Ella Burke Mrs. ODonnell 10th Honors English 27 April 2023 Rough Draft In America, political corruption is among the top universal concerns (). This has been a recurring theme in human societies, including those in ancient Greece and Rome. Going back to 44 BC, Julius Caesar was assassinated due to citizens’ fear of his dictatorship; approximately 100 years later, Plutarch chronicled these events. It was this book, Parallel Lives, that Shakespeare used as historical reference to write Julius Caesar. This play revolves around the abuse of power and how it negatively affects civilizations. Shakespeare’s theme of power in Julius Caesar effectively fulfills his purpose of cautioning against the danger of absolute rule, while honoring historical …show more content…
Shakespeare’s play begins with two Romans, Flavius and Marullus, removing party favors from Caesar’s statue in an attempt to prevent him from becoming a king. In the subsequent scene, it is revealed they were punished for this act. In Parallel Lives, the source in which Shakespeare got his information, Plutarch asserts “Flavius and Marullus…went presently and pulled them off, and having apprehended those who first saluted Caesar as king, committed them to prison” (Plutarch). Manifestly, these two sources of information closely mirror one another; therefore, Julius Caesar primarily consists of factual events. Furthermore, with that being said, there are some instances where Shakespeare strayed away from Plutarch’s descriptions in order to successfully fulfill his purpose. For instance, the two men’s overall characterization of Caesar is dissimilar. Shakespeare portrays him as overly power hungry and tyrannical while Plutarch takes a different approach. He describes “Caesar was born to do great things, and had a passion after honor, and the many noble exploits he had done did not now serve as an inducement to him to sit still and reap the fruit of his past labors” (Plutarch). The evidence suggests Shakespeare took it upon himself to exaggerate Caesar’s portrayal. Some may argue this was not Shakespeare’s place; however he had every right to manipulate Plutarch’s story a little, as the sole reason he did this was to impart his significant message. Had he religiously adhered to Parallel Lives would have greatly diminished its value, and at that point, there would have been no incentive to even write the groundbreaking play. To conclude, in order to satisfy his intentions and relay an influential argument, Shakespeare had to marginally deviate from Plutarch’s
Lydia Stock Mrs. Jex Language arts 03 January 2023 Antony’s persuasion Essay Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare, Conspiracy and the assassination of Caesar, In William Shakespear’s famous historical play, Julius Caesar, political intrigue and the conspiracy lead to the assassination of one of the world’s most prominent and controversial leaders of all time. In order for Antony to persuade the people of Rome of the wrongdoing of the liberators, he uses ethos, pathos, and logos. In order for Antony to persuade the people of Rome of the wrongdoing of the liberators, he uses ethos, pathos, and logos.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is about the assassination of Julius Caesar. The conspirators against Caesar recruit Brutus, who had great influence over the people of Rome and was trusted by Caesar. With his help they attack Caesar in the senate. At his funeral Mark Antony, a friend of Caesar's, is aloud to speak and he is able to turn the people against the conspirators. This causes a Civil war between Rome and the conspirators.
Julius Caesar a play by William Shakespeare depicting the tragedy of the historic death of the famous ruler of Rome which the work is named after. The author uses a combination of Logos, Pathos, and Ethos to capture the reader's attention and emotions throughout the story. However, these rhetorical references are most prevalent during the speeches of Brutus and Mark Antony to the commoners at Caesar’s funeral. The speakers use these strategies to attempt to gain the people's support their cause. The winner of this debate is Antony who draws a revolution together to battle the conspirators that killed his dear Caesar.
Catherine Terry Mr. Graham 19 October 2022 Freshman English - E The Hardship and Tragedy of Julius Caesar The roles of conflict, foreshadowing, and rhetoric are prominent traits to take into consideration, when discussing the play Julius Caesar. Conflict is what leads to one of the ultimate plots of the play, the rebellion against Caesar, and the decision to follow through with his assanation. Foreshadowing is consistently shown throughout the play, and takes on a massive role.
As previously mentioned, the main theme examines the danger of civilizations that operate under a system in which a singular person has absolute power. In order for Shakespeare to triumphantly warn England of the problematic path it was headed down, he needed to utilize his creative liberties to make this theme more impactful. In particular, Plutarch describes Caesar refusing the crown a couple of times; Shakespeare reports this exact same situation while adding his own twist. One of the characters in Julius Caesar recounts “ ‘...he put it by once; but for all that, to my thinking, he would fain have had it. Then he offered it to him again; but to my thinking, he was very loath to lay his fingers off it” (Shakespeare 1.2.234-237).
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar was written about four hundred years ago. This story demonstrates the corruption of Roman government in 44 BC. Rhetoric and theatrics are the main tools that current politicians, and ancient politicians use to gain popularity, commandeer power, and make crucial relationships. Important Roman political figures such as Brutus, Cassius, Antony, and Caesar along with present-day politicians use these rhetorical methods to accomplish their goals. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare demonstrates how rhetoric and theatrics largely affect politics and political relationships.
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
Corruption is defined as dishonest or illegal behavior, especially by powerful people, and just like its definition, corruption and power go hand in hand. The more power a person has, generally, the easier it is for them to be corrupted. Just like in Julius Caesar where power and corruption are very prevalent, and most of the leaders in Julius Caesar became corrupted by their power, but in some rare cases leaders have avoided corruption, these people are very valuable in society, and must not be taken for granted. Just like many other leaders in Julius Caesar, Caesar was corrupted by his power. He wasn’t corrupt in the normal sense, he was socially corrupt in the fact that he didn’t stick to the social norms of respecting fellow senators in
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is a play about the assassination of Julius Caesar in ancient Rome. A group of eight conspirators got together and planned his death. One of the conspirators, named Marcus Brutus, was among Shakespeare’s best tragic heroes. He has all the original elements of a tragic hero and even the new elements that Shakespeare added. Brutus was an honorable man that only wanted what was best for Rome.
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.
In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, disloyalty, manipulation, and persuasion all reign supreme. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a historical play and tragedy by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is believed to have been written in 1599. Being one of several plays written by Shakespeare it is based on true events from Roman history, which also include Coriolanus and Antony and Cleopatra. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar in Antony’s speech he uses ethos, logos, pathos.
There are a lot of different themes that could be used to describe the play of Julius Caesar. Power is a big part of the play and is probably the best theme of it. Throughout the play, power has a big impact on the story line and the way the story goes. It is evident to the conspirators that Julius Caesar is headed for absolute power; he becomes a threat to the ideals and values of the Roman Republic. They assassinate Caesar before he can be crowned king.
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
William Shakespeare has been called the single greatest influence of modern day English. His plays varied in theme, but most were comedies. Some of his tragic plays, like Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra can also be classified as a history. These plays have basis not only in fact, but are almost entirely based on one work; Plutarch’s Lives. Antony and Cleopatra and the story of Antony described in Plutarch’s Lives, are remarkably similar in form.
The play begins with Julius Caesar returning from a victory over Pompey to a cheering crowd of Romans. He is an ambitious leader who wants Rome to prosper and looks out for his countrymen over himself, though he has his own, darker, flaws. This selflessness is explicitly demonstrated by him saying “What touches us shall be last served” (III.I.9) when he is told to deal with a letter because it most directly related to him. His goal is to further Rome and gain the approval of his people, which he does very well.