The Audience's Perception of Cassius and Brutus
'Julius Caesar' is one of Shakespeare's most thought provoking plays.
It depicts the story of Julius Caesar, one of history's most
successful dictators, who was killed by a group of politicians of whom
was his close friend Brutus, which led him to say his iconic last
words: 'Et tu Brutè', which are the only words in the play which are
written in Latin and have a special significance. From the beginning
we can see that Caesar has ambitions to become Emperor and when he
thinks the senate is going to offer it to him, he is more than willing
to accept. It is this that leads Brutus to killing Caesar as we see
how much Brutus wants to protect the republic. The irony of this is
that once Caesar dies Octavius takes over and becomes Emperor Augustus
and there is no one to oppose him, as all the conspirators have been
killed. Although, when written it had been over fifteen hundred years
since the death of Caesar, the play still had many themes that
appealed to an Elizabethan audience. Caesar in many ways has parallels
to Queen Elizabeth I: both were physically weak but had a lot of power
and both of them were childless and had no one to take over their
position. Other themes that are explored are of loyalty and friendship
and Shakespeare shows how these can have conflicting interests.
Another major theme is honour and how respect is the most important
thing in Roman society.
In Act 1 Scene 2, we see that Cassius is jealous of Caesar and detests
him. Cassius tries to convince Brutus to work with him to murder
Caesar as he believes it is the right thing to do; he also tries to
persuade Brutus...
... middle of paper ...
...d my naked breast; within a heart/ dearer than Pluto's
mine, richer than gold.' The use of language is effective as Cassius
is telling Brutus to kill him; this attracts the reader's attention as
they start to believe than an important character may die.
Throughout the play many changes in the characters of Brutus and
Cassius are evident we discover that they have to pay the ultimate
price for their actions. We see how the choice between principle and
friendship is questioned and a darker side to human nature and how
people can be prepared to do almost anything for power. Overall we
learn that Cassius is a man who does not want anyone else to have
power apart from himself. We see Caesar who desperately wanted power
for the sake of having power and Brutus an innocent idealistic
character turn into Caesar craving power.
Cassius truly believes Caesar has a frail state of mind and is unfit to have any form of authority in Rome. At first glance, his words and ideology seem to strive for the end of tyranny and become the savior of Romans, but it is clear he puts more emphasis on his rank rather than the well-being of others. When he states that their ranks were not their fault and should be taken into their own hands he intends to take his place by force with no regards for the Roman people or government. Additionally, Cassius shouldn’t be commended for saving Caesar from drowning because he remembrances on that deed to convince others that Caesar is feeble than most, yet he is treated like a god. Cassius’s greed for power motivates his murderous motivations but his ability to manipulate others to his will is also evident in his words. He refers to Caesar’s overwhelming power similar to a Colossus while he and the others “…walk under his huge legs… ” or are hidden in his glory. In reality though, the senators are more esteemed than despised. Another way Cassius misleads others is by faking Caesar’s fascist behaviors toward the commoners. He does so by forging negative letters about “Caesar’s Ambition” for Brutus to be pressured into joining his cause. Consumed by envy, he convinces Brutus to assassinate Caesar for the righteousness of the people but his incentive has
The Audiences' Perception of Cassius and Brutus in Shakespeare Julius Caesar was one of the most influential political and military leaders in history, and helped establish the vast Roman empire. Caesar’s triumph in a civil war amongst others made him the absolute ruler of Rome, but political jealousies and fears that he would become king among his opponents led to his assassination. In 59 BC the Senate decided on a Triumvirate to lead them rather than electing two consuls. The three men were Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great and Marcus Licinius Crassus. When Caesar returned to Rome in 60 BC after a year as governor of Spain, he joined forces with Crassus and Pompey to form the First Triumvirate.
also a man of strong pride and self confidence which led to the fate of this
Brutus, Honorable Man Brutus, an honorable conspirator? Honorable is defined as genuine, truthful and displaying integrity, while a conspirator is defined as one that engages in an agreement to commit an illegal or wrongful act. Anyone can clearly see that these two words do not belong together. There are also other reasons why Brutus should not be considered honorable. In the play, three distinct acts can be recalled.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is the story about the men who conspired and followed through with the assassination of the great Julius Caesar. These men fear that Caesar will take the crown and become the next king of Rome. The roman people had a true averse feeling toward the idea of monarchy. So in order to prevent this they come up with a plan to end Caesars life, which is duly followed through on March 15, 44 B.C. Out of these conspirators there is one man that stands out to be a tragic hero, and that is a man by the name of Brutus. He was a great friend of Caesar who ultimately became one of Caesars worst adversaries. He betrayed Caesars trust and friendship when he agreed to be part of the assassination plot. A tragic hero is someone who is in a place of high standings or a place of power. This leads to a huge fall from greatness to death. A tragic hero must have many deep complex character flaws that are revealed throughout the course of the story. They then must ultimately accept responsibility for their mistakes; along with being humbled and enlightened. Brutus demonstrates all of the attributes of a tragic hero.
Honor and power is what drives the conspirators to assassinate Julius Caesar in William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar. Caesar is now the single leader of Rome, and members of the Senate have concerns that he will abuse his sole power. Therefore, they plot and accomplish the assassination of Caesar in an attempt to rebuild the balance of Rome. Rome falls into chaos with an unknown future with no central leader for the people to follow. In Act I, Scene 2, Cassius, a member of the Senate, explains to his friend, Brutus, that Caesar is not the god he makes himself out to be. Instead, he argues both he and Brutus are equal to Caesar and are just as deserving of the throne. Cassius’ speech to Brutus diminishes Caesar’s godly demeanor through
Cassius is a sly, deceitful and an untrustworthy character. Caesar described him best. He said (act1, scene 2, line 195), “Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much. Such men are dangerous”. Cassius is very superstitious. This is shown when he says (act 5, scene 1, line 75) “ you know I held Epicurus strong, and his opinion. Now I change my mind, and partly credit things that do presage…”. He believes in omen and signs that foretell events to come. Cassius is conceded. This is shown when he says to Brutus (act1, scene 2, line 116), “ And this man is now become a god, and Cassius is now a wretched creature, and must bend his body if Caesar careless but nod on him…”. Cassius continues on saying about times when he saved Caesar from drowning and when he saw Caesar with a fever and he started to shake. All this tells us that Cassius thinks he is just as good or even better than Caesar.
his ally not for who he is, but what he could become. It is for this
Act I, Scene 1 1. What is the setting for? 2. What is the difference between a.. For what celebration are the people preparing? 3. What is the difference between a'smart' and a's Name the men who argue with people.
Cassius is loyal to Mark Antony and not Caesar because he wants to kill him.
My first piece of evidence happens in act 1 scene 1lines 122-123 when Cassius says “and this man is now become a god.”Although Caesar did not directly say this we can easily infer that as a leader he thinks of himself as more superior then anyone else.
Shakespeare introduces Cassius as one who is not fond of Julius Caesar. This is due to the fact that he is a higher rank and acts high and mighty. Brutus talks with Cassius about Caesar at the beginning of the play and Cassius says that Caesar is just like everyone else
Both Cassius and Brutus conspire against Caesar, yet Shakespeare depicts Brutus as doing a noble job compared to Cassius as doing a greedy and envious task. Cassius believes that he is stronger than Caesar. Therefore, Cassius does not understand why Caesar is in power and he is not. Cassius is also envious of Caesar. In Act I Scene II, Cassius describes to Brutus the time he had to save Caesar in a swimming race. Since then, Cassius feels superior to Caesar. In Cassius’ mind, kings’ right to rule should be based off of strength, not intelligence or virtue. On the other hand, Brutus knows that although a king should be strong, he must also be virtuous. Brutus always elaborates on the topic of honor. In fact, his first priority is to keep his own honor intact and Brutus fears that Caesar will change when he is crowned. Brutus says, “He would be crowned: How that might change his nature, there’s the question.” (Act II, Scene I, Page 49, lines 12-14) He senses Caesar’s greed for power, and ...
My character analysis is on Marcus Brutus. In the story, “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare, Brutus was one of the leaders of the conspiracy to kill Julius Caesar. I chose the character Brutus to prove that he was not manipulated by his friend Cassius and the other conspirators, but that he made the decision on his own even though in the end it may not have been the right one. Brutus made the decision to join the conspiracy to kill Caesar on his own, without any evidence that he was truly ambitious or a tyrant.
...e murder because of his jealousy of Caesar's elevated power and mounting dominance over everyone, even his friends. Though they were close friends, their motives and descriptive character traits display a distinct contrast between them.