Julius Caesar: Flawed Models of Leadership
Leadership is a recurrent theme in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. The play is centred on a group of men in leadership positions. The political setting and mood of Julius Caesar, lend itself well to Shakespeare's insights into the human condition. As the players' personalities develop through the course of the play, we see that his portrayal of their character-types (which still endure today) is both consistent and accurate.
Julius Caesar has many fine examples of arrogance in leadership. We see Caesar's pretensions as quite laughable. "But I am constant as the northern star, of whose true-fix'd and resting quality there is no fellow in the firmament", and "the things that threaten'd me ne'er look'd but on my back: when they shall see the face of Caesar, they are vanished" demonstrate his pride. Shakespeare suggests that although being 'sure of yourself' is a necessary characteristic for a good leader (as it enables decisive action and 'courage'); it should also be tempered with humility.
The confidence of a leader, in turn, instils confidence in his/her followers. The quote, "And men are flesh and blood, and apprehensive; yet in the number I do know but one that unassailable holds on his rank, unshaked of motion: and that I am he", is an example of the comfort and security that his words provided the common people. Caesar's absolute faith in his greatness and right to rule was in the perfect climate, in the midst of a community that was seeking a 'ruler'. The followers were more sheep than thinker...
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...other conspirators as traitors, the crowd is wild. Antony's transparent "sweet friends let me not stir you up to such a sudden flood of mutiny" is just the beginnings of his carefully-orchestrated urgings to them. When he finally sets them loose, it is with a "Now let it work. Mischief, thou art afoot, take thou what course thou wilt!"- an exclamation which sounds 'heartstrong', but not very well-thought out. Shakespeare advises that such a leader can be dangerous.
Through a well-developed cast and a complex play about men, politics and power; Shakespeare has once again demonstrated his mastery of the humanity of the characters he creates. The flawed models of leadership we examine in Julius Caesar aptly lend themselves to the theory that "an imperfect world gives power to imperfect men".
The play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare showcases many characters and events that go through many significant changes. One particular character that went through unique changes was Julius Caesar. The 16th century work is a lengthy tragedy about the antagonists Brutus and Cassius fighting with the protagonists Octavius, Antony, and Lepidus over the murder of Julius Caesar. Although the play’s main pushing conflict was the murder of Julius Caesar, he is considered a secondary character, but a protagonist. Throughout the theatrical work Julius Caesar’s actions, alliances, character developments, and internal and external conflicts display his diverse changes.
Comitatus, an agreement between a lord and his thanes, may seem a little strange at first. However, a closer look reveals a striking similarity between that code and today's work place. A lord or the modern-day boss chooses the best thanes/workers in the land through their experience in battle or a resume of previous employment. The lord/boss provides his thanes/employees with a share of his wealth/salaries. In return, a thane/employee promises to remain loyal to his lord/boss, ready to die in battle or at the office, finishing a project before a deadline. If a battle is won or a deal is closed, an ideal lord/boss, whose greatest characteristic is generosity, will divide the treasure among his thanes, or award a big bonus check to his employees. A violation of this agreement results in the exile/firing of the thane/employee, and a loss of livelihood followed by shame and embarrassment.
The Green Knight comes into the hall where King Arthur and his knights feast on a horse, and does not greet anyone. He carries a huge axe with "The Spike of green steel" (Norton 207) and with green engravings. He carries no armor and no other weapons. When he enters, not only he does not greet the people present, but he looks down rudely at them and asks: "Where is the captain of this crowd? Keenly I wish to see that sire with sight, and to himself say my say."
Sir Gawain is introduced to us at the beginning of the story when he takes the place of Sir Arthur, in the Green Knight’s challenge. The Green Knight openly challenged all Knights of the Round Table to strike one blow, and in return, the knight must allow the Green Knight to return the blow in exactly one year. Initially, none of the knights step up to the challenge, forcing their leader, Sir Arthur, to accept. Sir Gawain performs the virtuous act of taking on the challenge in Sir Arthur’s place to protect his lord from taking any part of an unusual challenge that might kill a man. In the story Sir Gawain explains his reason for taking his lord’s place, “I hold, none more honest of purpose, no figures fairer on field where fighting is waged. I am the weakest. I am awa...
... it functions. Cannery Row also shows how much everyone truly needs community in our society, even the Undesirables of the world. Many characters throughout the novel show this, such as Doc with the loneliness he presents. The community in Cannery Row encompasses a very wide variety of people, from whores to bums to strange storeowners. Although these people are all independent and completely different, they are all interconnected and are willing to support each-other. In Cannery Row, Steinbeck presents a structure of different moral values, those which make a person good, and also those who are valued by society, but may be valued for the wrong reasons. Steinbeck defines what he thinks a good person is, using the characters in the book as examples. He shows that what society sees as an ideal person may not be as good as the traits that people generally scorn.
Sir Gawain is originally faced with the challenge of the Green Knight. The Green Knight appears in King Arthur's court and causes a disturbance, issuing an open invitation to all in the court "to strike one stroke for another" (Norton, line 287) with his strong, sturdy, and finely-crafted axe as the prize. This test appears simple enough, and it puts Gawain into a straightforward, short-term conflict with the Green Kni...
The final stanza of this passage offers a description to the scenery, traditions and some of the usual festivities that take place at Camelot. Under King Arthur's command, the New Year's party is underway, including song, dance, and competitions. It describes how only the youngest and best of all the knights and the fairest of all the ladies were present. "And the loveliest ladies that lived on earth ever, and he the comeliest king, that that court holds, for all this fari fold in their first age were still.
In reading the epic poem, Beowulf, we read about his many battles and the famous warrior that he was. Our first reading was of his battle with Grendel and how Beowulf triumphed. Second, we read about how he turned an almost certain defeat into a victory of the battle with Grendel’s mother. Last we read of Beowulf’s ultimate death and his battle against the dragon.
Julius Caesar, even though he is considered great, turns out to contain many flaws. He believes himself to be untouchable, and has a confidence that he cannot be harmed, even though that is not the case. He says so when he says, “Caesar shall forth. The things that threatened me ne’er looked but on ...
Julius Caesar is the leader of Rome and is seeking to become king in a matter of time. Though he is a good military strategist, he lacks knowledge in running government and is too greedy to have any concern for the peasants when he is alive. Caesar is all about conquering and power and he is afraid of nothing. Before he is murdered, he says “The things that threatened me ne’er looked but on my back. When they shall see the face of Caesar, they are vanished” (II, ii, 575). Th...
globally spread. The symptoms of this illness are quite defined and are very recognizable. Cause
Visser, Nick. "After Fears Of Antibiotic Resistance, 25 Drug Companies To Phase Out Use In Livestock." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 Mar. 2014. Web. 20 May 2014. .
The motif of ambition runs continuously throughout Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare, which originates in Ancient Rome and highlights the power struggles, politics and deceit of those vying for power. Ambition leads many of the characters such as Caesar, Cassius, and Brutus to a fate different from what they expected. The play revolves around Caesar, his ascent to power and his eventual loss of everything. Although ambition may lead these public officials to power, it is the same ambition that will be their downfall, ultimately resulting in the death of Julius Caesar, Cassius, and Brutus.
Although many researches has been conducted in promotion of scales for ego integrity which were in English language predominantly, The specialty of this articles is concerned with culturally consistent measure, in our culture where English is not mother tongue language and it was suggested to construct culturally and socially consistent scale rather than just translating it. Thus accurate understanding and communicating emotions are most important in developing healthy relations as well as for personal development. So in order to understand particularly emotional disturbances and slack of feelings of Pakistani people Ego integrity scale was developed according to social and cultural context and in our target language ,
Providing the basis of nineteenth century physics, Young's Double Slit Experiment proved that light was made up of waves. During Thomas Young’s time, it was very difficult to describe the behavior of light. The predominant theory was that light was made up of particles. However, in his experiment, Young was able to observe the interaction of light waves when passed through two slits, showing the wave-like nature of light. This report will cover the reasons for Young’s experiment, the experiment itself, and its implications.