The Audience's Perception of Cassius and Brutus
'Julius Caesar' is one of Shakespeare's most thought provoking plays.
It depicts the story of Julius Caesar, one of history's most
successful dictators, who was killed by a group of politicians of whom
was his close friend Brutus, which led him to say his iconic last
words: 'Et tu Brutè', which are the only words in the play which are
written in Latin and have a special significance. From the beginning
we can see that Caesar has ambitions to become Emperor and when he
thinks the senate is going to offer it to him, he is more than willing
to accept. It is this that leads Brutus to killing Caesar as we see
how much Brutus wants to protect the republic. The irony of this is
that once Caesar dies Octavius takes over and becomes Emperor Augustus
and there is no one to oppose him, as all the conspirators have been
killed. Although, when written it had been over fifteen hundred years
since the death of Caesar, the play still had many themes that
appealed to an Elizabethan audience. Caesar in many ways has parallels
to Queen Elizabeth I: both were physically weak but had a lot of power
and both of them were childless and had no one to take over their
position. Other themes that are explored are of loyalty and friendship
and Shakespeare shows how these can have conflicting interests.
Another major theme is honour and how respect is the most important
thing in Roman society.
In Act 1 Scene 2, we see that Cassius is jealous of Caesar and detests
him. Cassius tries to convince Brutus to work with him to murder
Caesar as he believes it is the right thing to do; he also tries to
persuade Brutus...
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...d my naked breast; within a heart/ dearer than Pluto's
mine, richer than gold.' The use of language is effective as Cassius
is telling Brutus to kill him; this attracts the reader's attention as
they start to believe than an important character may die.
Throughout the play many changes in the characters of Brutus and
Cassius are evident we discover that they have to pay the ultimate
price for their actions. We see how the choice between principle and
friendship is questioned and a darker side to human nature and how
people can be prepared to do almost anything for power. Overall we
learn that Cassius is a man who does not want anyone else to have
power apart from himself. We see Caesar who desperately wanted power
for the sake of having power and Brutus an innocent idealistic
character turn into Caesar craving power.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is the story about the men who conspired and followed through with the assassination of the great Julius Caesar. These men fear that Caesar will take the crown and become the next king of Rome. The roman people had a true averse feeling toward the idea of monarchy. So in order to prevent this they come up with a plan to end Caesars life, which is duly followed through on March 15, 44 B.C. Out of these conspirators there is one man that stands out to be a tragic hero, and that is a man by the name of Brutus. He was a great friend of Caesar who ultimately became one of Caesars worst adversaries. He betrayed Caesars trust and friendship when he agreed to be part of the assassination plot. A tragic hero is someone who is in a place of high standings or a place of power. This leads to a huge fall from greatness to death. A tragic hero must have many deep complex character flaws that are revealed throughout the course of the story. They then must ultimately accept responsibility for their mistakes; along with being humbled and enlightened. Brutus demonstrates all of the attributes of a tragic hero.
Brutus, Honorable Man Brutus, an honorable conspirator? Honorable is defined as genuine, truthful and displaying integrity, while a conspirator is defined as one that engages in an agreement to commit an illegal or wrongful act. Anyone can clearly see that these two words do not belong together. There are also other reasons why Brutus should not be considered honorable. In the play, three distinct acts can be recalled.
Cassius truly believes Caesar has a frail state of mind and is unfit to have any form of authority in Rome. At first glance, his words and ideology seem to strive for the end of tyranny and become the savior of Romans, but it is clear he puts more emphasis on his rank rather than the well-being of others. When he states that their ranks were not their fault and should be taken into their own hands he intends to take his place by force with no regards for the Roman people or government. Additionally, Cassius shouldn’t be commended for saving Caesar from drowning because he remembrances on that deed to convince others that Caesar is feeble than most, yet he is treated like a god. Cassius’s greed for power motivates his murderous motivations but his ability to manipulate others to his will is also evident in his words. He refers to Caesar’s overwhelming power similar to a Colossus while he and the others “…walk under his huge legs… ” or are hidden in his glory. In reality though, the senators are more esteemed than despised. Another way Cassius misleads others is by faking Caesar’s fascist behaviors toward the commoners. He does so by forging negative letters about “Caesar’s Ambition” for Brutus to be pressured into joining his cause. Consumed by envy, he convinces Brutus to assassinate Caesar for the righteousness of the people but his incentive has
also a man of strong pride and self confidence which led to the fate of this
Cassius is unhappy about Caesar potentially becoming king of Rome and Cassius works to encourage Brutus to plot against Caesar by saying, “except immortal Caesar, speaking of Brutus and groaning underneath this age’s yoke, have wished that noble Brutus had his eyes” (1.2.61-64). Cassius mentions to Brutus that people are speaking about Rome and how they wish Brutus would notice what could happen if Caesar is crowned. Cassius reveals to Brutus that the people are wondering why someone as noble as Brutus is not aware of what could happen if Caesar is crowned. Cassius is practically stroking Brutus’ ego to make him feel as though he is wiser than Caesar and should do something about Caesar. Once Caesar is dead and the triumvirate and Cassius and Brutus’ armies are in battle, Cassius yet again proves he is dishonorable when he exclaims that, “If this be known, Cassius or Caesar never shall turn back, for I will slay myself” (3.1.24-26). Committing suicide was not an honorable thing to do because it was not accepting the consequences of one’s actions. Cassius does not have the same honest reasons for the conspiracy as Brutus does, so he is constantly worried about being caught. Throughout the play, Cassius threatens to kill himself because to him, it is the easy way out and he can escape his problems without solving them. In Act 4, Cassius plays the pity card in order to make Brutus feel bad for him when he complains, “Strike, as thou didst at Caesar. For I know when thou didst hate him worst, thou lovedst him better than ever thou lovedst Cassius” (4.3.110-113). Cassius whines to Brutus that Brutus does not care as much about him as he did about Caesar. Cassius is manipulating Brutus to make him pity him. He knows that Brutus does not want Cassius to be upset so Brutus will try to reason with him, ultimately allowing Cassius to have his
sc. II, 97-99). Cassius is also enraged because Caesar doesn't like him. Caesar suggests, "Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; / He thinks too much. such men are dangerous" (Act I, sc. II, 194-195). Cassius thinks that Caesar's temper is dangerous. He declares, "Ye gods! It doth amaze me, / A man of such a feeble temper should / So get the start of the majestic world, / And bear the palm alone" (Act I, sc. II, 128-131). See also & nbsp; Casca also is jealous of Caesar.
The tragic hero is one of literatures most used (and sometimes abused) characters. The classical definition of a tragic hero is, “a person with heroic or potentially heroic qualities. The person is doomed by the Gods or some other supernatural force to destruction or suffering. The hero struggles against the fate, but due to a personal flaw, ultimately fails in the battle against fate. It is my personal opinion that Brutus,as he is portrayed in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, is a tragic hero by this definition. I came to this conclusion due to the fact that Brutus shares many similarities with other tragic heroes in literature such as Oedipus, Hamlet, and Ralph from Lord of the Flies. All four characters share the two critical traits that are needed to be tragic heroes: a tragic flaw that eventually leads to a tragic downfall. The tragic hero was defined by Aristotle, yet the “invention” of the tragic hero goes to Sophocles.
Cassius is a sly, deceitful and an untrustworthy character. Caesar described him best. He said (act1, scene 2, line 195), “Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much. Such men are dangerous”. Cassius is very superstitious. This is shown when he says (act 5, scene 1, line 75) “ you know I held Epicurus strong, and his opinion. Now I change my mind, and partly credit things that do presage…”. He believes in omen and signs that foretell events to come. Cassius is conceded. This is shown when he says to Brutus (act1, scene 2, line 116), “ And this man is now become a god, and Cassius is now a wretched creature, and must bend his body if Caesar careless but nod on him…”. Cassius continues on saying about times when he saved Caesar from drowning and when he saw Caesar with a fever and he started to shake. All this tells us that Cassius thinks he is just as good or even better than Caesar.
My first piece of evidence happens in act 1 scene 1lines 122-123 when Cassius says “and this man is now become a god.”Although Caesar did not directly say this we can easily infer that as a leader he thinks of himself as more superior then anyone else.
Cassius, a very suspicious character throughout the play tells Brutus to “be not jealous on me” (827), in the quote he tells Brutus to not be suspicious of him because he is just a friend who genuinely cares. Cassius does this to put himself on Brutus’ side and not seem like a distant person, this allows him to criticize Caesar and suggest that he is a bad influence on Rome which appeals to Brutus’ desire to keep Rome safe. After setting himself up as a friend to Brutus, Cassius uses harsh anecdotes on the weakness of Caesar to show that he isn’t fit to rule Rome. Cassius recollects a time when he and Caesar went swimming in the river Tiber and Caesar screamed “Help me, Cassius or I sink” (828) to depict Caesar as a little baby compared to the colossus he is said to be.... ... middle of paper ...
Rhetoric, diction and structure are all powerful tools commonly seen being used by people to persuade and manipulate or to justify and calm, to name a few. These literary devices are so powerful that they have the ability not only to sway one person 's thoughts but even perhaps the populace. In William Shakespeare 's Julius Caesar I believe that Act 3 Scene 2 can serve as commentary on the cycle between democracy and dictatorship. Even though there is no need to restructure the scene as the language stands out for itself the way it is, rearranging the structure of the scene allows the dichotomy in language to stand out. I believe that deconstructing and reconstructing Shakespeare 's language does not
Both Cassius and Brutus conspire against Caesar, yet Shakespeare depicts Brutus as doing a noble job compared to Cassius as doing a greedy and envious task. Cassius believes that he is stronger than Caesar. Therefore, Cassius does not understand why Caesar is in power and he is not. Cassius is also envious of Caesar. In Act I Scene II, Cassius describes to Brutus the time he had to save Caesar in a swimming race. Since then, Cassius feels superior to Caesar. In Cassius’ mind, kings’ right to rule should be based off of strength, not intelligence or virtue. On the other hand, Brutus knows that although a king should be strong, he must also be virtuous. Brutus always elaborates on the topic of honor. In fact, his first priority is to keep his own honor intact and Brutus fears that Caesar will change when he is crowned. Brutus says, “He would be crowned: How that might change his nature, there’s the question.” (Act II, Scene I, Page 49, lines 12-14) He senses Caesar’s greed for power, and ...
The definition of a tragic hero is perceived as on who is neither wicked nor purely innocent, one who “is brave and noble but guilty of the tragic flaw of assuming that honorable ends justify dishonorable means”. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Brutus takes the role of the tragic hero. Brutus’s honor, nobility, and self-righteousness makes him “a tragic figure, if not the hero” (Catherine C. Dominic).
He is so motivated by ambition that he decides to kill Caesar, the leader of Rome. Although dedication can be a good quality, in Cassius, it blinds him to all other things and makes him ruthless in his quest to rule Rome. Cassius’s desire for power is evident when he states, "Men at some time are masters of their fates. The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings" (1.2.146-148). Cassius’ ambition leads him to go as far as to convince a dear friend with manipulation and false notes to help him plot to kill Caesar. His ambition makes him power hungry and he lacks the honor to back up his overzealous behavior. Cassius envies Caesar and because of this he resorts to bribery, assassinations, and imposing taxes for personal
... middle of paper ... ... Cassius commits the murder because of his jealousy of Caesar's elevated power and mounting dominance over everyone, even his friends.