When’s When in Julius Caesar

The chart below gives the actual historical time frame as well as the dramatic time frame used by Shakespeare in his play.

	In Shakespeare		In History
Day	Six Days with Intervals		Date Three Years
Day 1	Act 1 Scenese 1 and 2. – Caesar’s Triumph and the Lupercalia being placed on the same day.	Oct. 45 B. C. – 44 B.C.	Caesar’s triumph for his victory at Munda, Spain.
	Interval	Feb. 15	Festival of the Lupercalia
Day 2	Act 1 Scene 2 – nighttime	March 14	Interval of 1 month during which Caesar prepares for an expedition into Illyricum and Parthia
Day 3	Acts 2 and 3	March 15 43 B.C.	Assassination of Caesar. Interval of more thatn 7 months. Brutus is in Macedonia and Cassius is in Syria.
	Interval	October 43 B.C.	A 3-day conference of the Triumvirate at Bononia
Day 4	Act 4 Scene 1
	Interval	42 B.C.	Interval of about 3 months. Cicero and others are put to death.
Day 5	Act 4 Scenes 2 and 3
	Interval
Day 6	Act 5. The two engagements at Phillipi being described as one.
		January	Interval of about 9 months
		October	Battle of Philippie – The second engagement, 20 days after the first.