Julius Caesar Character Analysis

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Recommended: Compare and contrast the characters Cassius and Brutus

There is no real hero in Julius Caesar, only real men. Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is one of his most analyzed works because of the complicity of its characters and the nostalgic magnificence of the Roman Empire. The play can be broken down into three main stages: the rise of Caesar to the Roman throne, the betrayal and murder of Caesar by the Senators, and the after-math of the murder. In many of Shakespeare's plays, the protagonist and antagonists are very clear, but in Julius Caesar it is very hard to make the distinctions. Many critics still debate the most basic facts regarding Julius Caesar, like who the main character is, if the play is tragedy, and whether Caesar’s murder is damnable or praiseworthy (Sims OL). While reading the play, the reader is faced with difficult choices. Which side do they take? Cassius, who characterizes Caesar as a boastful tyrant, and the assassination as a magnificent act of emancipation, or Mark Antony who thinks that Caesar is "the noblest man that ever lived in the tides of time," and the murder as a gruesome crime (Schanzer 6)? They had to make choices based on what they felt was best for the society’s greater good. Shakespeare chose Julius Caesar as a prominent historical figure, on which he could base a play on, that focused on moral decision-making in Roman politics (Sims OL). Shakespeare uses the play Julius Caesar to explore the fine relationship between personal virtue and public politics through the characters of Brutus and Cassius.
At the start of the play, Cassius’ intentions are made clear: de-throne Caesar by killing him (Shalvi 70). It becomes obvious quickly that Cassius has a personal vendetta with Caesar. Cassius believes that Caesar gets too much credit for defeatin...

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...akespeare uses the play Julius Caesar to explore the fine relationship between personal virtue and public politics through the characters of Brutus and Cassius. The intentions of Cassius were clear; he did not like Caesar and wanted him dead. Brutus’ case wasn’t that simple. “Julius Caesar is a kind of odyssey in which Brutus attempts to navigate his ship through the murky depths of Roman politics and all its sordid ironies and ethical dilemmas.” (Sims OL) Brutus is an idealistic man who joins the conspiracy to kill Caesar and prevent tyranny. Brutus tries to justify his murder by citing it as a sacrifice for the greater good, and ignores the shrewd advice of Cassius. He fails to understand that Antony must die with Caesar to completely erase the threat of possible tyranny. In the end Cassius and Brutus both die in vain as Caesar nephew, Augustus, became Dictator.

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