About Death of a Chief, an Adaptation of Julius Caesar

A Historical Perspective on Shakespeare's Adaptation

Abstract

Originally performed in 1599, The Tragedy ofJulius Caesar is one of Shakespeare’s most enduring plays. It however, likemost of Shakespeare’s dramatic works, was not born solely of the author’s mind.The story of Caesar, and beyond that the history of Rome, was well known toElizabethan England. Britons felt their ancestry was tied to the ancient Romanrepublic, and many felt that parts of London itself (the London Tower, inparticular) had indeed been constructed by Caesar. It is therefore of littlesurprise that the tragedy of Caesar, which Shakespeare illuminates, was alreadyfresh in the minds of Londoners.