‘The character Julius Caesar is presented as arrogant and dangerous in Act 1 of the play.’ Discuss.
In Act 1, Julius Caesar is depicted as a conceited and opinionated man who has a false sense of self-importance and a hubris that has made him a controversial figure both in the senate and public. Caesar’s reputation has often been disputed, but his threat as a tyrant had not been established until his victory over Pompey, who was a leader of the roman republic. This escalated tensions and supporters of Pompey began to resent Caesar’s rising power. Spectating senators feared Caesar’s political influence would become too great, and he would destroy the senate to begin a tyrannical rule over Rome. Despite the growing resentment over Caesar’s alarming
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While the commoners of Rome celebrated Caesar’s victory and quickly changed sides, there were still many supporters of Pompey who were disgusted by Caesar’s entry to Rome and held a grudge towards him. Many feared Caesar and criticised his right to leadership such as the two tribunes, Murellus and Flavius. They feared Caesar’s increasing authority over Rome, and believed he would become a tyrant that would disregard the rights of ‘ordinary’ men and rule over the state with an iron fist. Murellus and Flavius planned to strip down Caesar’s statues and shared the view that ‘these growing feathers plucked from Caesar’s wing will make him fly an ordinary pitch, who else would soar above the view of men and keep us all in servile futileness’. This highlights the growing dismay over Caesar’s ascension in political power, that is feared to result in a cruel authoritarian rule that would ignore the values of a citizen of Rome and plunge the state into chaos. Brutus believed that the assassination of Caesar would prevent his slow descent to becoming a brutal dictator that would endanger the lives of many Roman men. For Brutus feared that ‘he would not be a wolf but that he sees the Romans are but sheep’ and while Caesar did not truly desire to oppress the men of Rome, he would seize the opportunity once he realised they were so
In his play Julius Caesar, Shakespeare employs various rhetorical strategies such as direct address, repetition, and apostrophe in Antony’s eulogy to convince the crowd into believing that Caesar was a good ruler. His excellent use of rhetoric begins before he starts his speech through the establishment of familiarity. Before Antony begins his speech, he refers to the crowd as “friends, romans, [and] countrymen” to establish a personal connection, indicating the use of direct address (3.2.82). By referring to the crowd as “friends,” Antony removes any separation between him and the audience, establishing a close bond by choice. As it came first on his list, it emphasizes the importance of his friendship with the audience as friendship implies
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.
During the Republic, the people of Rome had a major disinclination towards any sort of Royalty, which is why when Caesar attempted to lead undemocratically indefinitely, he disrupted one of the core stances that romans shared communally. Caesar over indulged in power when he retitled himself as ‘dictator in perpetuo’. “And as Caesar was coming down from Alba into the city they ventured to hail him as king. But at this the people were confounded, and Caesar, disturbed in mind, said that his name was not King, but Caesar, and seeing that his words produced an universal silence, he passed on with no very cheerful or contented looks…..But the most open and deadly hatred towards him was produced by his passion for the royal power.” Caesars egotism and self-importance made him uncherished by members of the senate. “Everybody knew that Caesar's ego would never allow him to play second fiddle to another senator, and it was equally well-known that another famous military leader, Pompey the Great, had similar ambitions. In January 49, more or less at...
In this case, the rise of Caesar’s power was considered by some as disregard and disrespect of authority, tradition, and Roman rules. Caesar on many occasions challenged Roman commander Pompey and his main opponent, thus leading to many civil wars. Additionally, his decision to cross Rubicon was contrary to the Roman law that restricted him to enter Rome because he was a governor of Gaul at the time. Additionally, following Pompey’s death, Caesar conferred more powers to himself by diluting the Senate’s reaches and powers (Alvin 82). One major flaw that Caesar possessed was his strong ambition. This made him overconfident and thought he had become invincible both in Rome and battle. Because his soldiers respected and loved him, Caesar thought that he would pursue whatever he desired. This is what led to his
Julius Caesar was unquestionable a cunning Politian as portrayed within historical documents, even though the events were documented after the accounts of his rule materialized there are still numerous theories about his political ability’s and how he was viewed by the people he governed. This paper is intended to present the reader clear vision on how Julius Caesar was viewed during his dictatorship of Rome. Was Julius Caesar a selfish dictator or model politician? There will be five diverse source accounts of the events which will be examined for similarities and differences based on the historical evidences.
The book Julius Caesar is full of happiness, conspiracy, power, and betrayal. The people of Rome deeply loved julius Caesar and wished to make him their king. A group of senators however were not so fond of this idea and formed a conspiracy. The leader of this group was a man by the name of Cassius. In order to make sure that his scheme of killing Caesar would work and would look honorable he had to convince a senator by the name of Brutus to help. After being convinced that they had to kill Caesar to protect Rome from a tyrant Brutus joined the conspiracy and soon became the principal conspirator.On the day in which Caesar was to be crowned king he was on the way to the senate when he was stabbed by all the conspirators panic ensued and to convince Rome of their honorable intentions Brutus gave a funeral speech. Mark Antony, a very close friend of Caesar, gave his speech after Brutus had given his. Mark Antony’s speech is more persuasive to the Roman people because of his outstanding use of pathos, sarcasm, and logos.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is an intimate portrayal of the famed assassination of Julius Caesar and the complex inner workings of the men who committed the crime. In one particularly revealing scene, two of the men closest to Caesar, one a conspirator in his murder and one his second-in command, give orations for the deceased. Despite being simple in appearance, these two speeches do much of the work in developing and exposing the two characters in question. Though both have a love for Caesar, Mark Antony's is mixed with a selfish desire for power, while Brutus' is pure in nature, brought to a screeching halt by his overpowering stoicism. These starkly-contrasted personalities influence the whole of the play, leading to its tragic-but-inevitable end.
In William Shakespeare's, Julius Caesar, rhetorical devices are used throughout Decius Brutus’s speech to Caesar to persuade him to attend the senate, and ultimately meet his demise. Decius Brutus uses repetition to directly play into Caesar’s ego and convince him to show at an event he was previously very unsure of. Decius first uses repetition to make Caesar feel as if he were an irreplaceable addition to the senate. He addresses Caesar as, “most mighty Caesar…” (2.2.74) multiple times throughout his oration. The repetition of “mighty” draws Caesar’s attention away from the fact that he really must not go to the senate and instead focuses on why he must. Caesar is known to be easily persuaded by the promise of attention or rewards. Decius
Act 2 Scene 1 begins with Brutus contemplating joining the conspiracy against Caesar. He made the decision to officially join when he received an unsigned letter left to him by Cassius. Initially, the conspirators arrive, which includes, Cassius, Casca, Decius, Cinna, Metellus and Trebonius. The group then discusses their plan and whether or not they should include Cicero in the conspiracy. Cassius then suggests that they should kill Antony as well as Caesar. Brutus disagrees with this idea and begins his monologue by claiming that what they are doing will be bloody; however, they do not want to kill just for the sake of killing. He uses a metaphor to explain how Antony is like a limb of Caesar, and it is not necessary to hack at the limbs. He also explains how
He put on a false impression of invincibility and power to gain public support. After he defeated Pompey, the previous leader, the people greatly admired him and wanted him to lead Rome. However, few knew that he was not as invincible as he seemed. Brutus claimed that Caesar “had a fever when he was in Spain and when the fit was on him, I did mark how he did shake. ‘Tis true, this god did shake” (I.2.121-123). Not only was Caesar extremely susceptible to disease, but he also cried like “a sick girl” (I.2.130). Cassius also tells a story about Caesar’s weaknesses. Caesar once dared Cassius to swim in the Tiber River with him, yet Caesar almost drowned and cried, “Help me, Cassius, or I sink!” (I.2.113). Although Caesar is clearly seen as weak and vulnerable, he portrays himself as powerful and invincible to the general public to gain their support. Although the people elected him as their ruler, he was assassinated shortly afterwards by the people who knew his true self. His assassination tore Rome apart and resulted in a civil war. By writing about Caesar’s contrasting personalities, Shakespeare implies that one’s internal strife will lead to general
Rhetorical devices have been around for many centuries, and they are used to convince and persuade people to believe in their cause. These strategies exploit individuals by influencing them to feel sympathy or trust the speaker. In Julius Caesar, a historic tragedy written by the prominent Shakespeare, Antony’s brilliant rhetorical strategies are used to trump Brutus and prompt the Roman people to unite with his rebellion against the unjust butcher of the beloved Julius Caesar.
The way, in which Corin Redgrave portrayed the character of Octavius Caesar in the 1975 Royal Shakespeare Company performance, has increasingly helped to clarify certain ideas, which arose in the play. His blank, rather monotone appearance, and his limited sign of facial expressions throughout the entire play gave the impression that the character of Caesar is dull, boring and rather more concerned with tactics and war, which does oppose the ideals and attitudes of Antony, and it is these contrasting views and methods of work which enable the audience to understand and recognise the complexity of Caesar's character.
THESIS STATEMENT: The assassination of Julius Caesar was due to his increased power and the Senate's fear of losing their political relevance. PURPOSE STATEMENT: Through critical analysis and research, it has been shown that Caesar's gain in power worried the Senate. INTRODUCTION: On July 13, 100 B.C., Gaius Julius Caesar was born into a family that was proud of being patrician.
It was the citizens’ positive reaction to Caesar during his triumphant return after his victory over the sons of Pompey that fueled the fear of Caesar’s becoming king. The citizens’ opposition to Pompey’s allies caused great disturbances in the streets because a short while ago, Pompey was their hero. Now Caesar, victorious, is the hero of the hour. Their response also influenced the idea that Caesar was becoming too ambitious. Thus, the citizens of Rome had a role in the fate of Julius Caesar.
In the play Julius Caesar, written and preformed by William Shakespeare, there are many characters, but two, Brutus and Cassius, stood out. The play begins in Rome where a celebration of Julius Caesar's victory over the former ruler of Rome, Pompeii. The victory leads to Caesar's betrayal by his jealous companions. Senators and other high status figures are jealous of Caesar's new and growing power, while others, like Brutus, fear the tyrannical rule Caesar could enforce. The conspirators, Brutus and Cassius being the most important, assassinate Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius, better known as Antony, and Octavius Caesar, Caesar's heir to the thrown, revenge Caesar's death. Antony convinces the Roman populous to destroy the conspirators and eventually begins a war with Cassius and Brutus' armies. Both Cassius and Brutus commit suicide to save their honor and Antony and Octavius win the war. The characterizations of Brutus and Cassius show a distinct contrast in their character traits and motives for the assassination of Julius Caesar.