A Comparison of Plutarch's The Lives of the Ancient Grecians and Romans and Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

Although conflicting perspectives are present in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”, the composers bias is still evident. Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” is a play which reflected the anxiety of England over succession of leadership. When the play was written in 1599, intense censorship prevailed and Shakespeare chose Caesar’s story in order to convey significant ideas and messages to the Elizabethan audience about the

The major difference between these two biographies is the different versions of Caesar's assassination. In Shakespeare's play Caesar's assassination is described in a total of 2 lines. ""˜ Speak, hands, for me!'/ [As Casca strikes, the others rise up and stab Caesar.]/ "˜Et tu, Brute?""Then fall, Caesar.'/ [He dies]"�(Julius Caesar 3.1.84-85).

Brutus in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar In 'Julius Caesar', Shakespeare intended us to see Brutus as 'noble'. I wish to review his actions, and the motivating factors behind those actions. I intend to prove that Brutus had a strong and well-grounded character. He had good intentions, however, he made one fatal mistake and that was his downfall. When learn that Brutus is dedicated to the public, when Brutus decides Caesar must die, because he fears his ambition, this comes as a big shock to the Shakespearian audience as well as the modern day audience.

Antony and Cassius, unlike Brutus, never separate their private affairs from their public actions while Brutus tries to prove himself by acting only with respect to honor and virtue, completely ignoring his personal concerns. For example, Cassius disliked the fact that Caesar became “godlike” in the eyes of the Romans, so he leads Brutus to believe that Caesar had become too powerful and must die by sending him forged letters claiming that the Roman people support the death of Caesar, ultimately converting Brutus to his cause. At last Brutus ends up murdering his good friend in an act he truly believed was honorable. Marc Antony, who also shares in Cassius’ selfish trait, persuaded the conspirators that he is on their side, therefore gaining their leniency. He proceeds to persuade the plebeians of the conspirators’ injustice and gains support of the masses.

In his soliloquy, Antony praised Caesar’s great personality but at the same time, he would keep saying positive things about Brutus. An example is when he says, “He was my friend, faithful and just to me; / But Brutus says he was ambitious, / And Brutus is an honorable man.” (3.2.85-87). The way in which he spoke and by telling the citizens the context of Caesar’s will, turned the mob against Brutus and the rest of the conspirators. The anger possessed by the countrymen can be shown when a plebeian says, “Most noble Caesar! We’ll revenge his death!” (2.2.244). This betrayal by Antony caused Brutus to break off their friendship.

Shakespeare shows how power and the prospect of power changes people through the character of Brutus. Brutus’ attitude changes as he acquires power and detects the possibility of being powerful. Originally, everything Brutus does is for the good of the people and Rome itself. He recognizes that he has “no personal cause to spurn at [Caesar]” (I.I.11); however, he considers doing it “for the general” (I.I.12). Power has not yet changed Brutus’ attitude; he still focuses on the good of Rome as a whole and not just gaining power for himself. As the play continues, Brutus’ ongoing internal struggle of whether or not he should kill Caesar ends when he decides to kill him. He wants to kill him in a very specific way so that the people hate Caesar rather

Once Cassius gets what he wants, Brutus to be on his side, they and some others begin to plan how they will get to Caesar and kill him. Then when Brutus agrees to join the conspiracy to annihilate Caesar, it is the beginning of him becoming the villain. He is still the hero though; he only joined the conspiracy for the good of Rome. "This was the noblest Roman of them all. All the conspirators save only he / Did that they did in envy of great Caesar. He only in a general honest thought / And common good to all, made one of them".. This quote is said by Antony at the end of the play. In that scene, he and Caesar's adopted son, Octavius have seen Brutus's dead body. They have seen the good in Brutus and have noticed that he has acted out of his love for Rome." ...not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more" . That was part of the speech Brutus gave to the citizens after he and the other conspirators killed Caesar. This was the last act Brutus did before he started becoming more of a villain. This quote and the quote Antony says at the end of the play are the same. They both are saying how Brutus didn't really want to kill Caesar. He just felt like he had no choice, he saw that what Caesar was doing was changing Rome.

Plutarch presented history through biographical stories of the people that were important and influential during the time period he wished to address. However, after having read some of his work, one realizes that Plutarch inserts his own personal opinion and views of the people at hand into the factual documentation of their lives. For example, in The Life of Crassus, Plutarch expresses a general dislike and negative view of the man, but in The Life of Caesar he portrays the life through a lens of praise. It also seems that he uses his opinions of the people that he writes about to subtly extend moral lessons to the reader. What follows is a further isolation of Plutarch's opinions and

Once Cassius gets what he wants, Brutus to be on his side, they and some others begin to plan how they will get to Caesar and kill him. Then when Brutus agrees to join the conspiracy to annihilate Caesar, it is the beginning of him becoming the villain. He is still the hero though; he only joined the conspiracy for the good of Rome. "This was the noblest Roman of them all. / All the conspirators save only he / Did that they did in envy of great Caesar. / He only in a general honest thought / And common good to all, made one of them" (V.v.68-72). This quote is said by Antony at the end of the play. In that scene, he and Caesar's adopted son, Octavius have seen Brutus's dead body. They have seen the good in Brutus and have noticed that he has acted out of his love for Rome." ...not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more" (III.ii.21). That was part of the speech Brutus gave to the citizens after he and the other conspirators killed Caesar. This was the last act Brutus did before he started becoming more of a villain. This quote and the quote Antony says at the end of the play are the same. They both are saying how Brutus didn't really want to kill Caesar. He just felt like he had no choice, he saw that what Caesar was doing was changing Rome.

Brutus and Antony's speeches were both very different. Brutus tried to get the people to understand that Caesar was corrupt and wasn't the right leader so they would forgive him for killing Caesar, while Antony grieved and began a mutiny against Brutus and the other killers. They both did show their affection towards Caesar and what a great friend he was to them.

In the tragic play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, the ruler of Rome, Julius Caesar, is stabbed to death by some of his so-called friends. Brutus, one of Caesar's best friends, is approached by some of the other senators to join the conspiracy to kill Caesar. Brutus weighs his options and decides to join the conspirators for the good of Rome. At Caesars's funeral, Brutus gives a speech to convince the citizens that the conspirators were right to kill Caesar. In contrast, Antony gives a speech to convince the Romans that there was no real reason to kill Caesar. Both characters try to persuade the audience, but they achieve different tones using literary and rhetorical devices. The tone of Brutus' speech is prideful, while the tone of Antony's speech is dramatic and inflammatory.

In William Shakespeare’s tragic play Julius Caesar, the protagonist, Brutus, conspires against and successfully kills Caesar; to only find the city he loves in chaos and mutiny from his actions. Brutus in the eyes of many people was a noble and honorable man who loved and adored the city of Rome, and no person thought more of this than Caesar. To Caesar, Brutus was the son he never had, and his love of Brutus was known, therefore the thought of Brutus betraying him was absurd. However, imagine if not only Brutus did not love Caesar, but he hated him. If that was the situation in the Julius Caesar, the play would then change drastically, with almost every quote from Brutus changing. If this is the case, Brutus’ hatred of Caesar and love of

The citizens of Rome begin to see Brutus’s way of thinking and they understand that he really did think of the good of the people while making his decision.  They also understand that Brutus was not thinking selfishly like they had assumed, but logically. This helps them to trust him more because he thought about the situation in an unbiased way.  The plebeians respond to Brutus’s explanation by saying, “Live, Brutus, live, live! / Bring him with triumph home unto his house… This Caesar was  tyrant. / Nay, that’s certain. / We are blessed that Rome is rid of him” (III.ii.49-50 and 75-77).  The Plebeians learn that Brutus had honest intentions and they respect and praise him for it.  The knowledge that Brutus was selfless enough to kill his friend in order to save them from tyranny, earns their respect.  A final situation where this theme is developed is during the events surrounding the death of Brutus.

Brutus, a conflicted senator obsessed with his civic duty, convinces the people of Rome that his motives in killing Caesar were just and noble by rhetoric. Brutus is the only conspirator to have impersonal motives in killing Caesar. In fact, his motives are trying to find the best solution for Rome, and in the end, he must make the hard choice of killing his best friend for his homeland. As early as Brutus’ conversation with Cassius in Act I, Brutus exhibits this deep love and respect for Rome and how this love is conflicting with his love for his friend, Caesar: “[P]oor Brutus, with himself at war, / Forgets the shows of love to other men” (I.ii.51-52). Brutus brings up this internal conflict again when he tells the crowds that although he did love Caesar, he loved Rome and its people more. After Brutus’ murder of Caesar, he realizes that the issue of the public opinion of Rome is of the utmost importance. Because of this love for Rome, Brutus uses rhetoric to persuade these plebeians to approve of him and his cause. When Cassius warns Brutus about “how much the people will be moved / By that which [Marc Antony] will utter[!]” (III.i.252-253), Brutus tells Cassius that letting Marc Antony speak “shall advantage us more than do us wrong” (III.i.261). In these cases, Brutus demonstrates his awareness of

The first speech we hear is that of Brutus. In his speech he aims to