William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is centralized on the debate of whether or not man is bound to a fate predestined by some divine force hidden within the stars or a fate controlled by one’s own actions. Based on Sir Thomas North’s Plutarch’s historical accounts, Shakespeare depicts the characters within the play to believe that fate is either controlled by the divine, as indicated through portents or omens, Roman values, or human decision alone. However, Shakespeare ultimately makes the argument that the decisive actions of humans, both good and bad, are what ultimately shape history and therefore fate. Through the use of Plutarch’s writings, Shakespeare develops the life and death of Julius Caesar into a tragedy determined not by the fault
Calphurnia in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, based on Plutarch’s account of her having a nightmare where “Caesar was slain, and that she had him in her arms (“Sources” 107),” fears for her husband’s life on account of these superstitious happenings and states “O Caesar, these things are beyond all use, / And I do fear them (2.2.25-26).” Rather than being in support of these superstitions and therefore believing that fate is determined by the Gods, Calphurnia’s fear and several mentions of her physical weakness (1.2.9-11) and foolishness (2.2.110) within the play discredits the validity of such portents and omens. With these signs devalued, Shakespeare argues that it is the decisions of men alone that determines their fate and the faults of these decisions that lead to an imminent
Shakespeare’s portrayal of Cassius is based on Plutarch’s historical description as a “choleric man” who “even from his cradle could not abide any manner of tyrant (“Sources” 115).” It is not through divine power that men begin to conspire against Caesar, but it is through Cassius’ decision to use the power of rhetoric in order to persuade men, especially Brutus, to conspire against Caesar. According to Cassius in the play, “Men at some time are masters of their fates. / The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars / But in ourselves, that we are underlings (1.2.139-141).” Through careful and strategic planning is Cassius able to persuade Brutus, a man who “for his virtue and valiantness, was wellbeloved of the people (“Sources” 120),” into conspiring and acting upon the death of Caesar. Caesar also believes that men control their own fate by stating, in response to the omens and portents, “Danger knows full well / That Caesar is more dangerous than he (2.2.44-45).” Through this quote, Caesar presents his belief that he has the ability to overcome a superstitious fate. Therefore, he ignores all the signs and omens and thus determines his fate through an action that would seal his death. Unlike Calphurnia 's beliefs, Shakespeare makes it clear that it is the free will of these men alone that shaped history into the tragedy which it became. It was not
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
In the beginning of the Book Cassius uses anecdotes of Caesar’s weakness and faults, argumentum ad antiquatum, and ethos on Brutus to persuade him to join the conspiracy to kill Caesar, this works on Brutus and shows that anyone, even people as stoic as Brutus, can be persuaded by appealing to their motivations. Cassius, a very suspicious character thru ought the play tells Brutus to “be not jealous on me” (827), in the quote he tells Brutus to not be suspicious of him because he is just a friend who genuinely cares. Cassius does this to put himself on Brutus’ side and not seem like a distant person, this allows him to criticize Caesar and suggest that he is a bad influence on Rome which appeals to Brutus’ desire to keeping Rome safe. After setting himself up as a friend to Brutus, Cassius uses harsh anecdotes on the weakness of Caesar to show that he isn’t fit to rule Rome. Cassius recollects on a time when he and Caesar went swimming in the river Tiber and Caesar screamed “Help me, Cassius or I sink” (828) to de...
William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar examines the theme fate vs free will. Shakespeare does this while asking his audience timeless questions. This is done through the portrayal of the tragic hero, Brutus, who struggles to participate in the conspiracy to kill Caesar.
In conclusion, William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is the quintessence of a tragic hero. He is highly respected in society and holds a position of authority, yet is corrupted by his pride and arrogance. He ignores warnings of assassination, but once he is attacked by his confidant Brutus he realizes his flaws. Unfortunately, he can never repent of his prideful ways, as his life is extinguished. Because he is murdered by one of his greatest friends and did so much to aid the destitute, he is a sympathetic character. Julius Caesar is a complex and multi-faceted man, but the tragedy of his life strikes a chord of sympathy that resonates throughout not only his subjects, but the readers of his downfall for centuries past, present, and future.
The issues involving The Tragedy of Julius Ceaser is an equivocal topic, although to narrow one down is to reiterate how the men and women are viewed in this society. This play written by William Shakespeare, he introduced numerous characters but there are a few focal characters that surface around the idea of a bend in gender roles. To clarify, the characters that illustrate this are Julius Ceaser, the romans leader, as well as, his wife Calpurnia; and the other being Brutus, Ceasers friend, and his devoted wife Portia. This book reveals how dominance was ensued in men, while women’s worries were taken into account, but when challenged by a man’s there was no decision to be made the man hurled toward their fellow man’s idea. They felt that the men made more logical decisions when in fact that was utterly wrong.
William Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a story full of manipulation and jealousy that changes the way people think. Ancient Rome had umpteen different ways of handling situations that, in today’s world, would be considered unethical; such as battles that were very much horrifying and vivid. However, these battles were not important with the development of the plot. Shakespeare uses various ways of the idea of manipulation and betrayal to lead readers into the rest of the narrative.
As one of the most well known authors of the Elizabethan Era, Shakespeare had written numerous sonnets and plays reflecting the values of people of the time period. Shakespeare often display themes of love and death, fate and free will, and power and weaknesses throughout his works of literature. The play "The Tragedy of Julius” truly highlight the impact of fate and free will in the development of the plot, of the assassination of Caesar’s death. Some may argue that fate is actually the one responsible for the act, but they fail to recognize that it is the acts of men leading to the death. It is the free will at fault for this occurrence, that the Roman senators consciously killed Caesar and Caesar himself facing his mortality.
Many of the characters in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar end up in unfortunate situations, most of which are due to missed messages or missed opportunities. Julius Caesar was a strong and powerful political figure in Ancient Rome who was going to be crowned king by the Senate. Many people opposed this crowning and thought it would drag Rome into a bad place. These conspirators included many senators and a few of Caesar's closest friends and allies. There are many missed opportunities and missed messages in this play, including a few of them include the Soothsayer's warning, Calpurnia's dream, and when Cassius saw the two omens before going into battle.
Throughout the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare both fate and free will is demonstrated. Cassius argued that everyone has the power to change their future in what they do when Casca came to him frightened by omens. Though, omens have seemed to prove correct throughout the play, therefore it dominates the argument of Fate versus Free Will.
Brutus thinks that killing Caesar is a noble act because it is for the good of Rome. However would Brutus have thought this if Cassius had not tricked him into believing it? It could be argued that Brutus manipulated himself into thinking what he did was honorable when really it was not and he was just following what Cassius wanted him to do. Brutus even says in the beginning of the play that he does not have it in him to kill Caesar. “Into what dangers would you lead me, Cassius/ That you would have me seek into myself/ For that which is not in me?” (1.2.60-71) It seems that Brutus’s thoughts on the subject change completely after assuring himself that it is for the good of Rome. Cassius does the same thing. He convinces himself that Caesar is corrupt when really he is just jealous of his power. Caesar is also guilty of this. For example, he is superstitious only when it is convenient for him. He does not believe the soothsayer when he tells him to “beware the ides of March,”(citation?) but he believes Decius when he says that Calpurnia’s dream means he will be a good ruler. Caesar does not want to accept that he could be in danger. He trains himself to only believe in good omens.
In William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, Cassius tells Brutus, "Men at some times are masters of their fates. The fault, dear Brutus is not in our stars but in our selves that we are underlings," this shows that people themselves do have free will, and are masters of our fate, or that we could be ruled by fate. In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, he presents multiple examples of destiny or fate versus free will. This is one of many philosophies that are examined throughout this play. This drama promotes the idea fate and free will can survive side by side. Shakespeare allows the theme of fate and free will to wined it way into the assassination of one of the most famous people of ancient history.
Ominous warnings are recurrent throughout the play and provide foreshadowing for the ensuing chaos. Since the first ominous warning given by the Soothsayer, “Beware the Ides of March”, Caesar was given several mystical warnings that foreshadowed his imminent death. Shakespeare hints about the approaching assassination, when Calpurnia dreams, “she dreamt tonight she saw my statue...like a fountain with a hundred spouts..run pure blood, and many lusty Romans came and did bathe their hands in it… does she apply for warnings and portents and evils imminent…” (II.iii.75-82) The statue with spouts of blood leaking from it in Calpurnia’s dream, represents Caesar’s bleeding body from the 33 holes made by the conspirators, who afterwards bathed their
The first part of the play is structured so as the reader to sense the build-up of tension taking place before the death of Caesar, reaching its climax with the assassination of Caesar and, later, when the angry mob attacks Cinna the poet, in Act III Scene III. This increasing tension is deeply related with one of the main themes of the play, “Fate versus Free Will”, because, all along with the different omens that are revealed by different characters in the course of the play, it contributes to the idea that some things are sort of pre-established, like if there was a superior power deciding the destiny of the characters .The play seems to support a philosophy in which fate and freedom maintain a delicate coexistence. Portia and Calpurnia, representing Women, are an important part of this theme since, in the beginning of the play; they are the ones that are more frightened about what may happen to their husbands. Portia fears something terrible would be taking place because of the strange behaviour her husband was having at the time. Calpurnia, on the other hand, is a character in deep relation with this theme, due to the dreams she has foreseeing the death of her husband:
In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar , he reveals his historical influences by incorporating aspects of Roman Society, such as the plebeians struggle against Roman hierarchy. Additionally, Shakespeare formulated the play’s main conflict around Caesar and his ambition, which can be attributed to the cause of man’s demise, and he based Caesar’s character after the actual Caesar motivations and conquests. He also reflects English society by including parallels between Queen Elizabeth I and Julius Caesar. Lastly, through the play’s conflict, he conveys his political views on civil war and expresses his concern for the fate of England’s government. Most importantly, Shakespeare demonstrates how age-old stories, such as the betrayal of Julius Caesar, can be applied to current society. By understanding Shakespeare's motivations and influences, readers are not only able to glimpse into the age of Roman Empire, but also, they are able to understand the political turmoil in England during Shakespeare's
For every sin committed there is an unavoidable consequence, as is the case when the conspirators try to harness the future. Even though Brutus’ actions are noble, no one can ever hope to control history, those who try suffer a terrible fate. “Caesar, Brutus, and Cassius are all guilty of arrogance in believing they can control history; as a consequence, Caesar precipitates his own death and the other two merit the retribution that overtakes them.