In the play Julius Caesar written by the whimsical, sophisticated William Shakespeare both beloved Brutus and noble Antony deliver their most thorough attempts to win over the delicate citizens of Rome into what they believed was correct. Brutus gave it a valiant effort in trying to convince the citizens that murdering the noble Caesar was the best thing to do for the people. In the end Brutus’ effort was not enough because Antony was able to turn every Roman against Brutus and the other deceitful conspirators during his speech with his extraordinary use of logos, pathos, and ethos. During most areas of Brutus’ speech he wanted to be portrayed as an authority figure and more noble than Caesar was. When Brutus attempts to justify how ambitious Caesar was and why he had to be killed he questions the citizens by asking “Had you rather Caesar were living, and die all slaves, than Caesar were dead, to live all freemen”(45)? By saying this Brutus tried to prove Caesar's ambition, but this quote was based purely on the observations that Brutus had noticed about Caesar. He had no way of being absolutely sure Caesar would have done something this malicious. Antony began with a different approach and addressed the citizen as “Friends, romans, countrymen”(46). By starting out addressing them as “Friends” it confirms that Antony is trying to show them that he is one of them and cares for them as well as that he is trustworthy. Then in his speech he begins to challenge Brutus’ argument
William Shakespeare in the tragedy, Julius Caesar, suggests that Brutus - although a conspirator- is still an honorable man. Shakespeare supports his suggestion by demonstrating Brutus’ real intentions in contrast to the other conspirators. The author’s purpose is to show Brutus’ love for Rome in order to show that his purpose is for the good of Rome not himself. The author writes in an urgent tone for the readers to know that Brutus takes Rome’s livelihood seriously.
Trent Shelton once said, “Sometimes the people you love the most, turn out to be the people you can trust the least.” Trent Shelton expresses in this quote that you can never be too careful when it comes to trust because people change so quickly. A prime example of this is a character named Brutus in William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. In this play the noble Brutus is persuaded by a group of conspirators that Julius Caesar, a friend of Brutus, should be killed before he is crowned the king. Following the death of Caesar, Brutus speaks out to the people of Rome. He left his speech feeling extremely confident, but soon came to find an angry city upset by the death of their future king. Consequently, Brutus and the other
“Et tu, Bruté? Then fall Caesar” (III.i 179). The fatal stabs of the conspirators did not kill the all-mighty Julius Caesar, for the sharp butcher of Brutus pierced his heart and condemned his life to cessation. This dramatic, mood changing affair serves as the pivotal platform in William Shakespeare’s, Julius Caesar. It is a compelling novel that recounts the unjust murder of Julius Caesar, an ancient Roman general. Oblivious to this conspicuous foreshadowing, Caesar fails to distinguish his true fellow men from plotting slaughtermen. Amongst his most intimate acquaintances, Brutus reveals his true love, that is for Rome, at the expense of a lifeless Caesar. Conveyed a hero, but assumed a villain, Marcus Brutus displayed a convoluted rationale for his murderous scheme. No selfless- hero forsakes one without negative intentions, and no traitorous villain executes for the well being of others. For this reasoning, Brutus was nothing less than a heroic villain.
Finally we have to say that; Brutus of William Shakespeare will continue troubling the audience of Julius Caesar’s play. While some people consider Brutus as a traitor, others recognize him as a principle man who stands for what he believes. However, examining Brutus in the three contexts of his political motivation, personal and inner-contention beside his apocalyptic fate can help to build better understanding for the character. Shakespeare brilliantly, succeed to present this complex character in the stage and gives the audience the opportunity to live the experience of the politician who made a difficult decision and then struggle an inner conflict to justify his decision and at the end pay the high price for his action. In the end I would
William Shakespeare, widely regarded as the greatest writer of all time, revealed critical opinions about the events during his time period in his plays. In one of Shakespeare’s greatest works, Julius Caesar, he illustrated the tragedy of Caesar back in ancient Rome in 44 B.C. While Brutus and Cassius acted as conspirators, or the antagonists, they planned the assassination of Caesar. Deciding wrongly on doing for the good of Rome, Brutus indeed paid his good intentions. Assuredly, Brutus’s three fatal mistakes could be listed in order as he joined the conspiracy, rejected killing Antony, and insisted his army must march to Philippi led to the downfall of himself.
The comparing and contrasting of the speeches between Brutus and Marc Antony in the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare shows many ups and downs between both Marc Antony and Brutus. This essay will help determine and show who had the most powerful and effective speech. You will also learn how the Romans respond to the speeches. Was both speeches a form of leadership or was it all revenge between Brutus and Marc Antony?
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar incorporates many multi-dimensional characters to further the plot. Shakespeare’s play boils down to the actions of Caesar, the conspirators, and the citizens. However, it is essential to note one character, Brutus, whose ethics and patriotism are essential to the events that occur in the play. Brutus greatly utilized these traits when agreeing to the plan of executing Caesar and getting the citizens to support the conspirators, events that were influential to the other characters and essential to the play.
“Julius Caesar” is a play written by William Shakespeare. This tragedy is based on the death of Julius Caesar. Caesar is a Roman General whose ambition is to become the dictator of Rome. However, he is assassinated by his conspirators - Marcus Brutus and Cassius. Brutus, the main character, is portrayed to be the tragic hero because of his tragic flaws. Throughout the drama, Shakespeare characterize Brutus by his poor judgments about crucial decisions, his naive personality, and his trust in many people.
In Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar”, Brutus is a main character and conspirator of the assassination plot of Caesar. Unfortunately for Rome, Brutus does not wish to become the next ruler. If Brutus had chosen to do so, he undoubtedly would have been one of Rome’s greatest rulers, due to his many virtuous qualities.
The seemingly straightforward simplicity of “Julius Caesar” has made it a perennial favourite for almost 400 years. Despite its simplicity, almost Roman in nature, the play is rich both dramatically and thematically, and every generation since Shakespeare’s time has been able to identify with some political aspect of the play. The Victorians found a stoic, sympathetic character in Brutus and found Caesar unforgivably weak and tyrannical. As we move into the twenty-first century, audiences and readers, familiar with leaders having public imperfections, are more forgiving of Caesar and are often suspicious of Brutus’ moralistic posturing. The play has also formed most modern readers’ opinions and views of ancient Rome and Romans. Julius Caesar, a play that deals with actual historical events, differs somewhat from the plays that Shakespeare wrote about English history. The structure of the play follows closely the pattern of the typical Elizabethan revenge play but varies in form from Shakespeare’s other history plays.
The character of Cassius is well established by the end of Act I. He reveals himself to be angry, bitter, and jealous of Caesar's power in Rome. Cassius speaks of Caesar with contempt and sarcasm. In the stories he tells Brutus, he shows Caesar to be weak and unworthy of the position he now holds over them. (According to Cassius, he himself is physically stronger than Caesar.) He complains bitterly to Brutus that they are now like "petty men" in comparison to the great Caesar. Cassius also reveals himself to be secretive and manipulative. In disparaging Caesar, Cassius is acting to draw Brutus into the conspiracy to murder him. To further influence Brutus to move against Caesar, Cassius writes false letters, supposedly from the Roman people,
One of the first presentations was when the conspirators were plotting Caesar's assassination. Cassius knew that he could not do it without Brutus. Cassius is so jealous of Caesar and he doesn't believe he should have this power. “What trash is Rome, what rubbish, and what offal when it serves for the base matter to illuminate so vile a thing as Caesar.” (Act 1 Scene 3 ) He needs to do anything he can to kill Caesar even if that means trying to get his best friend to stab him in the back. “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.” ( )This is Cassius telling Brutus that Caesar is growing in power and it is their fault but yet they are doing nothing to stop it. Cassius needs to change Brutus’s perspective
In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, after Caesar’s death, both Brutus and Antony presented two different speeches for the people of Rome. Brutus tries to persuade the people of Rome to believe that Caesar’s death was a positive event by saying, “Had you rather Caesar were living, and die all slaves”(3.2.24). Brutus explains how Caesar was ambitious and that if Caesar got too powerful, then he would have enslaved all the people of Rome. However, Anthony contradicts Brutus with a heart-filled speech by reminding the people of Rome about how Caesar was a noble man by saying, “I thrice presented him a kingly crown, which he did thrice refuse”(3.2.105-106). Antony reels in the hearts of the Romans, and he ends his speech with Caesar’s will(3.2.255-266).
William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy Of Julius Caesar is an electrifying and compelling play, which expresses Julius Caesar’s horrid assassination in a phenomenal, vivid manner. Alongside rendering the events that lead to Caesar’s merciless and bloody assassination, Shakespeare extended the play to the rivalry between Mark Antony and Octavius vs. Brutus and Cassius. This pathetic rivalry induces the deaths of both Brutus and Cassius. Brutus’s death signifies his noble and virtuous character. When Mark Antony had discovered Brutus’s lifeless body he said, “This was the noblest Roman of them all.” (Act 5.5). Cassius’s death, on the other hand, symbolizes his cowardly and dastardly nature. Cassius had ordered his slave, Lucillius, to stab him to death. Cassius concealed his face in fright as his slave obeyed his cowardly command. Shakespeare concluded The Tragedy Of Julius Caesar with the gory yet somber deaths of Brutus and Cassius, along with Mark Antony speaking wistfully about Brutus’s righteous character. This sorrowful ending relates immensely to the speeches that Brutus and Antony gave during Julius Caesar’s funeral in The Tragedy Of Julius Caesar, for the reasons that: Brutus’s use of logos, Mark Antony’s use of pathos, and both their distinct yet justified love for Julius Caesar.
Shakespeare created two tragic heroes in his play Julius Caesar, Caesar and Brutus. Caesar was wrong by ignoring the Soothsayer’s warning and Calpurnia’s suggestion and insisted on going to the Senate in the ides of March. Brutus was wrong in three parts: killed Caesar, who had not be a monarch yet. Believed in Cassius’s bewitches and insisted Antony was only cared about the Roman republic and have no political ambition.