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Theme Of Power In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

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In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, the theme is power. In the play, Caesar is seen after defeating Pompey in a battle. While everyone cheers him on, Cassius is trying to manipulate Brutus into his plan of attacking Caesar. Regardless of his friendship and loyalty to Caesar, Brutus decides to be a part of the conspirators. While Cassius is driven by power, Brutus is more concerned for the liberty of Rome. In Act 1, scene 2, Caesar says to Mark Antony, “Let me have men about me that are fat, sleek-headed men, and such as sleep as a nights.. Young Cassius has a lean and hungry look.. Such men are dangerous.” (Shakespeare, 1.2.205). Caesar is using his power to assure the importance of having intelligent men around him at all times, he knows it
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1. Introduction In William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, Gaius Julius Caesar is described by the character of Mark Antony as being, “…the noblest Roman of them all…” (Shakespeare Julius Caesar 5.5.67.231). Julius Caesar has been represented in history as a multi-faceted Roman leader, excelling in the military, social and political spheres of Roman life.

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While Brutus maintains noble intentions, Cassius goes into this scheme with every intention of leaving everyone else behind to claim the power for himself, as he has been compelled by their society to do. Cassius tells Brutus that Caesar “doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus” while convincing him that Caesar is accumulating too much power for one man, despite harboring the belief that all of that power should be his (JC I.ii.142-143). To further prove his point to Brutus, Cassius gives Brutus fake letters telling him that the common people would rather have Brutus in charge than Caesar. While this is just Cassius himself manipulating Brutus, Cassius is motivated by the pressures of their society and Brutus, motivated by the belief that his society wants him to, joins the conspirators in their plot to kill Caesar and take power for themselves. Caught in a vicious cycle of societal pressure, these men continue to fight for power even after they achieve their original goal as evidenced by the civil war that breaks out following the assassination of Julius

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The Power Effect     Power affects many people and the outcomes of life. Power is a way of controlling people or events. In the play, Tragedy of Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare, power causes jealousy that destroys friendships and alliances.     Julius Caesar is offered to rule Rome which makes other powerful people jealous. Cassius is jealous and tries to manipulate Brutus into assassinating Caesar.

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Caesar tells Antony that when he has a group of advisors, “Let me have men about me that are fat; Sleek-headed men and such as sleep o' nights…(1.2.192).” Finally, Caesar shouldn’t rule Rome because he is overambitious. Caesar tries to hide his ambitions by acting humble. However, Brutus sees through this, saying

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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.

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“A noble man compares and estimates himself by an idea which is higher than himself, and a mean man, by one lower then himself. The one produces aspiration; the other ambition, which is the way in which a vulgar man aspires” (Marcus Aurelius). One does not truly understand the meaning of this quote until having read Julius Caesar. The play is a tragedy that was written in 1599 by English poet and playwright William Shakespeare. The Elizabethan age(1558–1603), during which many of his works came to life, was very helpful in dictating how his literature came to be.

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Cassius wants Brutus to think that if Throughout the play Julius Caesar, written by William shakespeare, Cassius uses manipulation to form his group of conspirators and make them perform his biddings. Most importantly, Cassius turns Brutus, one of Caesar’s greatest friends, to his side through various creative tactics. Body 1: During the Feast of Lupercal, Cassius pulls Brutus aside to begin his manipulative plan. Cassius explains to Brutus that “Men are sometimes masters of their fates”. They have the potential to change their future.

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Cassius influenced Brutus to conspire against Caesar by stating, Caesar “is now become a god… and his name has been sounded more than [Brutus’s]” (Act 1, Scene 2, Line 118-145-6). Cassius’s arguments convinced Brutus in proving Caesar's murder would be just, but Caesar’s death is unjust because he is being murdered out of Brutus and Cassius’s jealousy. Both of the individuals are envious of the power that Caesar is being given by the people of Rome and want to end his life before they will lose their own power in the senate after Caesar becomes king. Brutus’ naive mind was easily convinced by Cassius that Caesar was not the best choice to assume the Roman throne because he would not listen to their political thoughts.

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Marcus Brutus’ Manipulation Manipulation:to treat or operate with or as if with the hands or by mechanical means especially in a skillful manner. In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, this quote is entirely true. We are also introduced into the idea of manipulation very early in the play, which impacts the plot. The play is about Marcus Brutus, the tragic hero, being manipulated into being in a conspiracy to assassinate Gaius Julius Caesar, a politician for Rome.

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As a friend Brutus supported Caesars side, but behind the shadows "Cassius" constructed a plan to kill Caesar, and Brutus was a key

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In William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, Marc Antony appears to be a strong advocate for Julius Caesar’s triumphs and increasing power. However, like Caesar, Antony is extremely manipulative and powerful. After Caesar’s death, Antony manipulated the conspirators into believing he was on their side before requesting to speak at Caesar’s funeral. While Brutus and the conspirators remained fooled by Antony’s innocence, Antony took the initiative to inform the Roman citizens of the conspirator’s horrendous actions towards their beloved leader, Julius Caesar. Caesar’s funeral was a time of reflection for the citizens of Rome, as Marc Antony caused them to question their allegiance to Brutus.

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With power sometimes though comes with great regret. You may lose someone close or make new enemies along the way. Brutus wants power so badly that he’d do anything for it. Although Caesar is Brutus’ friend he does not support his leadership. Brutus believes himself to be the better choice of the two to rule over Rome.

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Several novels convey a theme that is either perceived as universal or selective towards certain races, people, or groups, consequently, many stories may consist of the same themes but portray it differently through their own characters. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar the theme of greed and power consuming even the possibly most honorable man in all of Rome during the time period. Brutus is manipulated into assisting in the brutal assassination of Julius Caesar, the current ruler of Rome, for what he believes to be the better way of helping the Roman Republic regain its freedom over Caesar 's tyrannical rule. With the help of other conspirators who simply wished to rid Rome of Caesar, as well as Cassius, his brother-in-law, Cassius is overcome

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Sin’s Perpetrator and Victim Human desire knows no bounds; everyone thirsts for something. Some thirst for power, some for wealth, and others for truth. This thirst is a driving factor for most actions, but it is not always for the best. Nowhere else are the dangers of wanting more prevalent than in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. The underlying premise of the play is that one’s own ambition can end up destroying him/her and creating unintended chaos.

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CHAPTER 2 Power is everywhere and it may be perceived as interaction between human beings at various levels. It involves an exchange of power and they result in behavioural changes of the individual groups or society at a larger level. The greater is the level of exchange of power the higher is the possibility of environment alteration in which it had occurred. There are various relationships that illustrate power usage in all human societies. Power relationships can be understood specifically in these relations such as superior-subordinate, patron-client, master-slave and leader-follower.

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