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Character analysis julius caesar
Analysis of Julius Caesar
Julius caesar passage analysis
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Suicide has always been a common alternative action to get away from one’s problems in human history. Sometimes however, it is at times hard to decipher whether or not one’s suicide may be heroic or weak. In Ancient Rome, suicide was often considered an honorable and praiseworthy way to die, it was not until long after this time period that organized religions started considering suicide as a sin rather than an act of heroism. In the brilliant Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, many characters in the play take their own lives, this throws us into the dark as to whether or not their acts of suicide are heroic or weak.
As described in Julius Caesar the play, Brutus is a man driven by will and pride. Honor is also a very vibrant underlying foundation of Brutus’ character. After the suspenseful assassination of Caesar, specifically during his funeral speech, Brutus inquires the people of Rome, “Who is here so rude that would not be a Roman? If any, speak; for him I have offended” (3.2.29-32). Brutus is proving to the people of Rome that he is the noblest Roman of them all. However, on the eve of his shocking defeat by Antony, Brutus runs onto his sword preserving his undeniable honor as a noble Roman citizen. Brutus’ decision to kill himself comes after he escapes the end of battle against Antony and Octavius, when his army is captured. As enemies are approaching, Brutus says his final farewell’s to his friends explaining that, “The ghost of Caesar hath appeared to me, two several times by night: at Sardis once, and this last night in Philippi fields. I know my hour is come” (5.5.18-21). Brutus then goes on demanding for Strato, his servant, to hold up his sword for him to run upon saying that, “Thy life ...
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...lled herself by “[swallowing] fire” (4.3.156). Portia could no longer live with honor in Rome; she couldn’t live with all of Brutus’ consequences hanging over her.
Every characters suicide in this novel was weak. The reason for this being that no suicide is ever considered heroic. In most ancient cultures, people’s reputation meant everything to them. If they had been betrayed or disgraced in some way, suicide was a way of claiming their honor back. In modern times people commit suicide for far different reasons than people did in ancient times. Portia, Brutus, and Cassius all were grieving over something and they all figured that they didn’t have anything to live for anymore, so they took their lives.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.” Elements of Literature: Kylene Beers. Austin: Holt, 2009. 842-963. Print.
Shakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.” Elements of Literature: Kylene Beers. Austin: Holt, 2009. 842-963. Print.
Shakespeare, William. "The Death and Life of Julius Caesar." www.shakespeare.mit.edu. N.P., n.d. Web. 22 Feb 2016. ;.
Brutus exclaims that the masses are worth more than an individual, that individual who is Caesar. In spite of those beliefs, Cassius offers him salvation. Cassius entices Brutus with the notion of a false faith, the end to his suffering with be at the end of Caesar's life. A dream which Brutus gladly fights when he utters, “ Let us be sacrificers but not butchers, Cassius. And in spite of the men, there is no blood”(2.1.173-175). Brutus offers insight into his notion of worth, he will kill for a righteous deed, an honorable action, but not slay wantonly. Brutus is a true martyr for a deceptive plan, when he says, “I have the same dagger for myself, when it shall please my country to need my death”(3.2.41-43). A person of high moral values, an individual who strive to accomplish his ambition, Brutus was the most honorable Roman. However, many would view
The third and final act Brutus commited that left him with a dishonorable image, was that he ran and then killed himself just to avoid battle. In early Rome a man was thought to be noble and brave if he fell from an enemy’s sword, not if he ran and commited suicide. Any noble man would have found another way.
Shakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar”. Elements of Literature. Ed. Deborah Appleman. 4th ed. Texas: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 2009. 843-963.
As a “speculative man of high motives and refined sensibility”(Catherine C. Dominic) Brutus does have his confusion of motives. Act I, scene ii, is the first we see his weakness, “his concern with reputation and appearance, his subtle vanity and pride”(Gayle Green). Yet the main bases of Brutus’s bewilderment of motives takes place in Act II, scene I, with his famous soliloquy beginning with “It must be by his death”. This speech may be the turning point in which Brutus feels better about the assassination of his once called friend.
Brutus was a man of noble birth. He had multiple servants and was often referred to as “Lord”, which indicates a certain level of respect for him. He was a very highly thought of person in Rome. At no point did he ever betray anyone, although he did kill Caesar, he did it to better Rome, not to mislead him. Everything he did was for the advantage of someone else. Even after Brutus dies, Marc Antony says “This was the noblest roman of them all; all the conspirators, save only he, did that they did in the envy of Caesar; he only in a general honest thought and common good to all...” This shows that regardless of brutus killing Caesar, he is still considered noble because he had good intentions. Brutus was also the best friend of Julius Caesar, the most powerful man in Rome. Had he been a commoner, Caesar most likely would not have associated with him or trusted him as a friend.
In the play the Life and Death of Julius Caesar (just as in all of Shakespeare’s tragedies) there is much death, much tragedy, and of course, a tragic hero. However unlike most of Shakespeare’s plays this time the tragic hero is not particularly obvious. Throughout the play a few main characters present themselves as possibilities for being the tragic hero. But as being a tragic hero is not only having a tragic flaw but also entails much more, there really is only one person to fit the mold. The character Brutus is born into power and is higher/better then we are. He has a tragic flaw that causes his downfall and at the end he realizes his mistake (a trait none of the other characters can really claim).
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.
Suicidal tendencies play a huge role in Hamlet by forming character relationships, adding suspense to the plot and storyline. “Ah, I wish my dirty flesh could melt away into a vapor, or that God had not made a law against suicide. Oh God, God! How tired, stale, and pointless life is to me” (Hamlet 1.2.130-134). This quote by Hamlet Junior in act 1 really embodies the
Bloom, Harold. William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Chelsea House Publisher; Connecticut, New York, & Pennsylvania. 1988, Pg. #33 - 36
Shakespeare, William. "The Tragedy of Julius Caesar." Houghton Mifflin Company. The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston, 1994.
Hamlet’s anger and grief- primarily stemming from his mother’s marriage to Claudius- brings him to thoughts of suicide, which only subside as a result of it being a mortal and religious sin. The fact that he wants to take his own life demonstrates a weakness in his character; a sense of cowarness, his decision not to kill himself because of religious beliefs shows that this weakness is balanced with some sense of morality. Such an obvious paradox is only one example of the inner conflict and turmoil that will eventually lead to Hamlet’s downfall.
Shakespeare used suicide as a dramatic device. A character’s suicide could promote a wide range of emotions: horror, condemnation to pity, and even respect. Some of his suicides could even take titles like the noble soldier, the violated woman, and star-crossed lovers. In Othello, Othello see suicide as the only escape from the pangs and misery of life. In The Rape of Lucrece, Lucrece kills herself after being raped because she cannot live with her shame.
Shakespeare, W. (2007). Julius Caesar [electronic resource] / William Shakespeare. Chandni Chowk, Delhi: Global Media, 2007.