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Moral Ambiguity In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

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Shakespeare’s classic tragedy, Julius Caesar, is rife with meaning. So many themes abound in this play. Yet, of all of these, the most prominent theme is moral ambiguity.

Early on, it is established that there are people who oppose Caesar, among them Brutus and his brother Cassius. Cassius strongly dislikes Caesar, whereas Brutus loves Caesar but is afraid of what will happen to Rome if he becomes king . Cassius tries to convince his brother that Caesar is power-hungry and vicious and that should he become king, the Romans will all be enslaved under his tyranny (1.2. 142-148). From that moment, it seems to be apparent that Caesar is the villain of the story. However, there seem to be moments that disprove that notion. In 1.2, shouts from a crowd are heard offstage, and Brutus thinks the people are shouting because they have made Caesar their king; yet later, in the same scene, Casca reveals that Caesar actually refused the crown and that’s why the people shouted. Later, in 3.1, Caesar displays both humility (“What touches us ourself shall be last served,” (8) in response to Artemidorus asking Caesar to read a letter that pertains to him) and then arrogance in boasting …show more content…

Indeed, throughout the play, it seems increasingly evident that Brutus was the only man out of all the conspirators who killed Caesar for the greater good of Rome and that the rest merely did it out of envy of his power. In fact, Mark Antony directly says: “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./His life was gentle and the elements/So mixed in him that nature might stand up/And say to all the world ‘This was a man’” (75-81). This is a very strong statement, since Mark Antony has at last made peace with the man who killed his best friend and the ruler of

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