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Compare and contrast the characters Cassius and Brutus
Compare and contrast the characters Cassius and Brutus
Analysis of Julius Caesar
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Is Julius Caesar about the assassination of Caesar? No, it's not. There is more to the act than killing. In the play, Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare, there are many themes that pop up, but I will only be focusing on one theme. The theme that I will be looking into in this essay is the theme of betrayal. I will be looking into: the death of Caesar, the betrayal of the people going from supporting Caesar to supporting Brutus, to supporting Antony, and the betrayal of the husbands. Julius Caesar is presenting that betrayal comes from the ones you trust to have your back, not stab you in the back.
The act of betrayal is all over the movie, and the first act of betrayal is seen in the first few scenes. In the first few scenes, we see Brutus and Cassius talking about Julius Caesar and his greatness, but Cassius changes the subject
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In Act 2 Scene 1, his wife wakes up because he could not sleep and she notices something was troubling him but instead of telling her he says “I am not well in health, and all”. (2.1.237) He says this because he does not want her to find out what he is planning maybe because he doesn't trust her or maybe because he wants to protect her but he betrays her by holding secrets from her, and that isn't what you do in a marriage, especially a secret this huge. His wife dies and when Brutus receives the news he blows it off like it's an everyday event, and acts like he barely knew her at all as its seen in Act 4 Scene 3. When Brutus informs Cassius of his wife's death, Cassius immediately starts mourning, and Brutus says “speak no more of her.--Give me a bowl of wine. -- In this, I bury all unkindness, Cassius.” (4.3.158-159). He casts off this news, and gets back to giving a blunt apology to Cassius with some wine on the side, while Cassius is just there shocked at how harshly he is being about the death of his
The book Julius Caesar is full of happiness, conspiracy, power, and betrayal. The people of Rome deeply loved julius Caesar and wished to make him their king. A group of senators however were not so fond of this idea and formed a conspiracy. The leader of this group was a man by the name of Cassius. In order to make sure that his scheme of killing Caesar would work and would look honorable he had to convince a senator by the name of Brutus to help. After being convinced that they had to kill Caesar to protect Rome from a tyrant Brutus joined the conspiracy and soon became the principal conspirator.On the day in which Caesar was to be crowned king he was on the way to the senate when he was stabbed by all the conspirators panic ensued and to convince Rome of their honorable intentions Brutus gave a funeral speech. Mark Antony, a very close friend of Caesar, gave his speech after Brutus had given his. Mark Antony’s speech is more persuasive to the Roman people because of his outstanding use of pathos, sarcasm, and logos.
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
les of this when he is attempting to manipulate Brutus to join the conspiracy. Brutus gives us the impression that he is very indecisive and hesitant; we also see that he is very quiet and that Cassius overrules him in the conversation; we do however go on to find out that Brutus isn’t really like this. In Act 2 Scene 1, we see Brutus’ true characteristics; he takes charge of the conspiracy and he is very commanding; Cassius steps down. Cassius is overwhelmed by Brutus’ character and has to let Brutus take over. In Act 4 Scene 3 we see some negative
In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, one must read the text closely to track the shifting motivations and loyalties of each character as the play progresses. An important factor that must be kept in mind while reading is the degree of loyalty, in other words, the degree to which characters act out of a motivation to help others. Throughout the play, each character's current degree of loyalty to others is clearly exhibited by words or behavior – this holds true for the characters of Brutus, Cassius, Antony, Portia, and Calpurnia. The focus on loyalty is critical because before the play ends an even-handed justice is meted out to a number of people who fail to live up to an expected standard of loyalty to others.
Throughout the play many characters are not who they turn out to be. Julius Caesar is a very good judge of character, he does not ruts Cassius, he says “ He thinks too much man, such men are dangerous”( shakespeare,1.2.195). Caesar foreshadows now dangerous Cassius is, Cassius is one person who stabs Caesar. Unlike Caesar, Brutus trusts people too much to see who they are. After Caesar 's death, Brutus trusts Marc Antony to give his speech, but Cassius says “ You know not what you do. Do not consent./ that Antony speak in his funeral. I know you how much the people may be moved/ by that which he will utter.” (shakespeare,3.2.333-335). Caesar was an amazing military leader, Brutus was not. Before Caesar becomes king, he gained land back to Rome “ Julius Caesar has just returned to Rome after a long civil war in which he defeated the forces of pompey” (applebee) Caesar led his military to victory and has the chance to take full control of Rome. brutus is a humble military leader company to Caesar. After Brutus won his battle over Octavius’ army, he left his men begin looting. Instead of helping Cassius’ army “ O Cassius, Brutus gave the word too early,/ who, having some advantages on Octavius/ took it too eagerly. His soldiers fell to spoil/ whilst we by Antony are all enclosed .(Shakespeare,5.3.5-8) Brutus had a bad call when he did not send his army to help Cassius. With Caesars flaw being
Julius was born from Aurelia and Gaius Julius Caesar. His family had nobility status, although they were neither rich nor influential in the time period. Caesar was made military tribune before 70 B.C. and was quaestor in Farther Spain in 69 B.C. he helped Pompey to obtain the supreme command for the war in the East. As a general, Caesar was the best Rome had ever seen. He returned to Rome in 68 B.C. and in Pompey's absence was becoming the recognized head of the popular party. His love of Marius and Cinna made him popular with the people, but earned him the hatred of the senate. In Dec. 63 B.C. Caesar advocated mercy for Catiline and the conspirators, thereby increasing the enmity of the senatorial party and its leaders, Cato the Younger and Quintus Lutatius Catulus.
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,
Shortly before his death Caesar was given several warnings throughout ActsⅡand Ⅲ , however he still went to meet with the Senate due to the fact he thought he was needed. He had an alliance with his adopted sons and valued soldiers Octavius and Antony. The play is about the events that follow his death making him an important secondary character that also portrays a protagonist. Caesar faced many conflicts throughout his lifetime, some internal and some external. He fought a war against Pompey ,which lead to conspirators plotting his death, and he was troubled by the fact that his wife could not provide him with a child. He showcased this by publicly asking Antony to touch her as he passed her, hoping that this would bring healing to her barren womb. He also went through several character changes. When he returned from war, he returned believing that the people would be ecstatic to have him as an emperor. Nonetheless when the people of Rome did not respond the way he expected he knew he had to play on their emotions. He did this by refusing the crown three times and by offering to kill himself to prove his honesty and trustworthiness. This gave him the desired effect, so he returned to knowing that the crowd wanted him as a king. The driving force of the play was the unfortunate murder of Caesar or what happened afterwards. Throughout this play many of the characters go through many unique changes, although Julius Caesar experienced some very significant character changes. The theatrical work exhibits Julius Caesar’s actions, alliances, character developments, and internal and external conflicts which in turn showcase his various changes. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is a brilliant piece of work that thoroughly covers the story of Julius Caesar, a protagonistic secondary character. Julius Caesar was the unofficial emperor of Rome. He was a war General and he fought
William Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a story full of manipulation and jealousy that changes the way people think. Ancient Rome had umpteen different ways of handling situations that, in today’s world, would be considered unethical; such as battles that were very much horrifying and vivid. However, these battles were not important with the development of the plot. Shakespeare uses various ways of the idea of manipulation and betrayal to lead readers into the rest of the narrative.
Throughout this tragedy Brutus exhibits many character flaws. He starts off by attempting to be too honorable for the adoring people of Rome. He tries to protect him from what Caesar could potentially become, a tyrant. “Wolf but that he sees the Romans as but sheep, he were no lion, were not the Romans hinds”(903). At this point Caesar has not shown any tyrannical ambition. He has been shown to be all for the people without the venture of self gain. “Thrice did I present a kingly crown and thrice did he refuse” (951). He was slightly ambitious, but what human is not? Another flaw we discover in Brutus is that he is an easily swayed man. The truculent and virulent Cassius is able to alter his perception on life especially about his people and the ambitious Caesar. Every move this confused man makes is justified by some flawed logic. This is augmented in his idiotic choice to underestimate Antony and allow him to live. “For Antony is but a limb of Caesar let us be sacrificers not butchers Caiu...
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.
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
"Enlightened rulers and good generals who are able to obtain intelligent agents as spies are certain for great achievements." Throughout history, the use of spies has assisted countries in gathering intelligence to use as ammunition against their enemies. These spies would courageously go behind enemy lines and risk their lives in order to gather information that could be vital to the war effort. The idea of spies and espionage is an age-old tradition that is discussed in detail in Sun Tzu’s famous writings, The Art of War. In chapter 13, Sun Tzu states, “Intelligence is of the essence in warfare-
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is an intimate portrayal of the famed assassination of Julius Caesar and the complex inner workings of the men who committed the crime. In one particularly revealing scene, two of the men closest to Caesar, one a conspirator in his murder and one his second-in command, give orations for the deceased. Despite being simple in appearance, these two speeches do much of the work in developing and exposing the two characters in question. Though both have a love for Caesar, Mark Antony's is mixed with a selfish desire for power, while Brutus' is pure in nature, brought to a screeching halt by his overpowering stoicism. These starkly-contrasted personalities influence the whole of the play, leading to its tragic-but-inevitable end.
Julius Caesar is a play written by William Shakespeare. The play tells the tragedy of Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar was one of the greatest leader of Roman history. Caesar had many victorious moments in history and continued to grow more and more powerful. When he had started to govern Rome hatred by some people had grew. He had liberally gave many a spot to hold an important position. Even though he helped the nobility, they had betrayed him. They secretly were planning a way to cause Caesar’s death. Then plan was portrayed by Cassius and he had convinced Brutus to join along with his plan also. On March 15th they had circled around Caesar and stabbed him numerous of times thus, Caesar had fallen to the ground by his last stab by Brutus. Throughout the entire play Caesar and Brutus are notably different. Caesar is very egoistic, while Brutus is very considerate and is mannerly to others. Caesar is an extrovert, while Brutus is an introvert. Caesar is ambitious and Brutus is not ambitious.