was offered the crown of the king of Rome but he turned it down every time.

Later, Cassius starts telling Casca about the plot against Caesar but gets interrupted by Cinna. Cassius sends Cinna away to bring Brutus a few impertant letters and invites Casca over for dinner to make him join the plot.

Act II

Brutus gets the letters from Cinna and reads them but he misinterprets them, thinking that the murder of Caesar is the will of all Roman people. In this belief he promises to act on the will of "the Romans". In the evening, Brutus meets with the other conspirators and all join the plot against Caesar. Even though the others want to kill Antony too, Brutus convinces them not to since Antony is not smart enough to be a thread to them.

After this meeting, Brutus cannot sleep and tells his wife Portia about the plot after she stabs herself in the thigh to prove she is tough enough to keep a secret.

The night before the planned murder on the ides of March, Caesar´s wife Calpurnia dreams bad about her husband´s future. This dream unsettles Caesar enough to call upon a priest to read a sign about the future. This sign forsays bad luck as well. But on the next morning, Decius enters Caesar´s house and convinces him that he does not have to worry about some superstitious signs. Caesar agrees and leaves his house with Decius and some other conspirators to go to the Senate House on the Capitol.

On his way, the fortune-teller aproaches Caesar another time and warns him against of the ides of March, but Caesar does not take him seriously agian. Artemidorus wants to warn Caesar as well by handing him a letter explaining the entire plot against him but Caesar does not read it believing - thanks to Decius - that Artemidorus only wants a favour in a legal matter.