The Character of Julius Caesar in William Shakespeare's Play

543 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Theme of ambition in julius caesar

The Character of Julius Caesar in William Shakespeare's Play In William Shakespeare's ‘Julius Caesar’, honor is displayed as a prominent theme throughout the play. Honor is having great respect for others, regardless of their status in society; and performing great deeds not for personal gain but for the good of others. Marcus Brutus is an example of an honorable man; Caius Cassius, however, is not. When Brutus joined the conspiracy against Caesar, he did it solely for the good of Rome. Unlike all the other men, Brutus justified his motive for murder: Brutus feared that Caesar would alter his attitude when he was crowned emperor: "He would be crown'd/ How that might change his nature..." (II,i,12-13). Brutus was afraid of the possibility of a negative change in Caesar that could doom Rome. Cassius formed the conspiracy with motives based solely on envy, and he believed that Caesar was not going to be a good enough ruler. He says: "...it doth amaze me A man of such feeble temper should So get the start of the majestic w...

Show More
Related

  • How Does Julius Caesar Change Throughout The Play

    888 Words  | 2 Pages

    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. William Shakespeare retold a very unique event

    Read More

  • Direct Characterization In Julius Caesar Essay

    399 Words  | 1 Pages

    Shakespeare uses Cassius’ characterization in Julius Caesar to prove that Caesar is justified in his concerns about Cassius. Through means of indirect characterization, it is presented that Cassius is willing to act somewhat sycophantic to acquire what he finds necessary. When Cassius is speaking to Brutus in an attempt to sway his opinion concerning his loyalty to Caesar, he compares Brutus to Caesar and praises his equivalent status, stating that Brutus’ name is “as fair a name,” “it is as heavy,” and “will start a spirit as soon as ‘Caesar’,” and even rhetorically asks “upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed that he has grown so great?¨ (Shakespeare I. ii. 144-150). By providing reasoning behind his belief that Brutus is “as fair a name”

    Read More

  • Examples Of Honor In Julius Caesar

    910 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the end, the characters of Julius Caesar all have more complicated relationships with honor than they appear at first glance. Brutus, while well intentioned and seemingly honorable, cannot see the line that separates honor from murder, Cassius who appears dishonorable in every way aims, at least in part, to protect rome and its people and Portia who appears dedicated loyal and honorable, commits suicide and believes the lies she is told about her self, beneath the surface of these characters, lies complex motives and twisted logic, which makes singling them out as honorable or dishonorable, nearly impossible, as they are very human, and humans are rarely one or the

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Power In Julius Caesar

    1213 Words  | 3 Pages

    Honor and power is what drives the conspirators to assassinate Julius Caesar in William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar. Caesar is now the single leader of Rome, and members of the Senate have concerns that he will abuse his sole power. Therefore, they plot and accomplish the assassination of Caesar in an attempt to rebuild the balance of Rome. Rome falls into chaos with an unknown future with no central leader for the people to follow. In Act I, Scene 2, Cassius, a member of the Senate, explains to his friend, Brutus, that Caesar is not the god he makes himself out to be. Instead, he argues both he and Brutus are equal to Caesar and are just as deserving of the throne. Cassius’ speech to Brutus diminishes Caesar’s godly demeanor through

    Read More

  • Free Julius Caesar Essays: The Tragic Hero

    487 Words  | 1 Pages

    Brutus’ tragic flaw was his perception that all men were identical to him in their motives. This factored allowed his decisions to be easily influenced by others whose motives were devious. Cassius was able to convince Brutus to join the conspiracy because Brutus thought the only reason behind the conspiracy was to prevent one man from becoming “Rex.” He allowed Antony’s speech to occur because he was sure that Antony was motivated by the same “honor” which motivated himself.

    Read More

  • The Tragedy Of Julius Caesar - Tragic Hero

    488 Words  | 1 Pages

    Caesar and Brutus were truly noble people. Caesar was a dignified and courageous man. He gained his power through hard work and courage. However, Caesar was marked by a weakness: he wanted too much power. This weakness proved to be fatal in the play. Brutus, on the other hand, was a strong leader throughout the whole play. People listened to him easily and he showed his nobility by always being open to others. Despite his good character, he did make one fatal mistake in judgment. He killed Caesar thinking he would gain too much power, yet it was truly his friend Cassius’s jealously of Caesar that truly snared him into the conspiracy.

    Read More

  • Julius Caesar Ignorance Essay

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    This presents his first major mistake. Brutus says, ” Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more” (3.2.23). In this speech, Brutus makes it clear that he loves Rome and that he would do anything to protect the Roman Empire. When he joins the conspiracy, he ignorantly allows himself to be misled by Cassius into thinking that numerous people joined the conspiracy. Cassius does this by throwing letters into Brutus’s window, which seem to be signed by several citizens. “Brutus interprets the letters as a protest against Caesar” (2.1.47). In this scene, Brutus thinks that the citizens agree with his plan. But what he fails to understand that it is Cassius whom sent him the letters. Even though Brutus questions Cassius, “Into what dangers would you lead me, Cassius?” (1.2.70) Brutus still mistakenly trusts Cassius while at the same time sealing his death

    Read More

  • Examples Of Flattery In Julius Caesar

    558 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cassius goes as far as to convince Brutus to join the conspiracy which has the ultimate goal of killing Caesar. When Cassius overhears Brutus saying that he doesn’t want “people choosing Caesar as king,” he takes this as an opportunity to enlist him as an ally for his conspiracy (1.1.79-80). This is similar to when people befriend the smart person in class to obtain help from them, they take advantage of a relationship to work to their advantage. In this process Cassius finds out that Brutus prioritizes honor and uses this to his advantage knowing that he can manipulate Brutus through that when he says, “Thy honorable mettle may be wrought from that it is disposed” (1.2.309-310). Not only does his manipulative nature make him a threat, but Cassius is fueled by the worst emotion a human can feel:

    Read More

  • The True Nobleman in Julius Caesar's Rome: Brutus

    855 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

    834 Words  | 2 Pages

    "A talent for drama is not a talent for writing, but is an ability to

    Read More

  • Cassius vs. Brutus in Julius Caesar

    829 Words  | 2 Pages

    Both Cassius and Brutus conspire against Caesar, yet Shakespeare depicts Brutus as doing a noble job compared to Cassius as doing a greedy and envious task. Cassius believes that he is stronger than Caesar. Therefore, Cassius does not understand why Caesar is in power and he is not. Cassius is also envious of Caesar. In Act I Scene II, Cassius describes to Brutus the time he had to save Caesar in a swimming race. Since then, Cassius feels superior to Caesar. In Cassius’ mind, kings’ right to rule should be based off of strength, not intelligence or virtue. On the other hand, Brutus knows that although a king should be strong, he must also be virtuous. Brutus always elaborates on the topic of honor. In fact, his first priority is to keep his own honor intact and Brutus fears that Caesar will change when he is crowned. Brutus says, “He would be crowned: How that might change his nature, there’s the question.” (Act II, Scene I, Page 49, lines 12-14) He senses Caesar’s greed for power, and ...

    Read More

  • Honor And Honor In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

    1109 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the play, Brutus speaks about honor and his loyalty to his country. These two concepts become major conflicts for him when it comes to his friendship and loyalty to Caesar. Brutus life is conducted by the concept of honor. He constantly throughout the play speaks of how honorable he is and how honorable men should live. He 's very proud of how Romans view him as a noble and honorable man, who fights for what is right and is always following the moral and ethical code. Brutus ends up using the concept of honor and loyalty to his country as a reason why Caesar must die. He 's convinced that his countrymen will thank him for saving them from a tyrant and that Rome would be much better off without Caesar, but it ends up being a big miscalculation

    Read More

  • Character Motives in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar

    1184 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this play, Cassius’ motivation is completely inspired by evil and hatred. His jealousy of Caesar and greed for power drives him to create the conspiracy and start plotting the death of Caesar. While talking to Casca, he says, “What trash is Rome, / What rubbish and what offal, when is serves / For the bas matter to illuminate / So vile a thing as Caesar!” (I.iii.109-112). This shows some of the true feelings Cassius has about Caesar. He believes that Caesar is not worthy of his power and does not want anyone to hold more power than him. Although he justifies the killing of Caesar as an act for freedom from tyranny, his motivation is full of bad intent. In an attempt to disguise his true motives, Cassius convinces Brutus, an honorable and well-respected man, to join the conspiracy. He tells Brutus, “Brutus and Caesar-what should be in that “Caesar”? / Why should that name be sounded more than yours? / Write them together, yours is as fair a name. / Sound them, it doth become the mouth as well. / ...

    Read More

  • Was Julius Caesar Honorable

    539 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cassius was the least honorable character of Julius Caesar, because he operates purely on self-interest. Cassius has been just one of those people that wants things he won't be able to get. Cassius wants strength, power and he also knows that he'll never get it because Caesar is around and Caesar obviously don't like him. He knows Brutus’ frailty and exploits them too trick Brutus into thinking Caesar needs to die for the good of Rome. Cassius was hurt because he took Brutus in as if he were a son. Cassius also believes that the nobility of Rome are responsible for the government of Rome.

    Read More

  • Julius Caesar - A Comparison of Brutus and Cassius

    1631 Words  | 4 Pages

    The play Julius Caesar depicts Brutus to be an extremely noble being who is well respected and honored by all Romans, even his enemies. Brutus was a loving friend of Julius Caesar and wished anything but death on his comrade, but his love and dedication to the majestic city of Rome would force him to commit anything. He fights a war to defend Rome from a king or emperor's tyrannical rule. When the war was finished, even his enemies saw that he was the most respectable Roman of them all.

    Read More

More about The Character of Julius Caesar in William Shakespeare's Play

Open Document