In Julius Caesar, Shakespeare's tragedy, the ancient Roman leader is assassinated on the Ides of March (15th March) by a group of Roman conspirators who fear that the statesman who turned Rome into an Empire will now turn the Republic into a tyrannical monarchy. In Shakespeare's day, students learned Latin and were obsessed with Roman and Greek literature so the story of Caesar was familiar to the Elizabethans. The play's audience then would have been fascinated to debate who would take Queen Elizabeth I's place, and whether a tyrant would follow, after her death. Shakespeare presents a tyrannical view of Caesar, to create a moral drama from a political scandal. The play explores the themes of fear, turmoil, betrayal, and the importance of ideas before friendship, and reason versus emotion. This new edition includes the complete text with explanatory notes, Shakespeare's language, and themes, and also explores typical exam themes and questions.