Julius Caesar
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, also known simply as Julius Caesar, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599.[1] It portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against the Roman dictator Julius Caesar, his assassination and the defeat of the conspirators at the Battle of Philippi. It is one of several Roman plays that Shakespeare wrote, based on true events from Roman history, which also include Coriolanus and Antony and Cleopatra.
Although the title is Julius Caesar, Julius Caesar
is not the most visible character in its action; he appears in only
three scenes, and is killed at the beginning of the third act. Marcus Brutus
speaks more than four times as many lines, and the central
psychological drama is his struggle between the conflicting demands of honor, patriotism, and friendship.
Synopsis
Marcus Brutus is Caesar's close friend and a Roman praetor. Brutus allows himself to be cajoled into joining a group of conspiring senators because of a growing suspicion—implanted by Caius Cassius—that Caesar intends to turn republican Rome into a monarchy under his own rule.
The early scenes deal mainly with Brutus's arguments with Cassius and his struggle with his own conscience.
The growing tide of public support soon turns Brutus against Caesar
(this public support was actually faked; Cassius wrote letters to Brutus
in different handwritings over the next month in order to get Brutus to
join the conspiracy). A soothsayer warns Caesar to "beware the Ides of March",[3] which he ignores, culminating in his assassination at the Capitol
by the conspirators that day, despite being warned by the soothsayer
and Artemidrous, one of Caesar's supporters at the entrance of the
Capitol.
Caesar's assassination is one of the most famous scenes of the play,
occurring in Act 3 (the other is Mark Antony's oration "Friends, Romans,
countrymen.") After ignoring the soothsayer as well as his wife's own
premonitions, Caesar comes to the Senate. The conspirators create a
superficial motive for the assassination by means of a petition brought
by Metellus Cimber, pleading on behalf of his banished brother. As
Caesar, predictably, rejects the petition, Casca grazes Caesar in the
back of his neck, and the others follow in stabbing him; Brutus is last.
At this point, Caesar utters the famous line "Et tu, Brute?"[4] ("And you, Brutus?", i.e.
"You too, Brutus?"). Shakespeare has him add, "Then fall, Caesar,"
suggesting that Caesar did not want to survive such treachery, therefore
becoming a hero.
The conspirators make clear that they committed this act for Rome,
not for their own purposes and do not attempt to flee the scene. After
Caesar's death, Brutus delivers an oration defending his actions, and
for the moment, the crowd is on his side. However, Mark Antony, with a subtle and eloquent speech over Caesar's corpse—beginning with the much-quoted "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears"[5]—deftly turns public opinion against the assassins by manipulating the emotions of the common people,
in contrast to the rational tone of Brutus's speech. Antony rouses the
mob to drive the conspirators from Rome. Amid the violence, the innocent
poet, Cinna, is confused with the conspirator Lucius Cinna and is murdered by the mob.
The beginning of Act Four is marked by the quarrel scene, where Brutus attacks Cassius for soiling the noble act of regicide
by accepting bribes ("Did not great Julius bleed for justice' sake? /
What villain touch'd his body, that did stab, / And not for justice?"[6]) The two are reconciled; they prepare for war with Mark Antony and Caesar's adopted son, Octavian
(Shakespeare's spelling: Octavius). That night, Caesar's ghost appears
to Brutus with a warning of defeat ("thou shalt see me at Philippi"[7]).
At the battle,
Cassius and Brutus knowing they will probably both die, smile their
last smiles to each other and hold hands. During the battle, Cassius
commits suicide after hearing of the capture of his best friend,
Titinius. After Titinius, who wasn't really captured, sees Cassius's
corpse, he commits suicide. However, Brutus wins that stage of the
battle - but his victory is not conclusive. With a heavy heart, Brutus battles again the next day. He loses and commits suicide.
The play ends with a tribute to Brutus by Antony, who proclaims that Brutus has remained "the noblest Roman of them all"[8]
because he was the only conspirator who acted for the good of Rome.
There is then a small hint at the friction between Mark Antony and
Octavius which will characterise another of Shakespeare's Roman plays, Antony and Cleopatra.
Themes, Motifs & Symbols
Themes
Fate versus Free Will
Julius Caesar raises many questions about the force of fate in life versus the capacity for free will. Cassius refuses to accept Caesar’s rising power and deems a belief in fate to be nothing more than a form of passivity or cowardice. He says to Brutus: “Men at sometime were masters of their fates. / The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings” (I.ii.140–142). Cassius urges a return to a more noble, self-possessed attitude toward life, blaming his and Brutus’s submissive stance not on a predestined plan but on their failure to assert themselves.Ultimately, the play seems to support a philosophy in which fate and freedom maintain a delicate coexistence. Thus Caesar declares: “It seems to me most strange that men should fear, / Seeing that death, a necessary end, / Will come when it will come” (II.ii.35–37). In other words, Caesar recognizes that certain events lie beyond human control; to crouch in fear of them is to enter a paralysis equal to, if not worse than, death. It is to surrender any capacity for freedom and agency that one might actually possess. Indeed, perhaps to face death head-on, to die bravely and honorably, is Caesar’s best course: in the end, Brutus interprets his and Cassius’s defeat as the work of Caesar’s ghost—not just his apparition, but also the force of the people’s devotion to him, the strong legacy of a man who refused any fear of fate and, in his disregard of fate, seems to have transcended it.
Public Self versus Private Self
Much of the play’s tragedy stems from the characters’ neglect of private feelings and loyalties in favor of what they believe to be the public good. Similarly, characters confuse their private selves with their public selves, hardening and dehumanizing themselves or transforming themselves into ruthless political machines. Brutus rebuffs his wife, Portia, when she pleads with him to confide in her; believing himself to be acting on the people’s will, he forges ahead with the murder of Caesar, despite their close friendship. Brutus puts aside his personal loyalties and shuns thoughts of Caesar the man, his friend; instead, he acts on what he believes to be the public’s wishes and kills Caesar the leader, the imminent dictator. Cassius can be seen as a man who has gone to the extreme in cultivating his public persona. Caesar, describing his distrust of Cassius, tells Antony that the problem with Cassius is his lack of a private life—his seeming refusal to acknowledge his own sensibilities or to nurture his own spirit. Such a man, Caesar fears, will let nothing interfere with his ambition. Indeed, Cassius lacks all sense of personal honor and shows himself to be a ruthless schemer.Ultimately, neglecting private sentiments to follow public concerns brings Caesar to his death. Although Caesar does briefly agree to stay home from the Senate in order to please Calpurnia, who has dreamed of his murder, he gives way to ambition when Decius tells him that the senators plan to offer him the crown. -Caesar’s public self again takes precedence. Tragically, he no longer sees the difference between his omnipotent, immortal public image and his vulnerable human body. Just preceding his death, Caesar refuses Artemidorus’s pleas to speak with him, saying that he gives last priority to his most personal concerns. He thus endangers himself by believing that the strength of his public self will protect his private self.
Misinterpretations and Misreadings
Much of the play deals with the characters’ failures to interpret correctly the omens that they encounter. As Cicero says, “Men may construe things after their fashion, / Clean from the purpose of the things themselves” (I.iii.34–35). Thus, the night preceding Caesar’s appearance at the Senate is full of portents, but no one reads them accurately: Cassius takes them to signify the danger that Caesar’s impending coronation would bring to the state, when, if anything, they warn of the destruction that Cassius himself threatens. There are calculated misreadings as well: Cassius manipulates Brutus into joining the conspiracy by means of forged letters, knowing that Brutus’s trusting nature will cause him to accept the letters as authentic pleas from the Roman people.The circumstances of Cassius’s death represent another instance of misinterpretation. Pindarus’s erroneous conclusion that Titinius has been captured by the enemy, when in fact Titinius has reunited with friendly forces, is the piece of misinformation that prompts Cassius to seek death. Thus, in the world of politics portrayed in Julius Caesar, the inability to read people and events leads to downfall; conversely, the ability to do so is the key to survival. With so much ambition and rivalry, the ability to gauge the public’s opinion as well as the resentment or loyalty of one’s fellow politicians can guide one to success. Antony proves masterful at recognizing his situation, and his accurate reading of the crowd’s emotions during his funeral oration for Caesar allows him to win the masses over to his side.
Inflexibility versus Compromise
Both Brutus and Caesar are stubborn, rather inflexible people who ultimately suffer fatally for it. In the play’s aggressive political landscape, individuals succeed through adaptability, bargaining, and compromise. Brutus’s rigid though honorable ideals leave him open for manipulation by Cassius. He believes so thoroughly in the purpose of the assassination that he does not perceive the need for excessive political maneuvering to justify the murder. Equally resolute, Caesar prides himself on his steadfastness; yet this constancy helps bring about his death, as he refuses to heed ill omens and goes willingly to the Senate, into the hands of his murderers.
Antony proves perhaps the most adaptable of all of the
politicians: while his speech to the Roman citizens centers on Caesar’s generosity
toward each citizen, he later searches for ways to turn these funds
into cash in order to raise an army against Brutus and Cassius.
Although he gains power by offering to honor Caesar’s will and provide
the citizens their rightful money, it becomes clear that ethical
concerns will not prevent him from using the funds in a more politically
expedient manner. Antony is a successful politician—yet the question
of morality remains. There seems to be no way to reconcile firm
moral principles with success in politics in Shakespeare’s rendition
of ancient Rome; thus each character struggles toward a different
solution.Rhetoric and Power
Julius Caesar gives detailed consideration to the relationship between rhetoric and power. The ability to make things happen by words alone is the most powerful type of authority. Early in the play, it is established that Caesar has this type of absolute authority: “When Caesar says ‘Do this,’ it is performed,” says Antony, who attaches a similar weight to Octavius’s words toward the end of the play (I.ii.12). Words also serve to move hearts and minds, as Act III evidences. Antony cleverly convinces the conspirators of his desire to side with them: “Let each man render me with his bloody hand” (III.i.185). Under the guise of a gesture of friendship, Antony actually marks the conspirators for vengeance. In the Forum, Brutus speaks to the crowd and appeals to its love of liberty in order to justify the killing of Caesar. He also makes ample reference to the honor in which he is generally esteemed so as to validate further his explanation of the deed. Antony likewise wins the crowd’s favor, using persuasive rhetoric to whip the masses into a frenzy so great that they don’t even realize the fickleness of their favor.Motifs
Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes.
Omens and Portents
Throughout the play, omens and portents manifest themselves, each serving to crystallize the larger themes of fate and misinterpretation of signs. Until Caesar’s death, each time an omen or nightmare is reported, the audience is reminded of Caesar’s impending demise. The audience wonders whether these portents simply announce what is fated to occur or whether they serve as warnings for what might occur if the characters do not take active steps to change their behavior. Whether or not individuals can affect their destinies, characters repeatedly fail to interpret the omens correctly. In a larger sense, the omens in Julius Caesar thus imply the dangers of failing to perceive and analyze the details of one’s world.Letters
The motif of letters represents an interesting counterpart to the force of oral rhetoric in the play. Oral rhetoric depends upon a direct, dialogic interaction between speaker and audience: depending on how the listeners respond to a certain statement, the orator can alter his or her speech and intonations accordingly. In contrast, the power of a written letter depends more fully on the addressee; whereas an orator must read the emotions of the crowd, the act of reading is undertaken solely by the recipient of the letter. Thus, when Brutus receives the forged letter from Cassius in Act II, scene i, the letter has an effect because Brutus allows it to do so; it is he who grants it its full power. In contrast, Caesar refuses to read the letter that Artemidorus tries to hand him in Act III, scene i, as he is heading to the Senate. Predisposed to ignore personal affairs, Caesar denies the letter any reading at all and thus negates the potential power of the words written inside.Symbols
Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
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