Julius Caesar: Loyalty and Chaos
In the play, Julius Caesar, Shakespeare suggests that a society without loyalty will inevitably find itself in chaos. Loyalty and similar traits of love and faithfulness arguably form the framework of societies present and past. Negative forces such as ego, greed and the quest for power continually attack this framework. Julius Caesar illustrates the rapid decay of a Roman society's law and harmony, until it finds itself in the chaos of civil war before concluding in an uneasy order. The absence of loyalty in a society does not necessarily constitute chaos; it is rather variants like extremism and
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Antony himself predicts that "Domestic fury and fierce civil strife shall cumber all the parts of Italy". Later, in his funeral oration, he refers to the unravelling of their society, saying "Then I, and you, and all of us fell down, whilst bloody treason flourish'd over us". His fiery speech fuels the general mayhem of the mob which start running wild- "Burn! Fire! Kill! Slay! Let not a traitor live!". Their loyalties have swung from Caesar, to Brutus and finally back to "Most noble Caesar! We'll revenge his death". They are on a rampage of destruction- "With the brands fire the traitors' house"... "Pluck down forms, windows, anything". We see uncontrolled lawlessness when the mob randomly and senselessly kill Cinna the poet- "I am not Cinna the conspirator." "It is no matter, his name's Cinna; pluck but his name out of his heart, and turn him going." This supports the idea that violence is probable when there is political disturbance and instability.
The society portrayed in Julius Caesar is for the most part chaotic, but it is debatable whether it is so for the lack of loyalty. There are strong examples of loyalty within other relationships in the play. Brutus' loyalty to the political state and his ideals brought about his downfall: he was "a man who
The driving forces in the play Julius Caesar are the characters Marcus Brutus, Julius Caesar, and Marc Antony. Julius Caesar is the center of the ordeal of leadership in Rome when the play begins. When Caesar returns to Rome he is looked upon by the fickle plebeians as a glorious and triumphant hero. The authority of his heroism is questioned when the honorable Marcus Brutus speaks to the townspeople during Caesar’s funeral. Brutus proves to be the better leader for Rome rather than Caesar or Antony. Brutus is wiser and more honorable than the other Romans. He was the only one truly looking out for the good of Rome and not himself.
Clearly, Brutus thinks that by killing Antony alongside Caesar, the conspirators will be seen as butchers. Brutus’s idealism backfires against him as Antony later takes revenge against the conspirators for killing Caesar.
In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, one must read the text closely to track the shifting motivations and loyalties of each character as the play progresses. An important factor that must be kept in mind while reading is the degree of loyalty, in other words, the degree to which characters act out of a motivation to help others. Throughout the play, each character's current degree of loyalty to others is clearly exhibited by words or behavior – this holds true for the characters of Brutus, Cassius, Antony, Portia, and Calpurnia. The focus on loyalty is critical because before the play ends an even-handed justice is meted out to a number of people who fail to live up to an expected standard of
Shakespeare’s tragedy, Julius Caesar, displays Brutus as a tragic hero, blinded loyalty and devotion. Brutus's heroic belief of honor and virtue was so powerful that it drove him to perform villainous actions and lead to his destruction.
In Shakespeare’s play, Caesar is a highly respected man that holds great power, and as he gains more power there are men who stand to oppose him. This is how Caesar shows so many good qualities of leadership, like keeping an open ear to the people, being observant and proud, as well as being honest. The attributes that Caesar shows has gained him the trust of all of the people, already proivng just how worthy he is to be called the greatest authority figure in Shakespeare’s drama The Tradgedy of Julius Caesar.
I. In Shakespeare's edition of Julius Caesar.Many people,have argued over the main point of the play,which is whether Brutus was a betrayer or a patriot?Brutus was a betrayer,because he did not think of another way of helping his friend other than killing him and he did not fully do it for Rome but also on his own selfish account,and he did not have a good enough reason.I state that Brutus was a betrayer,however you might say that was not true because he was doing it for Rome and because he loved Caesar.True,he says that"I have no personal reason to strike at him—only the best interest of the people."But however,he did not really have to kill him,there
Julius Caesar, a play by William Shakespeare, outlines a civil war brought on by the assassination of Roman leader Caesar by a group of noblemen led by Brutus and Cassius who oppose Caesar and his possible rule due to their belief that he is a power hungry tyrant. Contrastly, Antony and Octavius are loyal to the fallen leader and strive to avenge his death. Through the play, Caesar is shown to be a megalomaniac due to his lack of trust, his endeavour to be seen as strong, and his pursuit to gain popular support. Caesar’s lack of trust in others parallels him to absolute monarchs and dictators who attempt to be in control and remain in control by eliminating possible threats and placing trust in a small group. After Caesar rejects the crown
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.
In “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar”, Brutus gives the final stab in the assassination of Caesar. Caesar shows feelings of betrayal when Brutus is about to engage in the action that ended his life. William Shakespeare leaves some sense of wonder about why Caesar felt so abandoned. This leaves Brutus to be the only one to betray. However, that is not completely true.
In the determination of whether Julius Caesar was an intelligent, political hero or an egocentric, dictating villain, it is important to look at all of the facts. Born in 100 B.C.E. and assassinated in 44 B.C.E., Julius Caesar was legendary. He along Pompey, and Crassus created the first unofficial Triumvirate which was negotiated to appease both the Roman citizens and the power hungry rivals. Still, this agreement would not last long. After Pompey’s wife, Julia Caesar and daughter of Caesar’s daughter given to Pompey to establish the Trimvirate, dies in childbirth, civil war breaks out as Caesar leads his army against Rome. He fights until Pompey is murdered in Egypt. As Rome is “shattered,” Julius Caesar one person should rule. He
Brutus, Cassius, Caesar, and the other Senators held the power to do things others could not. With this authority came their ability to use poor judgement. In William Shakespeare’s tragic play Julius Caesar the theme Power Corrupts is arrayed thoroughly. Murder, treason, and ethical/moral corruption were three prevalent themes that proved the overall topic of Power Corrupts.
“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
In the play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare shows how friends often betray each other. Julius Caesar is about to be crowned king of Rome, when some well-known Romans decide that it is not a good idea for this to happen. They form a conspiracy and kill Caesar. Brutus, an honorable Roman and a very good friend of Caesar’s, betrays Caesar by killing him for the good of Rome. Antony, Caesar’s best friend and another honorable Roman, betrays Brutus by turning against the conspirators. Cassius, a respected Roman, and Brutus betray each other by arguing and destroying their friendship. All this betraying lead to many deaths in the play.
"We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” This iconic quote said by Martin Luther King Jr. speaks volumes and its relevance can be traced back to 44 B.C. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare contains one of the most influential speeches known to man, Mark Antony’s funeral speech. Political and historical figure, Mark Antony, speaks at Julius Caesar’s funeral after his dear friend’s assassination. The subject of the speech entails how praiseworthy a leader Caesar was and the level of respect and admiration he had for the plebeians and the patricians of Rome. Persuading the citizens of Rome against the conspirators is Mark Antony’s purpose for this oration. Antony embraces an ironic and sarcastic tone
Roman values and their importance to the state play a central role in Julius Caesar. These values are portrayed as integral to the success of Rome, because the majority of these virtues act in favour of the state. Each person in Roman society has their own role which is part of a more important collective whole. Characters in the play seem to identify more with being a citizen or “soul of Rome” rather than a unique individual (Shakespeare, 2.1.323). The play emphasizes Rome as “an alien society” and analyses the relationship “between Rome and the Romans, who see themselves as ‘citizens,’ rather than ‘men’” (Miles, 2). Shakespeare emphasizes the importance of the state over personal thoughts or feelings: “not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more” (Shakespeare, 3.2.21-22). Each of the Roman virtues arises out of a sense of duty to put the state over the self. Following this duty evokes a necessary recognition of