Manipulation in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
analytical Essay
613 words
Manipulation in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
William Shakespeare's tragic play portraying the life in ancient Rome is one that closely follows many elements that make a drama interesting. The murders and the conspiracies behind the killings add to the plot of jealousy and patriotism. Within Julius Caesar also
lies a twisted tale of attempted, actual, and forced manipulation.
The first sign of attempted manipulation in this play takes place in the first scene of the first act. The Romans are gathering during a holiday to celebrate Caesar's victory over Pompey in a civil war, and they gather at a traditional race in celebration. While the crowds are at their peak capacity, two Pompey supporting government officials are
out and about, attempting to discourage the workers from this celebration. Marullus and Flavius, the two officials, do their best to convince the crowd of Caesar's unimportance and the little he has actually contributed to the city.
Another manipulation attempt takes place in the very last scene on the play. After the battle that devours the entire last half of the drama, Brutus believes that he needs to die. He attempts, one by one, to persuade his companions to help him end his own life, but each refuses. The enemy forces begin to approach, and Brutus' friends must retreat. Because of the failure of his attempted manipulation, Brutus stays behind and finds someone to help him take his life. With this manipulation to Strato, the death of Brutus is taken as a noble one, and he ultimately attains an honorable burial as a noble Roman.
Many actual manipulations take place in this drama as well as attempted manipulations. The first scene of the second act takes place the dawn before the ides of Ma...
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... still among the tents, so Cassius sends an acquaintance, Titinius, to get a closer look and to bring back a report on their status. Cassius believes that the enemy has captured Titinius, so he then asks a fellow soldier to stab him. Pindarus, the assisted
assassinator, flees when Cassius dies, just as Titinius returns. While a messenger goes to notify Brutus of Cassius' death, Titinius stabs himself. His death is brought on by the massive amounts of confusion and frustration, but it is a forced manipulation as a result of Cassius' death.
Along with plans of conspiracy, patriotic battles, and jealousy among the characters in Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar", manipulation is major topic of action. Through attempted, actual, and forced manipulation emerges a great drama reenacting the death of Julius Caesar and the life of the ancient Romans in time of battle.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how shakespeare's tragic play depicts the life in ancient rome. the murders and conspiracies behind the killings add to the plot of jealousy and patriotism.
- Analyzes how marullus and flavius try to convince the crowd of caesar's unimportance and the little he has contributed to the city.
- Analyzes how brutus believes he needs to die after the battle that devours the entire last half of the drama. he attempts, one by one, to persuade his companions to help him end his life, but each refuses.
- Analyzes how brutus receives an anonymous letter urging him to act on rome's behalf. his decision to tell his wife of this conspiracy is actually one of manipulation on her part.
- Analyzes how caesar and his wife, calpurnia, lie awake in their bed because of a storm that takes place the dawn before the ides, and she urges him to stay home.
- Analyzes how calpurnia convinces her husband not to go to the capitol, and a group of conspirators meet at caesar's house to make sure he doesn't stay at home so that the planned assassination can take place.
- Analyzes how antony turns the crowd against the conspirators by telling them of caesar's good work, and his concern for the common people.
- Narrates how cassius, a leader in the war, dies in one of the closing battle scenes of "julius caesar." antony's troops set his tents on fire.
- Analyzes how titinius stabs himself while a messenger goes to notify brutus of cassius' death. his death is brought on by the massive amounts of confusion and frustration.
- Analyzes how manipulation is a major topic of action in shakespeare's "julius caesar", reenacting the death of julius caesar and the life of the ancient romans.
Related
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- The Tragedy of Julius Caesaranalytical essayManipulation influences decisions and changes others’ thoughts. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, manipulative language acts prominently between the characters. Brutus struggles to decide if the safety of the Roman Republic appears more important than his friendship with Julius Caesar. Cassius tries to persuade him to join the conspiracy that decides to kill Caesar. Envious of Julius Caesar’s power, the Senators believes that when Caesar becomes ruler, the change of government forever affects Rome. Brutus agrees that it seems for the best of Rome for Caesar never to become dictator, but he never wishes to change his opinion on his death. In a persuasive manner, Cassius sends anonymous letters to Brutus to convince him to join the conspiracy. The conspiracy consists of senators and aristocrats who gather to converse about the Julius Caesar’s assassination. Cassius nominates Brutus as the leader of the conspiracy in order to gain his vote. They decide to kill Caesar on “the Ides of March.” On the morning of March 15th, Caesar’s wife persuades him to stay home because of an eerie dream. Decius, a conspirator, convinces him that the dream retains good omens. In a rush to become king, Caesar goes to the Capitol where the conspirators murder him. Therefore, Antony begs to speak at his funeral where he convinces the plebeians that Caesar never means harm. At this point, Antony declares war on the Caesar’s killers. In the end, he defeats Brutus and Cassius, and the two conspirators kill themselves. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare declares that language expresses a powerful weapon, and in the hands of a skilled person, it manipulates others through the use of foreshadowing, imagery, and verbal irony.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how manipulative language influences decisions and changes others' thoughts in shakespeare's the tragedy of julius caesar.
- Analyzes how shakespeare depicts the power of manipulative language through foreshadowing the deaths of julius caesar and the leaders of the conspiracy.
- Analyzes how brutus convinces antony that caesar portrays a perfect roman, and he kills him for the good of rome.
- Analyzes how brutus joins forces with cassius after antony declares war on him. after the triumvirate wins the first battle, he kills himself from a misunderstanding.
- Analyzes how shakespeare emphasizes the strength of manipulative language through visual imagery.
- Analyzes how brutus convinces the fickle citizens that he portrays a good, honorable man, but antony uses manipulation to prove his inaccuracy.
- Analyzes how shakespeare exemplifies the control of manipulative language through the use of verbal irony that causes multiple people to change their opinion.
- Analyzes how antony uses logic, ethics, and emotions to prove to the citizens that caesar represents morality and honor.
- Analyzes how shakespeare emphasizes that language presents a controlling weapon and manipulates others through foreshadowing, imagery, and verbal irony.
1996 wordsRead More - Analysis of William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesaranalytical essayFrom 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.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes the presence of political corruption and conspiracy in shakespeare's the tragedy of julius caesar, as brutus and mark antony conduct opposing conspiracies in relation to corruption in the roman government.
- Analyzes how brutus is motivated by his utilitarian ideals, while antony's counter-conspiracy is driven by emotional attachment to caesar and desire to avenge him.
- Analyzes how brutus' self-imposed restrictions stem from his value of honor, while antony's ability to sacrifice honor in order to complete necessary actions contributes to his success.
- Analyzes how antony's ability to manipulate people through the use of language exposes brutus' flaws of naveté and excessive emphasis on honor.
- Explains feldman, kevin, sharon vaughan, and kate kinsella. the tragedy of julius caesar.
- Analyzes how the high esteem brutus places on the quality of being honorable makes this appear as a stable support to himself, but it can be easily collapsed.
1357 wordsRead More - Brutus and Antony’s Use of Ethos, Logos, and Pathos in Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeareanalytical essayShakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.” Elements of Literature: Kylene Beers. Austin: Holt, 2009. 842-963. Print.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how cassius persuades brutus, an honorable, stoic high class politician, and casca to kill caesar for the good of rome.
- Analyzes how cassius uses anecdotes of caesar's weaknesses, argumentum ad antiquatum, and ethos on brutus to persuade him to join the conspiracy to kill caesar.
- Analyzes how cassius uses anger and analogies to persuade casca that he is a "willing bondman" under caesar.
- Analyzes how cassius shows the weakness of the other politicians by saying that they all "govern with [their] mothers' spirits" which makes casca angry and vulnerable to any type of persuasion.
- Analyzes how brutus uses ethos, rhetorical questions, and syllogisms to persuade the public that he's a roman and not traitor.
- Analyzes how brutus uses emotionally charged rhetorical questions and syllogisms to force the idea that caesar was bad for rome.
- Analyzes how antony, in agreement with brutus, uses anecdotes of pain, loss, and anger as well as ethos and syllogisms to appeal to their emotions.
- Analyzes how antony mixes logos and pathos to show that caesar was a noble and caring leader of the public.
- Analyzes how brutus and antony's use of ethos, logos, and pathos throughout the novel are just examples of the everyday persuasion used around us daily.
1103 wordsRead More - Julius Caesar and 1984analytical essayShakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar”. Elements of Literature. Ed. Deborah Appleman. 4th ed. Texas: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 2009. 843-963.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the party prohibits thoughts, speech, or a twitch from facial muscles in order to ensure no rebellions. proletarians do not own telescreens; ‘proles and animals are free.
- Analyzes how conformity is and always will be a way of life for the ignorant citizens of oceania and rome.
- Analyzes how the plebeians in william shakespeare's julius caesar and george orwell’s 1984 portray conformity through the majority’ s natural instinct to follow authority.
- Explains that dwan, darrow, holmes, kazin, and poupard authored twentieth-century literary criticism and children's literature review.
- Cites roelofs, h. mark, and kathy darrow in twentieth-century literary criticism.
1186 wordsRead More - Julius Caesar Manipulation Analysisexplanatory essayManipulation is considered a powerful weapon in politics because it is often used to gain more power by manipulating the mind of the weak and innocent people to gain a stronger reputation in the political world. Most of the time politicians think that they can sway the crowd into believing their campaign by saying they are the average person, making false promises, and giving the people what they want expecting to not receive any challenge to their authority. In William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar the most deceptive characters are introduced throughout the play in the plot to kill Caesar. Cassius writing fake letters to Brutus is the most familiar example of manipulation shown so far in the play. Shakespeare uses this element to make
In this essay, the author
- Explains that manipulation is considered a powerful weapon in politics because it is often used to gain more power by manipulating the mind of the weak and innocent people.
138 wordsRead More - Free Julius Caesar Essays: Marcus Brutusanalytical essayWhile at camp Brutus and Cassius get into an argument leading to Cassuis saying he shall kill himself. After that in solved Brutus heads to bed. In the middle of the night he wakes up to the ghost of Julius. Caesar tells his old friend “Though shalt see me at Philippi.” Brutus is startled by this and isn’t sure what was meant by this. Will Caesar live again or is this some kind of omen. Brutus and his troops March to Philippi. After Cassuis dies, Brutus and his troops are winning, although Brutus don’t realize it. Brutus decides to take the cowards way out of this and kill himself, rather than be drug through the streets of Rome. Strato holds out his sword as Brutus runs about and kills himself.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how marcus brutus in the tragedy of julius caesar chooses the death of his friend and the conspirators who are plotting against caesar.
- Analyzes how brutus and cassius get into an argument leading to cassuis saying he shall kill himself.
- Analyzes how brutus' tragic flaw in all of this was he was too loyal to rome and to his friend caesar at the same time.
- Analyzes how brutus was a man loyal to his country. he was modest and did what he thought was right.
- Narrates how brutus was affected by others when the notes were planted. he was swayed towards the conspirators, but when they talked to him, he decided to join them.
637 wordsRead More - Motivation and Manipulation in Julius Caesaranalytical essayIn Julius Caesar, Shakespeare illuminates the themes of human motivation and manipulation. He examines the relationship between actions and motivations, cause and effect, and word and deed, using the symbols of hands and hearts. Throughout the play, the characters Brutus and Marc Antony express their different understandings of this relationship rhetorically. In his 1953 film interpretation, Joseph L. Mankiewicz demonstrates these characters’ understanding through both the play’s original dialogue and his own interpolated action. It is interesting to see the different effects of spoken rhetoric, as we experience it in the play, and the visual rhetoric of the film. The play itself complicates matters of motivation and therefore does not answer the question of blame. When reading one character, the audience feels connected with their point of view, and when reading the other, they are made to feel unsure about their initial opinion. In the end, it is nearly impossible to discover the characters’ inner motives, and it is therefore difficult to place blame on one or the other. However, Mankiewicz visually presents the complex relationship between these two symbols and in doing so, he creates a more sympathetic persona for Brutus than the one in the play. He focuses on the hands as a symbol of unity, love, and friendship, and where characters use hands for evil acts, he is quick to juxtapose the actions of hands from the motivations of the heart. While Shakespeare uses this juxtaposition to merely complicate the matter without solving it, Mankiewicz uses it to simplify the question. For Mankiewicz, Brutus’ involvement in the murder of Caesar, does not wholly reflect his character, and the audience is made to see a more human, vulne...
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how joseph l. mankiewicz illustrates the relationship between hands and hearts in shakespeare's julius caesar. the play complicates matters of motivation and does not answer the question of blame.
- Analyzes how mankiewicz emphasizes hands and the element of touch in the film. in act 1, scene 2, brutus takes the hands of the conspirators as they leave his house.
- Analyzes how mankiewicz shows the viewers that brutus' hands did not speak for him as casca did.
- Analyzes how brutus' dialogue shows his belief in the distinction between the hands and the heart.
- Analyzes how marc antony lets his dialogue betray his opinion of brutus and the other conspirators.
- Analyzes how shakespeare illuminates the distinction between hands and hearts in brutus' speech to the conspirators.
- Analyzes how antony and brutus gather forces and prepare for battle after caesar's assassination and the speeches in the marketplace. the film shows their ability to reconcile after conflict.
- Analyzes how the film magnifies the theme of hands and hearts. the dialogue is strictly from the play, but this action is not written in the stage direction and shows a vulnerable side of brutus
- Analyzes how the film shows antony's abuse of authority because he believes that hands' actions and hearts' motivations cannot be separated. though shakespeare may leave the audience in doubt, mankiewicz does not avoid blame.
1840 wordsRead More - Brutus: A Tragic Hero in Shakespeare´s Julius Caesaranalytical essayAs a “speculative man of high motives and refined sensibility”(Catherine C. Dominic) Brutus does have his confusion of motives. Act I, scene ii, is the first we see his weakness, “his concern with reputation and appearance, his subtle vanity and pride”(Gayle Green). Yet the main bases of Brutus’s bewilderment of motives takes place in Act II, scene I, with his famous soliloquy beginning with “It must be by his death”. This speech may be the turning point in which Brutus feels better about the assassination of his once called friend.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how marcus brutus in shakespear's "tragedy of julius caesar" proved the role of nobility and honor. he was a loyal friend and protector of rome.
- Analyzes how brutus plays the role of the tragic hero in the tragedy of julius caesar.
- Analyzes how brutus shows forth his self-righteousness as he makes the murder to be a ritual sacrifice.
- Analyzes how brutus is a self-righteous reformer whose political and personal delusions invite disaster.
- Analyzes how brutus is of high position and takes care in his decisions, going against caesar to help the country.
1445 wordsRead More - Rhetorical Devices In William Shakespeare's Julius Caesaranalytical essayWilliam Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar,” is an interpretation of what the last days of Caesar were like, as well as his murder and the effects his death had on Rome. Mark Antony delivers a riveting funerary speech, using rhetorical devices to get his point across. It predominantly contains emotional appeals, although ethos and logos devices are presented throughout the speech as well.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how mark antony delivers a riveting funerary speech using rhetorical devices to get his point across. it predominantly contains emotional appeals, although ethos and logos devices are presented throughout the speech.
- Analyzes how antony begins his argument against brutus with pathos-based rhetorical questions based on caesar's ambition, and ends his point by bringing forth caesar’s will, a document that he refuses to share with his audience.
- Analyzes how irony is used several times throughout mark antony's speech, as seen in lines 80-86, where he says, "for brutus is an honorable man.
324 wordsRead More - Theme Of Manipulation In Julius Caesaranalytical essayJulius Caesar What is Manipulation? The dictionary defines manipulation as ‘The skillful art of controlling someone or something.’ Have you ever felt that way before? Manipulation is something that we have all faced at one time or another, and it is very hard to avoid. Manipulation takes many forms, whether it’s your friend convincing you to walk their dog, a doctor surgically manipulating your bones.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that manipulation is the skillful art of controlling someone or something. it takes many forms, whether it's your friend convincing you to walk their dog or a doctor surgically manipulating your bones.
- Analyzes how shake sphere's tragedy of julius caesar was all about manipulation, and how acting on thoughts, manipulating others can lead to harm.
- Analyzes how cassius manipulates brutus to get him to join the conspiracy. he plans to send him forged letters to convince him that the commoners also believe that caesar is a threat to rome.
- Opines that the letters forged by cassius are what ultimately make brutus join the conspirators and the play would be completely different.
- Analyzes how the tragedy of julius caesar explains how one of the most important manipulations occurs as caesar is about to go to the capitol.
- Analyzes how calphurnia is scared for caesar's life because she has never seen omens before. caesar agrees to stay home after she argues.
- Analyzes how caesar tells decius that he isn't going to the capitol because of calphurnia, his wife's dream, which messes up the conspirators plan to assassinate caesar.
- Analyzes how a third form of manipulation happens in act iii scene ii, right after caesar was assassinated at the capitol.
- Analyzes how cassius directs the attention to antony and his funeral speech. he calls caesar ambitious and counters all of brutus' arguments.
- Analyzes how contemplating the actions of manipulation affects the reader after reading tragedy of julius caesar. manipulation was important in the play because it was evident in england's political sense.
- Opines that manipulation is a cruel thing to do after you think about the consequences. the consequences in the tragedy of julius caesar went as far as death.
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