Gaius Gracchus Research Paper

When a senator fought back he was later forced to commit suicide by Nero. These two extracts are not just observations by Tacitus, but heavy criticisms against a man who was unworthy for his post. Tacitus stood against self - indulgence and extravagant displays of wealth as he saw these as being major flaws of the aristocracy and nobility. Although Tacitus was far more interested in moral behaviour, he saw these flaws as the basis for Rome's decline at the time of Nero. An example of this decaying Rome was in Ad60 when the people of Pompeii and Nuceria assaulted each other at the gladiatorial event.

Caesar had been betrayed by Brutus when he murdered him; while Caesar had trusted him and thought him as his right hand man. “It must be by his death, and for my part, I know no personal cause to spurn at him, But for the general. He would be crowned. How that might change his nature, there’s the question” (Shakespeare 847). Brutus feels he needed to kill Caesar because he believes that Caesar wouldn’t be a rightful ruler for Rome.

Brutus and his friends feared for the future of Rome if Julius Caesar continued to be its leader, causing them to conspire his murder with the intent to properly reinstate the Roman government. This betrayal towards his friend can be seen as a reflection of bad character, but is his sacrificing his own moral value and choosing to live with guilt

So in reality by killing Caesar it wasn’t displaying loyalty and honor it was really showing stupidity. But Brutus’ tragic flaws are the real reason of his own downfall, as well as Rome’s. Unfortunately Rome’s downfall was because Brutus had caused his own downfall. It first started when the conspirators killed Caesar, but what had made the situation worse was allowing Antony to speak at Caesar’s funeral. After the funeral the locals of Rome was so moved by Antony’s speech that they were in a blind fury and had to kill any conspirator that they had found, which ended up in the death of Cinna the poet.

The Senate is also angry with Sulla because of his actions but they could not complain due to the amount of power and support they are getting from him. They wanted to reprimand him because he did not respect the power of the Senate and the beliefs they have been pushing for since time in memorial. He has also turned away all the ambassadors sent by the Senate to make him stop the march. He has also murdered a tribune from the heart of the nobility or the nobilitas who ignored summons. They also believed that Sulla was a double-edged blade as he was defending the cause of the nobles and not of the people.

The senators and triumvirate governs the Romans; Cassius fears that Caesar would rise and the senators would lose their respect and status. Cassius begins plotting Caesar’s assassination and wants to replace him with Brutus. Nevertheless, Cassius could not erase Caesar’s honorable works for the people. Marcus Antonius, a loyal supporter of Caesar, reminds the people, “When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept” (III. ii.

While Cassius provides many reasons as to why Caesar must be killed, Cassius’s true motive is simply anger and a need for revenge against Caesar. This means that Cassius’s actions cannot be justified in the end, if he was simply doing it for himself the entire time. However, many people think Brutus could be excused, since he thought that by killing Caesar, he would be keeping Rome safe and leaving Caesar uncorrupted. I do not think that even with the ‘noble reasons’ that Cassius gave would excuse Brutus for killing Caesar, simply becaus... ... middle of paper ... ...hods about halfway through the play. However, Brutus was morally sound, and was truly repentant for his actions.

Marc Antony's Power of Persuasion in Julius Caesar In William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, although Marc Antony is allowed to make a speech at Caesar's funeral, he must not speak ill of either the conspirators or Caesar. Antony was infuriated with Caesar's assassination, and wants to seek revenge on his killers as well as gain power for himself in Rome's government. He must persuade the crowd that has gathered that Caesar's murder was unjust, and turn them against Brutus and Cassius. He tries to stir his listeners' anger, rousing them into action and yet say nothing bad about his enemies. Marc Antony uses several persuasive devices in his speech, which allows him to successfully convince the citizens of Rome to turn against the conspirators.

Caesar’s untimely and unnecessary death created a unique rhetorical moment that Marc Antony seized. Bitzer states in his article “The Rhetorical Situation” that “a particular discourse comes into existence because of some specific condition or situation which invites utterance” (Bitzer 41). According to the assassins, Caesar’s murder was necessary for the good of all the Roman citizens, who unquestioningly believed Brutus’s accusations that Caesar was ambitious and unfit to govern Rome. Marc Antony used his speech to win back the citizens and unite them in grief and outrage at Caesar’s murder. One of Marc Antony’s objectives as he ascended to the pulpit was to refute the claims of Caesar’s guilt of ambition: “I thrice presented him a kingly crown, / Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?

He cooled his temper by watching chariot racing, wrestling bouts and acting and singing competitions which was ‘appalling’ to the people of Rome. All of his executions were directed towards political opponents and unlike his immediate predecessors there is no reason to believe he enjoyed their deaths (Dennison, 2012). This however is very subjective as there are primary sources like Suetonius and Tacitus that say the opposite of this, that Nero did enjoy the executions of his rivals death. Nero reacted harshly to accusations of treason against himself and the senate and because of this people, if caught trying to overturn him, were exiled and executed ("Nero", 2017). One of the people Nero had executed was Seneca, Neros former tutor and mentor ("Who is Nero?