Julius Caesar: Social Flaws William Shakespeare wrote Julius Caesar when Rome was a republic and the Roman people could do nothing more than praise their leader. This form of government causes it’s people to become weak. In Julius Caesar, the Roman people are portrayed as fools because of how easily they could be manipulated. Rome eventually became corrupt because of its people’s foolishness and many unreasonable deaths occurred as well. A republic refuses to be influenced by its society. Furthermore, a weak society make it’s government stronger. The people of Rome during Julius Caesar were brainwashed into thinking that everything their leader did was for the good of Rome. The people of Rome claimed they were loyal to their country and their leader; however, they prove themselves wrong multiple times throughout the play. For example, it did not phase the Romans when they discovered that their king Julius Caesar was assassinated. They were not phased because Brutus easily convinced them that Caesar’s death was for the good of Rome. Another example of how gullible the Romans were is when Antony was able to persuade them into thinking that Brutus was deceiving them and that he killed their king out of jealousy. It is astonishing to see how quickly their loyalty …show more content…
The Romans allowed such absurdity to happen right before their eyes and never stood up for themselves nor their country. As a result, their country was corrupted and many noble men’s lives were taken because of everyone’s lack of responsibility. An example of an unreasonable death/suicide was when Cassius took his life because he had thought his fellow companion Titinius was murdered. Cassius felt guilty because Titinius would not had died if Cassius had not sent him into battle. Following Cassius’ death, Titinius then kills himself out of respect for his good friend Cassius, which is another example of an unreasonable
Most times, when one thing is said, two things can be heard. The intent of the speech can be genuine and straightforward, or hidden in double-think and entendre. In Julius Caesar, this is the case with the dichotomy between Brutus and Marc Antony's speeches. the speeches both are given to sway the crowd to one side, and both use the tools of pathos, ethos, and antithesis to lead the country to their rallying cry.
If you are reading your history book, a play, or even watching the news today, you will see how people abuse the power that they have over somethings. There have been many leaders and people who abuse their power over civilization and places. Even the littlest taste of power often leads them to corruption. Many times, citizens and adversaries riot over some of the things that they disagree on and, in some cases, murder comes in to play.
In Julius Caesar, Brutus delivered a more persuasive speech compared to Marc Antony. He uses certain rhetorical techniques to make the audience understand where he’s coming from. He uses pathos to target emotion in his feelings towards caesar. He says, ” I did love Caesar, but I loved Rome more”. His love for his best friend was not like it should be.
Human minds are meant to function in certain ways when given certain situations. If you give someone power, they are bound to become corrupt. Corruption comes with revolution for a new way to rule the nation. In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, we see one of these revolutions occur.
Julius Caesar, one of the humblest leaders of Rome, may have been misread. Throughout his brief leadership of Rome, Julius Caesar has done many things that made people of Rome suspicious of his moral intentions. These people that had their suspicions in Caesar became the conspirators that killed him. Some of the things that Julius did were Julius refused the crown of Rome, he did not let the citizens of Rome persuade his decision about Publius Cimber, and he also refused to listen to the people who told him about the conspiracy.
Antony’s Speech Using Rhetorical Appeals In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, after Caesar’s death, the Romans are conflicted about what should be done. After Brutus’ speech the Romans are ready to crown Brutus king and be on the conspirators’ side. Though Brutus then leaves the crowd while Antony delivers his speech, the crowd realizes what should be done of Caesar’s murder and Antony prevents the conspirators from getting away with the murder of Caesar.
Although Caesar, as the upcoming ruler of Rome in Julius Caesar, should be portrayed as the ideal leader of the play, he actually has too arrogant of a character to be so. Therefore, Shakespeare places honor in Brutus and allows Brutus to have the role of the idealistic leader of the story. Although Shakespeare writes this play in a controversial time period during England’s political turmoil, he allows the audience to be able to choose the true ruler of loyalty to the crown or the honor of a noble man through the understanding of the two contrasting character
Corruption is defined as dishonest or illegal behavior, especially by powerful people, and just like its definition, corruption and power go hand in hand. The more power a person has, generally, the easier it is for them to be corrupted. Just like in Julius Caesar where power and corruption are very prevalent, and most of the leaders in Julius Caesar became corrupted by their power, but in some rare cases leaders have avoided corruption, these people are very valuable in society, and must not be taken for granted. Just like many other leaders in Julius Caesar, Caesar was corrupted by his power. He wasn’t corrupt in the normal sense, he was socially corrupt in the fact that he didn’t stick to the social norms of respecting fellow senators in
“Cowards die many times before the death / The valiant never taste death but once.” This is a quote by William Shakespeare in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar was a power-gaining Roman who had the favor of the people. Jealousy, however, took over a couple of his friends, causing his destruction.
Consequences of Imperfections Many of the greatest leaders in the history of the world have been overthrown or usurped by anyone they had power over. These leaders were filled with arrogance, trusted the ones that killed them too much, or had another of many weaknesses that all people have. This is the case with many of the powerful characters in William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Julius Caesar. One of the main players, Marcus Brutus, has several flaws that can be seen as the reason for Brutus eventual death.
The three vices of ascribed the Gauls as a race are foolishness, cowardice, and overconfidence. Example of conduct by an individual or group which serves to illustrate foolishness: The Carnutes, under the command of Cotuatus and Conetodunus at Genabum killed the Roman citizens who had settled there for the purpose of trading and plunder their property. GW 7.4 The Gauls act foolishly by deciding to slay the Roman citizens because it would upset the Romans and as a result Caesar would make war and act mercilessly with them.
A successful leader must listen and respond to the needs and concerns of the people to gain their support. During Caesar’s life, he associated himself with the common citizens and aimed to improve life in Rome. Unlike other aristocrats who viewed the common people as filthy, Caesar associated himself with the commoners, shaking hands and speaking to them, simultaneously gaining further backing for his political campaign. Additionally Caesar constructed libraries, hospitals, shaped a more representative senate and granted citizenship to more foreigners (History Channel’s Julius Caesar’s Rome). Subsequently, by listening to the requests of the people and offering more benefits, Caesar gains their trust.
Imagine having a backstabbing tyrant ruling your country. This could mean many things including impending doom for you and your people. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, exactly this would happen if Cassius were appointed leader of Rome. This is based on the negative leadership and speech qualities that Cassius portrays. He displays many negative leadership qualities including, stubbornness, selfishness, incompetence, and he fails to supply his country’s happiness.
In public, Caesar was the leader Rome had always wished for, a strong, valliant man that would let nothing in his way. Consequently, Caesar had a more vulnerable side to him where the reader would be able to see glimpses of throughout the play. Still, Caesar allowed his public self image to take priority in which would eventually lead to his death. Speaking historically, the great Julius Caesar was a people’s leader with a deep hunger for power in which he would do anything to
William Shakespeare, the author of Julius Caesar, utilized the two most prevalent literary terms, which were tragic flaw and metaphors to illustrate the theme, people who are easily swayed can easily turn out to be your worst enemy, however being too stubborn on your decision can make you the cause of your own downfall. The assassination of Caesar was only made possible due to him believing that he was invincible, and when the Soothsayer came to tell Caesar that March fifteenth was a precarious day for him, he thought that the Soothsayer was a dreamer. The Soothsayer now speaking for the second time, thus emphasizing his point says “beware the ides of March”, however Caesar continues to be overconfident overlooking his credence in superstitions. Caesar’s tragic flaw was that he was too overconfident in his decision to ignore the prognostication of his future, which will later