Julius Caesar captures the message everyone’s equal and no one’s above the rest through the use of symbolism, imagery, and allusion. Symbolism, the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities, helps the reader understand how Caesar appears to the people. “ Walk under his huge legs and peep about/ To find ourselves dishonourable graves.” William Shakespeare uses this quote to explain how Caesar rises above the rest and looks down on everyone as others hide in his shadow. Caesar fought in numerous battles that made likeable, but for others who aren’t his biggest fan fear Caesar because he has them killed. Caesar was offered the crown three times and he rejected the crown every time; the townspeople viewed Caesar as a leader that’s better than …show more content…
Brutus or Cassius in order to offer the crown. Mark Antony hides in Caesar’s shadow by putting on a face that hides how he truly feels about Brutus and Cassius. Caesar’s actions are symbols of the events that spark from others. Allusions retell the stories of the past that was commonly told during the Roman Era.
“I, as Aeneas, our great ancestor/ Did from the flames of Troy upon his shoulder/ The old Anchises bear, so from the waves of the Tiber/ Did I the tired Caesar.” Shakespeare allows the reader to understand the history of Aeneas that was the founder of Rome. Cassius is explained to Brutus how he was able to carry Caesar out of the Tiber like Aeneas that pulled his father, Anchises, on his shoulders from the fires of Troy. The use of the allusion is symbolic to how Cassius views himself, which is a hero for rescuing Caesar from the Tiber. Shakespeare allowed allusion to represent the characters of Julius Caesar to connect with heroes of the …show more content…
past. Shakespeare paints a picture with his words on the paper that’s known as imagery. “For once, upon a raw and gusty day…” The reader is able to visualize the setting of the beach where Cassius and Caesar chose to swimming on a stormy day. The image that washes into one’s mind is the wind swirls in the air and the sky appears that a storm’s about to break. “The torrent roar’d, and we did buffet it/With lusty sinews, throwing it aside/And stemming it with hearts of controversy.” The story sets the backdrop with the scenery of the waves crashing against the beach and was extremely challenging to swim in due to the waves reaching high knots. The ability to add imagery enhances the story by adding a second layer to the story besides the character’s actions. Imagery, a visual description, is incorporated into Julius Caesar to give readers a better understand to the time period and story. Brutus and Cassius speech surfaced the idea regarding Caesar isn’t above the rest.
Cassius attempts to get Brutus to join the bandwagon about Caesar being average like everyone else. The story that Cassius shares displays Caesar as weak, which is the complete opposite view others notice due to Caesar’s previous victorious battles. Brutus absorbs every detailed shared, but the ideas about his views on Caesar start spinning in his head. Cassius expresses his initial ideas about Caesar to Brutus, which is where the idea starts spiraling into a plan. The bond and relationship between the two is open because ideas get shared without being shot down. These lines also exhibit Cassius leading due to having more power over Brutus through his ideas. The mood of the story completely changes from peaceful to envious after the conversation finishes. Caesar didn’t become a normal person as everyone else, but a threat that needed to be taken out at all costs. Power, a political or social authority or control, becomes the focal point due each person looking out for themselves and not caring about who goes down without them. People changes for better and worse, but in case of Julius Caesar Act 1 Scene 2, the changes happened for the worse due to the actions that
followed.
In William Shakespeare's, Julius Caesar, rhetorical devices are used throughout Decius Brutus’s speech to Caesar to persuade him to attend the senate, and ultimately meet his demise. Decius Brutus uses repetition to directly play into Caesar’s ego and convince him to show at an event he was previously very unsure of. Decius first uses repetition to make Caesar feel as if he were an irreplaceable addition to the senate. He addresses Caesar as, “most mighty Caesar…” (2.2.74) multiple times throughout his oration. The repetition of “mighty” draws Caesar’s attention away from the fact that he really must not go to the senate and instead focuses on why he must. Caesar is known to be easily persuaded by the promise of attention or rewards. Decius
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 ...
But ere we could arrive at the point proposed. Caesar cried 'Help me, Cassius, or I sink!' I, as Aeneas, our great ancestor, did from the flames of Troy upon his shoulder the old Anchises bear, so from the waves of Tiber did I the tired Caesar. ”(1.2.109-125) " The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings."
In Act 1 Scene 2 we see that Cassius is trying to persuade and manipulate Brutus into thinking that Julius Caesar is becoming too powerful and that he needs to be stopped before it is too late. He does this using many different techniques. Cassius is able to make Brutus ... ... middle of paper ... ...
Honor: “Honesty fairness, or integrity in one 's beliefs and actions.” Honesty can be a good and bad trait to have, being too honest can affect a person greatly. In William shakespeare 's play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Caesar returns to Rome having defeated Pompey. The Romans wanted to crown him king. later caesar is killed by conspirators due to his ambition. After his murder common people are enraged and a civil war breaks out across Rome. Many characters die along the way. Throughout the historical play Shakespeare points out many personality traits as characters struggle to gain or remain in power. A closer examination of two main characters reveals the results of human nature. Two main leaders, Caesar and Brutus share similar and
In Act one of Julius Caesar, Cassius complains to Brutus about how Caesar is acting modest, but he is really scheming to become a high power in Rome. While listening to Cassius’ rant, it is seen that Brutus is slowly buying Cassius’ point of view of Caesar urges him to go forward with his complains. Cassius later mentioned, “If I were/Brutus now and he were Cassius, /He should not humor me” (1.2 310-311). In lament’s terms, Cassius means that if he is Brutus and Brutus is him, he would not be as naïve nor will he be influence by Brutus. This displays that Cassius notices Brutus’ great naivety; therefore, he will try to use Brutus’ naivety for his motives. Soon afterwards, Brutus thinks, “It must be by his death, and for my part/ I know no personal cause to spurn at him/ But for the general” (2.1. 10-12). This shows that Brutus is gullible enough to buy Cassius’ and Casca’s point-of-view on Caesar. He truly believes that he and the conspirators are murdering Caesar purel...
Greed, ambition, and the possibility of self-gain are always constant in their efforts to influence people’s actions. In Julius Caesar, Marcus Brutus, a venerable politician, becomes a victim of the perpetual conflict between power-hungry politicians and ignorant commoners. He is a man of honor and good intentions who sacrifices his own happiness for the benefit of others. Unfortunately, his honor is strung into a fine balance between oblivion and belief and it is ultimately the cause of his downfall. His apparent obliviousness leads him to his grave as his merciful sparing of Mark Antony’s life, much like Julius Caesar’s ghost, comes back to haunt him. Overall, Brutus is an honest, sincere man who holds the lives of others in high regard while he himself acts as a servant to Rome.
Brutus has a naive view of the world. He is unable to see through the roles being played by Cassius, Casca, and Antony. He does not even recognize the fake letters were sent from Cassius. Then Brutus says,“You shall not blame us Antony, in your funeral speech, but speak all the good you can of Caesar.
Shakespeare uses Cassius’ characterization in Julius Caesar to prove that Caesar is justified in his concerns about Cassius. Through means of indirect characterization, it is presented that Cassius is willing to act somewhat sycophantic to acquire what he finds necessary. When Cassius is speaking to Brutus in an attempt to sway his opinion concerning his loyalty to Caesar, he compares Brutus to Caesar and praises his equivalent status, stating that Brutus’ name is “as fair a name,” “it is as heavy,” and “will start a spirit as soon as ‘Caesar’,” and even rhetorically asks “upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed that he has grown so great?¨ (Shakespeare I. ii. 144-150). By providing reasoning behind his belief that Brutus is “as fair a name”
In his play Julius Caesar, Shakespeare employs various rhetorical strategies such as direct address, repetition, and apostrophe in Antony’s eulogy to convince the crowd into believing that Caesar was a good ruler. His excellent use of rhetoric begins before he starts his speech through the establishment of familiarity. Before Antony begins his speech, he refers to the crowd as “friends, romans, [and] countrymen” to establish a personal connection, indicating the use of direct address (3.2.82). By referring to the crowd as “friends,” Antony removes any separation between him and the audience, establishing a close bond by choice. As it came first on his list, it emphasizes the importance of his friendship with the audience as friendship implies
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.
This is an allusion to Julius Caesar. This allusion refers to Caesar’s assassination by his friend Brutus. And this reminds the audience about the Claudius murders his brother, Hamlet’s dad. Also, this is the foreshadowing of Polonius’s destiny. He acts Caesar who is killed, and he will be killed as
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. / ...
Honor and power is what drives the conspirators to assassinate Julius Caesar in William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar. Caesar is now the single leader of Rome, and members of the Senate have concerns that he will abuse his sole power. Therefore, they plot and accomplish the assassination of Caesar in an attempt to rebuild the balance of Rome. Rome falls into chaos with an unknown future with no central leader for the people to follow. In Act I, Scene 2, Cassius, a member of the Senate, explains to his friend, Brutus, that Caesar is not the god he makes himself out to be. Instead, he argues both he and Brutus are equal to Caesar and are just as deserving of the throne. Cassius’ speech to Brutus diminishes Caesar’s godly demeanor through
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 ...