Sympathizing with Brutus of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

Sympathizing with Brutus of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is an interesting and complex

play based on historical events that took place in Rome in 44 BC. The

plot revolves around the assassination of Julius Caesar by his closest

'friend'- Marcus Brutus, and Marc Antony's attempt to avenge his

death. The play portrays many important themes that are still relevant

in today's society like the struggle for political power; love and

friendship; the fallibility of men; and the fickleness of common

people.

Despite the title of the play, Brutus is the main character, and the

most important in the group of conspirators that murder Julius Caesar.

The justification of the killing of Caesar is arguable from many

different perspectives.

Brutus justifies the assassination by saying Caesar would have gone on

to become a tyrant, an oppressor and a burden on Rome for long to

come. He argues that by killing Caesar, he is relieving Rome of a

certain dictator. Cassius sums this ideology up well when he says -

'Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus; and we

petty men walk under his huge legs, and peep about to find ourselves

dishonourable graves.'

Cassius even goes as far as comparing Caesar to the devil -

'There was a Brutus once that would have brook'd the eternal devil to

keep his state in Rome as easily as a king.' Cassius is saying that a

Brutus long ago would have wilfully allowed the devil to be in Rome as

it would be no different than the oncoming dictatorship rule of Rome

under Julius Caesar.

Things like the execution of Flavius and Marullus because they sp...

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...the play.

Like the sayings - 'What goes around comes around' and 'What you give

is what you get' - Brutus killed Caesar, and you could argue that

Caesar metaphorically killed Brutus. You could argue this by saying

Caesar haunts Brutus' conscience in the form of a ghost and tells him

that he will see him at Philippi, which is where the final battle

takes place.

Also Marc Antony is representing Caesar in a way because he his

avenging his friend's death, so when Anthony's army defeat Brutus',

you could say it was Caesar. And the final piece of evidence that

indicates Brutus has been haunted and figuratively killed by Julius

Caesar is when he confirms it himself by saying 'Caesar, now be still,

I killed not thee with half a good will' which basically means 'okay

Caesar rest now, but I was more reluctant to kill you.'