Julius Caesar is unique, yet similar to Romeo and Juliet, another Shakespearean tragedy. Both plays have the common theme of fate. In Romeo and Juliet, they are fated to love each other and destined to die because of their love. They are unable to live out loud in their love due to their family's feuding, and thus are banished to a life of silence or a tragic death.

In Julius Caesar the opposite is believed to be true by Cassius as he says "the fault, dear Brutus lies in ourselves, not the stars." This means that Cassius, Brutus and the conspirators are responsible for the tragedy of Caesar's death, and the war that follows. They ruined Rome and although one might look to the stars or fate to blame, Cassius knows that they are in the wrong for what has happened.

Another similarity between the two plays is the trust between the characters and the fact that Shakespeare didn't believe that oaths were necessary. Juliet tells Romeo to, "swear not by the moon, th' inconstant moon, that monthly changes in her circled orb, lest that thy love prove likewise variable."

She feels that if trust is present between them, an oath is not needed. This idea is present in Caesar in the scene of the conspirators as the plan to kill Caesar. Brutus says: "no, not an oath. If not the face of men, the sufferance of our souls, the time's abuse-if these be motives weak, break of betimes, and every man hence to his idle bed." Brutus is saying that an oath is not necessary among people who are sure of themselves and the causes they represent.

Though there are similarities between Julius Caesar and Romeo and Juliet, the plays are about very different things. Shakespeare wrote them and included bits of himself and his times in each of them. They are pieces of literature that reflect their characters, their time periods, and their creator's life.

Click here to return to the Menu