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Julius Caesar analysis
Analysis of Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar analysis
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In Julius Caesar, Cassius pleads with Brutus to assist him in preventing Caesar from becoming a dictator. At the time, Caesar had ascended through the military ranks to become the head of Rome. As his power grew, so did his thirst to conquer others and establish himself as a dictator. While the Romans would have an effective leader, eventually Caesar’s hunger for power would cause him to attack anyone whom he deemed a threat to his power, such as Cassius or Brutus. Cassius assembles a group to prevent Caesar from assuming the role of dictator. Cassius provides arguments to Brutus in order to convince him to join Cassius’s rebellion. Cassius’s first argument appeals to the logos of Brutus. He explains that Caesar is a person just like Brutus
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
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 truly believes Caesar has a frail state of mind and is unfit to have any form of authority in Rome. At first glance, his words and ideology seem to strive for the end of tyranny and become the savior of Romans, but it is clear he puts more emphasis on his rank rather than the well-being of others. When he states that their ranks were not their fault and should be taken into their own hands he intends to take his place by force with no regards for the Roman people or government. Additionally, Cassius shouldn’t be commended for saving Caesar from drowning because he remembrances on that deed to convince others that Caesar is feeble than most, yet he is treated like a god. Cassius’s greed for power motivates his murderous motivations but his ability to manipulate others to his will is also evident in his words. He refers to Caesar’s overwhelming power similar to a Colossus while he and the others “…walk under his huge legs… ” or are hidden in his glory. In reality though, the senators are more esteemed than despised. Another way Cassius misleads others is by faking Caesar’s fascist behaviors toward the commoners. He does so by forging negative letters about “Caesar’s Ambition” for Brutus to be pressured into joining his cause. Consumed by envy, he convinces Brutus to assassinate Caesar for the righteousness of the people but his incentive has
Rhetorical devices have been around for many centuries, and they are used to convince and persuade people to believe in their cause. These strategies exploit individuals by influencing them to feel sympathy or trust the speaker. In Julius Caesar, a historic tragedy written by the prominent Shakespeare, Antony’s brilliant rhetorical strategies are used to trump Brutus and prompt the Roman people to unite with his rebellion against the unjust butcher of the beloved Julius Caesar.
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 ... ...
A character from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Cassius, exhibits Machiavellian attributes by manipulation and a drive to accomplish his goal of assassinating Julius Caesar by any means. Cassius was able to successfully manipulate both Brutus and the fellow conspirators. Cassius was able to influence Brutus enough to make Brutus believe that killing Julius Caesar, Brutus’ best friend, was the right action. Initially, Brutus was wary of Cassius when Brutus said, “Into what dangers would you lead me, Cassius?” (1.2.69) Subsequently, Brutus is persuaded as he states, “...what you have said / I will consider” (1.2.176-177). Cassius is willing to control any person who stands in his way. Cassius successfully turned Brutus against his best friend in order to achieve what Cassius believes to be best for Rome. When Brutus says, “Let me not hinder, Cassius, your desires” (1.2.35) it is clear that Cassius has swayed Brutus to believe in his cause. In Julius Caesar, we do not see Cassius as the main leader of the cons...
In Shakespeare’s tragedy Julius Caesar, the use of diverse leaders plays an important role in the plot, showing vividly how strong personalities conflict. This is the case with Brutus and Cassius, the two leaders among the several conspirators. The story of Julius Caesar is set in ancient Rome during a time when Julius Caesar is to become king. This, however, angers Cassius, a nobleman, and he plots with Brutus and others to kill him before he becomes king. They do just that, justifying their actions by saying Caesar was too ambitious and would have gone insane with power. This backfires with the Roman citizens after an emotional speech by Mark Antony, Caesar’s right hand man. This forces the conspirators to flee Rome and go to war with Antony and eventually take their own lives. Because of their great leadership qualities, Brutus and Cassius take the leader roles among the conspirators. Nevertheless, they at times do argue over the course of action. Though Brutus and Cassius are both similar in that they are great leaders, their differences in character are instrumental in determining the conclusion of the play.
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.
At the beginning, Brutus is tricked by Cassius into believing that killing Julius Caesar would be for the better of Rome (1, 2, ll. 32-321). Cassius is able to deviously influence Brutus into thinking that Caesar is no different from Brutus. He says, “Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that Caesar?/ Why should that name be sounded more than yours?” (1, 2, ll. 142-143) Cassius also uses many other examples to manipulate Brutus.
In the intense chaos following a major figure’s assassination, one man’s words have the power to rally huge portions of the population to his cause. As is the case in Julius Caesar, when Brutus and his conspirators murder the titular character midway through the play. After the assassination, the conspirators attempt to persuade the populace to give them power, but Mark Antony manages to usurp their authority in his funeral speech for Julius Caesar. He accomplishes this feat through the use of several key persuasive devices and techniques, those being specific evidence, props, and appeals to self-interest. Readers will come to appreciate the masterful oratory skills that Antony presents in his speech, and they will come to recognize similar
In addition to this characteristic of Cassius, he also has a devious nature. This attribute allows him to invent informed manipulative plans to eliminate his opponents. For instance, after saying his farewells to Brutus, he gives a soliloquy that reveals his idea of throwing writings of different handwritings in Brutus’ windows “as if they came from several citizens” all of which “tending to the great opinion that Rome holds of his name, wherein obscurely Caesar’s ambition shall be glancéd at” (Shakespeare I. ii. 306-309). Since Brutus and Cassius have been friends for a long period of time, Cassius holds an abundance of knowledge pertaining to his values--in this case being his honor and desire to please Rome’s citizens. This undermining plot Cassius has devised is based on an informed opinion of the most effective way to subvert Caesar’s authority, and because of the valid observations made of Brutus by Cassius, the likelihood that this clever scheme will be carried out successfully should make Caesar concerned about the intentions of his judicial
Playwright, William Shakespeare, in the play Julius Caesar, utilizes many instances of rhetorical devices through the actions and speech of Caesar's right-hand man, Mark Antony. In the given excerpt, Antony demonstrates several of those rhetorical devices such as verbal irony, sarcasm, logos, ethos, and pathos which allows him to sway the plebeians. The central purpose of Mark Antony’s funeral speech is to persuade his audience into believing that Caesar had no ill intentions while manipulating the plebeians into starting a rebellion against their new enemies, Brutus and the conspirators.
Considers killing Caesar but has mixed feelings. Finally decides that it is the best option after he reads the fake letters.
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 ...
At one time Brutus was one of Caesar’s closest friends, but over time Brutus saw that Caesar did not side with the elitists, but rather took the side of the common folk. I believe this angered Brutus because he believed the King should side the Elitists, instead of wanting to help the common folks. Brutus’s anger evolved into jealousy and Cassius helped convince him that he should seize the crown for himself, by forming a plan with his friend Cassius to assemble other members to their cause, and to finally assassinate Caesar. Some believe that Caesar was aware that he was unpopular the upper classes of Rome, but he continued his ways because he believed it was the noble thing to instead of “bowing down” to the elite citizens. Julius Caesar was most likely aware that the upper classes were planning to betray him because when Brutus and his other co-conspirators attacked him he uttered a few last words to Brutus, “You, too,