Julius Caesar Death Analysis

In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, death is presented as a conductor of fate and Roman glory. People of the Caesarean Era, especially those in high positions, prioritized honorable deaths in order to embellish and augment their legacies, so they will be viewed like a god by future generations. Cassius and Brutus attempted to create their own legacies by ignoring omens given by the gods and killing Caesar, but evidently ended up expediting their suicides that were considered unfavorable to the Roman populace. In Julius Caesar, the death of the deified dictator catalyzes the ironic demise of the conspirators, which makes their suicide a "’happy’" (5.5.87) event for the Empire and conveys the power death has on honor and glory in Roman society. The

In the beginning, Brutus is considered a stoic person who did not want to betray Caesar, whereas at the end of the play, Brutus is an emotional mess who begins to speak in verse, a characteristic common to byronics in Shakespearean plays. The reversal of his character appears to happen when he kills Caesar, implying the Emperor’s death either changed his fate and his identity or that he just lost his ability to control his emotions and this is what led to a spiral of downward events. As a result of his reversal, Brutus begins to gain Cassius-Esk traits. Brutus begins to ignore signs from the supernatural similarly to how Cassius did with the faults in Rome dream, as he agrees to go where “‘the weakness” of “his eyes’” warns him he will die(4.3.319), displaying his ambition but yet also his stubbornness to take a Ghost of Caesar and his destiny seriously which shows ignorance and rashness; all contrary qualities from Brutus in the beginning of the play. This is “a disaster for his cause”(306), as the events that happen at Philippi bring forth his ironic downfall and the catastrophic ending for the Republic. Similar to Cassius, Brutus’s final words praise Caesar and ask for his forgiveness, and mentions the supernatural element to Caesar’s death, telling Caesar “‘now be still’” because his death has been avenged and since his ghost can now rest easy after regaining honor by killing the conspirators and showing Caesar’s importance(5.5.56). By saying he killed the dictator “‘with half so good a will’” (5.5.57), he is regretting his decision to attempt the regicide and claiming is was impulsive and not well thought out, an uncharacteristic trait for a supposed stoic. Although Augustus believes Brutus’s suicide was heroic, it was completely unnecessary if only Brutus listened to the ghost. He was warned that they “‘shall meet at Philippi’”(4.3.327) , but Brutus