In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, several political conflicts arise. Within these conflicts the protagonist, Marcus Brutus, finds himself on the threshold of betrayal and patriarchy. Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar is a tragic play, where the renowned Julius Caesar is on the brink of achieving total control and power by becoming emperor of the Roman Empire. Ironically enough, when he thinks he is one step away from accomplishing this, his "friends" (most from the senate) decide to overthrow him, with Caesar's most trusted friend, Marcus Brutus, acting as leader of the conspirator. Though the fall of Caesar from the most powerful man in the world to a man who's been betrayed and stabbed 30 times is a great downfall, he is not the tragic …show more content…
It is proven throughout the play that Brutus and Cassius have individual reasons for the murder of Julius Caesar. While Cassius is envious of Caesar and his power, Brutus makes his reasons apparent and that he will never become an over confident leader like Caesar. Brutus never felt right about his decision to kill Caesar afterwards; and when he realized that he had indeed acted inappropriately, in act 5 scene 5, he used the knife that he plunged into Caesar to take his own life, out of a sense of obligation. When Brutus believes his time has come, he vocalizes it by stating, “Why this, Volumnius: the ghost of Caesar hath appeared to me two several times by night. At Sardi’s once, and this last night here in Philippi fields, I know my hour has come.” (232). He did what others were unwilling to do: when he realized he could do no better than his predecessor, and that he was harming his countrymen through his rule, he removed himself from power. Brutus acts like a true hero when he admits that killing Caesar did not have the outcome that he had originally planned, and again, makes the ultimate sacrifice to restore order to
He compares Caesar to a serpent in an egg which he must kill before it hatches. Brutus knows that Caesar is gaining too much power too quickly and it must come to an end. He shows his belief in a republic government by saying, “We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar / And in the spirit of men there is no blood" (II.i. 180-181). Cassius is a character who is jealous of Caesar’s power and also wants it to end. He forms a group of conspirators who are against Julius Caesar. He persuades Brutus to help him and the other conspirators to kill Caesar during the ides of March. Brutus joins but only due to his love for Rome and its people. He proves this by saying "Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius." (II.i. 179). This also proves his love for Caesar because he wants to kill him with some sort of honor. Brutus wants the citizens to look at him not as a murderer but for someone who cares for his country. He expresses his ideas toward the stabbing by saying , “If then that friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer-not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more" (III, ii, 17-19).
Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar is a tragic play, where the renowned Julius Caesar is on the brink of achieving total control and power by becoming emperor of the Roman Empire. Ironically enough, when he thinks he is one step away from pulling it off, his "friends" (most from the senate) decide to overthrow him, with Caesar's most trusted friend, Marcus Brutus, acting as leader of the conspirators. Though the fall of Caesar from the most powerful man in the world to a man who's been betrayed and stabbed 30 times is a great downfall, he is not the tragic hero. Shakespeare's main focus is Marcus Brutus, a noble man who brings upon himself a great misfortune by his own actions,
In Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar defeats Pompey, the previous ruler of the Romans, and takes control of Rome. Many people object to it, including the conspirators who assassinate him. Marc Antony, an ally of Caesar, speaks at his funeral and turns the citizens of Rome against the conspirators which ultimately leads to the death of the majority of the assassins, including their unspoken leader, Brutus. A truly insightful glance is offered into the character Brutus in Act II, scene i, lines 120-146. At this point in the tragedy, conspirators led by Brutus are plotting the death of the tyrant of Rome, Julius Caesar, and moving on to the final stages of their planning stage, preparing
Caesar’s words final were “Et tu Brute? Then fall, Caesar!,”which shows how hurt ,he was with Brutus’s actions. During Caesar’s deaths, many co-conspirators surrounded him and as each man stabbed him, he was not surprised by their actions until the very last person, Brutus came and stabbed him, seeing Brutus sent a pang of betrayal through him. Brutus was a person that Caesar had considered a friend and ally, so finding out that he was a part of his assassination plot, it shocked him and he felt deep betrayal that he gave up fighting and died. Although Caesar’s death was horrendous, it is important to remember that Brutus only killed Caesar, to save Rome. Between Cassius’s manipulative peer pressure informing him of the all the negatives that Caesar would bring Rome and the fake letters he received, convincing him to save Rome from the ruling of Caesar, Brutus only acted in the best interest for Rome and its people, which shows his loyalty and patriotism to
William Shakespeare's tragedy Julius Caesar provides audiences with an account involving the Roman dictator Julius Caesar, the 44 B.C. conspiracy that resulted in his violent assassination, and the continued violence that dominated Rome consequent to his death. In spite of the fact that the play's title is Julius Caesar, Caesar's character only appears in three scenes. The tragedy's central character is Marcus Brutus and most of the storyline relates to him and to his failure to understand matters from a general perspective when he has the chance to do so. The play actually demonstrates how violence can emerge from individuals misinterpreting behavior seen in others and the idea of violence dominates most of the play, shaping the way that characters interact and think.
Shakespeare’s complex play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar contains several tragic heroes; a tragic hero holds high political or social esteem yet possesses an obvious character flaw. This discernible hubris undoubtedly causes the character’s demise or a severe forfeiture, which forces the character to undergo an unfeigned moment of enlightenment and shear reconciliation. Brutus, one of these tragic heroes, is a devout friend of the great Julius Caesar, that is, until he makes many execrable decisions he will soon regret; he becomes involved in a plot to kill the omniscient ruler of Rome during 44 B.C. After committing the crime, Mark Antony, an avid, passionate follower of Caesar, is left alive under Brutus’s orders to take his revenge on
Mia Gorman Bell 5 Mrs. Thomas 5 December, 2017 The Fall of The Roman Republic(52-50 B.C.) In the years 52-50 B.C. there were multiple conflicts in the Roman Empire. Caesar was in Alesia attempting to conquer Gaul, which affected Julius Caesar, Gaul, and Rome. In Rome, there was conflict because Publius Claudius, who had been stirring trouble in the streets of Rome, was killed in 52 B.C. during the elections.
Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This illustrates the theme in the historical play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. Julius Caesar was a man full of arrogance and he had a sense of being self-absorbed. This kind of personality lead to bad things, it eventually led to death. Caesar was a well-known man in Rome. The people of Rome didn 't care what he did. Everyone thought he was perfect. I ii 273 He was married to a woman named Calpurnia. She lived in Rome. At the beginning of the play, Caesar just had defeated Pompey. I i 53 Some of the people in Rome knew that Caesar was getting into deep trouble. Brutus had to make a big decision towards the end. Everyone wanted Brutus to kill Caesar because he was never going to change his personality. He didn 't know what he should do, he didn 't know what is best for Rome.
He wishes that he had never fallen for Cassius’s insidious plan to assassinate Caesar, “Caesar, now be still; / I killed not thee with half so good a will”(997). He regrets, that through these actions, he destroys his name and his stature. Brutus, scrutinizing all of his mistakes, and wishing that he had done things differently verifies that he is the main tragic hero in this classic work. Through these final moments of Brutus’s life, the audience of the play can truly see that Brutus is not lying about his love of Caesar, but that he honestly regrets participating, and is sympathetic about the last years of his life. Brutus, even though he has made many mistakes throughout his life, he makes one final one with his last action. Unfortunately, the audience does not know whether or not he regrets committing suicide. Had he not done so, Antony most likely would have restored some of his stature in Rome, and granted him his life, “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”(998). It is clear that Antony is saddened by the loss of Brutus, because he realizes the true meaning of Brutus’s actions.
Brutus explains that Caesar was no less to him than his country, but Brutus takes hatred letters into consideration (from the “plebeians”), he is also convinced by Cassius to kill Caesar for the good of Rome. Although Brutus was hesitant, he did end up doing it for his country and no other bad intentions. “If then that friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer: not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” (pg.831). In my opinion, i feel his sense of patriotism justifies his decision to kill his own successful friend. Throughout the play, Brutus knew that once Antony turned plebeians against all conspirators with his speech, there would be a major conflict between conspirators and all other decisions made. Towards the end of the battle between Brutus' forces and Antony's’ forces, Brutus knows he isn't in a good state and finally realizes he has to take his own life for his country. “With this depart, that, as I slew my best lover for the good of Rome, i have the same dagger for myself, when it shall please my country to need my death.” (pg. ) I believe that Brutus is saying, just as he was willing to kill his best friend, in cold blood, to save Rome from such a leader, he will just as readily turn the same dagger on himself if it benefits his
In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, an honorable man, Brutus, is planning to overthrow the soon to be king, Julius Caesar. Brutus is persuaded by Cassius that Caesar is a liar, too ambitious, weak, and not fit to be Rome’s king. Brutus soon believed Cassius, and they and the conspirators made a plan to kill Caesar. After Caesar’s death, Brutus planned to justify his actions of killing Caesar at his funeral in his speech to the people. After Brutus’s speech, the citizens of Rome were all in agreement that Brutus did the right thing for Rome. Brutus then decides to allow Caesar’s best friend, Antony, to speak in honor of Caesar. Antony speaks, and he convinces the citizens that Brutus’s actions were unjust and turned the people against Brutus.
Tom Cochrane once said “ Tragedy in life normally comes with betrayal and compromise, and trading on your integrity and not having dignity in life. That’s really where failure comes.” In “ Julius Caesar”, Brutus plays a big role in the betrayal of caesar being part of a plan to kill Caesar. Moreover, Brutus put off that he was for the People of Rome, but the deeper the play goes the more suspicion of Brutus’s true objective comes into play. Brutus was naive in believing Cassius and his moral judgement was off. All in all, brutus betrayed Caesar.
During the assassination of Caesar, Caesar took all the knife wounds caused by the other conspirators, but, when he saw Brutus with a knife in his hand he cried out “Et tu, Brute? (Even you, Brutus?)- Then fall Caesar!” This shows that he was very shocked at the best friend betraying him, because he was normally very loyal. After the assassination, Brutus speaks to the crowd, who were demanding an explanation. He was a good orator and when he justifies his reasons to kill Caesar he says "If, then, that friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer: not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more." This shows that he was truly noble as it proves he did it for all the right reasons. He also allowed Anthony to speak at Caesars funeral. While it was a dangerous decision, it was also a brave decision. However Anthony swings the crowd over to his side and he partners with Octavius to get revenge on the conspirators. Meanwhile, Brutus and Cassius are having an argument. Brutus is accusing Cassius of taking bribes, and therefore undoing the goodness that Brutus thought that killing Caesar had done. He accuses Cassius of having “an itchy palm.” This shows that he was righteous and he loved by high standards. At the end Brutus kills himself, by running on a sword, rather than being captured and then paraded as a disgrace. In roman times, killing yourself would be the noble thing to do.
The tragedy of Julius Caesar is a story of struggle and betrayal; however, in it, Shakespeare conveys messages about human nature. Three of the main characters in the play convey the ways that power corrupts and changes people. Brutus’ attitude towards killing Caesar and rising to power, along with his personality, change throughout the first three acts. Cassius’ need for power makes him lose himself and his humanity. Mark Antony, changed by Caesar's death, rises to power after taking it away from those that killed him. In Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, he conveys notions regarding human nature and the ways that power changes and corrupts people; he does this through his characters Brutus, Cassius, and Antony.
Brutus a high-ranking, well-regarded Roman nobleman that killed Julius Caesar, went to the top of the ranks and was crowned king. Even though Brutus was able to become king, he was not going to get that title without killing Caesar. In the play Julius Caesar, Brutus agrees to kill Caesar and is one of the three murderers that stabbed Julius Caesar. In Act III scene i William Shakespeare writes “CASCA and the other conspirators stab CAESAR. BRUTUS stabs him last.” This is when Brutus’s fate begins because he starts listening to the wrong people such as, when Cassius uses his power and authority to convince Brutus that he loves Caesar but loves Rome more. This is quoted when Shakespeare writes in Act III scene ii, “ I say to him that my love for Caesar was no less than his. If, then, that friend demands to know why I rose up against Caesar, this is my answer: it’s not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” This shows Brutus’s major flaw and when he starts to believe things that other people tell him. Brutus shows that he is the Tragic Hero right when he agrees to kill Caesar because this is his tragic flaw that begins the downfall of himself.