The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, the story revolves around the various individuals who would vie for control of the Roman Empire. All of these individuals exhibit various attributes, values, and techniques in order to facilitate this goal, from Cassius’ intelligence, Brutus’ charm and honor, to Antony’s gift to drive a crowd. And although all three desire to become the new strongman leader of Rome, it is Antony who succeeds gaining the most control through his own specific talents, most specifically noted at Caesar’s funeral. At the funeral scene, Antony exhibits several qualities beneficial to a Roman leader, such as oratory and appeasement skills. The dialogue depicted in Act III, scene ii provides a valuable and insightful perspective on how these values were desirable for leadership in the late Roman Republic.
One of these important virtues necessary for rule is the ability to move a large crowd with impressive orating skills. This ability is seen particularly by Brutus in his first speech, as he manages to move the Roman crowd from fear at the assassination to disdain of the now late Julius Caesar. As Brutus spoke to the masses, he made sure to cleverly weigh his loyalty to Caesar to his loyalty to Rome, as he claims, “not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more” (III, ii, 23-24). He even more cleverly sets the crowd with himself and against Caesar as he dares those loyal to Rome to challenge his judgement: “Who is here so vile that will not love his country? If any, speak, for him have I offended. I pause for a reply” (III, ii, 33-36). Thus, while playing on the crowd’s loyalties and using his love for Rome and...
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...and whipping them into a fury. This ability to appease, employed by Octavius later in history to much success, also characterizes the typical Roman strongman as the primary example of an exceptional leader.
The capability of moving the public with strong words and to gratify their desires are indeed qualities advantageous to being a leader in ancient Rome. As Antony displays, these abilities can set an individual apart from his counterparts and place the upper hand in favor of the person with most control of the general public. Thus, his control of the crowds lends him the power he needs to turn the tables against Brutus and the conspirators, and he succeeds in gaining control of Roman leadership with his beneficial set of talents, abilities, and virtues.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. New York: Folger Shakespeare Library, 1992
Julius Caesar has many fine examples of arrogance in leadership. We see Caesar's pretensions as quite laughable. "But I am constant as the northern star, of whose true-fix'd and resting quality there is no fellow in the firmament", and "the things that threaten'd me ne'er look'd but on my back: when they shall see the face of Caesar, they are vanished" demonstrate his pride. Shakespeare suggests that although being 'sure of yourself' is a necessary characteristic for a good leader (as it enables decisive action and 'courage'); it should also be tempered with humility.
In his speech, Brutus appeals to the loyalism of his audience by making intertwining arguments of ethos, pathos, and logos. He begins by establishing his ethos by asserting his status as an honorable fellow Roman worthy of their respect. He expands on this ethos by dividing it into three parts: his love of Caesar, his loyalty to Rome, and his relationship to his audience. Brutus tells his audience that he was a “dear friend” to the man he murdered, invoking a pathetic sense of sympathy from his audience. However, as he says himself, it was “not that [he] loved Caesar less, but that [he] loved Rome more,” strengthening his ethos as a loyal countryman with the interests of his audience at heart. After establishing an emotional connection to his audience and earning their trust, Brutus explains his logic
Through the whole of his spectacular speech, Mark Antony influences the crowd using his distinct diction. He is able to inculcate a fired up anti-Caesar mass of people, and he makes the populace believe that Julius Caesar’s death was a true tragedy. Antony gracefully applies his proficiency with ‘logos’ and ‘pathos’ to his speech and is able to adroitly gain followers. His strong reasoning and explanations allow the Romans to buy what he has to say. Antony’s ability to speak in a roundabout way is a key constituent of his speech. Withal, he is extremely humble and the way he plays down his prowess is impressive. Mark Antony puts all the parts of his remarkable rhetoric together, and the result is a speech for the ages.
The Senate of the Roman Republic are the ruling power over most of the known world. Yet this powerful and influential senate is easily threatened by one man; Julius Caesar. To the senators Caesar is the catalyst for the downfall of a Republic they had worked so hard to create and protect. The playwright William Shakespeare dives into this world of betrayal and ambition with his play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Using his voice as a writer he takes the audience into Rome and lets them experience each riveting moment of Caesar’s fall. The play shows that Caesar is not the cause of Rome’s eventual downfall, but the senators who conspire against him and ultimately kill him are the ones reprehensible. Shakespeare introduces the characters of Brutus and Cassius: two men, both of high standing, that spearhead the conspiracy against Caesar’s life. The actions of their scheme are met with chaotic consequences, consequences so dangerous that both Brutus and Cassius flee to Asia Minor. After the Battle of Phillippi, once Octavius and Marc Antony seem to have one, the two men take their lives. This final action sends them back to a world with Caesar, a world they tried so hard to escape. At the end of both Caesar and Brutus’ lives become enlightened to a truth they had so eagerly avoided. For Caesar that truth is his over confidence in his ideals and his ignorance to the warning signs so often shown to him. Caesar’s downfall and untimely understanding makes him a tragic hero.
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy mainly because of the downfall of the main characters through weakness or misfortune, which lead to their deaths but these flaws are not the only reasons for this tragedy, it is possible that their fate was “written in the stars” as there are many references made about these stars. Fate (the fact that life is already planned out and is out of human control) must be one of the key factors in causing the tragedy of the “star-crossed lovers” Romeo and Juliet. It is possible that there was “some consequence yet hanging in the stars”(I iv) that already had their lives scripted down and no matter how much Romeo wanted to defy them “I defy you stars”(I, vi) he could not. This must mean that Romeo’s life was already planned out. But fate was not only interpreted in the stars, somehow it seemed that some of the characters foreshadowed their own fate, like Friar Lawrence foreshadowed “love so gentle in [Romeo’s] view, should be so tyrannous in proof”(I, I), this meaning that Romeo may see the love he has now, as wonderful, but as it continues it causes trouble.
In the play Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, Brutus and Antony both display their sides of Caesar in hopes of getting the Plebeians to support them. Mark Antony, a friend of Caesars, effectively persuades the crowd that the conspirators are traitors rather than heroes while technically keeping his promise to avoid saying anything negative about them. Antony convinced the mob that Caesar cared for the common people by manipulating the definition of the words “honorable” and “ambitious,” and using props, thereby delivering the more effective speech in the end.
Not only did Brutus not want the crowd to disperse in conflict over a valiant man of honor, and “not more that [Brutus] loved Caesar less, but that [he] loved Rome more.” Brutus speech was settling, but what Brutus brought to his speech was reasoning. Brutus made a perspective of himself compared Caesar as a noble man. Anthony’s purpose was luring the crowd as if they had an upper hand. Ethos had flooded through Anthony speech as his “heart is in the coffin,” and the crowds ear leaned in to be persuaded through a dramatic tone of
The most predominate and important aspect In the play Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare are the speeches given to the Roman citizens by Brutus and Antony, the two main charaters, following the death of Caesar. Brutus and Antony both spoke to the crowd,using the same rhetorical devices to express their thoughts. Both speakers used the three classical appeals employed in the speeches: ethos, which is an appeal to credibility; pathos, which is an appeal to the emotion of the audience; and logos, which is an appeal to the content and arrangement of the argument itself. Even though both speeches have the same structure Antony’s speech is significantly more effective than Brutus’s.
Brutus made his speech effective in persuading the people by using tone and rhetorical devices. Brutus was compassionate when referring to how he loved Caesar as much as Caesar`s friends of his speech. Brutus was showing compassion on lines18 - 20 when he said, "If there be any in this assembly, any dear friend of Caesar's, to him I say that Brutus's love to Caesar was no less than his." Brutus said this to help the people understand the sorrow he felt for the loss of Caesar, but he felt he killed Caesar for the good of Rome. Brutus anticipated an objection by the people when he said he loved Caesar , so he went on to say on lines 20 - 23, "If then that friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer: Not that I love Caesar less, but Rome more."Brutus manipulated the people with rhetorical questions. He asks them on lines 29 - 33, " who is so base, that they would be a bondman, who is so rude, that they would not be a Roman, and who is so vile, that will not love his country," the people do not want to be against their country nor do they want to be so base to be a slave....
Julius Caesar’s criticism of men is represented in the shift of crowd from Brutus’s side to Antony’s side. This is seen in the crowd’s declaration “Live Brutus!” where the exclamation highlights the crowd’s fervent support for Brutus’s murder of Caesar. However, immediately following Antony’s eulogy and temptation of “seventy five drachmas”, this support shifts to “burn the house of Brutus”. This sudden shift from life to violent death-like imagery highlights the wicked irrationality and changeability of people. It warns the aristocracies that are gaining power through the populace such as the populist reformer Lord Essex of the unreliable temperament of people.
“Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” (3.2.24) This quote reflects the motive of Brutus for the assassination of his friend, Caesar. I believe Brutus killed him not out of disrespect, but in a selfless act to protect Rome from the decree of Caesar yet to come. I also believe that he did this out of force from the manipulation from his “friend” Cassius. In Shakespeare's “Julius Caesar”, Brutus’ two most significant characteristics are virtue and unconscious hypocrisy. In order to fully understand these characteristics, it is necessary to analyze all other contributing characteristics, the manipulation of friendship that Cassius uses against him, and the motivations for
Expository Essay The decisions that one man makes can determine the length of life. Rome has many people that have the characteristics to be great leaders. Antony is a manipulative man, Brutus is an honorable man, and Octavius is a quiet strength. All three men would do an excellent job in leading Rome. Antony is a manipulative man. This is shown throughout the play in several cases, but most prominently at Caesar’s funeral. “I thrice presented him a kingly crown which he did thrice refuse. Was this ambition?” (III, ii, 96-96). Antony is very cleaver in the way that he presents his case to the people. He uses rhetorical questioning to show the people that Caesar was in fact not ambitious.
Manipulation 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.
William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar Shakespeare in the Elizabethan times was one of the most famous play-writers of all time. In the year 1599 Shakespeare wrote a play called Julius Caesar. In the play people think that Julius Caesar is becoming powerful. The play is about the conspiracy of the dictator Julius Caesar.
Mark Antony, the main character in Shakespeare’s, Antony and Cleopatra, was a soldier and one of three triumvirate political leaders who governed the Roman Empire of the West. Antony created a reputation as a military genius due to the victories in battle that resulted in the conquest of many nations. He was respected and admired not just by the citizens of Rome but also by his comrades for his sense of duty and dedication to Rome. He earned an honorable reputation as the most powerful and feared of the three triumvirates, over- shadowing the popularity of his fellow commanders, Octavius Caesar and Lepidus. His status as a solid leader changed after his first encounter with Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt and ruler of Alexandria. The encounter started out as a political alliance between him and Cleopatra, but quickly resulted in a historical love affair with the Queen and the exotic world that was opposite from the rigidity of Roman culture and code of behavior. Cleopatra was a magnificent ruler in her own right, not just because she wielded great power among her people but also because she was thought to have a beauty and persona so embellished that they entertained and captivated anyone who was in her presence. The temptation of pleasure created a conflict between duty and obligations to Rome and his obsession with the Queen and her nation’s Dionysian way of life, which became the Achilles heel that caused the agony Antony felt as a result of being torn between the two worlds.