The power of deception/manipulation in the William Shakespeare play Julius Caesar was a major aspect of the play. Deception is a trick or scheme normally used to get what you want out of a situation. Manipulation is the ability to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means especially to one's own advantage. These are things normally used to someone’s advantage against someone else. They both played a major role in the development of the narrative role in Julius Caesar. Characters such as Cassius, Antony, Decius, and Brutus demonstrated that these two qualities are necessary to achieve an overall goal. Deception and Manipulation play a major role not only in the key moments of the tragedy of Julius Caesar, but also in the basis …show more content…
Take Mark Antony’s speech to the citizens after Caesar’s murder for an example (3.2.74-109). “...I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke, But here I am to speak on what I do know. You all did love him once, not without cause; What cause withholds you then to mourn for him? O judgement, thou art fled to brutish beasts, And men have lost their reason!...(3.2.101-106)” Mark Antony manipulated the conspirators into thinking that he would not tell the citizens of their actions because they threatened him, and also that he was in agreement with their actions. He does not directly say what has happened to their beloved Caesar, but he does use manipulation of his words to get the citizens to read inbetween the lines of what he was saying. He then reads what is supposedly Caesar’s will and manipulates his choice of words to get the citizens to rampage against anyone involved in the murder of their beloved Caesar (3.2.141-147,150-153). “...And being men, hearing the will of Caesar, It will inflame you, it will make you mad. Tis good you know not that you are his heirs; For if you should, O, what would come of it?...(3.2.144-147)” Antony use the fact that the citizens of Rome were easily swayed to his advantage when giving his speech. He used wordplay rather than actions to manipulate what he was saying so the citizens would understand. Both Mark Antony and Cassius knew what they were doing when they used deception and manipulation to their benefit in this play. They were able to use these two things to their advantage because they knew how to interpret things in a certain way to portray their actions as though they were doing nothing wrong and avoided suffering consequences for their actions
Every person has their own individual beliefs and values that they live by. There is a line that one believes they will never cross. However, people can also be easily persuaded to abandon these values if the reasoning is fair enough. This is human nature. To manipulate someone is to use or change them for a specific purpose. In Shakespeare's play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, he illustrates how easily people can change their minds through manipulation. He conveys how people can be manipulated, how they manipulate themselves, and how they manipulate others.
Brutus is shown as being easily manipulated in the play. This trait is shown a few times in the play. At the beginning, Brutus is tricked by Cassius into believing that killing Julius Caesar would be for the better of Rome (1, 2, ll. 32-321). Cassius is able to deviously influence Brutus into thinking that Caesar is no different from Brutus. He says, “Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that Caesar?/ Why should that name be sounded more than yours?” (1, 2, ll. 142-143) Cassius also uses many other examples to manipulate Brutus. Later on, when the conspirators gather at Brutus’ home, Brutus believes that the other conspirators are killing Caesar for the good of Rome as well (2, 1, ll.114-116). After Brutus and the conspirators have killed Caesar, Mark Antony masks his anger ...
William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a tragic drama, set in Ancient Rome about the horrendous death of Julius Caesar. Brutus, leader of the conspiracy against Caesar, begins as Caesar’s friend. Cassius, instigator of the conspirator, manipulates Brutus into killing Caesar. Brutus agrees to this plan because of his plans for Rome. The bond between these two connects when Brutus agrees to Cassius about killing Caesar for the best of Rome. Cassius, very power hungry, comes up with a plan that will succeed in both of them killing Caesar. They both rely on each other because they want the power that Caesar has been requested to make the best of Rome. This dream of making Rome better was manipulated by Cassius to Brutus. However,
Julius Caesar was a military commander that emerged from the chaos of civil war to take charge of the republic. He later became known as the dictator of Rome, the absolute ruler of Rome. He made many reforms and created a new program to employ the jobless and gave public land to the poor. Julius Caesar was a powerful man and becoming too powerful was what led him to corruption. The Senate was afraid and jealous of his power and they were worried he might plan to make himself king of Rome. Needless to say, the Senate wanted to save the republic and so they went against him. Julius Caesar became corrupt because he was too powerful, the Senate was jealous, and his actions posed a threat.
In the beginning of the Book Cassius uses anecdotes of Caesar’s weakness and faults, argumentum ad antiquatum, and ethos on Brutus to persuade him to join the conspiracy to kill Caesar, this works on Brutus and shows that anyone, even people as stoic as Brutus, can be persuaded by appealing to their motivations. Cassius, a very suspicious character thru ought the play tells Brutus to “be not jealous on me” (827), in the quote he tells Brutus to not be suspicious of him because he is just a friend who genuinely cares. Cassius does this to put himself on Brutus’ side and not seem like a distant person, this allows him to criticize Caesar and suggest that he is a bad influence on Rome which appeals to Brutus’ desire to keeping Rome safe. After setting himself up as a friend to Brutus, Cassius uses harsh anecdotes on the weakness of Caesar to show that he isn’t fit to rule Rome. Cassius recollects on a time when he and Caesar went swimming in the river Tiber and Caesar screamed “Help me, Cassius or I sink” (828) to de...
In William Shakespeare's play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, two speeches are given to the people of Rome about Caesar's death. In Act 3, Scene 2 of this play Brutus and Antony both try to sway the minds of the Romans toward their views. Brutus tried to make the people believe he killed Caesar for a noble cause. Antony tried to persuade the people that the conspirators committed an act of brutality toward Caesar and were traitors. The effectiveness and ineffectiveness of both Antony's and Brutus's speech to the people are conveyed through tone and rhetorical devices.
Cassius is the greatest manipulator in the play, Julius Caesar. Cassius, an envious and ambitious man, believed that the ruler of Rome, Julius Caesar, had too much power over the senate and the people. To put an end to what he considered to be conspiracy, he fabricated a plan to eradicate Caesar for the sake of Rome. Cassius uses manipulation as his weapon of attack using Brutus as the target. Cassius succeeds in persuading Brutus, one of Caesar’s good friends, to join their plot. Cassius uses flattery, self-gain, and the people of Rome to manipulate Brutus into his likings.
Julius Caesar was written in 1599 in England by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare has born in 1564 and died in 1616. Nobody really knows when exactly he was born but for the records it is assumed that he was born in April, creating an interesting coincidence with his death. He is the greatest writer of his century and probably of the modern era. He influenced many contemporary writers and created a new point of view in the poetry. He wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets. In his work Julius Caesar Shakespeare shows us the change of power in Rome and the problems that Rome had there. Power is the ability to act with force. Shakespeare makes visible the abuse of power and the struggle to gain power in the biggest empire at the time. Shakespeare also shows that the power itself is more than a name or position. It is something that the people exercise. There is not absolute power, every power has limitations. Besides the servants every character in some way has his power. Although the biggest argument in Julius Caesar is the change of power in the rulers of Rome, Shakespeare tries to show us many different kinds of power and the use of it. As we can see during the play, people with power use power just for their convenience.
William Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a story full of manipulation and jealousy that changes the way people think. Ancient Rome had umpteen different ways of handling situations that, in today’s world, would be considered unethical; such as battles that were very much horrifying and vivid. However, these battles were not important with the development of the plot. Shakespeare uses various ways of the idea of manipulation and betrayal to lead readers into the rest of the narrative.
For most people, telling the truth is a highly revered trait that is taught at a young age. Parents are constantly telling their children to never lie and to always be honest. And yet, humans tend to resort to twisting the truth in order to get what they want. Whether it is a politician hiding the truth for votes or a young child crying crocodile tears to get their sibling in trouble, humans seem to require manipulation to receive what they truly desire. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Julius Caesar, this idea of falsifying information for one’s own gain is apparent. Characters such as Cassius, Antony, and Decius Brutus all demonstrate that manipulation is a requirement in order to achieve an overall goal.
First of all, there is Antony, a raging triumvir after the death of Caesar. Anotony is a dear friend of Caesar and is truly devastated after his beloved friend's death. Antony feels that justice must take its course, for over Caesar's dead body he states, "O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth/ That I am meek and gentle with these butchers" (3.1. ). Antony then decides that he must get back at the conspirators and convince the public that the motives behind killing Caesar were unjust. In funeral speech Antony even makes it a point to refute what Brutus said in speech moments ago. However, the nether neither the public nor the conspirators comprehend his motive at first. Antony appears like he is just presenting another side to the story, but in reality he is refuting Brutus' speech and swaying the public towards his side. During his speech he even states, "I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke" (3.2. ). To the conspirators Antony appears like "one of Caesar's many limbs"( ). In reality he is plotting revenge.
William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar utilizes similar methods. As shown in Julius Caesar and The Prince, a leader who follows Machiavelli’s advice will accomplish their goals; if the leader does not adhere to Machiavelli’s recommendations, then the leader will not fulfill his aspiration. A character from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Cassius, exhibits Machiavellian attributes of manipulation and a drive to accomplish his goal of assassinating Julius Caesar by any means. Cassius was able to successfully manipulate both Brutus and the fellow conspirators. Cassius was able to influence Brutus enough to make Brutus believe that killing Julius Caesar, Brutus’ best friend, was the right action.
Caesar was a man of great passion and effort: whatever he did, he gave it 100% effort. He has shown time and time again his honesty, his harshness, and his commitment to obtaining power. Julius Caesar was a positive leader because of his two greatest qualities: one being attention to image, that of himself and Rome, and that he always kept his word.
The word manipulation is most commonly defined as exerting shrewd or devious influence especially for one’s own advantage. The most common manipulation used to influence human behaviour is known as psychological manipulation. Psychological manipulation is a type of social influence that aims to change the perception or behaviour of others through underhanded deception. In the tragic play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the author demonstrates the use of manipulation through the two main characters Prince Hamlet and King Claudius. The character fulfill their needs through dishonesty and learn that the effects of manipulating other has serious consequences that is able to manifest into a powerful force that consumes all aspects of one’s self. Just like how Hamlet uses his actions to manipulate the people around him to avenge his father’s death and how Claudius uses his words, actions, as well as his power as king of Denmark to manipulate people into fulfilling his needs. Through these characters the readers learn that by putting up a false mask of deception one loses their self as the lies take over.
In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, persuasion and rhetoric play a crucial role in a myriad of events and outcomes that occur. In Act one Cassius is trying to convince Brutus to turn against Caesar and join the conspiracy. Later, in Act three, Brutus and Antony speak at Caesar’s funeral. Brutus convinces the Roman people that what he and the conspirators did was for the good of Rome. Antony then persuades the plebeians that the conspirators had no reasonable judgement to kill Caesar and that all Caesar’s future plans were to help Rome. Though many characters appear to be rhetorical, Antony could be considered as the most. Persuasion and rhetoric are used throughout Julius Caesar when Cassius is trying to coax Brutus to join the conspiracy, and when Brutus and Antony convince the crowd at Caesar’s funeral.