William Shakespeare's Ability to Create Truly Human Characters
In literature, characters are often unrealistic, and rarely do they portray those special features that make them human. William Shakespeare was one of the few able to create characters with truly human features .His talent for doing this is clearly illus
trated in one of his most well known plays,*+#* Julius Caesar*-#*. This is the fascinating story based on true history of the birth of the Roman Empire, beginning with the brutal assassination of their leader, Julius Caesar. Three of the characters show th
e human traits of being three-dimensional and dynamic, Anthony, Caesar's loyal companion; Cassius, one of the conspirators; and Caesar himself.
Mark Anthony, Caesar's loyal companion and bodyguard, has a completely diversified personality. In one way, he is truly grieved by the death of his close friend but on the other hand he is shrewd and cunning and takes advantage of Caesar's death. He revea
ls his shrewd and cunning personality while he is giving his speech at Caesar's funeral. He used many tactics to get the people to side with him. Sarcasm, irony, reverse psychology, audiovisual affects, and tears are employed in order to persuade the Plebei
ans that Caesar's assassination was wrong and his death must be avenged by killing the conspirators. Deep in his heart, he feels grief and pain even though he does take advantage of Caesar's death.
Cassius, one of the main conspirators involved in Caesar's death is also a multifaceted person, although not as much as Anthony. He had more common sense than the other conspirators, but the rest of them did not appreciate his words of wisdom. He is emoti
onal, yet aggressive, jealous, hot tempered, impulsive, petulant, and an instigator. He also shows a degree of shrewdness when he approaches Brutus to suggest his plan of assassinating Caesar. He flattered Brutus by telling him how wonderful he is, and how
great a leader he is. He was anxious to involve Brutus in the conspiracy because he knew Brutus was a respected member of society and people would listen to him, and he was curious to know what had happened. He also shows a degree of being cowardly. Many
times he knew he was right in his plans, but he didn't have the courage to persist in them. For example, when he said not to let Anthony speak at the funeral.
Finally, Caesar himself, all the way on top of the Roman empire at its peak, had a few interesting aspects in his character that must not be ignored.
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.
Brutus appears to be a selfless, thoughtful man who only wants the best for Rome, and is tormented by his fears towards Caesar ruling Rome.
Julius Caesar was one of Rome’s most memorable leaders because of the wars he won and the way his life was ended. Caesar was born in 100 B.C. His mother was Aurelia Caesar who supposedly birthed him by Caesarean section. Caesar’s father was Gaius Caesar. His family had noble, patrician roots, but they were neither rich nor influential during this period. Although Caesar was only a noble he believed that he was higher than other mortals and viewed himself as a descendant of the gods. He looked very highly upon himself a...
Even though he is a smart and take charge character, he is also quite deceptive. He shows just how deceptive he is when he kills Caesar. Brutus was very close to Caesar. and he still killed him. Brutus was the only character of the conspirators that was killed.
The life recounts of noble Caesar by both Brutus and Antony may both share a different spin on Caesar. To Brutus, Caesar is a man whose ambition will overcome his judgement and turn him into a tyrannical leader. Brutus’ portrayal is skewed and not quite right, and it is disproven by Caesar’s actions in the play Antony offers the true view of Caesars life, that he is simply a ruler who is wrongly accused of being ambitious and tyrannical. Throughout his livelihood, Caesar showed that he was not tyrannical or ambitious, and that he was a good ruler that helped the city and empire of Rome through his existence, just as Antony viewed him. When Caesar fell, chaos ensued, and Marc Antony was there to pick up the pieces.
Brutus was a very selfish and self-centered person. He continually ignored Cassius’ and the conspirators’ ideas. He was the leader and everyone was supposed to go along with them. Not to mention that all of his decisions went against Cassius and they were all the wrong moves. Brutus refused to admit that he was wrong or listen to other people.
Brutus was a devious man, even though what he thought he was doing was right. Brutus told his fellow conspirators to kill Caesar “boldly, but not angerly.”(3.1.256-257) Brutus was one of Caesars right hand men, and yet Brutus kills his own friend. When Antony asks to speak at Caesars funeral, Cassius says no, but Brutus tell him that Antony will speak, but only what Brutus tells him to say. Brutus also embraces the fact that he just killed his friend, and also tells the senators who had just witnessed it to not be afraid, but to stay because ambition has paid its debt.
Shakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.” Elements of Literature: Kylene Beers. Austin: Holt, 2009. 842-963. Print.
In Shakespeare?s play 'Antony and Cleopatra' Caesar, while he displays remarkable tactical skills, is calculating and cold hearted. Antony on the other hand embodies many admirable qualities and emotions which make him the greater of the two. Firstly I will look at Caesar?s military victories before examining Antony?s great human qualities.
Julius Caesar was the dictator of Rome in his prime. Some say his journey to the top was paved in corruption, other claimed he was a man of the people. His enemies knew to fear him for his ruthlessness. His followers adored him because everything that he had succeeded in was done for them. Unfortunately, his betrayal transpired by his senators who felt he had grown too powerful and stabbed him to death. However, Julius Caesar’s connection to the political world, his innate ability as an army general, and his desire to advocate for the rights of his people made him a great leader.
In this play, Cassius’ motivation is completely inspired by evil and hatred. His jealousy of Caesar and greed for power drives him to create the conspiracy and start plotting the death of Caesar. While talking to Casca, he says, “What trash is Rome, / What rubbish and what offal, when is serves / For the bas matter to illuminate / So vile a thing as Caesar!” (I.iii.109-112). This shows some of the true feelings Cassius has about Caesar. He believes that Caesar is not worthy of his power and does not want anyone to hold more power than him. Although he justifies the killing of Caesar as an act for freedom from tyranny, his motivation is full of bad intent. In an attempt to disguise his true motives, Cassius convinces Brutus, an honorable and well-respected man, to join the conspiracy. He tells Brutus, “Brutus and Caesar-what should be in that “Caesar”? / Why should that name be sounded more than yours? / Write them together, yours is as fair a name. / Sound them, it doth become the mouth as well. / ...
It shows that his love for Rome was incomparable to anyone else and he slew Caesar not for his own greediness but for his love for Rome. Brutus had a conscience. Instead of acting on things quickly, he expressed doubt and thought things through before doing something. He take...
The motif of ambition runs continuously throughout Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare, which originates in Ancient Rome and highlights the power struggles, politics and deceit of those vying for power. Ambition leads many of the characters such as Caesar, Cassius, and Brutus to a fate different from what they expected. The play revolves around Caesar, his ascent to power and his eventual loss of everything. Although ambition may lead these public officials to power, it is the same ambition that will be their downfall, ultimately resulting in the death of Julius Caesar, Cassius, and Brutus.
In the play Julius Caesar, written and preformed by William Shakespeare, there are many characters, but two, Brutus and Cassius, stood out. The play begins in Rome where a celebration of Julius Caesar's victory over the former ruler of Rome, Pompeii. The victory leads to Caesar's betrayal by his jealous companions. Senators and other high status figures are jealous of Caesar's new and growing power, while others, like Brutus, fear the tyrannical rule Caesar could enforce. The conspirators, Brutus and Cassius being the most important, assassinate Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius, better known as Antony, and Octavius Caesar, Caesar's heir to the thrown, revenge Caesar's death. Antony convinces the Roman populous to destroy the conspirators and eventually begins a war with Cassius and Brutus' armies. Both Cassius and Brutus commit suicide to save their honor and Antony and Octavius win the war. The characterizations of Brutus and Cassius show a distinct contrast in their character traits and motives for the assassination of Julius Caesar.
Brutus and Caesar both portray this characteristic. In Brutus’ first scene during the chariot race, Brutus is “Vexed… of late with passions of some difference, / [c]onceptions only proper to myself… Nor construe any further my neglect/[t]han that poor Brutus, with himself at war” (I.ii.45-46,51-52). Brutus explicitly enounces that he is having conflicting emotions, later revealed to be about Caesar’s inevitable coronation. This internal conflict makes Brutus vulnerable to Cassius’ words, convincing him to join the conspirators, resulting in his