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Shakespeare analysis essay
Shakespeare analysis essay
Analysis of Shakespeare
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George Orwell once said, “Confession is not betrayal. What you say or do doesn't matter; only feelings matter. If they could make me stop loving you-that would be the real betrayal”. Brutus cherishes Rome with his heart, for he was an honorable man who murdered his closest friend, Caesar, after reading false letters by Cassius that further encouraged him to act against Caesar’s thrill of power. Surprisingly, Brutus has stabbed Caesar with his blade, showing rebellion against what Caesar and his people have stood for. Consequently, portraying Brutus as a sellout and a murder in the hearts of many, to forever be known as a betrayer to his former comrade and his nation. With that being said, however, there’s nothing to clarify that Brutus had …show more content…
Well, according to Antony within his speech, “Brutus says he was ambitious, and Brutus is an honorable man. You all saw that on the Lupercal feast day I offered him a king’s crown three times, and he refused it three times. Was this ambition?” (Act 3, Scene 2, Page 5). Indeed, Caesar showed no intentions of being blood-lusted in power, feeling sympathy when the poor cried, and refusing the seat to the throne thrice. In any case, there’s no denying that Brutus killed and murdered a living soul who sought him as his close friend, with Caesar’s dying words, “Et tu, Brute! Then fall, Caesar” establishing Brutus as a betrayer. However, the key that pushed Brutus to such a task was the fake letters constructed by Cassius, encouraging Brutus to assassinate a friend whom he was close to with each letter sounding as they truly, “came from several citizens—all testifying to the great respect Romans have for Brutus, and all alluding to Caesar’s unseemly ambition” (Act 1, Scene 2, Page 13). Knowing deep inside that Brutus loves Rome, he claims that he’ll do any deed “If it’s for the good of all Romans”, even if it meant his very own life. (Act 1, Scene 2, Page 13). In brief, taking the life of his close friend, Caesar, unquestionably showed that even friendship won’t get in the way toward his love for …show more content…
Oh, Rome, I promise you, if you’re meant to receive justice, you’ll receive it by my hand!” (Act 2, Scene 1, Page 3). As been noted, Brutus is an honorable man who treasures his nation, willing to risk his own life to protect its people. Yet, he still murdered a man who not only denied the crown thrice but showed sympathy toward the poor. Is it possible that Brutus hungered the life of every person that posed a threat to his plans? Well, even though Brutus didn’t want Caesar to become king, it is clearly shown that he didn’t want anyone else to shed any blood in the way, agreeing to take the life of Caesar for what he felt would be right for Rome. When given the opportunities, Brutus has never gone out of his way to kill Antony, a man who was very close to Caesar. For Instance, when questioned whether they should assassinate Antony as well, Brutus replies, “Our action will seem too bloody if we cut off Caesar’s head and then hack at his arms and legs too, Caius Cassius—because Mark Antony is merely one of Caesar’s arms. It’ll look like we killed Caesar out of anger and Mark Antony out of envy. Let’s be sacrificers but not butchers, Caius. We’re all against what Caesar stands for, and there’s no blood in that.” (Act 2, Scene 1, Page 8). This
Throughout Julius Caesar Brutus acts in accordance with his morals, which makes his eventual fall all the more tragic as Brutus genuinely believed his actions benefitted the future of Rome. Unlike most of the self-interested people around him, Brutus genuinely cares for the continued well-being of the Roman republic. Brutus sees Caesar's rise to power and imminent crowning as a danger to the freedom of the people in Rome since, "crown [Caesar] that, and then I grant we put a sting in him that at his will he may do danger with. Th' abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power" (2.1.15-19). Brutus knows that many past rulers have turned into tyrants and oppressed their people after gaining substantial authority, and fears that the same tragedy will befall Rome if the Senate crowns Caesar. And although Brutus conspires to kill Caesar rather than finding a peaceful solution to this disagreement, he tells the other conspirators to limit their violence as "this shall make our purpose necessary and not envious, which so appearing to the common eyes, we shall be called purgers, not murderers" (2.1.175-178). Brutus' constant requests to preform the assassination quickly and honorably reveal his concern about the fate of the Romans acts as the motivation behind his actions (unlike the other conspirators who "did that they did in envy of great Caesar") (5.5.71).
Playwright, William Shakespeare, in the play Julius Caesar, utilizes many instances of rhetorical devices through the actions and speech of Caesar's right-hand man, Mark Antony. In the given excerpt, Antony demonstrates several of those rhetorical devices such as verbal irony, sarcasm, logos, ethos, and pathos which allows him to sway the plebeians. The central purpose of Mark Antony’s funeral speech is to persuade his audience into believing that Caesar had no ill intentions while manipulating the plebeians into starting a rebellion against their new enemies, Brutus and the conspirators.
Brutus joins a group of conspirators to help kill one of his very close friends because he thinks it will benefit Rome. Although Caesar was one of Brutus’s closest friends, he was part of the conspiracy in his demise. He didn’t do it out of selfish reason or envy like the rest of the conspirators; he did it because he truly believed that it would be the best thing for his country. “Not that I loved Caesar / Less, but that I loved Rome more” (III. ii. 21-22). Brutus said that during his speech at Caesar’s funeral. It basically says his reasoning for the all too great and powerful dictator to he killed. In...
“Remember March, March 15th. Didn’t great Caesar bleed for the sake of justice?” afterwards Brutus reminds Cassias of the reason he killed Caesar it was to save Rome, Great Caesar bled so Rome could live. Brutus loved Caesar as a friend, but he did not think he would be right to lead. “The only way is to kill Caesar. I have no personal reason to strike at him—only the best interest of the people”Nevertheless Brutus did not strike down Caesar for personal gain, he striked Caesar so that Rome could live. Our course will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius, To cut the head off and then hack the limbs, Like wrath in death and envy afterwards; For Antony is but a limb of Caesar: Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius” However Brutus was against killing Marc Antony, he was not willing to kill a man out of coldblood, and he would not be marked as a killer in the eyes of the people, he would rather be seen as a defender of the country, he also was against spilling unnecessary blood. Brutus did not want to be a butcher he had only one intention and that was to save Rome. Not start a blood bath. Brutus was against spilling unwanted blood, why kill a man who did nothing to deserve his
When Brutus betrayed Caesar for the good of Rome by killing him, he had no idea that he would regret it later on in his life. Brutus wanted to kill Caesar because he thought that if Caesar became king, he would forget who his real friends are and he would not pay attention to them. He also thought that Caesar would become too powerful and therefore did not want him to be king. This is shown when Portia says, “…Brutus hath a suit / that Caesar will not grant…” (2.4.41-42). Although Brutus had a clear conscience, the people of Rome did not. This eventually led to Brutus being driven out of Rome by the citizens. Not being associated with Rome anymore made Brutus’ life worse and he eventually took his own life as the only way to...
In addition, Brutus’s fierce honor to Rome caused him to betray a friend, Caesar. Brutus was afraid that Caesar would become a tyrant and become corrupted like most dictators in the past. Tyranny was also the opposite of the Roman senate that the empire had at that moment. Brutus states, “Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more…But as he was ambitious, I slew him” (III.ii.23-24, 28) It was his honorability to Rome that pushed him to murder Caesar and put him on the path, which would soon lead to his
He has two opposing desires that he has to choose between. These are killing Caesar to preserve democracy in Rome and to save Caesar, since he is a friend of Brutus. A quote from J.L. Simmons that summarizes this well is, “Certainly the material lends itself to a conflict between private and public affections” (Simmons 64). Brutus wants to kill Caesar for Rome because the citizens of Rome want to preserve democracy and Caesar is preventing that by being dictator for life. A quote that puts this in other words is, “The ultimate factor in persuading Brutus to join the conspiracy is his belief that his countrymen wish him to act on their behalf” (Shalvi 71). Killing Caesar would be a choice made for not himself, but the citizens of Rome while saving him would be for himself and to preserve his friendship with Caesar. Saving Caesar would be a deed for himself and would strengthen his relationship with Caesar. He could have warned Caesar of the conspirators’ plans and put a stop to them. Brutus ultimately makes the choice of following through and assassinating Caesar. His plan was for this to be a honorable action, but it ended up negative on his behalf. The majority of the citizens in Rome did not take this lightly and wanted revenge for his actions. This is the main mistake made by Brutus that lead to his own
Brutus was a devious man, even though what he thought he was doing was right. Brutus told his fellow conspirators to kill Caesar “boldly, but not angerly.”(3.1.256-257) Brutus was one of Caesars right hand men, and yet Brutus kills his own friend. When Antony asks to speak at Caesars funeral, Cassius says no, but Brutus tell him that Antony will speak, but only what Brutus tells him to say. Brutus also embraces the fact that he just killed his friend, and also tells the senators who had just witnessed it to not be afraid, but to stay because ambition has paid its debt.
Throughout most of the play Brutus is constantly internally conflicted. Does he do what he believes is best for Rome or stay loyal to his friend and leader? Should he assist in the murder of one person to benefit many? Although killing Caesar was in the end a bad choice, Brutus always tries to do what is best for Rome and for the people. However even though all of Brutus’ motives are good he still has the tragic flaw of pride, which ultimately leads to his downfall. The reason that Brutus gets caught up in the conspiracy is because Cassias appeals to his pride and flatters him with forged letters from the Roman people saying he is a greater leader then Caesar.
Brutus was a man of noble birth. He had multiple servants and was often referred to as “Lord”, which indicates a certain level of respect for him. He was a very highly thought of person in Rome. At no point did he ever betray anyone, although he did kill Caesar, he did it to better Rome, not to mislead him. Everything he did was for the advantage of someone else. Even after Brutus dies, Marc Antony says “This was the noblest roman of them all; all the conspirators, save only he, did that they did in the envy of Caesar; he only in a general honest thought and common good to all...” This shows that regardless of brutus killing Caesar, he is still considered noble because he had good intentions. Brutus was also the best friend of Julius Caesar, the most powerful man in Rome. Had he been a commoner, Caesar most likely would not have associated with him or trusted him as a friend.
Brutus put his trust in Antony to not turn on him at the funeral. He was lead to believe that Antony would only speak good of the conspirators and defend them for the actions they have made. He trusted Antony when he told him he would not express such hate and talk of the bad they did and then later turned against them for the vengeance of Caesar. Brutus told Antony, “You shall not in your funeral speech blame us, But speak all good you can devise of Caesar” (III.i.245-246). He told him that the only way he is going to be able to speak at Caesar’s funeral is if he speaks good of the conspirators. After Antony said his speech, the whole crowd immediately switched and sided with him against them. They wanted nothing more than for Brutus, Cassius and the other contributors to be dead. This reveals that Brutus is shameful for putting his trust in someone who was so close to Caesar. Brutus trusted that Antony wouldn't do anything and just imagined he would be to scared to step up and speak out. This leads to Brutus losing the trust he had for Antony and starting a war between the people and the conspirators. As the war was about to proceed, they all prepped for what was about to happen. Antony and his army completely dominated Brutus’ and lead to many of them fleeing for their lives. Many people died by genocide while other committed suicide. Brutus was among the ones of suicide. He no longer wanted to be alive and felt that he had lived and fulfill what he had wanted. People were dead and he knew he was going to be one of them. Brutus’ last words were, “Caesar, now be still; I killed not thee with half so good a will” (V.v.50-51). He wanted Caesar to know that he can now be at rest because the vengeance he was looking for has been given. Because of all the trust he put in the people that were taking advantage of him, he ended up finishing his life. This reveals that Brutus really did
Some might argue that Brutus was not a patriot, but a betrayer, Brutus claimed to have a deep love for Caesar, but he conspired with traitors and assassinated Caesar by stabbing him in the back. I can’t argue that Brutus did not betray his friendship with Caesar, but when looking closely at the evidence it became apparent to me that Brutus was acting in what he felt was in the best interest of Rome. Brutus struggled with the idea of betraying his friend. He did love Caesar, but was concerned that his ambition would destroy Rome. Brutus made the final decision to be part of Caesars assassination after Cassius deceived him by planting fake letters convincing him that Caesar was up to no good. Brutus felt that he must act and act quickly before Caesar was crowned king. Brutus had no personal vendetta against Caesar, he was only concerned with the future of Rome. In Act 2 Scene 1 Brutus is struggling with how he will handle Caesar when he comes to the conclusion that his only choice is to kill him: “It must be by his death, and for my part I know no personal cause to spurn at him but for
Brutus was one of many Romans with noble bloodlines. Although Brutus was noble, he never used it to get ahead. There are many times when Brutus could have used the fact that he is truly noble but he didn’t. Many people argue that a noble man wouldn’t have killed Caesar. In some ways that is true, but Brutus’ case was different. A noble man would only for the good of others and that is what Brutus did. He killed Caesar because 7he was afraid of how powerful he could become. Even then he had a hard time doing it, and that is what separates Brutus from the other conspirators. Every other conspirator had little or no reason to kill Caesar. Brutus was willing to do anything for Rome. During his speech about Caesar’s murder Brutus stated “I have the same dagger for myself when it shall please my country to need my death” (III.ii.45-46). This shows how Caesar, this is my answer: not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more” (III.ii.20-22). He was too passionate about his country to let Caesar turn it into a dictatorship. Mark Antony and Octavius recognized that Brutus was the one noble roman. In his final speech mark Antony said “This was the noblest roman of them all. / All the conspirators save only he/ Did that they did i...
If then that friend demands why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer: not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more." (3.2.19-24). His concentration on honor and nobility ends up being used against him by Cassius, who instigates him to kill his best friend. Cassius knows how naive and how moral Brutus is and he uses this information into making him help kill Caesar. Being naive and over trusting causes his first mistake and helps with his downfall when he refuses to listen to Cassius, who wants Antony to be also killed because he knows that he will seek revenge for Caesar. However, Brutus code of honor won 't let him approve the killing of Antony "Our plan will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius. We cut off the head and then hack the limbs, seem to kill Caesar in anger and then vent malice on his friends, for Antony is only a branch of Caesar."(2.1.169-172), he doesn 't want to be seen by the Roman people as a killer, but someone who 's doing what 's right for the people of
Brutus is considered an honorable man by all those who live in Rome. He is a close friend of Caesar, husband of Portia, and is also a Senator. Brutus is drawn into killing Caesar by Cassius, who was jealous of Caesar's degree of power. Brutus was pulled into the scheme by letters brought to his house by Decius to make him think that the people of Rome wanted him to replace Caesar. Brutus also feels that Caesar is being given too much power and will destroy Rome's democracy. Brutus' reason for killing Caesar is to benefit Rome, he proves this when he states"If then that friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer: not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more." After losing to Mark Antony and Octavious, Brutus runs onto his own sword. He sticks to his beliefs, not altering them for others.