...Does Shakespeare depict Julius Caesar as a tyrant who deserved to be deposed because of his unconstitutional usurpation of power? William Shakespeare’s well-renowned play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, has led to centuries of controversial debate on the validity of tyrannicide based on his depiction of Julius Caesar. Some scholars have argued that Shakespeare intended to portray Caesar as a tyrant, while others believe he is acting as a just King. On one hand, it is difficult to assume that Shakespeare plainly viewed Caesar as a tyrant, especially since Shakespeare deliberately left Caesar’s actions and intentions ambiguous, making him into a less obvious tyrannical figure compared to Plutarch’s representation of Caesar. In addition, Shakespeare does not solidify Caesar as a tyrant in the same way he does with Macbeth and Richard III in their respective plays. On the other hand, it is difficult to reason that Caesar is a just King because he came into power by usurpation. “In antiquity the term [“tyrant”] referred to a ruler who came to power by usurpation, without constitutional warrant.” Based on insight from several sources and my own interpretation of Julius Caesar, I have concluded that Shakespeare left Caesar’s objectives unknown in order to focus on the moral dilemma faced by Brutus, but Shakespeare still intended to depict Caesar as a tyrant who deserved to be deposed because of his unconstitutional usurpation of power. In order to prove this I will evaluate the political...
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...Julius Caesar’s True Story as a Tragic HeroGaius Julius Caesar, the founder of the Roman Republic, was born on 12th July 100 BCE (Mark, 2011). He had a replica of his father's name whereas his mother was Aurelia Cotta. Bothof his parents were active advocates for equality and championed against favoritism of the upper classes of people at the expense of the lower levels. As Caesar grew to maturity, he began to adopt the idea of seeking support from the people rather than from the authorities that ruled Rome then. He believed that the people were the source of power rather than the Senate. Duringthat period, people considered being part of the two political ideologies that existed then, the Optimate and Popular, rather than have a conflicting ideology that would...
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...William Shakespeare, born April 23, 1564, was a playwright from the late sixteenth century. He enjoyed writing characters as tragic heroes. In Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, the tragic hero is Brutus. Although the play is named after Caesar, Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger is the main character. The literary work focuses on the emotions, actions, and decisions made by Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger. Brutus is the best friend of Titular character, Julius Caesar. Gaius Julius Caesar is a member of the first Triumvirate of Rome, a form of government that is run by three people. Traditionally, a tragic hero is a character in a literary work who is usually of noble birth or who has notable ancestry. The character that is the tragic hero also has another distinguishing characteristic. The tragic hero has to have...
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...Compare and contrast Antony and Brutus. In the play Julius Caesar there are two main characters, Brutus and Mark Anthony. These characters have major differences between them. They are both opposites to each other. Brutus was an honest but naive man while Mark Antony was a persuasive, deceptive, and ambitious man. Antony used the art of deception to control people such as in his funeral speech for Julius. Antony used his words to turn the crowd against Brutus which made Brutus go up for his speech against an angry crowd yelling at him as the murderer. Antony speaks with passion like when he cried over Caesars dead body. He used his words and emotions to sway the other peoples thinkings so they would lean towards his side. With this method, Anthony gained more followers because the people of Rome followed listened to him as he spoke with passion. Antony is acting upon his revenge against the conspirators because they murdered his good friend who he was loyal to. Brutus is an honest but naive man who believed in the protection of the people of rome. Brutus’ action were the result of his love for the people, although drastic he only has his people in mind. Brutus’ intentions were pure but the actions he used were not. Throughout the play Brutus seemed naive about everything because he believed that every man was as honest as him. Brutus believed that Caesar was pure evil although he was clearly not, this proved Brutus’ naivety. Brutus and Anthony have many outstanding...
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...William Shakespeare's play "The Tragedy of Julius Caesar" exhibit the most revolting attributes of Ancient Rome. There are two essential components of the account which is the power of deception and manipulation , which Shakespeare uses to move the storyline forward and let pivotal occasions occur. The First occasion in which deception plays a crucial part is when Decius maliciously guarantees Caesar that his wife's overwhelming dream has been " all amiss interpreted" (II,ii,83). Decius says rather " it was a vision fair and fortunate" ( II,ii,84). This untruth is key to the storyline on the grounds that it persuades Caesar to go to the senate gathering where his murder happens. Thereby without deception the end of Caesar could have been escaped by and large....
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...their audience through intricate character development of a virtuous and respectable protagonist. However, even a seemingly ideal character requires relatable flaws for their audience to connect on an emotional level with them; thus, authors of tragedies also give their heroes a hamartia, which Aristotle defines as a weakness in character. This single...
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...The Determined Dictator Julius Caesar has been quoted to have said, “I love the name of honor, more than I fear death” (“Julius Caesar Quotes”). That one quote tells a lot about Caesar’s attitude and his character. More than once, this determination to receive honor risked his life, but it also gained him many achievement that he has been remembered for for hundreds and hundreds of years. In the end, that same desire for honor cost him his life. Julius Caesar deserved the honor he received though. He was a self-made man who earned his respect and admiration by his own talents, wisdom, and strengths. (“Portrait”) William Shakespeare described him as a “General, Statesman, Dictator – the most famous Roman of them all” (“Julius Caesar”). Julius Caesar’s political statute, his military leadership, and his tragic assassination all reflected his desire to make a change in his country and his perseverance to achieve his goal. One area of Julius Caesar’s life where he persevered to make a change in Rome was his political statute. Julius Caesar was born in one hundred B.C. (“Portrait”). He was born into a patrician family (Crew). His father was a great politician and taught Julius as much as he could. Julius Caesar’s first job was a speaker in the Roman courts. He was very successful and eventually was elected to the office of praetor, or commanding officer of the army, which was the second ranked political office of his time (Crew). He was so popular among his peers that...
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...the general good of the city and the people. This is particularly relevant to the character of Brutus during the play. During the scenes of William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, characters are able to rise to power through their particular strengths. These characters, Cassius, Brutus, and Antony all have different characteristics that helped them gain power within the city of Rome. However, these people also showed that they were human by having weaknesses that led to their down fall. Within a leader, it is important to look at their trustworthiness, honorability, reputation, and their use of empathy. These three characters all displayed differences within these traits which made them unique in their own ways. Within the scenes of Julius Caesar, Cassius, the leader of the conspiracy against Caesar, displays many strengths that guide him to the rise to power, and weaknesses which direct him to his eventual fall. Cassius believes that the people of Rome are responsible for the government of Rome. They have allowed a man to gain excessive power; therefore, they have the responsibility to stop him, and with a man of Caesar's well-known ambition, that can only mean assassination. Clearly, the most significant characteristic of Cassius is his ability to perceive the true motives of men; in other words, the ability to read or see through other people, which is called empathy. Caesar...
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...In William Shakespeare’s woeful play Julius Caesar, Roman nobleman and friend of Caesar Marcus Brutus embodies the customary role of tragic hero, a flawed character solely responsible for his own downfall resulting from a series of unfortunate and poorly made choices. As a first example, Shakespeare illustrates Brutus’ nobility, a prime and essential characteristic of a tragic hero, when conspirator Casca describes him as “ ‘sit[ting] high in all the people’s hearts. . . . His countenance, like richest alchemy, / Will change to virtue and worthiness’ ” (Shakespeare I.iii.157, 159-160). Certainly, through Casca’s description of Brutus’ honor, status, and aristocracy, Shakespeare confirms his social standing within Roman society, a key trait...
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...Composers of texts often seek to present their opinions in such a way that influences the responder to agree or empathise with the composer. In both Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and Shekhar Kapur’s Elizabeth, the composers’ perspectives on these historical figures and events are portrayed in unique ways which contradict and are contradicted by perspectives from other sources. Reasons for these differences can include the form of text and context of the composer, both of which affect not only the composer’s perspective, but the way in which they present it. Both Julius Caesar and Elizabeth are forms of text which serve primarily to entertain the audience. Even supposedly ‘historical’ plays and films do not have to adhere strictly to the ‘facts’ of history, but often stray from such accuracy in order to enhance entertainment value. For this reason, the viewpoint they may present on historical events or personalities can often conflict with accounts from other, more strictly historical, sources. For example, Julius Caesar was largely based off and echoes Plutarch’s Life of Caesar, and yet the two differ notably in many respects, such as the depiction of the funeral oratories given by Brutus and Antony. In Plutarch’s history, events are recounted very drily and matter-of-fact: “Brutus… came down from the capitol, and spoke to the people.” There is no direct quotation, details of the speech, or emotive language. Shakespeare on the other hand has both men give a detailed and well-crafted...
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...Othello the Shakespearean Tragic Hero The Tragedy of Othello is considered to be William Shakespeare’s most popular tragic plays but there are distinct differences in Shakespeare’s tragic heroes, and other tragic heroes. A Tragic hero is usually a character that makes a mistake that leads to his failure, but a Shakespearean tragic hero is initially one, who is born noble, but not necessarily virtuous; there are some great aspects of personality that he has in excess which would often also be his weakness which creates a conflict for the character. His own destruction brings out the principle or moral of the play. Scholars argues that Othello is not a hero but a murder that commits a crime of passion, but just as every Shakespearean tragic characters, Othello is a person that has made an error of judgment, had a fatal flaw and was destined for defeat; which when combined with external forces, will bring on a tragedies like Julius Caesar, Hamlet, and Macbeth. Like many other characters in Shakespearean tragic plays, Othello is not a weak character nor is he a person of failure, but he is the captain of the Venice army, he is married to one of the most beautiful woman of Venice named Desdemona, and he is very well known even though he was of a different ethnicity. When Brabantio accuses him of putting a spell on his daughter Desdemona; in front of the Venetian senate, no one believes the charges because of his outstanding reputation "Here comes Brabantio and the valiant Moor...
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...Julius Cesar by William Shakespeare is a very well-known piece of literature that is used worldwide. Two characters speak about Cesar's death in the throughout the reading, and they are often compared due to their different approaches. In Julius Cesar, Mark Antony's funeral speech is written better than Brutus' because he employs pathos, repetition, and ethos to go against Brutus' claims without directly attacking him. Mark Antony uses pathos effectively by giving an image that a reader can almost see. This occurs in the second paragraph when Antony says in Act III Scene I, "Did this in Caesar seem ambitious? When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept." Antony is saying in this quote that Cesar sympathized with the poor. This quote appealed to the emotions of the Roman people by allowing them to know that this act of Cesar was not ambitious. This was definitely effective because the citizens of a town are always ready to side with the poor, as was Cesar. Antony uses a second form of Pathos towards the end of his speech in line 59-60 when he presents Cesar's will to the people and it reads, "And they would go and kiss dead Caesar’s wounds. And dip their...
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...AN ESSAY ON THE NATURE OF LEADERSHIP; AUGUSTUS CAESAR INTRODUCTION LEADERS UNLIKE MANAGERS, REQUIRE FOLLOWERS, AS FOLLOWERS ARE PIVOTAL TO THE SUCCESS AND IMPACT THAT A LEADER REQUIRES.[i] THE ABOVE OPENING QUOTE SPOKEN BY AUGUSTUS CAESAR IDENTIFIES HIS LEADERSHIP STYLE IN A NUTSHELL. UNLIKE HIS PREDECESSOR, AUGUSTUS WAS NEVER FOCUSED ON PRIDE AND DISPLAYS OR POWER. RATHER, HE WAS CONTENT WITH ACTING AS A GUIDE AND ADVISOR IN FRONT OF THE CROWDS WHILST IN REALITY HE HAD A FIRM GRIP ON THE REINS OF SOCIETY, CONTROLLING EVERYTHING BEHIND THE SCENES. AUGUSTUS WAS A CUNNING AND ADMIRABLE LEADER, WITH NUMEROUS POSITIVE LEADERSHIP ATTRIBUTES THAT JUNIOR OFFICERS COULD STUDY OR ADOPT. Augustus Caesar was shown by the leadership trait theory to possess a personality that would likely succeed in leadership. He also displayed a solid mission, excellent goal setting skills and overall strong values.[ii] Augustus Caesar also portrayed leadership attributes that a junior officer would find to be undesirable to adopt. These undesirable attributes can include Augustus Caesars’ unwillingness to attain long-term alliances and friends. Nevertheless, Augustus Caesar has proven himself to be an important and rich learning source when looking at leadership skills and techniques. Know Yourself and seek self-improvement AUGUSTUS CAESAR WAS HONOURED WITH THE NAME AUGUSTUS, WHICH MEANS “THE EXALTED”, BY THE ROMAN SENATE IN 27 B.C. THIS HONOUR WAS NOT ONLY A SHOW FOR THE NUMEROUS...
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...Chapter II: literature of the renaissance (End of the 15th - beginning of the 17th century) In the 15th - 16th centuries capitalist relation began to develop in Europe. The former townspeople became the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie fought against feudalism because it held back the development of capitalism. The decay of feudalism and the development of capitalist relation were followed by a great rise in the cultural life of Europe. There was an attempt at creating a new culture which would be free from the limitation of the feudal ideology of the Middle Ages. The epoch was characterized by a thirst for knowledge and discoveries, by a powerful development of individuality. It was then that great geographical discoveries of Columbus, Magellan and other travelers as well as astronomical discoveries of Copernicus, Bruno, Galilei were made. The invention of the printing press (Fyodorov in Russia, Guttenberg in Germany, Caxton in England) contributed to the development of culture in all European countries. Universities stopped being citadels of religious learning and turned into centers of humanist study. There was a revival of interest in the ancient culture of Greece and Rome ("Renaissance" is French for "rebirth"). The study of the works of ancient philosophers, writers, and artists helped the people to widen their outlook, to know the world and man's nature. On the basis of both the ancient culture and the most progressive elements of the culture of the...
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...Romania: Age of Augustan Today, we have many resources of arts and buildings left over by Roman people. Most significantly, these resources handed over by Roman period was distinctively survived really long time, and people still think they have outstanding values for today’s studies. It brings me an attention to write this paper on the great Augustan period when it is better known for the Golden ages of Roman era. First empire begins with many civil wars within the empire by people of republicans and the great leaders like Julius Caesar. At the Caesarian time, people were greatly pleasured with wealth and strength of nation. However, when the many of nation’s senates set up an assassination of Caesar, and bring the nation back to republican nation, the nation, again, shakes in civil wars and fights amongst themselves. Therefore, heroic character rises into this chaotic time of Rome, C. Octavius. He is stepson of Caesar who was inherited in power by Caesar. By it means, people had much interest in him, and he was served in people’s favor. One fact that he is well known for many of his work in the beginning of Roman empire, I was driven to his life and accomplishments. “At a time when the whole world is still facing after-war prob-lems of rehabilitation, material and spiritual, and in the bewilder-ment of chaos needs light from every source, it occurred to me that it would be of value to review the great period of Roman reconstruction, the Augustan age, to see if from the problems...
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