The role of words and letters, artists and poets, is significant in the play. Words are powerful in the world of Julius Caesar, which is why Cassius forges letters, purportedly from Roman citizens, to manipulate Brutus into joining their cause. Later, Artemidorus drafts a warning letter to Caesar, which, if Caesar deigns to read it, could save his life. Thus words are no less than a life-or-death matter. Yet they are frequently ignored, misconstrued, and rejected. Caesar ignores the soothsayer’s warning about the Ides of March, Brutus is conned by Cassius’s forgery, Artemidorus’s missive is never read. Often, failing to interpret words correctly or recognize the truth behind them can cost characters greatly. In act 4, the misguided exchange of words between Cassius and Pindarus ultimately leads to Cassius’s death, while in In act 3, Antony’s words trigger “civil strife.”

Against this backdrop, the role of those who live by words—poets, writers, teachers, and soothsayers—gains great importance. It is interesting that the play often depicts these characters with limited power, despite the importance of words. In act 3, Cinna the poet is attacked and killed by a mob, initially mistaken for Cinna the conspirator. However, the mob kill him even after they learn his true identity, “for his bad verses.” The soothsayer’s and Artemidorus’s warnings also go unheeded.

Through these characters, Shakespeare is making a commentary on the state of poets in his society. They may be valued, but their value is often questioned. Too often they are shunned for knowing too much, reading human nature too deeply, or making art that is thought irrelevant. Because chaotic Rome mirrors some of the uncertainty of Elizabethan society, Shakespeare seems to be saying that a society where poets do not have a place is a society that suffers.