Private And The Public Self In Julius Caesar

Brutus believes he must put his own personal self and relationships behind for the betterment of Rome, leading to the people turning against him. One of the first examples is when he was brought the concept of killing Caesar, after much thought and deliberation he decides he must put away his own relationships for the betterment of his country. “O conspiracy, Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, When evils are most free? O, then, by day Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough To mask thy monstrous visage? Seek none, conspiracy. Hide it in smiles and affability; For if thou path, thy native semblance on, Not Erebus itself were dim enough To hide thee from prevention.” (2.1.84-93) He knows that by doing this act he will inflict consequences of a great degree upon himself, but he knows he must do it for the betterment of Rome. He then

Brutus in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar In 'Julius Caesar', Shakespeare intended us to see Brutus as 'noble'. I wish to review his actions, and the motivating factors behind those actions. I intend to prove that Brutus had a strong and well-grounded character. He had good intentions, however, he made one fatal mistake and that was his downfall. When learn that Brutus is dedicated to the public, when Brutus decides Caesar must die, because he fears his ambition, this comes as a big shock to the Shakespearian audience as well as the modern day audience.

He states that Brutus is just as noble and worthy as Caesar. (Act 1, scene ii). He says that Brutus cannot see what everyone else does and recognize his worthiness. Cassius and the other senators do not want Caesar to be king because they would lose all their power. Cassius is slowly luring Brutus in to do his dirty work. He builds Brutus’s confidence up to make him thing that killing Caesar is the right thing to do. Cassius is basically playing with Brutus’s head because he knows Brutus will listen. So, Brutus joins the conspirators in killing Caesar. Cassius tells Brutus that it is for the good of Rome, and that he is saving them from a dictatorship. Cassius is going for Brutus’s weakest point, his care and concern for Rome. He knows that if Brutus believes the people distrust Caesar, then he will be convinced that Caesar must be thwarted. Brutus knew that if Caesar was crowned, he would never have a chance, and he was power hungry. This is what ultimately leads to the tragedy of Julius Caesar. After Brutus kills Caesar off, he starts to feel guilty for killing his friend, thus creating an internal conflict. Brutus was so confident that the plan would go exactly as planned that he fell apart when they encountered problems. If Brutus and the other conspirators had taken more time to think things through, they probably would have been more prepared for the situation that was handed to them.

Shakespeare shows how power and the prospect of power changes people through the character of Brutus. Brutus’ attitude changes as he acquires power and detects the possibility of being powerful. Originally, everything Brutus does is for the good of the people and Rome itself. He recognizes that he has “no personal cause to spurn at [Caesar]” (I.I.11); however, he considers doing it “for the general” (I.I.12). Power has not yet changed Brutus’ attitude; he still focuses on the good of Rome as a whole and not just gaining power for himself. As the play continues, Brutus’ ongoing internal struggle of whether or not he should kill Caesar ends when he decides to kill him. He wants to kill him in a very specific way so that the people hate Caesar rather

Brutus then talks about how what they had done to Caesar he will do to himself if the time should ever come up. This shows another theme: Ethos. He then says how Caesar's

Brutus was not the honorable man that Romans thought him to be. What the public does not know is that his beloved wife Portia swallowed hot coals to end her miserable life. She grew tired of waiting for her husband’s affection while

Brutus also, was trying to persuade others that Caesar wasn’t a good man which isn’t right like who are you to say that this person isn’t good enough to be king? What makes you better than him when you commited a crime that shouldn’t have taken place? How can people trust you when you killed an innocent man? Brutus isn’t king material he only looks out for himself and in this play it shows that. He was worried about Caesar being king and Caesar turned down the

In the beginning of the play, we meet Brutus, a highly respected, much loved, senator of Rome. He loved Rome as a republic and he has a good life until he is led astray by Cassius. When he becomes embroiled in the assassination of Caesar, he is very reluctant to do so. In the way he acted, you could tell he has sleepless nights over what he should do. He decided to kill Caesar for

In Brutus’s soliloquy at the beginning of Act II, Scene i, Brutus is faced with an internal conflict. That is whether or not he should join the conspiracy that wants to kill his friend, Julius Caesar. In his head, Brutus tries to go through different reasons as to why he should take part, even though it would mean betraying his friend and his own judgement. Brutus is trying to mentally convince himself to join the conspiracy. He goes through many reasons why he believes it would be the best option, but Brutus does not give many opposing views or rebuttals, except for the ones that we can infer through his thoughts and actions.

In Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, the theme of public identity versus private identity in evident in many of the characters. Caesar acts very in control and fearless in front of others and as a leader; also, when the soothsayer told him to “…Beware the ides of March..” (Act 1.2.2). He didn’t react as if he was scared or had to be cautious from now on, but he acted that the warning didn’t mean anything. Around particular people, Caesar was suspicious and the people that he acted this was around will also be warning him continually.

The fact that Brutus is so appealing to the audience is a mixture of emotions stirred within each person watching the play. It is comprehendible and probable that Shakespeare’s ambition was to connect this character to the everyday temptations and conscientious objecting that every person goes through. Although this has been extremely dramatised, people can familiarise with Brutus’ predicament as they have at least once in their lives faced a temptation for which they have most probably given in to. In Act 1 Scene 2, lines 82-89 it provides the loose fibre in the strength of Brutus’ loyalty, but also shows the torment inside of this character facing the brutal reality of his own thoughts and feelings, a classic example being, “I would not, Cassius; yet I love him well”.

In act 3 Scene 4, the relationship between Antony and Octavia is presented to us through the means of the conversation that they have about the arising conflict between Antony and Caesar. Although short, the scene manages to present to us the relationship of Antony and Octavia as a comparison to Antony’s relationship with Cleopatra and further the inversion of public and private life, as Antony only discusses public life with his wife Octavia and private with Cleopatra. This scene is significant as the relationship between Antony and Octavia is portrayed to portend the conflict and the future war between the two polar opposites, Egypt and Rome and the allowance of Antony to focus on duty and honor which was lost with Cleopatra as he was indulged

Brutus, a conflicted senator obsessed with his civic duty, convinces the people of Rome that his motives in killing Caesar were just and noble by rhetoric. Brutus is the only conspirator to have impersonal motives in killing Caesar. In fact, his motives are trying to find the best solution for Rome, and in the end, he must make the hard choice of killing his best friend for his homeland. As early as Brutus’ conversation with Cassius in Act I, Brutus exhibits this deep love and respect for Rome and how this love is conflicting with his love for his friend, Caesar: “[P]oor Brutus, with himself at war, / Forgets the shows of love to other men” (I.ii.51-52). Brutus brings up this internal conflict again when he tells the crowds that although he did love Caesar, he loved Rome and its people more. After Brutus’ murder of Caesar, he realizes that the issue of the public opinion of Rome is of the utmost importance. Because of this love for Rome, Brutus uses rhetoric to persuade these plebeians to approve of him and his cause. When Cassius warns Brutus about “how much the people will be moved / By that which [Marc Antony] will utter[!]” (III.i.252-253), Brutus tells Cassius that letting Marc Antony speak “shall advantage us more than do us wrong” (III.i.261). In these cases, Brutus demonstrates his awareness of

Brutus made an overwhelming amount of decisions based on the good of Rome, not contemplating how it could affect or hurt himself or those around him. One example of this is after Brutus and the conspirators killed Brutus he gave a speech. In this speech he said, “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.” (3.2.20-22). This quote is saying that the reason Brutus killed Caesar was not because he disliked him, but because he thought it was for the good of Rome. Brutus made this decision solely based on patriotism. He never thought about the effects or consequences it