Adversity In Julius Caesar Research Paper

Abraham Lincoln once voiced “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” One key term in Lincoln’s statement is “adversity,” which means a hardship and suffering of humanity. Another important word in Lincoln’s statement is “character,” which means people’s traits, features, and morality. Overall, Lincoln means that men should not be judged by what they experience, but what their actions are when they have control. Furthermore, Lincoln implies in his statement that people should not be trusted unless they have been given authority, revealing their true nature. Finally, when looked under the Lens of William Shakespeare’s tragedy Julius Caesar, Abraham Lincoln’s statement can be proven true through Shakespeare’s use of the politics and power motif.

For example, during the feast of Lupercal on the streets, Julius Caesar requests Antony to touch Calphurnia during the holy race so she will become fertile. Antony feedbacks “When Caesar says, ‘do this,’ it is performed” (I.ii.12). This clearly displays Caesar has control over Antony because Antony will do whatever he says. Furthermore, since Caesar has power, he gets whatever he wants which proves he is greedy. This affects the work as a whole because Shakespeare foreshadows that Caesar will become too powerful which leads to his eventual downfall. Moreover, Caesar’s greed proves that abusing power is a corruptive force. The motif politics and power clearly shows that the Lens is true because Caesar’s ability to get what he wants is exposing himself as avaricious; without this authority it will be impossible for Caesar to get people to do favors for