Julius Caesar: Modern English Translation & Study Guide

Read Julius Caesar Side by Side

Every scene pairs the public-domain original with a line-matched, original modern-English paraphrase. Choose a scene below to begin reading.

• Act 1, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. Rome. A street.
• Act 1, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. A public place.
• Act 1, Scene 3 line-by-line translation — SCENE III. The same. A street.
• Act 2, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. Rome. BRUTUS's orchard.
• Act 2, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. CAESAR's house.
• Act 2, Scene 3 line-by-line translation — SCENE III. A street near the Capitol.
• Act 2, Scene 4 line-by-line translation — SCENE IV. Another part of the same street, before the house of BRUTUS.
• Act 3, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. Rome. Before the Capitol; the Senate sitting above.
• Act 3, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. The Forum.
• Act 3, Scene 3 line-by-line translation — SCENE III. A street.
• Act 4, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. A house in Rome.
• Act 4, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. Camp near Sardis. Before BRUTUS's tent.
• Act 4, Scene 3 line-by-line translation — SCENE III. Brutus's tent.
• Act 5, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. The plains of Philippi.
• Act 5, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. The same. The field of battle.
• Act 5, Scene 3 line-by-line translation — SCENE III. Another part of the field.
• Act 5, Scene 4 line-by-line translation — SCENE IV. Another part of the field.

Julius Caesar study pathways

• Themes with source-linked quotations and analysis
• Top 10 quotes with modern-English meanings and essay use

Related across the Shake Up Network

Extend this play’s ideas through a connected subject lens.

• Republics, rhetoric & political power — Shake Up Civics
  Extend Caesar’s arguments about citizenship, public persuasion, and the limits of political authority.
• Rome, virtue & civic duty — Shake Up The Classics
  Place the Roman republic’s values and institutions beside Shakespeare’s political tragedy.