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Essay about julius caesar character
Julius caesar literary analysis
The tragedy of julius caesar character traits
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The Rebellion in Act 3 Scene 1 of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar The speeches take place at Julius Caesar's funeral, Brutus is one of the leaders of group of conspirators, who assassinated Julius Caesar in the senate. This would be like John Prescot stabbing Tony Blair during Prime Ministers question time. Antony who was one of Caesar's heir apparent and so was deeply upset by the murder. The conspirators allowed Antony to speak at the funeral as long as he did not criticise what they had done. Brutus allowed him to go second, which was a mistake as it allowed Antony to contradict what he had said with no chance of a return argument. In Brutus's speech he gives a reasoned argument to why he stabbed Caesar. He claimed that though he loved him, he loved Rome more. By doing this he stirred up the plebeians patriotism. This is his only method of persuasion whereas Antony uses several techniques. In Antony's speech there is no single method that he uses to persuade the crowd, instead he uses many methods combined and interwoven. There are three main methods however; he uses sarcasm to sow doubt in people's minds about Brutus, he also undermines Brutus using logical explanations, and finally he plays on people's emotions. At first the crowd is very hostile towards Antony and even threatens him "'Twere best he speak no harm of Brutus here". Eventually he manages to make him self heard by calling "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears". Now that he has the crowd's attention he needs to put their minds to rest that he is not going to try and contradict what Brutus has just said, " I come to bury Caesar not praise him" Antony no uses the first part of his sarcasm, he says that Brutus and his followers have made Caesar pay "grievously" for his ambition, he then says that, "Brutus is an honourable man". This instantly begins to cast doubt in people's minds as to how Brutus can be right, for "an honourable man" would not stab someone.
Throughout his speech, Antony repeats the words “[Caesar] was ambitious” and “Brutus is an honorable man” to create a contrast between the two statements. (3.2.95-96). Through this repetition, Caesar successfully undermines Brutus. Everytime he calls Brutus an honorable man, he lists a positive trait of Caesar that contradicts Brutus’s claim that he was too ambitious. He tells the crowd about the times when Caesar showed compassion for the people and when he refused the crown thrice. Antony’s sarcasm about Brutus’s honor brings into question as to whether his honor deserved. This leads the audience to doubt their feelings upon Caesar’s ambition. Near the end of his eulogy, Antony uses apostrophe when he claims that “judgment ... art fled to brutish beasts” as a reason for why the Roman people believe Brutus. (3.2.114-115). Antony indirectly shames the crowd for their belief in Brutus in that Caesar was a tyrant. Fearing alienation of the crowd, he attributes this belief to a lapse in judgement that beasts have taken. Antony also makes a pun upon Brutus’s name when he comments “brutish beasts.” Antony implies Brutus has caused a lapse in judgement within the Roman people through his oration
The Common Man's Role In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar In this essay, I will discuss who the common man is, his involvement. in the governing of the city and its effect on the success of the higher figures. Shakespeare is renowned for setting a sturdy background to his plays. in their opening scenes as he does most famously in Macbeth where he introduces the idea of the world being upside down.
In Shakespeare's “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar”, between the two extremes of being a tyrant or sympathetic, Caesar would definitely be more leaning toward a monstrous tyrant. One example of Caesar’s power hunger is his brutal acts towards his opponents. Early on in the story that civilians began to cheer in the streets for Caesar’s victory in killing Pompey when the soldiers confront them about it.“To see great Pompey pass the streets of Rome./ And when you saw his chariot but appear,/ Have you not made a universal shout/...And now you strew flowers n his way/ That come in triumph over Pompey’s blood?” (I.i.42-51). The soldiers chide the civilians for their utter ignorance to Caesar's rule and become worried for Rome itself from the conduct of these citizens. By Caesar killing
The story of Julius Ceases death and the revenge that his heir, Augustus, and General, Mark Anthony, seek out are very popular and have been told and reworked in many different ways. The most famous retelling of the story is probable Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Like most remakes though they often change some things around to make it appeal to the audience more or make the story more interesting.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare portrays the 44 BC plot against the Roman dictator Caesar, his assassination and the downfall of the conspirators at the Battle of Philippi.
In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, I saw two main characters as tragic heroes. First, I saw Julius Caesar as a tragic hero because his will to gain power was so strong that he ended up losing his life for it. The fact that he could have been such a strong leader was destroyed when he was killed by conspirators. I saw Marcus Brutus as a second tragic hero in this play. Brutus was such a noble character that did not deserve to die. The main reason why he did die, however, was because he had led a conspiracy against Caesar and eventually killed him. These two characters were the tragic heroes of the play in my opinion.
Brutus has several tragic flaws. One of these tragic flaws is how he trusts people a lot. Brutus says that he “know[s] that we shall have [Antony] well to a friend” (1140). He trusts Antony will be a friend of the conspirators, yet he seems to not realize that Antony is obliviously against them, because they killed his friend. Brutus trusts Antony so much, that he lets Antony speak to the public alone. Antony turns the people against Brutus and the conspirators, leading to the wars where Brutus takes his own life. Brutus also receives letters, supposedly from the people of Rome. As he reads the letter out loud, Brutus remarks “‘Speak, strike, redress!’ Am I entreated to speak and strike? O Rome, I make thee promise, if thy redress will follow, thy receivest thy full petition at the hand of Brutus” (1118).
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.
“Assumptions are normally the mother of all mistakes,” a quote by the philosopher Eugene Fordsworthe. In 58 B.C., Julius Caesar was a Roman General who ruled Rome along with two other men, Crassus and Pompey. Caesar was renowned for his numerous victories against the Gauls. He even defeated one of his alleged partners Pompey, which ultimately gave Caesar full reign of Rome. Caesar was a brutal leader; he even appointed himself dictator for life. Many feared he would become king, and the Roman Republic would have to resort to the past ways of the Roman Monarchy. A group of ‘nobles’ took it upon themselves to assassinate Caesar. Caesar may have been a brutal ruler, but he was accused and judged for actions that had not taken place yet. Therefore, the ‘nobles’ should not have killed Caesar. The first reason they should not have killed him was the fact that they were basing their decisions and anger off of assumptions made about Caesar. Secondly, the death of Caesar created animosity among the Roman people spurring mobs. Lastly, all of the conspirators ended up on the same road as Caesar, and that road was death.
Motivation can cause people to work hard and win a state championship, but it can also cause people to kill. Motivation can be defined as an internal state of a person that drives them to action for the purpose of reaching a target goal. William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is a tragic drama that shows a huge variety of the different motives that fuel each character. Readers see what motivates each character, and how far that motivation takes them. Whether they are motivated by malice, jealousy, revenge, or loyalty, each character has their own incentives for their actions. Whatever motives they may have, readers see how these motives drive Cassius, Brutus, and Antony to extreme measures, and how this leads to tragic deaths in the end.
Brutus feels that he is an honorable man; however, he is not the only one. "For Brutus is an honorable man." (950). Although this is spoken in a sardonic manner by Antony, it is also a common feeling amongst the Roman people. The belief that Brutus is honorable gives him the feeling he is a rightful leader. Unfourtunately, Brutus is not a good judge of character, and his logic is often flawed. "And therefor think of him as a serpent's egg...And kill him in his shell." (911). Referring to Caesar as a serpent's egg, Brutus agrees with the conspirators, and he proposes that they murder Caesar for something he may one day do. He uses a moving line to justify the unjust and flawed logic he uses. In addition not only is this decision unethical, there is also...
From the absolute power of ancient kings and medieval monarchs to the tyrannical dictators of today, political corruption has been a persistent aspect of governed societies since their emergence early in human existence. In the quest for power, individuals create furtive conspiracies to overthrow governments and destroy policies. The presence of political corruption and conspiracy in Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is prominent, as Brutus and Mark Antony conduct opposing conspiracies in relation to corruption in the Roman government. Shakespeare depicts Antony’s emotional drive, ability to set aside honor, and capacity to use manipulative language as additive to the strength of his conspiracy. These qualities allow his conspiracy to undermine Brutus and, in doing so, emphasize Brutus’ flaws of uncertainty, excessive accentuation of honor, and naïveté.
The structure of the tragedy is chronological, in the sense that the different situations that take place are in order, despite the fact that Shakespeare, in some cases, cuts the time between an event and the other so as to be able to cover from the time the conspiracy is planned until the death of Brutus.
Commoners gather in town to celebrate Caesar’s victory against Pompey. During this gathering, a soothsayer shouts for Caesar to “beware the Ides of March.” Caesar dismisses this warning. He is offered the crown, which he denies three times in a row. While all of this is going on, there is a group of conspirators against Caesar, claiming he is a tyrant and should be killed before he gets into power. Casca and Cassius try to convince Brutus to be on their side, because he is noble and will go along with their plan if they tell him if for the good of the Plebeians.
At first glance, historical literature may seem like mere retellings of repeated events. However, by analyzing the author and their intentions, one can understand the underlying message and its applications to society. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is a rendition of Julius Caesar’s demise and the civil war sparked by it. Shakespeare uses his play as a political mouthpiece to voice his concern for the future of England’s government, since during Queen Elizabeth’s reign, the tensions were high due to the threat of a civil war. By examining events and occurrences associated with the Elizabethan time period, Julius Caesar, and the Roman Empire, one can understand William Shakespeare’s political motivations and historical influences.