Julius Caesar: The "Falling Sickness" and Shakespeare's Understanding of Epilepsy
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In today's episode, we are exploring how Shakespeare depicts Julius Caesar's "falling sickness," commonly believed by historians and scholars to be epilepsy. First, we'll discuss how the play Julius Caesar can be read as a disability narrative and how it reflects early modern anxieties around invisible disabilities like epilepsy.
Then, we will look at how Shakespeare depicts falling sickness or epilepsy across the canon and determine whether or not the depictions are as accurate as they are often celebrated to be. Finally, we will share an alternative diagnosis for Caesar's symptoms based on what is known of historical Caesar's medical history.
Content Warning: Emetophobia, brief discussion of eating disorders
Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.
Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.
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Works referenced:
Breuer, Horst. "Bilder Der Epilepsie Bei Shakespeare / Representations of Epilepsy in Shakespeare." Medizinhistorisches Journal, vol. 37, no. 1, 2002, pp. 5–19. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25805304. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
Hamlyn, Tim. "The Nature of Caesar's Illness." Latomus, vol. 73, no. 2, 2014, pp. 360–67. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24858427. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
Hobgood, Allison. (2009). Caesar Hath the Falling Sickness: The Legibility of Early Modern Disability in Shakespearean Drama. Disability Studies Quarterly. 29. 10.18061/dsq.v29i4.993.