Coriolanus Fallacy

In order to analyse Julius Caesar’s impact on the Republic, his background and furthermore his motives as a leader, must be deconstructed. Caesars ambition has been assumed to largely be the result of the accumulated events in which he underwent in his young life (Cunliffe, B. 1994:93). Caesar up during a time of social war and violence within Rome from which his perspective was presumably shaped by the chaos of the disintegrating Republic (Bradley, P. 1990:369). His determination to hold power was exhibited in several points of his life. One of which, includes his

Though Pompey sought power by manipulating the political system to his own advantage, the fact that the Senate was already weak and hence gave him this power.This shows that although Pompey’s actions were detrimental to the fall of the Republic, he was not the sole contributor. Pompey was both underage and had held none of the required offices, yet the Senate passed decrees exempting him from these traditional prerequisites, thus allowing for him to be joint consul with Crassus in 70 BC. According to Cicero, “absolute power” was what he had sought, and thus this ambition had nothing to do with “the happiness and honour of the community.” This reveals a callously ruthless dimension to Pompey, in that he would undertake any measure to achieve his own goals. However, it should also be noted that Cicero’s interest areas are sometimes narrow and deliberately, or accidentally selective. By reaching the top without any previously held positions of consequence, Pompey the Great had manipulated the political system to his own advantage. Thus, by doing so he undermined the Senate, reiterating its insignificance and weakness.

In this play, Julius Caesar returns to Rome to find that he has the unconditional support of the Plebeians. As he gains more power, his friends worry that he will completely take over the city, and so they conspire with one another to kill him. Preceding the attack, the conspirators notice many strange occurrences in Rome, such as a “lion who looked at [them] and strutted by without bothering to attack,” a “threatening” and “destructive” storm, and a “common slave” whose “hand did flame and burn.” The conspirators perceive these bizarre circumstances as omens that they should kill Caesar and quickly carry out their plan. When the conspirators confront him, they stab him thirty-three times, and then announce his death to the citizens of Rome, expecting a positive response but receiving the opposite. Rome is plunged into violence as the plebeians attempt to find the conspirators responsible for Caesar’s death. Citizens swarm the streets of their city, killing innocent people, such as Cinna the Poet, believing that they are among the group of people responsible for killing Caesar. This violence and death represents the weak condition that Rome continues in throughout the play. Caesar’s body represents the body of Rome, and when he is wounded, the entire city feels wounded as well. The chaos that Rome undergoes after Caesar’s death is symbolic of his importance to the city. The

The common people were upset because Cincinnatus was given absolute power over Rome. Power corrupts, and people who are given absolute power are wont to abuse it. The common people’s fears were justified, but they were never realized. According to Livy, Cincinnatus “resigned after holding the office for fifteen days” (Duiker, 115). The common people probably felt guilty for doubting Cincinnatus’

Caesar’s weaknesses exhibits that he is not fit to rule the Roman empire, and therefore should not have

A public figure opposed to Caesar’s rise to power. He believes, however, that Caesar is the consummate actor, lulling the population into believing that he has no personal ambition.

This makes it easy for Volumnia to shape her son’s actions. Coriolanus’ unwillingness to manage his emotions towards Volumnia allows her to manipulate him into running for consul “you must and will go about it (3.2)” and bully him into arranging a peace treaty between Rome and the Volscians. Coriolanus is able to be defeated by his mother because she understands his weakness in his loyalty to her. This flaw of emotional immaturity brings about Coriolanus’ downfall.

Brutus, in Act II Scene I of William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, delivers an intrinsically-directed speech regarding the future of Caesar’s reign. He contemplates within himself what possible solutions there are in event of a downturn in Caesar’s attitude towards power, concluding that the only method of maintaining Rome’s greatness is to kill Caesar. In Brutus’ speech, he claims that, upon the occurrence of a difference arising in Caesar’s separation of power and compassion, Caesar must die in favor of the Roman people. Furthermore, the claim made by Brutus is classified as a claim of policy due to the fact that Brutus asserts that a change has to be made. This claim is qualified by Brutus’ use of the word “must” in the statement, “it must be by his death;” the connotation of “must” leaves very little room for doubt. Brutus asserts with the use of the aforementioned word his complete security in the validity of Caesar’s killing. However, this claim is not founded on sufficiently concrete evidence that a deed such as murdering the king may be carried out.

Patience between Caesar and Pompey continued to wear thin, beginning with the dissolution of the Triumvirate; the three leaders, Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus. Tensions continued to strain when the senate appointed Pompey the “Sole Consul.” Appointing Pompey the Sole Consul was not meant to offend or outrage Caesar, but soon it would become a matter of great importance. The city had been distracted by frequent street fights between the armed bands of Clodius, a politician known for his populist tactics; and the armed bands of T. Annius Milo, a political agitator who claimed that he was defending the cause of the Senate. In one such fights, Clodius was killed; and his death enraged many followers, resulting in angry mobs and riots. Followers burned his body in the Forum by a wild mob, and the senate house destroyed during the anarchy. The senate felt obligated to confer power upon Pompey, and so he was named “Sole Consul.” Under this title,

Also, differing from Shakespeare’s play is that there is additional detail about Caesar’s coronation, where not only did he reject the crown from Antony, but he places the crown upon the statue of “Jupiter in the Capitol” (Plutarch line 34). This action demonstrated by Caesar implies that there is and can only one be one king; that king can only be God (Jupiter). Moreover, Brutus is only briefly mentioned and does not even make an appearance in the scene. “The people… called them Brutes: because of Brutus” (Plutarch line 40-41). Brutus’s intentions and motives are not known in the scene as there is no interaction between him and Cassius; Cassius does not play a significant role unlike his role in Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Additionally, though the intentions performed by both Flavius and Marullus as Tribunes are the same (to prevent Caesar from being crowned king), the method this intention is conducted varies from Plutarch’s From the Lives of Nobles as both characters are shown shooing and scolding those idolizing Caesar, whereas in Plutarch’s piece, “the two Tribunes, went and pulled down [images of Caesar]” (Plutarch 37). Thus, this results in the two tribunes being thrown in prison in From the Lives of Nobles. Other changes

The Tribunes execute their plan and charge Coriolanus of contriving “to take from Rome all seasoned office and to wind Yourself into a power tyrannical, For which you are a traitor to the people of Rome.” They turn Coriolanus’s humble act of not showing “the wounds his body bears” into an action of mockery and that “in his suit he scorned” the plebeians. The Tribunes refer to Coriolanus as “Martuis”, which shows that they do not believe he is worthy enough to be called Coriolanus, a title of high

“Even the noblest men can be seduced by power; it has the power to kill, to distort, and to corrupt” Through this passage, Matthew Sims captures in essence how individuals often turn to betrayal and deception in order to gain their heart’s desires. This characteristic is not only present in life, but can also be seen in modern and classical literature, including the well known work of Julius Caesar. In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, the lust for power transcends any one individual and ultimately leads to death and corruption of not only Caesar, but also of Brutus and Cassius. The play begins with Caesar parading through the streets of Rome as he triumphs in his victory over Pompey. However, Brutus, Cassius, and many others hatch a plot to

Julius Caesar is perhaps the most well known in the history of Roman Emperors, yet there is no denying that his reign was filled with controversy, no reason more so than his devious rise to power and his mischievous ways of suppressing the senate. There is no doubt that in ruling as a Dictator; Caesar lost the support of the Roman people, who had fought for freedom against an Etruscan King, a role in which Caesar was playing. His death in 44BC coincided with what many believe to be the year in which the Republic completely its eventual ‘fall’ that it had been plummeting to since 133BC, and it is only by looking at the differences in the end of his reign to that of Augustus’ in 27BC that

There were several main themes of deception that were crucial to the events that occurred in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar: Marc Antony’s dirge, Decius’s persuasion to attend the senate meeting, and Cassius’s letters to Brutus. The theme of deception was a paramount tool that Shakespeare used in the movement of the plot. Had these crucial events not occurred, have written an entirely Through these acts of deception we were able to see that Ancient Rome struggled with people deceiving each other, and also that it was mainly used by power-hungry individuals to achieve their specific goal at hand. It is also important to note that deception has been around for a long time and is something that humanity has struggled with throughout the history of its existence. Deception has always been a tool used by people to satisfy one’s own desires, and unfortunately always will

Menenius tries to excuse Coriolanus’ angry attitude when he speaks to the citizens. He says he should be judged for who he is. Not who they want him to be:‘Consider further