Power, Greed And Deception In William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar (100-44BC) was one of the greatest men produced by ancient Rome and he remains today a famous personality in world history (Barlow 2005). The conspirators were wrong to murder Julius Caesar in three ways. Firstly, they were morally wrong in the removal of Caesar. Secondly, they failed to consider a practical benefit to Rome in the murder of Caesar, resulting in only more problems. Lastly and most importantly, the conspirators were wrong to murder Julius Caesar because they placed their interests before those of Rome.

Julius Caesar, a Roman general, dictator, and leader, is considered to be one of history 's most influential and powerful rulers to this day, in which his rise to power, conquest of Europe, and controversial downfall all remain to be told during modern days. The play Julius Caesar written by William Shakespeare, portrays the events leading up to Julius Caesar’s assassination, and how those who conspired against him banded together and plotted Caesar’s demise. Many of those conspirators assassinated Caesar due to his quick rise to absolute power, his “acts” of disrespect against the senate such as his failing to stand to receive the title of becoming a “god,” and pure jealousy and anger towards Caesar’s success and rule over the Roman empire. Caesar, an ambitious man, was able to conquer many lands and peoples for Rome through successful military campaigns in which he became one Rome’s best generals due to the amount of successful battles he had won and the amount of blood he had shed for Rome’s expansion. However, Caesar’s trait of ambitiousness would prove to be a double edged sword.

Many Romans continued to honor Caesar and that began to anger the Roman politicians more and more. Caesar took many decisions in his hands and this put paid to the Roman senate. They wanted him out, but he had the hearts of the Roman people. They could not attack him publicly because they would risk their own lives. They had to find a way out of this predicament. The final straw for the Roman politicians was when Julius Caesar refused the crown three times in front of the crowd. Caesar has refused, saying he was not the king and therefore not eligible to wear that crown. He lived up to the expectation of his people and did all that was required of him. He spent so much time making Rome an empire to be feared that many politicians thought it was all for his own good. They felt he made Rome a very powerful country because he wanted to rule and wanted the power all to himself.

Julius Caesar was a very arrogant man. He thought very highly of himself. Although, everyone in Rome respected him. They didn 't care what he did. I ii 273 He claimed he was not scared of anything. Calpurnia had nightmares, they were thought as representations of signs of Caesar´s death. Caesar wanted to go to the capitol, Calpurnia told him it was not safe because of her nightmares. In her dreams, there were dead men walking, a statue running with blood like a fountain, while many smiling Romans bathed their hands in the blood. She also had a dream of ghosts wandering the city, a lioness giving

Have you ever wondered if anything has stayed the same for over half a century? Look no further; in the drama, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, an important theme is all power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This simple statement is true for Ancient Rome and it is also true for North Korea today.

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.

In life, people often look up to leaders and rulers in respectful viewpoints; whether it be out of bias or out of understanding. Leaders are at the top looking down upon us because of what they believe in, how commanding their words are, and the trust the people invest in them. Julius Caesar was neither a kind leader nor was he an understanding ruler; from his egotistical actions, his violent attacks and scandals with Cleopatra, and his controversy throughout Rome as leader in all its simplicity, I am undoubtedly certain Julius Caesar was a villain in disguise.

Unlike the common view of leaders, the potential leaders of Julius Caesar are not necessarily nice or giving. However, sometimes that is necessary. In the play Julius Caesar, a long tale of leadership shows the true qualities of the greatest leaders. Where the reader finds themselves started is at the point which Antony and Caesar, the overconfident leader of Rome, are discussing people around them. This discussion boils to a point in which Antony and Caesar discuss the possibility of Cassius being a threat to Caesar. Later, readers find Cassius is indeed a threat, as he and multiple others, including Brutus, stab Caesar to death. Antony then brings Caesar’s body to the multitude, and with a great speech inspires a hatred for those who wrongfully stabbed him. At the next point Antony is seen, he and Octavius are the new rulers of Rome. These two comrades go and finally eliminate the last of the traitors, Cassius and Brutus, in a battle that cements the two as the new leaders of Rome. Throughout all these actions, one man particularly showed that he should control the Roman Empire. Antony was created to be Rome’s leader in Julius Caesar, where William Shakespeare gave him inspirational abilities, persuasiveness, and fearlessness which are unparalleled.

Brutus belive that Caesar was ambitious however the empire was greatly disagrees...''the angry crowd attacking the homes of Cassius and Brutus''. The quote from the text speaks for itself. The people of Rome was ferious with Cassius and Brutus for killing Julius Caesar. The people of Rome looked up to Caesar because of whqt he have done for them over the years that he has ruled.Cassius and Brutus tries to make it seem like Carsar

He somehow convinced all the others to join his conspiracy- explaining how Caesar would become perilous if he was crowned. Many of them already disliked Caesar, so it didn’t take much persuasion for them to join. Had Cassius decided not to kill him, there would have never been any battles between them and Octavius and Antony. Cassius would have never died and neither would have Brutus if they had let Caesar be crowned. Cassius never liked Caesar. When the story first began, he was angry because people were celebrating Caesar. From there, it was identified that Cassius deeply envies

The killers assassinated Caesar without clear justification and did it based on their own assumptions of him. Cassius says, “Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed That he is grown so great? Age, thous art shame! Rome thous hast last the breed of noble bloods!”(Act I, scii, 150-153). Cassius is asking what is so great about Caesar without saying what isn’t great about him. One of Caesar’s good friends, Brutus, claims he

In the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, the character Cassius can perfectly be described as a very manipulative man with very bad intentions. But even with that, as said by Caesar himself “So soon as that spare Cassius. He reads much/ He is a great observer, and he looks/ Quite through the deeds of men”. Caesar here describes a very dangerous characteristic of Cassius, that he is able to see right through people and understand their secrets. Throughout the play, Cassius becomes very angry with the way Rome is beginning to become governed. He believes that the nobility of Rome are responsible for the government of Rome, but they have let one man gain excessive power so it's their right to stop him, and with Caesar being as loved and ambitious as he is, he believes assassination is the only way.

Caesar was an arrogant man who seemed like he wanted to restore the monarchy and overthrow the republic. Cassius and his fellow conspirators can see this happening and want to find a way to stop him. Overthrowing the republic would be just another way Caesar is trying to prove that he is the most important man at the time. “But I am as constant as the Northern Star, of whose true-fixed and resting quality there is no fellow in the firmament “ (Julius Caesar page 944 ) Julius Caesar goes even as far as to compare himself to the Northern Star. This shows us a lot about him and even makes us wonder why the citizens loved him. He was not the best of men and would rarely listen to sincere warnings that precede his death. He was warned twice that he would be killed when and where he was killed, but Caesar chose to go anyway. Caesar must have wanted to prove that he was fearless to everyone by going there despite all warnings, that or he truly believed that nothing could harm him. Julius Caesar was so conceited that he would do things in the thought of him and not his people, but he does get what’s coming to him in the

“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 the tragic hero because of his noble stature. The noble stature of Caesar is made evident through his position in society and his outstanding qualities. Caesars position in Rome was that of a dictator. At the start of the play Brutus enlightens the reader that “.... the people/ choose Caesar for their king” (1.ii.77-78). When Brutus says “king” he is actually informing the audience the Caesar has been made dictator of Rome for life. At this time in Rome, the Roman society took pride in being republic. Therefore, electing Caesar as a dictator was a monumental event. A dictator was the most powerful position in Roman society. Indeed as a stated in Encyclopedia Britannica a dictator was a “a temporary magistrate with extraordinary powers” (dictator). Furthermore, as opposed to the usual six month term Caesar was appointed a life long term (dictator). With this in mind one could say the Caesar was the most