Power And Corruption In Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar'

Lily Bell

Mrs. Wood

English II

18 January 2023

Power and Corruption In the play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare multiple characters gain power which eventually ends up in corruption and even death. Characters such as Caesar and Brutus both used their power in evil ways. With too much power, one can make terribly awful events happen. In Caesar and Brutus’s cases, their power was the sole cause of the terrible affairs. However, in Mark Antony’s case, he gained power and used it to create peace and bring justice to Caesar. Regardless of this circumstance, Caesar and Brutus’s usage of power in the play is not dismissed. More times than not, when one gains an excessive amount of power they will use it for evil and cause corruption.

Shortly after Caesar gained his victory, there was a celebration held in the streets of Rome. Two senators, Flavius and Marullus, were not particularly pleased by this. They decided to take down some of the celebratory decor. In return, Caesar had them killed. We learned this when Casca, who later in the play is the first to stab Caesar, states, “Marullus and Flavius, for pulling down scarfs off of Caesar's images, are put to silence” (I.ii.78). This shows just how much power Caesar has. All that Flavius and Marullus did was take down some decorations and in return they were ordered to be killed by Caesar. From this you can see how much power Caesar truly has. If he didn’t occupy as much power as he did, both Flavius and Marullus would not be dead. When one has so much power they can cause an immense amount of corruption. Flavius and Marullus didn’t maintain much power so what they did didn’t result in corruption. If they were to have had as much power as Caesar then possibly conditions would have been different. Instead of using what little power they possess to destroy Caesar's image, they could have taken it as far as to kill Caesar just like what he did to them. It is obvious that once power is gained that the chances of corruption occurring are much higher. If it were not for power these corrupted circumstances would not have been able to take

After Caesar was killed, Mark Antony knew Caesar did not deserve to be killed, he deserved justice. Mark Antony proceeded to use the power he had to persuade the crowd of people to bring justice to Caesar. At one point in Antony’s speech he stated, “My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar and I must pause till it comes back to me” (III.ii.103). Mark Antony speaks from his heart. He uses his power to speak in front of the crowd and show them that Caesar deserved peace and justice. Most times when power is gained it is more likely to lead to evil or corrupted outcomes. Mark Antony however used his power in a way not commonly seen in the play. Unlike Caesar and Brutus, Mark Antony used his power for morality instead of