Julius Caesar
Having a lot of power could corrupt people and turn them into bad. In Julius Caesar, Shakespeare illustrates Julius Caesar, a successful general and politician, is assassinated by a group of conspirators who feared his growing power. In the play, Julius Caesar, Shakespeare explores the theme of misused power through the characters Julius Caesar, Mark Anthony, and finally through Cassius.
The author portrays the theme of misused power through the character Julius Caesar. He is a character admired and loved by the people of Rome. In the play, people see him as a good leader and a Roman general who has done much for Rome. However, Caesar’s desire for power blinded him to the danger around him. The soothsayer warns Caesar to
…show more content…
He is portrayed as a loyal follower of Caesar. During Caesar’s funeral, Anthony uses his position of power to manipulate the people of Rome and turn them against the conspirators by giving a speech. He used Caesar’s will to manipulate them. Mark Anthony tells Lepidus, “But, Lepidus, go you to Caesar’s house; Fetch the will hither, and we shall determine How to cut off some charge in legacies” (Shakespeare 4.1.9-11). This quote by Mark Antony to Lepidus is saying how he wanted to find a way to reduce Caesar’s gift to the people so he could keep it. This quote shows that Mark Antony got selfish after manipulating the people to turn against the conspirators. After Antony gains more power, he orders to kill several innocent people, such as Cicero and works to sabotage the power of Brutus and the other conspirators. Antony states, “These many, then, shall die; their names are pricked” (Shakespeare 4.1.1-2). In this scene, Antony is ordering Lepidus to create a list of people who are not fully supporting them so they can kill them. This indicates that Antony is willing to sacrifice innocent lives to achieve his goals. This reveals that his misuse of power led to violence and fear in Rome. His actions ultimately led to a civil war. Antony’s misuse of power can be seen through his manipulation of the Roman people, his desire to change Caesar’s will, and his cruel
And, sure, he is an honorable man.” Here, Antony is inquiring the civil men with questions leading to obvious answers whether or not the actions that Caesar has performed was him being selfish or just him being considerate. This quote highlights that the civilians start to realize that Brutus deceived them when he declared that the reason they killed Caesar was because he was doing it in honor of his country, but when Antony announces well known facts about the consideration he took with the Romans, it shows that he cared very deeply about them. The Romans comprehend the lies that had been told to them, so they started to riot by killing the Congressmen involved in the conspiracy. Accordingly, Antony shows the Romans the obvious truth that had been in front of them this whole time, so they’re able to understand that Caesar has been there for them this entire
By asking questions such as, "Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?" (Act III, Scene II), Antony highlights the contradictions and hypocrisies present in the statements made by Brutus and his co-conspirators. Moreover, Antony's repeated emphasis on Caesar's virtues and his loyalty to Rome serve to further engender the crowd's affection towards him. In doing so, Antony is able to gain the support of the masses, ultimately leading to a chaotic and violent uprising against the conspirators. His skillful employment of rhetorical questions and his masterful use of language play a crucial role in swaying the opinions of the Roman
Through the play Caesar is a liked person and the people of the town wanted him to be crowned king. He is a person who is trusts his friends and that ends up back firing. In William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Caesar portrays a tragic flaw, a realization, and moral ambiguity, which makes him the most tragic character. A tragic flaw that Caesar has is that he is very easily manipulated.
He is stating that he is willing to lose his life for the sake of Rome’s. He is putting is loyalty for his country above his friendship. Antony has a different view on a way to gain over the audience. He is reading a fake will to the people that states that Caesar has given money and land to every person, he is making the audience feel guilty. By making the people feel guilty he is going to have them go on his side.
Antony’s purpose is to draw on the Pleabians sympathy and remind them of their loyalty to Caesar. By reminding them of their loyalty, he is showing the justice that must be
He points out that Caesar brought home immense wealth from his campaigns and gave it to the “general coffers” instead of saving it for himself. Antony points out to the crowd that this is out of character for an “ambitious man” by saying, “He [Caesar] hath brought many captives home to Rome/ Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill…” (The Tragedy of Julius Caesar 3.2.88-89). If Caesar truly was ambitious, he would have saved it for himself thereby increasing his own power and influence rather than give it to the people and increase their ability to oppose him and rebel against him. Mark Antony himself tried to give Caesar a crown which would have given him near limitless power but, “...
Antony knew by doing this, he would trick the conspirators into thinking that he is their side, therefore allowing him to obtain plans that they had for Rome. By doing this, he is also able to begin his master plan of bringing justice to Caesar. In addition, Anthony's ability to seek opportunities that will benefit him later, is once again utilized during Caesar’s funeral, when he states “I thrice presented [Caesar] a kingly crown, Which he did thrice refuse. Was this ambition? Yet Brutus says [Caesar] was ambitious,” (III.ii.95-98).
(III.ii.26-28) In this sense, it shows that Brutus cares about Caesar, but when it seems to be affecting the country he loves, he will take any measures to stop it. As one standing in the midst of the crowd, it would appear through logic that Brutus did not kill Caesar out of anything personal, but rather he was slain to prevent a dominating ruler from forming. On the other hand, Antony takes the very words that defended Brutus, and makes them his downfall. Antony brings the plebeians back to the time where," I thrice presented him a kingly crown,/which he did thrice refuse.
By refusing to read the will several times and admitting that what it contains will cause the people to have such a great love for Caesar that knowing he is now dead will be unbearable, Antony ignites curiosity in the people and furthermore, a subconscious feeling of respect and graciousness toward Caesar. Basically, Antony uses Caesar’s will to convince the people that Caesar was a selfless, kind-hearted man and those who killed him should be ashamed and punished for killing an innocent man. Through Antony’s use of paralipsis, he is able to plant a seed of admiration for Caesar and one of hate for the conspirators in the hearts of the plebeians. In his speech to the citizens, Antony also asks many rhetorical questions to cause his audience to pause and reflect on how they really feel, or how Antony wants them to feel, about certain people and events that have recently become important. In one instance.
Although Caesar, as the upcoming ruler of Rome in Julius Caesar, should be portrayed as the ideal leader of the play, he actually has too arrogant of a character to be so. Therefore, Shakespeare places honor in Brutus and allows Brutus to have the role of the idealistic leader of the story. Although Shakespeare writes this play in a controversial time period during England’s political turmoil, he allows the audience to be able to choose the true ruler of loyalty to the crown or the honor of a noble man through the understanding of the two contrasting character
Antony wanted people to be patient with him. He also says, “When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept: Ambition should be made of sterner stuff” (3.2. 100-101). Antony says this to show that Caesar was a good man who cared about the people. It was also to show that Brutus was wrong when he stated that Caesar was ambitious. Antony makes the citizens feel that the conspirators murder was
Julius Caesar was a Roman dictator in Shakespeare's play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, which was based off of true events. In the play, Marcus Brutus was Caesar’s close friend and a trusted senator, but, in the end, he stabbed Brutus in the back. Antony was Caesar’s closest advisor, and they ruled Rome together. Antony was extremely loyal to Caesar and avenged his death. Brutus believed that Caesar would make the Roman people slaves and joined a conspiracy to kill him.
Julius Caesar, is a play based on the true events that occurred in Roman history. The play follows the fictional lives of Caesar and his people leading up to, and after his assassination. Several characters can be labeled as both villainous and heroic at different points in the play due to their actions, however, this does not apply to the character of Marcus Junius Brutus, who remains a hero through the entire play. Brutus is a hero for several reasons, The first reason Brutus is considered to be a hero is because he continuously stands up for what he believes in. Secondly, it is clear that Brutus is a hero because he kills himself as a sacrifice to the roman public.
Following Caesar’s demise, Antony sought out to avenge his fallen friend; to defeat Brutus and the other conspirators. However, his endeavour made him the ultimate ruler at the end. He was motivated both by personal desire and love for Caesar. Mark Antony wanted the people to take actions as per his command, he wants more power, and he wanted to defeat the conspirators in order to avenge
In public, Caesar was the leader Rome had always wished for, a strong, valliant man that would let nothing in his way. Consequently, Caesar had a more vulnerable side to him where the reader would be able to see glimpses of throughout the play. Still, Caesar allowed his public self image to take priority in which would eventually lead to his death. Speaking historically, the great Julius Caesar was a people’s leader with a deep hunger for power in which he would do anything to