Examples Of Leadership In Julius Caesar

The contextual ideals of an era influence a composer’s depiction of an ideal leader through their characterisation. Niccolo Machiavelli’s political treatise The Prince (1513) explores the requirements of a successful leader. Through the exploration of a leader’s violent nature toward the populace and the importance in the manipulation the citizens and public thought, Machiavelli reveals the requirements of a good leader. These ideals expressed by Machiavelli are evident in William Shakespeare’s tragedy Julius Caesar (1599). Although contextual differences are apparent, the differing texts reflect similar ideas in relation to the attributes of a good leader. Through the composer’s depiction of leadership, Machiavelli and Shakespeare reveal the

“Antony is but a limb of Caesar” The simile of Antony being a limb of Caesar reveals Brutus’ blindness to the importance of Antony. Brutus’ avoidance of violence and cruelty leads to his eventual downfall. Through this representation, Shakespeare reflects Machiavelli’s view that a good leader is one who is willing to use violence to achieve their goal. “If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.” Machiavelli’s use of imperatives conveys a sense that violence is a necessity for a leader to be successful. It reveals that to be successful, one must be feared. Machiavelli’s belief was that violence was the most effective method in creating this fear. The ideal leader, in Machiavelli’s opinion, was the son of Pope Alexander VI, Cesare Borgia. “Cesare Borgia was thought to be cruel, yet his cruelty restored order to Romagna.” Through Machiavelli’s representation of his ideal leader, Cesare Borgia, he expresses the importance of cruelty in establishing and holding power. As Machiavelli developed his principles from Borgia’s leadership, he communicates that for a leader to be successful and feared, he must be cruel. Accordingly, Shakespeare’s representation of Julius Caesar reveals him as a successful warrior and leader of Rome. Caesar’s military success depicts him as a violent and cruel leader, the ideal leader by Machiavellian principle. “The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.” Antony’s juxtaposing ideas of good and evil conveys that Caesar will be remembered for his violent nature rather than the good that he achieved. Caesar’s violence with his army reflects Machiavelli’s beliefs on the requirements of a good leader. Through this, it is evident that Shakespeare drew on Machiavellian principles surrounding the violence of a leader to present his view of an ideal