Examples Of Fire In Julius Caesar

In the play Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, Caesar, the new emperor, was being conspired against by many men, specifically Brutus and Cassius. Following Caesar’s murder, Rome turns in on itself and a war between The Conspirators and the friends of Caesar starts. In Act 1 Scene 3, Casca, a conspirator, recounts unnatural events that had come upon the city such as men on fire, owls in the day, and a lion roaming the streets of Rome. In this section, Shakespeare uses diction to develop a mood of mystery.

Shakespeare uses many forms of diction to portray his mood of mystery in this scene. For example, the theme of fire shows up many times during this part of the play. Specifically, Casca tells his friend Cicero that a slave’s hand was on “...fire [and] remained unscorched” (1.3.18). The word fire in this context could be associated with pain and destruction, yet the slave’s hand didn’t burn. This is mysterious because the fire did not do what it normally does and gives one a feeling of

These events help develop the mysterious feel of the scene. When Casca first explains what is happening in the town, Cicero agrees and states that it was a “...strange-disposed time” (1.3.33). With its uneasy connotations, the word strange helps portray the mood by developing the environment of the story. The events that had happened were strange, and could make a reader wonder why the times are strange, and what caused the uneasiness. This curiosity is what makes the mood mysterious. Later in the text, Casca recounts the day to another conspirator, Cassius. Cassius listens, and tells Casca what he thinks of the strange things happening in Rome. He describes the events as “monstrous” (1.3.74). The adjective monstrous is not a word typically used lightly. Cassius must have been truly afraid of what is happening in the city or else he could have used softer