Analysis Of Shakespeare 's ' Julius Caesar '

Caesar assumes the stand that the time of death is all decided in the heavens and `will come when it will come'. His obvious oppositions to his wife's opinion are an indication that her thoughts and opinions are not taken seriously and considered. Brutus on the other hand tries his best to cooperate with his wife and makes an effort to find out about the troubles and worries that she have. Brutus was the first to acknowledge his wife's presence and to ask about her, which highlight his sensitivity to her. After Portia explains her concerns, Brutus tries his best to assure her that everything is fine.

Caesar says that cowards die many times before their death and death will come when it will come. Then Caesar asked a servant what the augurers say about the subject and they say they found no heart within the beast. This is a simple act of showing how superstitious Caesar is sends him in to a rage and he decides he will go to the capitol. Then Calpurnia (the voice of reason) says “your wisdom is consumed in confidence” and tells him to tell them it is her fear and not his own that keeps him from the capitol. And Caesar grudgingly agrees. Then Decius Brutus comes in and ruins the whole thing by telling Caesar that her dream was telling how great he is and Decius manages to flatter Caesar enough that he decides to go to the capitol and he tells Calpurnia how foolish her dreams seem now and he leaves. Calpurnia, as we know was right the whole time and Caesar gets assassinated at the capitol. This scene was important in foreshadowing Caesar’s death and showing how overconfident Caesar is, and although Calpurnia’s warning was only one of many she seems to be the only warning with real impact, that is until Decius Brutus comes in to play.

 In the plays female sexuality is not expressed variously through courtship, pregnancy, childbearing, and remarriage, as it is in the period.  Instead it is narrowly defined and contained by the conventions of Petrarchan love and cuckoldry.  The first idealizes women as a catalyst to male virtue, insisting on their absolute purity.  The second fears and mistrusts them for their

Through the tragedy of Julius Caesar, Shakespeare showed the importance of respect between couples. Through not found in primary manuscripts, Shakespeare effectively developed the perceptive and loyal personalities of the wives. Wedded to Portia, Brutus distanced Portia from his emotional battle. Aware of this, Portia spoke to Brutus showing great oratory skills as she emphasized three-points displaying why Brutus must consult her. Likewise, Calpurnia pushed persistently to convince her husband, Caesar, to remain in the safe confines of their villa, because she noticed the oddities occurring and knew the severity of her dream. Though in a worldly environment, the godly principles of listening to wise council, but also submitting to one’s spouse

The topic of leadership in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar has been discussed and argued ever since the play was written. The most prevalent discussion of leadership in the play revolves around Shakespeare’s tragic hero, Marcus Brutus, and the cause of his downfall. According to Shakespeare critic James Bundy, “Brutus... is a man whose affections sway more than his reason, in whom there is this tragic confederacy of passion and imagination against reason” (qtd. in Palmer 402). Ernest Shanzer, however, says that Brutus is “by no means devoid of political shrewdness and practical wisdom”, but he is a “bad judge of character” (Shanzer 1). Although both critics’ descriptions of Brutus have merit, Brutus’ shortcoming, as well as the success of the opposing leader, Mark Antony, is more accurately explained using the observations of Niccolo Machiavelli in The Prince. In this book Machiavelli outlines the characteristics of a successful leader. When using The Prince as a lens to read Julius Caesar, the correlation between a leader’s Machiavellianism and their success becomes very apparent. Marcus Brutus is undoubtedly an honorable and respectable man, but his morality prevents him from adhering to Machiavelli’s principles. Due to his lack of princely virtues, Brutus is doomed to fail, while Antony, a much more Machiavellian prince, successfully seizes power.

There have been many rulers in history who have been betrayed by those they trust, but The Tragedy of Julius Caesar (William Shakespeare,1959) still holds a special place in Western literature as one of the most enigmatic human beings to ever exist. Powerful men like Julius Caesar shaped the life and times of the late Roman Republic, just before Rome would officially become the Roman Empire on the crowning of Augustus as the first Roman emperor. Julius Caesar was a powerful general who expanded Rome's power and who was beloved by the people for his generous charity after his successful conquests. Despite knowing the story of Julius Caesar to some extent, most 16th/17th century English would not have ever visited Rome, nor would know what the Roman Republic was like, which presented a unique opportunity to William Shakespeare to create a play unlike any other he had created before. (Shakespeare Julius Caesar, 1599) Shakespeare's Julius Caesar is a reimagining of Rome from a Elizabethan point of view, and despite some inaccuracies, the play depicts an enlightening view on Roman life, and the life of the Roman general, Julius Caesar.

In Act One Scene 1, Cassius had created a secret club of people to over-run Julius Caesar. Cassius did this because he wasn’t fond of Caesar’s actions. Cassius, Cinna, and Casca want Brutus to join because he is very popular and wealthy. Many people look up to Brutus. It’s possible that if Brutus joins the club, his followers would support him and help over-run Caesar, they’re going to need as much support as they can get. “Three parts of him ours already, and the man entire upon the next encounter, yield him ours.” Act 1, Scene 3, PG.30)

When commercials from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) come on, there is a reason why it makes viewers cry. The commercial uses sad music and persuasive speech, or rhetoric, to convince people the animals are in danger.

Along with the actuality and the attempts of manipulation in this play reside many forced manipulations. In the same scene in which Calpurnia convinces her husband to not go to the Capitol, a group of conspirators meet at Caesar's house to make sure he does not decide to stay at home, simply so that the planned assassination can, in fact, take place. Brutus, one of the conspirators, tells Caesar that his wife is superstitious, and that he should not be listening to her.

Julius Caesar is a play about men: their relationships, their culture, and their actions. In the male-dominated world of ancient Rome, characters have a distinct understanding of what it means to be or act like a man. Women in Julius Caesar represent everything that Roman men are not supposed to be—however, the utter disdain men show for feminine traits eventually proves shortsighted, as the play argues that women and their special gifts are not to be taken lightly. In Julius Caesar, masculinity implies not only bravery, but also steadfastness.

William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” play tells the story of countries overthrown, friendships ruined, and how the envy for power can lead to more trouble than perceived. Not only are main characters affected, but minor characters are also impacted by the long disputes. Particularly speaking of the wives of the two “friends” is perhaps affected the most by their husband’s problems. Although they both believe they know what is going on in their husbands lives, we, as readers, learn they do not have the slightest idea about how their lives are going to turn upside down. Calpurnia, Julius Caesar’s wife, simply has a bad feeling about who her husband is going to see to receive his crown.

Nevertheless, a conversation with his wife, Calpurnia, shows how he really feels about himself. A soothsayer told Caesar to beware

With Caesar’s actions in Calpurnia’s presence we see the gentler, slightly less arrogant side to his personality. Also in having Portia’s presence, we see the more compassionate side of Brutus, her husband. We are shown Caesar’s gentler, less arrogant behavior when Calpurnia pleaded with Caesar that he not leave home that day, a request made due to her suspicions sparked by the soothsayer’s warning to beware the Ides of March. Caesar dismisses her feeling confident that the Soothsayer’s words were unimportant. However she continues in her attempts to convince him. “Mark Antony shall say I am not well,/ And for thy humor I will stay at home” (cite). Then, although he sees staying home on this day as a sign of cowardice, Caesar chooses to stay home. Although shortly after, Caesar reverts to his original plan, the fact remains true that for at least a moment, Caesar had made the less arrogant choice. Making this choice showed Caesar is capable of changing his arrogant way of thinking under certain circumstances.In having Portia, Brutus’s wife, we see a new characteristic in Brutus as well.After Portia’s death Brutus says to Cassius, “No man bears

Following the influential quote in prompt 1, Mahatma Gandhi explains his perspective towards the outrage of men treating woman as the submissive sex. Gandhi’s manifesto on maltreatment disputes the roles of the characters in the play. Male characters of Julius Caesar perceive women as the weaker gender, good for sex and as an easy insult. This is evident through Julius’ and Brutus’ relationships with their wives Calpurnia and Portia in the play. If strength were thought of as emotional endurance then women would be the more dominant and respected sex.

A dichotomy exists within the play of the corrupt, which represents the majority of women in society, and the virtuous, reflecting a minority of women. Gratiana is considered corrupt after she gave ‘aim to her own daughter!’ (Act IV, Scene iv, l. 41), while the Duchess’s advances on Spurio her step son, give her an ‘incestuous’ and ‘sinful’ (Act III, Scene v) name. In comparison, Gloriana and Antonio’s wife both died to protect their family honour, while Castiza by her own admission, sees the power women possess: ‘If maidens would, men’s words could have no power; A virgin honour is a crystal tower’ (Act IV, Scene iv, ll. 151-152). This rhyming couplet highlights the didactic function of the play for the audience in creating a moral society. By definition, those virtuous characters are ‘chaste’ and ‘morally upright’. In this play, the audience gains a representation of Tourneur’s thoughts on society; that the majority of women are corrupt, however a minority of individuals exist that are virtuous. This dichotomy does not exist to such an extent for men within the play, as Antonio is the only real virtuous man. Because of this inequality, the audience understands Tourneur believes a greater gap exists between corrupt and virtuous women, and therefore women within the play are better suited to demonstrating the concept, reflecting it back on the society they are representing.