“Did not great Julius bleed for justice’ sake?”: Examining a theory of social justice through will-making in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar

Abstract

This article submits that, in Julius Caesar, Caesar’s will functions as the pivotal, legal instrument that subscribesa path toward social justice for every Roman citizen by providing an economic legacy, and simultaneouslyovershadows the deadly allegations against Caesar, thereby highlighting his reputedly vile, tyrannical rule andexposing the calculating motives of Cassius and Brutus. The conveyance of land – as an act of empowering theRoman people – creates a strategic way toward leveraging economic power into their hands. I examine Caesar’swill, Roman inheritance, and Caesar’s legacy. I find similarities with the more recent South African legislationsurrounding land expropriation “in the public interest” with an effort “to tackle injustices”. The article alsoexamines how law negotiates as theatrical stage property, and as a legal instrument to gauge the rights of aneconomically undervalued class. Here, this analysis surveys justice, the law, and material culture, as a way tointerrogate this distinctive Roman history while considering written evidence, particularly its negotiation as afundamental, early modern legal vehicle