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Comparing and contrasting characters in shakespeare
Shakespeare literary analysis
Shakespeare literary analysis
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In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar (1599), much of the play’s tragedy stems from the characters’ neglect of private feelings and loyalties in favor of what they believe to be the public good. Similarly, characters confuse their private selves with their public selves, hardening and dehumanizing themselves or transforming themselves into ruthless political machines. Throughout play, the public selves of Brutus and Caesar are skewed by what other people will think of them, so much so that their private selves which are their voices of reason are overshadowed.
Brutus’ public self is focused mostly on his image of nobility, meanwhile his private self is much more thoughtful and reasonable. When Brutus allows Antony to speak at Caesar’s funeral, Cassius warns him that it is not a good idea, but still Brutus allows Antony to speak; Antony
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Brutus You shall Mark Antony Cassius Brutus a word with you/ You know not what you do. Do not consent/ That Antony speak in his funeral./ Know how much the people may be moved/ by that which he will utter? (3.1.230-235) …show more content…
Brutus is not dumb, but his public self makes him make poor decisions. The tragedy here is that Brutus ends up siding with Cassius. How Brutus treats and responds to his wife in public and in private is different. In private he is caring and he trusts her, so much so that he tells her about the conspiracy. Yet, in public when he finds out that she has committed suicide he does not display any emotion. Almost as if he does not
Shakespeare’s complex play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar contains several tragic heroes; a tragic hero holds high political or social esteem yet possesses an obvious character flaw. This discernible hubris undoubtedly causes the character’s demise or a severe forfeiture, which forces the character to undergo an unfeigned moment of enlightenment and shear reconciliation. Brutus, one of these tragic heroes, is a devout friend of the great Julius Caesar, that is, until he makes many execrable decisions he will soon regret; he becomes involved in a plot to kill the omniscient ruler of Rome during 44 B.C. After committing the crime, Mark Antony, an avid, passionate follower of Caesar, is left alive under Brutus’s orders to take his revenge on the villains who killed his beloved Caesar. After Antony turns a rioting Rome on him and wages war against him and the conspirators, Brutus falls by his own hand, turning the very sword he slaughtered Caesar with against himself. Brutus is unquestionably the tragic hero in this play because he has an innumerable amount of character flaws, he falls because of these flaws, and then comes to grips with them as he bleeds on the planes of Philippi.
The play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare showcases many characters and events that go through many significant changes. One particular character that went through unique changes was Julius Caesar. The 16th century work is a lengthy tragedy about the antagonists Brutus and Cassius fighting with the protagonists Octavius, Antony, and Lepidus over the murder of Julius Caesar. Although the play’s main pushing conflict was the murder of Julius Caesar, he is considered a secondary character, but a protagonist. Throughout the theatrical work Julius Caesar’s actions, alliances, character developments, and internal and external conflicts display his diverse changes.
Throughout the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, the audience constantly sees Brutus, an honorable man, go against his own beliefs because of men filled with hatred and jealousy. Brutus
Honor: “Honesty fairness, or integrity in one 's beliefs and actions.” Honesty can be a good and bad trait to have, being too honest can affect a person greatly. In William shakespeare 's play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Caesar returns to Rome having defeated Pompey. The Romans wanted to crown him king. later caesar is killed by conspirators due to his ambition. After his murder common people are enraged and a civil war breaks out across Rome. Many characters die along the way. Throughout the historical play Shakespeare points out many personality traits as characters struggle to gain or remain in power. A closer examination of two main characters reveals the results of human nature. Two main leaders, Caesar and Brutus share similar and
“Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” (3.2.24) This quote reflects the motive of Brutus for the assassination of his friend, Caesar. I believe Brutus killed him not out of disrespect, but in a selfless act to protect Rome from the decree of Caesar yet to come. I also believe that he did this out of force from the manipulation from his “friend” Cassius. In Shakespeare's “Julius Caesar”, Brutus’ two most significant characteristics are virtue and unconscious hypocrisy. In order to fully understand these characteristics, it is necessary to analyze all other contributing characteristics, the manipulation of friendship that Cassius uses against him, and the motivations for
Driving her to suicide was a very selfish act on Brutus’ part. He should have been there for his wife. Brutus did not think about his actions before they were done. He didn't think about what would happen to the Roman empire if Caesar were killed. By assassinating Caesar, he started a civil war.
Brutus has a naive view of the world. He is unable to see through the roles being played by Cassius, Casca, and Antony. He does not even recognize the fake letters were sent from Cassius. Then Brutus says,“You shall not blame us Antony, in your funeral speech, but speak all the good you can of Caesar.
Throughout Julius Caesar, Shakespeare uses the friendships between characters in order to exhibit the complex features and elements that make up the human connection. Whether negative or positive, these sophisticated aspects of friendship are heavily layered throughout the text. One character in particular, Brutus, directly presents this idea via his actions, daily interactions, and conversations with his companions. By doing so, he showcases the idea that friendship has different aspects, and such a theme is prevalent throughout much of the play.
Throughout most of the play Brutus is constantly internally conflicted. Does he do what he believes is best for Rome or stay loyal to his friend and leader? Should he assist in the murder of one person to benefit many? Although killing Caesar was in the end a bad choice, Brutus always tries to do what is best for Rome and for the people. However even though all of Brutus’ motives are good he still has the tragic flaw of pride, which ultimately leads to his downfall. The reason that Brutus gets caught up in the conspiracy is because Cassias appeals to his pride and flatters him with forged letters from the Roman people saying he is a greater leader then Caesar.
Brutus’ ignorance creates an expectation that develops a path which leads him awry. When Brutus mentions,“ I would not Cassius; yet I love him well” (1.2.81-88 ), he portrays his internal conflict. Brutus depicts the rendering struggle between Cassius’ acquisitions and Caesar’s actions. His oblivion toward the truth and goodwill concerning the greater health of Rome prompt him astray. He acts with the innocence of a child, deceive and swindle by Cassius, Brutus is an
Brutus has several tragic flaws. One of these tragic flaws is how he trusts people a lot. Brutus says that he “know[s] that we shall have [Antony] well to a friend” (1140). He trusts Antony will be a friend of the conspirators, yet he seems to not realize that Antony is obliviously against them, because they killed his friend. Brutus trusts Antony so much, that he lets Antony speak to the public alone. Antony turns the people against Brutus and the conspirators, leading to the wars where Brutus takes his own life. Brutus also receives letters, supposedly from the people of Rome. As he reads the letter out loud, Brutus remarks “‘Speak, strike, redress!’ Am I entreated to speak and strike? O Rome, I make thee promise, if thy redress will follow, thy receivest thy full petition at the hand of Brutus” (1118).
Greed, ambition, and the possibility of self-gain are always constant in their efforts to influence people’s actions. In Julius Caesar, Marcus Brutus, a venerable politician, becomes a victim of the perpetual conflict between power-hungry politicians and ignorant commoners. He is a man of honor and good intentions who sacrifices his own happiness for the benefit of others. Unfortunately, his honor is strung into a fine balance between oblivion and belief and it is ultimately the cause of his downfall. His apparent obliviousness leads him to his grave as his merciful sparing of Mark Antony’s life, much like Julius Caesar’s ghost, comes back to haunt him. Overall, Brutus is an honest, sincere man who holds the lives of others in high regard while he himself acts as a servant to Rome.
Two powerful leaders, one power hungry whose ambitious ideas lead to his downfall, the other mindful of people who deserve their higher positions. A true leader is someone who has a vision, a drive and commitment to achieve what's best. In the play written by William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Brutus and Caesar are one of the main characters. They demonstrate leadership qualities that are still relevant to today. They are both very ambitious characters; however, they do so for different reasons and differ in their openness to others. There are many similarities and differences that lie between them. Both are noble and great men with loyal followers and neither man questions the rightness of his own path. Both made crucial mistakes that resulted in their death. However, Caesar acts out of love for for himself, his country, and to retain his power as ruler of Rome. Brutus on the other hand acts out of love for freedom of Rome. This essay will discuss and compare their qualities as leaders as well as their styles and how they are effective/ineffective in the play.
Brutus also frequently demonstrated many acts of affection toward others. In Act 1, Scene 2, he is reluctant to join Cassius's conspiracy because he did not want to betray Caesar. He had to weigh his choices and in Act 3, Scene 2, Brutus kills Caesar only because he is afraid of what will happen to Rome if Caesar remains ruler. He knew the commoners life would be difficult with the ruling of Caesar. He realizes what a honorable man Caesar was. This is shown again in the same Act and Scene when Brutus allows Mark Antony to speak at Caesar's funeral even though Cassius highly disagreed. Brutus realized Caesar deserved an proper ceremony, and that the best way to do that would be to let Caesar's best friend speak.
Brutus is considered an honorable, noble man in Rome and it is important to Cassius that he becomes part of the conspiracy. In Act 1, Cassius and Brutus agree that Caesar becoming king would be detrimental to Rome. Cassius starts off persuading Brutus by describing how weak Caesar is. He states, “he had a fever when he was Spain, and when the fit was on him, I did mark how he did shake; ‘tis true, this god did shake” (I.ii.119-121). Cassius is trying to show Brutus that Caesar is not perfect or better than everyone else. In fact, he is weak and infirm. Next, Cassius makes the point that Caesar is too powerful and if he becomes king, he will rule over the people “like a Colossus” (I.ii.136). Brutus says he will consider joining the conspiracy if it is