The Genius In William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar was born into a well-known family that lost most of their money but he still had a good education. Ever since Julius was little, he was combative and a good speaker who took a liking to politics. When he was 18, he married the daughter of a Popular faction member. When Sulla came into power, he commanded Caesar to separate from her or he would lose his

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

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.

The topic of leadership in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar has been discussed and argued ever since the play was written. The most prevalent discussion of leadership in the play revolves around Shakespeare’s tragic hero, Marcus Brutus, and the cause of his downfall. According to Shakespeare critic James Bundy, “Brutus... is a man whose affections sway more than his reason, in whom there is this tragic confederacy of passion and imagination against reason” (qtd. in Palmer 402). Ernest Shanzer, however, says that Brutus is “by no means devoid of political shrewdness and practical wisdom”, but he is a “bad judge of character” (Shanzer 1). Although both critics’ descriptions of Brutus have merit, Brutus’ shortcoming, as well as the success of the opposing leader, Mark Antony, is more accurately explained using the observations of Niccolo Machiavelli in The Prince. In this book Machiavelli outlines the characteristics of a successful leader. When using The Prince as a lens to read Julius Caesar, the correlation between a leader’s Machiavellianism and their success becomes very apparent. Marcus Brutus is undoubtedly an honorable and respectable man, but his morality prevents him from adhering to Machiavelli’s principles. Due to his lack of princely virtues, Brutus is doomed to fail, while Antony, a much more Machiavellian prince, successfully seizes power.

Julius Caesar is a powerful, confident man who leads great armies and efficiently rules the Roman Empire.

Julius Caesar is a powerful, confident man who leads great armies and efficiently rules the Roman Empire.

There have been many rulers in history who have been betrayed by those they trust, but The Tragedy of Julius Caesar (William Shakespeare,1959) still holds a special place in Western literature as one of the most enigmatic human beings to ever exist. Powerful men like Julius Caesar shaped the life and times of the late Roman Republic, just before Rome would officially become the Roman Empire on the crowning of Augustus as the first Roman emperor. Julius Caesar was a powerful general who expanded Rome's power and who was beloved by the people for his generous charity after his successful conquests. Despite knowing the story of Julius Caesar to some extent, most 16th/17th century English would not have ever visited Rome, nor would know what the Roman Republic was like, which presented a unique opportunity to William Shakespeare to create a play unlike any other he had created before. (Shakespeare Julius Caesar, 1599) Shakespeare's Julius Caesar is a reimagining of Rome from a Elizabethan point of view, and despite some inaccuracies, the play depicts an enlightening view on Roman life, and the life of the Roman general, Julius Caesar.

Julius Caesar was a man who was uncommonly uncommon. He had never been brought around any kind of weaknesses. He was firm to face all dangers and wrongs that incorporated him. He had a tall and appealing stature and was to a great degree congenial. The overall population was something he was minding of, and it was minding of him, also. All his behavior were dumbfounding (Abbott 14). It was this that brought him to transform into a phenomenal general. He was to a great degree given on special strategies that would help him control the Roman officers who were harsh and incredibly willing to fight. He had a stand-out speed the degree that striking his foes. He had various qualities yet constancy was one of them, which helped him fight his battles. His troopers had complete endurance to him in light of his power capacities. The attributes he held made it worth fighting close-by Julius Caesar (SFUSD para.1).

A death of a hero; the fate chosen for the protagonist in most dramatic tragedies. Though, in William Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar’, there are two characters that are given this outcome; Julius Caesar and Marcus Brutus. With the most potential, the self-titled, Julius Caesar possesses the characteristics that label him as this Tragic Hero. Caesar’s tragic flaw is hubris when he acknowledges himself. The insight of others that observe Caesar, prove his high ranking. Caesar also struggles with internal conflict when he makes key decisions in the play. By examining his tragic flaw, high rank, and internal conflict, Julius Caesar is clearly the tragic hero in this tragedy.

“Ignorance is bliss” is a commonly heard saying; what one does not know, cannot hurt him. For instance, a student receiving a bad grade will not feel unpleasant, should he not know about his grade. It is when the student must acknowledge his grade, would he be unhappy. Similarly, Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar often tampers with the theme of ignorance and purity, as it follows the story of a military general, Julius Caesar, whose friends and fellow consuls brutally betray him. However, amidst the tragedy of his play, Shakespeare provides a glimpse of purity through the character of Lucilius, whose devotion to Caesar’s friend, Brutus, is “innocent;” as a soldier, the sight of war does not “corrupt” Lucilius, but teaches him the true nature of humanity: a subject as pure as it gets.

Cassius is a unique character as well as an important one throughout the tragedy of Julius Caesar. He is both clever and connected, which is why he succeeded in killing Caesar. However, Cassius is ambitious, and too much so. He wanted to kill Caesar very much and assumed he would come out it okay. This turned out to be his downfall.

Many writers use certain literary devices to get a point across. These devices can emphasize a character’s intentions, or even display their true personality. During Antony’s speech at Caesar’s funeral, Shakespeare demonstrated Antony’s true intentions by using subtleties and contradictions to provoke the crowd against Brutus and Cassius.

“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 his drama, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare exposes how humans change when granted power. In the play, Brutus is a dynamic character who undergoes a dramatic change when he gains power. Cassius convinces Brutus to join the conspirators in their mission to murder Julius Caesar. At first he is hesitant, but eventually he is persuaded and joins the group. His relationships with several people change remarkably throughout the story.This is a result of his change. The transformation Brutus makes from before and after he kills Caesar proves that he is a dynamic character. William Shakespeare, in his play Julius Caesar, illustrates how power can change someone by making Brutus a dynamic character in order to

Brutus describes Caesar with this quote: “But he was ambitious” (III, ii, 21). Also, Caesar accepts bribes in another quote by Brutus “But for supporting robbers, shall we now contaminate our fingers with base bribes, and sell the mighty space of our large honors for so much trash as may be graspéd thus” (IV, iii, 23-26). Caesar also thinks of himself as “immortal” (I, ii, 60), described here by Cassius, even if sarcastically. One that is power-hungry, short-tempered (even if by disease), thinks he is indomitable, and ambitious does not qualify for a good leader in a republic.