Motivation In Julius Caesar

A life lacking motivation is an existence without the guidance of meaning. However, motivation controlled by revenge is life blinded from meaning. In the tragic play “Julius Caesar”, by William Shakespeare, this idea is portrayed through the character Mark Anthony. With the formation and plots of the conspirators, the dictator of Rome and Antony’s friend, Caesar, is killed which leads to the weight of a civil war on Rome. When people are challenged with grief caused by betrayal, it controls their initial joyous and free personality, resulting in a blinding period of revenge,

Initially, Antony is depicted as a powerless side character and Caesar's loyal friend. From the very beginning, it is evident that Antony is Caesar's right-hand man,

This is depicted through his motivation and numerous of his actions towards the conspirators and others during the civil war. For example, his viciousness is highlighted when he, Lepidus and Octavius gather to discuss the people they need to kill, including Antony’s nephew. This conversation throws the audience into Antony’s new personality as he exposes little emotion and thought behind deciding to take someone's life away. Furthermore, he is shown to not only have hate against the conspirators, but any other person who showed incompetence, like Lepidus. The second Lepidus leaves, Antony does not think to hide his distaste towards his fellow triumvirate. He even goes as far to say “So is my horse”, describing how an animal could do the task that Lepidus does. Additionally, Antony has also undergone extreme change in his social status. He went from a servant to one of the leaders of Rome in his triumvirate with Lepidus and Octovius. Also, it is clear that even if the triumvirate is a sharing of power, he is the one who makes the ultimate decision, such as the battle strategies of their army. Moreover, his enemies also see him as the leader, as when Cassius and Brutus confront Octavius and Antony on the battlefield, it is evident that the conversation is controlled by Antony, who holds his power over them all. Overall, in reaction to the loss of a trusted friend, Antony's motivations push him to dive

At the end of the war, with Cassius and Brutus dead, Antony ultimately sees the latter to escape the pit of revenge. With the war won and his reasons behind his motivation gone, he finally calms down and calls for the end of the war. In spite of him swearing that the war would choke Rome until almost everything was gone. This demonstrates even further how much the murder of Caesar affected him and that his true personality was only hidden under rage. Furthermore, he even honors one of the conspirators, Brutus, calling his enemy the most noble Roman of them all. Additinlay, he respects the fallen soldier and lays his body in a tent, to wait for a proper burial tomorrow. His actions show again that he was not his genuine self during the war and was hidden under a shield of anger. Once that shield was broken, he was able to be his noble and trustworthy self and respect the dead. While his personality stayed the same, his status did not. He remains a leader in the triumvirate and will forever be changed by his leadership. When initially his voice went unheard and he followed any order, he is now the one who gives the orders and all of Rome will listen to his