Context

Question 1

Link between King James I and Caesar

Answer 1

James’ coronation medal is inscribed with ‘Caesar of Caesars’
James self-styled as the rex pacificus (the peace-maker king), link to Caesar saying ‘the time of universal peace is near’

Question 2

Caesar and Machiavelli’s The Prince

Answer 2

Some scholars argue that the role of Machiavelli’s The Prince, a Renaissance political treatise urging rulers to seize and maintain power by any means necessary, is evident in Shakespeare’s characterisation of Caesar

Question 3

Body Politic

Answer 3

James I made frequent use of the medieval/Renaissance idea of the ‘body politic’, i.e. the idea that the king is both a physical being and also becomes the head of a shared, imaginary body of the nation
In Parliament James said in 1603 that ‘you who are here presently assembled to represent the Body of this whole Kingdome’
Link to Caesar - ‘we do lance diseases in our bodies’ (5.1)

Question 4

Roman values of stoicism

Answer 4

Firmitas–“Tenacity”: Strength of mind, the ability to stick to one’s purpose
Frugalitas–“Frugalness”: Economy and simplicity of style, without being miserly
Gravitas–“Gravity”: A sense of the importance of the matter at hand, responsibility and earnestness
Pietas–“Dutifulness”: More than religious piety; a respect for the natural order socially, politically, and religiously. Includes the ideas of patriotism and devotion to others
Prudentia–“Prudence”: Foresight, wisdom, and personal discretion
Severitas–“Sternness”: Gravity, self-control

Question 5

The Aeneid

Answer 5

The Aeneid, Virgil’s Augustan epic composed to celebrate the triumph of Caesar, was hugely popular in Shakespeare’s day
In the poem, ‘pious Aeneas’, the founder of Rome must abandon his relationship with North African Queen Dido to achieve his goal
Argued that A+C re-imagines The Aeneid if Aeneas chose passion over duty and wasn’t so pious
Antony and Cleopatra actually appear in The Aeneid in a moment of prophecy, as enemies of Rome, dressed in ‘barbaric splendour’

Question 6

Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar

Answer 6

The triumvirate also appears in this play, and their characterisation both contrasts and foreshadows the shifts in power at the dawn of empire
Antony is characterised as a wily political operative, but who is already perhaps too hedonistic
Lepidus, according to Antony, is like an ass