William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is centralized on the debate of whether or not man is bound to a fate predestined by some divine force hidden within the stars or a fate controlled by one’s own actions. Based on Sir Thomas North’s Plutarch’s historical accounts, Shakespeare depicts the characters within the play to believe that fate is either controlled by the divine, as indicated through portents or omens, Roman values, or human decision alone. However, Shakespeare ultimately makes the argument that the decisive actions of humans, both good and bad, are what ultimately shape history and therefore fate. Through the use of Plutarch’s writings, Shakespeare develops the life and death of Julius Caesar into a tragedy determined not by the fault
Calphurnia in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, based on Plutarch’s account of her having a nightmare where “Caesar was slain, and that she had him in her arms (“Sources” 107),” fears for her husband’s life on account of these superstitious happenings and states “O Caesar, these things are beyond all use, / And I do fear them (2.2.25-26).” Rather than being in support of these superstitions and therefore believing that fate is determined by the Gods, Calphurnia’s fear and several mentions of her physical weakness (1.2.9-11) and foolishness (2.2.110) within the play discredits the validity of such portents and omens. With these signs devalued, Shakespeare argues that it is the decisions of men alone that determines their fate and the faults of these decisions that lead to an imminent
Shakespeare’s portrayal of Cassius is based on Plutarch’s historical description as a “choleric man” who “even from his cradle could not abide any manner of tyrant (“Sources” 115).” It is not through divine power that men begin to conspire against Caesar, but it is through Cassius’ decision to use the power of rhetoric in order to persuade men, especially Brutus, to conspire against Caesar. According to Cassius in the play, “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 (1.2.139-141).” Through careful and strategic planning is Cassius able to persuade Brutus, a man who “for his virtue and valiantness, was wellbeloved of the people (“Sources” 120),” into conspiring and acting upon the death of Caesar. Caesar also believes that men control their own fate by stating, in response to the omens and portents, “Danger knows full well / That Caesar is more dangerous than he (2.2.44-45).” Through this quote, Caesar presents his belief that he has the ability to overcome a superstitious fate. Therefore, he ignores all the signs and omens and thus determines his fate through an action that would seal his death. Unlike Calphurnia 's beliefs, Shakespeare makes it clear that it is the free will of these men alone that shaped history into the tragedy which it became. It was not
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. William Shakespeare retold a very unique event
Summary opinion: Cassius is guilty of extenuating circumstances. He is overwhelmingly jealous of Caesar’s popularity and believes he must stop it by convincing Brutus to join his side. He does so by sending fake letters and speaking about the dictatorship of Caesar. His actions played the most prominent role in the cause of Caesar’s death. Facts: “Ye gods, it doth amaze me a man of such feeble temper should so get the start of the majestic world and bear the palm alone.
The issues involving The Tragedy of Julius Ceaser is an equivocal topic, although to narrow one down is to reiterate how the men and women are viewed in this society. This play written by William Shakespeare, he introduced numerous characters but there are a few focal characters that surface around the idea of a bend in gender roles. To clarify, the characters that illustrate this are Julius Ceaser, the romans leader, as well as, his wife Calpurnia; and the other being Brutus, Ceasers friend, and his devoted wife Portia. This book reveals how dominance was ensued in men, while women’s worries were taken into account, but when challenged by a man’s there was no decision to be made the man hurled toward their fellow man’s idea. They felt that the men made more logical decisions when in fact that was utterly wrong.
Brutus thinks that killing Caesar is a noble act because it is for the good of Rome. However would Brutus have thought this if Cassius had not tricked him into believing it? It could be argued that Brutus manipulated himself into thinking what he did was honorable when really it was not and he was just following what Cassius wanted him to do. Brutus even says in the beginning of the play that he does not have it in him to kill Caesar. “Into what dangers would you lead me, Cassius/ That you would have me seek into myself/ For that which is not in me?” (1.2.60-71) It seems that Brutus’s thoughts on the subject change completely after assuring himself that it is for the good of Rome. Cassius does the same thing. He convinces himself that Caesar is corrupt when really he is just jealous of his power. Caesar is also guilty of this. For example, he is superstitious only when it is convenient for him. He does not believe the soothsayer when he tells him to “beware the ides of March,”(citation?) but he believes Decius when he says that Calpurnia’s dream means he will be a good ruler. Caesar does not want to accept that he could be in danger. He trains himself to only believe in good omens.
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
Both Caesar and Brutus have a tragic flaw. In the beginning of the play a soothsayer is telling Caesar to beware the ides of march Caesar Responds “He is a dreamer; Brutus leave him. Pass” (shakespeare page??? line????) When Caesar tells the soothsayer this it shows that he does not believe that he could be harmed. Just like caesar, Brutus suffered a tragic flaw, his being trusting everyone. After Caesar is dead Antony wants to say a speech at Caesar 's funeral, after making the crowd violent says “Now let it work. Mischief, thou art afoot, take thou the course thou wilt.”(shakespeare3.2.266-264). Brutus trusted Antony to say some nice words about Caesar, instead he turn the crowd violent. Caesar and Brutus love the roman people and would sacrifice anything for them. after Caesar dies Antony reads “ to every roman citizen he gives, to every several man, seventy-five drachmas”( page lines title). Caesar loved the romans so much he gave them all a bit of his money after he died. Even though he was prideful he loved the romans as much as Brutus. Brutus saw that under Caesar 's rule romans were suffering and says” Not that i love Caesar less, but that I loved/Rome more”(?) He Explains why he felt
As one of the most well known authors of the Elizabethan Era, Shakespeare had written numerous sonnets and plays reflecting the values of people of the time period. Shakespeare often display themes of love and death, fate and free will, and power and weaknesses throughout his works of literature. The play "The Tragedy of Julius” truly highlight the impact of fate and free will in the development of the plot, of the assassination of Caesar’s death. Some may argue that fate is actually the one responsible for the act, but they fail to recognize that it is the acts of men leading to the death. It is the free will at fault for this occurrence, that the Roman senators consciously killed Caesar and Caesar himself facing his mortality.
Many of the characters in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar end up in unfortunate situations, most of which are due to missed messages or missed opportunities. Julius Caesar was a strong and powerful political figure in Ancient Rome who was going to be crowned king by the Senate. Many people opposed this crowning and thought it would drag Rome into a bad place. These conspirators included many senators and a few of Caesar's closest friends and allies. There are many missed opportunities and missed messages in this play, including a few of them include the Soothsayer's warning, Calpurnia's dream, and when Cassius saw the two omens before going into battle.
William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a tragic drama, set in Ancient Rome about the horrendous death of Julius Caesar. Brutus, leader of the conspiracy against Caesar, begins as Caesar’s friend. Cassius, instigator of the conspirator, manipulates Brutus into killing Caesar. Brutus agrees to this plan because of his plans for Rome. The bond between these two connects when Brutus agrees to Cassius about killing Caesar for the best of Rome. Cassius, very power hungry, comes up with a plan that will succeed in both of them killing Caesar. They both rely on each other because they want the power that Caesar has been requested to make the best of Rome. This dream of making Rome better was manipulated by Cassius to Brutus. However,
In the beginning of the Book Cassius uses anecdotes of Caesar’s weakness and faults, argumentum ad antiquatum, and ethos on Brutus to persuade him to join the conspiracy to kill Caesar, this works on Brutus and shows that anyone, even people as stoic as Brutus, can be persuaded by appealing to their motivations. Cassius, a very suspicious character thru ought 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 keeping 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 on a time when he and Caesar went swimming in the river Tiber and Caesar screamed “Help me, Cassius or I sink” (828) to de...
Cassius was the one who approached Brutus with the idea of conspiring to kill Caesar, who would soon become the king of Rome. Cassius proposed this matter to Brutus because he knows that Brutus is one of the most noblest men in Rome and would do anything for his country even if it meant sacrificing his own life. They both knew that Caesar’s upcoming coronation posed a threat to the ideals of Roman society because he intended to bring monarchy back to the Roman government. Later on the system of monarchy will soon turn into a tyranny. That is what Brutus and Cassius are afraid will happen if Caesar becomes king.
In William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, Cassius tells Brutus, "Men at some times are masters of their fates. The fault, dear Brutus is not in our stars but in our selves that we are underlings," this shows that people themselves do have free will, and are masters of our fate, or that we could be ruled by fate. In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, he presents multiple examples of destiny or fate versus free will. This is one of many philosophies that are examined throughout this play. This drama promotes the idea fate and free will can survive side by side. Shakespeare allows the theme of fate and free will to wined it way into the assassination of one of the most famous people of ancient history.
Both Cassius and Brutus play major roles in the play Julius Caesar. Cassius and Brutus both plan Caesar’s death. Although they are working towards a common goal, Cassius and Brutus have very different motivations for doing this. On the one hand, Cassius sees it as a way to gain more power for himself while destroying the king and all his power. On the other hand, Brutus believes that in killing Caesar he is preserving peace for the Romans’ future years. Throughout the play, Shakespeare uses different techniques to create biased characterizations of the two men so that readers and viewers develop identical attitudes towards each of them. In Julius Caesar, Cassius is portrayed as a greedy villain while Brutus is depicted as an honorable hero.
Brutus’ leadership and compassion for others make him a popular figure amongst the Roman people, and it is his reputation that establishes him as an influential individual. For example, despite the fact that Brutus loves Caesar like a brother, he warily joins the conspiracy to assassinate him. He does this because he believes that Caesar’s ambition would become tyranny and that Caesar’s death is a necessary evil in order to preserve the liberties of the Roman people. In his own words Brutus claims, “It must be by his death; and for my part, I know no personal cause to spurn at him, but for the general.”(Act 2, Scene 1, Page 1116). In addition, Brutus takes the reins of authority from Cassius and becomes the leader of the conspiracy. He gains this prerogative because of his convincing tongue and powerful influence. His leadership is evidenced when he begins to challenge Cassius’ ideas. When Cassius asks the conspirators to “swear our resolution”(Act 2...
Ominous warnings are recurrent throughout the play and provide foreshadowing for the ensuing chaos. Since the first ominous warning given by the Soothsayer, “Beware the Ides of March”, Caesar was given several mystical warnings that foreshadowed his imminent death. Shakespeare hints about the approaching assassination, when Calpurnia dreams, “she dreamt tonight she saw my statue...like a fountain with a hundred spouts..run pure blood, and many lusty Romans came and did bathe their hands in it… does she apply for warnings and portents and evils imminent…” (II.iii.75-82) The statue with spouts of blood leaking from it in Calpurnia’s dream, represents Caesar’s bleeding body from the 33 holes made by the conspirators, who afterwards bathed their