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Second Citizen

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar · 18 speeches across 2 scenes

A Roman citizen in the crowd swayed by Brutus and then inflamed by Antony.

Who they are

This plebeian is part of the volatile public that first supports Brutus after Caesar's murder, then is whipped into a vengeful mob by Antony's funeral speech. Their arc mirrors the play's theme of manipulation and mass hysteria. They have no individual identity, only collective fury.

Playing them

Energetic and reactive—your job is to embody the crowd's shifting mood. Start with calm, rational listening; build to excitement and rage after 'Friends, Romans, countrymen.' Use sharp, overlapping cues with other plebeians. Vocal crescendo from murmur to roar. Physicality: start still, then become a jostling, reaching crowd.

Where they appear

Play Second Citizen

Take the part and Yorick reads every other role aloud, following you line by line as you speak.

Rehearse Julius Caesar on your phone: App Store · Google Play

Shakespeare the way it was meant to be had — out loud

These plays were written to be performed, not silently read. Yorick is a rehearsal app that lets you perform them: you take a part in any of Shakespeare’s 38 plays, and Yorick reads every other role aloud, listens while you speak your lines, keeps your place, and prompts you the moment you dry.

It is built for the person who has to be off book by tech week — school and college productions, community theatre, festivals, drama students and classical auditions — and for anyone who wants to hear a scene rather than skim it. Alongside the performance you get a plain-English translation of every speech, scene context, performance notes, and the ability to ask about any line and get an answer that already knows the play, the scene and who is speaking.

The text is the public-domain Cambridge/Globe edition. Translations and notes are AI-generated rehearsal aids for actors and students, not a scholarly apparatus. Yorick runs in a browser with nothing to install, and on iPhone and Android.