How justified was the murder of Caesar?
From your reading of the play, how justified was the murder of Caesar? Intro Brutus Cassius The other conspirators/ General reasons Conclusion Intro Shakespeare's tragedy is mainly based on the assassination of Caesar. Right from the beginning of the play, the people of Rome are divided into two sides: the pro-Caesar against the pro-Pompey. On one side, he is seen as a glorious war hero ("rejoice in his triumphs") by his supporters including the crowd, whereas on the other side, his enemies/opponents such as Murellus and Flavius believe he is a tyrant whose aim is to use his supreme power to establish a new monarchy with himself as the emperor who would "soar above the view of men - And keep us all in servile fearfulness". Apart from Brutus whose convictions are honourable, the conspirators all seem to have personal interests - denunciated more or less explicitly - in murdering Caesar, namely as they will share power after his death. Brutus Because of his integrity ("I love - the name of honour more than I fear death") and noble reputation as "the soul of Rome" who "sits high in all the people's hearts", Brutus's support is essential to the conspirators in order not to be accused of self-interest in killing Caesar. Previously a supporter of Pompey, he was pardoned and became a close friend of Caesar ("Caesar's angel" according to Antony), however he now sees
'Antony's use of rhetoric in Act3, Scene2 is more effective than Brutus'.
'Antony's use of rhetoric in Act3, Scene2 is more effective than Brutus'.' To what extent do you agree with this statement? 26 If one considers merely the apparent 'winner' of the argument in Act 3, Scene 2, then Antony is the obvious choice as the better orator. However, Brutus probably had a more difficult job as he had to convince the crowd to forgive him for the murder of the (effective)1 head of the Roman Empire. In fact, the use of rhetorical devices in both speeches is extensive and generally well balanced. This has been affected by the order in which the men spoke to the crowd, which could, to some extent, alter the opinion of the rhetorical devices used. Rhetorical devices in the passage are well used, especially in the case of Antony and his use of pathos, although one may argue that in this instance pathos is particularly easy to use. An example of pathos2 is,'...I should do Brutus wrong and Cassius wrong (who you all know) are honourable men. I will not do them wrong; I rather choose, to wrong the dead, to wrong myself and you, then to wrong such honourable men.' This quote in some ways appears at first glance to be pro-Brutus but the undertones are more malicious and if said in grief3, could evoke powerful emotional reactions from the audience which is one of Antony's main objectives, so to make the plebeians4 turn against the conspirators in their, and at the
The Gender Transformation of Caesar
The Gender Transformation of Caesar Shakespeare's Julius Caesar opens with the concurrent celebrations of Caesar's defeat of Pompey and the annual fertility festival of Lupercal. The coupling of the two historically separate events each celebrating distinct gender roles dramatically highlights the importance of gender characterization. Rome's patriarchal society demands a leader who embodies the virile spirit of the state with leadership marked by strength, courage, and constancy. Caesar quite fittingly assumes this role as he returns valiant and victorious from the battlefields; thus, in order to remove him the strong ruler of Rome, Caesar's enemies must retrench his masculinity. Roman society considers women as the embodiment of weaknesses, thinking that their physical, mental, and political inferiority make them of little use beyond reproductive purposes, explaining why aspirants to the throne feminize the identity of the masculine warrior figure to position him as unfit for the crown. The portrayal of the two female characters of the novel, Portia and Calphurnia, captures the prevailing stereotypical perceptions of women. Caesar's wife, Calphurnia, demonstrates women's predisposition towards fearfulness and superstition when she pleads with Caesar to remain at home after dreaming that a statue made in the likeness was Cesar pouring forth blood. Calphurnia establishes
In the literary pieces To Kill a Mocking bird , An Enemy of the People, and Julius Caesar theauthors use crowds to develop their themes.
English Essay Final In the literary pieces To Kill a Mocking bird , An Enemy of the People, and Julius Caesar the authors use crowds to develop their themes. The townspeople, majority, and the mobs represented how people go in favor of the more popular side. Most people will go on this side because the benefits will go to the people. They can also fear that having a different opinion will make a bad impression of themselves. In To Kill a Mockingbird, the townspeople's narrow-mindedness didn't allow them to think like " free-thinkers". They never went outside the boundaries of Maycomb County, which limited their knowledge to that which they already knew. The townspeople were all brought up under the same beliefs. Since the town is in the middle of nowhere, they receive no new ideas or information. All this is accountable for the narrow-mindedness of the town.. Harper Lee uses the townspeople to show how narrow-mindedness leads to uniform thinking. This way of thinking leads to the majority always going on the same side. Anyone with a different opinion cannot speak up because nobody else will support him. All of the other people believe him wrong because they grew up thinking that their ways are correct. Thus, the majority in To Kill a Mockingbird always beat the minority because the majority's facts are based on ideas that everyone has. In An Enemy
Why is Mark Antony more successful than Brutus in winning over the crowd at Caesar's Funeral?
English Coursework - Julius Caesar Why is Mark Antony more successful than Brutus in winning over the crowd at Caesar's Funeral? There are various reasons as to why Mark Antony was more successful than Brutus in winning over the plebeians. In this piece of coursework, I will explore numerous different factors associated with the language that each of the characters use, the use of persuasion and such. Firstly, I will show how the Plebeians seem to switch allegiance between Brutus and Mark Antony, based on the persuasion of each of their speeches. If we look at Brutus's entrance into the market-place, we can see that the Plebeians demand to be satisfied; this comes as no surprise after that have just learnt of Caesar's death, whom they loved dearly; they will hear Brutus and Cassius speak and compare reasons. Brutus uses emotive elements at first such as "His glory not extenuated wherein he was worthy". He seems to contain some of this emotive element within his rhetoric as well, another key factor in how each of the characters persuades the Plebeians - "Who is here so vile that will not love his country?" Other examples of Brutus's use of rhetoric are, "Had you rather Caesar were living, and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead to live all freemen?" As we can see, Brutus's main goal is to turn the Plebeians minds against Caesar. "Who is here so rude that would not be
Julius Caesar - Act IV
Julius Caesar - Act IV Amanda Daniels Scene i . At the beginning of scene one, the triumvirate is deciding who they want to die. "These many, then, shall die: their names are prick'd." This shows how cruel these three men are and that Rome is certainly worse off than when Caesar was alive. Lepidus does not even care that Antony and Octavius want his brother to die. "[Lepidus'] brother too must dies, consent you, Lepidus?" "[Lepidus] [does] consent." They triumvirate is also discussing what they should do with Caesar's will. They want to alter the will by reducing the bequest or eliminating some of the heirs. "Lepidus, go...to Caesar's house, fetch the will hither, and we shall determine how to cut off some charge in legacies." The nature of their rule is bloody and absolute. The opening of this scene depicts the triumvirate as being greedy and heartless. 2. Antony, Octavius and Lepidus want Caesar's will so that they can alter it by reducing the bequests or eliminating some of the heirs. "Fetch the will hither, and we shall determine how to cut off some charge in legacies." This is ironic because when Antony makes the funeral speech, he uses the will to inspire the angry mob, and now, for the second time, he is going to use it to his advantage. In his speech, he proves to the audience that Brutus is dishonourable. He does this by repeating "Brutus says he was
Julius Caesar- Mark Antony speech - Analysis
. Choose one speech you have studied in depth this semester. a. Explain what is being argued in the speech, paying detailed attention to the ways in which the argument is made, and the language used. b. What effect does this speech have upon the development of the play as a whole? Julius Caesar- Mark Antony speech Mark Antony's funeral oration over the body of Julius Caesar in act three, scene two is the most important speech in the play and effects the development of the play as a whole in many ways. Firstly this speech falls in the play where we have seen Antony's distraught reaction to the murder of Caesar and his letter vowing allegiance to Brutus in return for being able to live. Act three, scene one prepares us for Antony's rhetoric as here he states that 'Brutus is noble, wise, valiant and honest' which fits in with him repeatedly stating 'Brutus is an honourable man'. It becomes evident in this scene that Antony has an ulterior motive for forming this allegiance and asking to do the funeral oration when he is 'swayed from the point by looking down on Caesar' and then states that 'friends am I with you all, and love you all' but still wants to know 'why and wherein Caesar was dangerous'. Thus we the audience are aware that Antony is not being honest with the conspirators especially when he speaks in a soliloquy of the anarchy he will create
Compare and Contrast - Cassius and Brutus from Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
Compare and Contrast- Cassius and Brutus The play "Julius Caesar" was written by William Shakespeare, the play is based on what really happened approximately 1500 years ago, with the king Julius Caesar's assassination. Here I will compare and contrast Caius Cassius and Marcus Brutus, two of the main characters in the play, the main men responsible for the murder of Caesar. First, I will describe the character of Brutus in as much depth as I can. Marcus Brutus was probably Caesars most trusted friend. "I would not Cassius, yet I love him well". Brutus: Act 1.2 82. However, he is pressurized into murdering him. Brutus is a strange character, his character varies constantly throughout the play, he can seem the bold warrior who will never back down, and then he can be the little man who is forced into a murder of his friend and King. Before the Murder, he is seen as one of the most respected members of society, honoured and loved by all. However, when he is asked to participate in murdering Caesar, he may have refused, but considering the circumstances, he gave in too quickly, from this we see he is respected and loyal, but easily pressurized. He could also be seen as a naïve man, this is because after he refused to murder Caesar, Cassius managed to trick him into thinking it was for the good of Rome, how could murdering the most popular leader of Rome be good for it?
Coursework- Brutus and Antony's Speech's
Coursework- Shakespeare Make a detailed examination of the speeches at Caesar's funeral and consider their importance to the play. The play "Julius Caesar" was written by William Shakespeare, in the summer of 1599. During the play Brutus (Caesar's "honourable" friend) and Antony (also Julius Caesar's friend) attend Caesar's funeral, after he was violently stabbed to death, by the conspirators at the senate chambers in the capitol, on the 15th March (the ides of March). Brutus was one of his murderers, as cassius plays on Brutus' pride to draw him into a conspiracy to death rone Caesar. Although reluctant, he eventually shows interest and soon Brutus is leading the conspirators' effort to kill Caesar. He admits that he shares the same inner concern as the conspirators: "I do fear the people choose Caesar for their king" Caesar's funeral was immediately arranged by Brutus. At the funeral Brutus was the first to make his speech: "Romans, Countrymen and lovers, hear me for my cause, and be silent, that you may hear." Immediately taking the full attention of the crowd, in the role of him saying this. He addresses the Romans in the very first word of his speech. Assembling the crowd feel important. Brutus was determined to convince the angry mourners why it was that Caesar needed to die. Despite his love for Caesar, he frankly and honestly felt that he had been forced to
Why is Antony a more effective speaker than Brutus?
Why is Antony a more effective speaker than Brutus? Both Antony and Brutus uses the same persuasive devices in their speech. They both use repetition and rhetorical questions; however they also use other persuasive devices to make their speech effective. Though both are good speakers, what makes Antony more effective is that he appeals more to the Roman people's emotions rather then their rationality. Antony comes effectively halfway through Brutus's speech and carries Caesar's body with him. Already he has the crowd's attention. Though it seems that Brutus has won the public's opinion, Antony is able to persuade them to see it from his point of view. Brutus has tried to win the public by speaking in prose in order to make him seem equal to the plebeians; in contrast Antony speaks in verse which is more effective as it would sound much more interesting. He is also very careful and manipulative with his speech as he makes sure that he is able to go on with it long enough to sway the public's opinion towards him. Antony effectively uses repetition in his speech. Constantly he mentions Brutus to be an 'honourable man.' By repeating Brutus to be honourable, as the plebeians are convinced he is, Antony is able to make it sound worthless as it begins to sound tiresome and so causes the plebeians to question Brutus nobility. Antony also repeats the word 'ambition'. He reminds the
