The English Performance Project Essay
Bryan Bishop

	According to the secondary sources, and once compared to William Shakespeare's account of history, it is easy to tell that Shakespeare did not tell about how Caesar said something such as "I will not be the King of Rome. Jupter alone is the King of the Romans," and that Shakespeare also did not write about how Antony said to Caesar, "The people offer you this [a crown] to you through me."
	This shows that Shakespeare did not keep consistent with history, or at the very least, chose to delete portions of history. In particular, those lines by Caesar and Antony, are rather important, because it shows how Caesar worked the crowd in front of him as he refused the crown, and how Antony approached Caesar in the offering. Yet, Shakespeare did not write about that.

Shakespeare's version
	
	CASCA
I can as well be hanged as tell the manner of it:
it was mere foolery; I did not mark it. I saw Mark
Antony offer him a crown;--yet 'twas not a crown
neither, 'twas one of these coronets;--and, as I told
you, he put it by once: but, for all that, to my
thinking, he would fain have had it. Then he
offered it to him again; then he put it by again:
but, to my thinking, he was very loath to lay his
fingers off it. And then he offered it the third
time; he put it the third time by: and still as he
refused it, the rabblement hooted and clapped their
chapped hands and threw up their sweaty night-caps
and uttered such a deal of stinking breath because
Caesar refused the crown that it had almost choked
Caesar; for he swounded and fell down at it: and
for mine own part, I durst not laugh, for fear of
opening my lips and receiving the bad air.
	
	Based on my historical research, Casca's real words may have been more like:
	
	CASCA
I can as well be hanged as tell the manner of it: 
it was mere foolery; I did not mark it. I saw 
Mark Antony offer him a crown, "the people offer 
this to you through me," said he;--yet 'twas 
not a crown neither, 'twas one of these coronets;--and, 
as I told you, he put it by once; but, for 
all that, to my thinking, he would fain have had it
but for his thus dulling crowd. Then he offered it
to him the second time; and still as he refused it,
the rabblement hooted and clapped their chapped hands
and threw up their sweaty night-caps and uttered
such a deal of stinking breath because 
Caesar refused the crown that it had 
almost choked Caesar, possibly baring the bad air in mind;
but he recovered himself, lookedth out at 
that rabblement, then say he this, by my sworn ears:
	 I will not be king of Rome. Jupiter alone is King of the Romans.
	
	My version of the scene shows it as it was found through my historical research. Antony says his line, "the people offer you this through me", and Caesar says, "I will not be the king of Romans, only Jupiter is the king of Rome." Notice the lack of those lines in Shakespeare's version.
	In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Shakespeare was writing a tragedy, or a specific form of tragedy. One could suppose that Shakespeare chose to modify Casca's words in order to develop the sense of tragedy in the story. On the other hand, another could counter with the simple fact that the more historically accurate account could show how Caesar is a strong politician, ambitious or eager to satisfy the audience by appealing to Roman mythology. Yet another possibility exists, one more simpler: Shakespeare was forced to adapt history for the Elizabethan stage of the time. It is possible that Shakespeare, or even some other playwright, went through the play and stripped out portions in order to make the actors' jobs easier, or the play shorter, et cetera.
	The choice of portraying Caesar as falling over is an interesting one made by Shakespeare because it plays on the Roman sense of mysticism, which can be seen in the later portions of the play, such as when the storm is disrupting city affairs (Act I, Scene III).	
	As Shakespare was not historically accurate, one might be lead to ponder the validity of using plays as a way of learning about historical events. 
	
	
Bibliography

"Julius Caesar." Wikipedia. Nov. 2005. WikiMedia Foundation. 26 Nov. 2005 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Caesar>.