- 01/12/2012
- Posted by: essay
- Category: Free essays
“Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare is one of the most renowned and popular plays of the writer. At the same time, the play presents quite controversial perspectives on events and personalities depicted by the author. In this regard, the assassination of Julius Caesar, its context, causes and goals, is probably one of the most controversial issues raised by the author in his play. As the matter of fact, William Shakespeare depicts two controversial perspective: on the one hand, the assassination is unjust because Julius Caesar was an outstanding leader of Rome, whereas, on the other hand, the assassination was essential for the sake of salvation of Rome that makes the assassination itself quite a controversial issue revealing the conflict between personal sympathies and interests and interests of the public and the state.
First of all, it is important to lay emphasis on the fact that William Shakespeare depicts the assassination of Julius Caesar as an essential act as if plotters had little choice but to kill Julius Caesar although they had a different attitude to this act as well as to Caesar himself. For instance, Brutus confesses that he is deprived of qualities Antony possesses in his strife for taking Julius Caesar from power by all possible means including the assassination. Antony is apparently attempting to free Rome from the tyranny of Caesar as fast as possible and he views suicide as a possible means to reach this goal.
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In fact, Antony stands on the ground that Julius Caesar should be deprived of power by all possible means, including assassination. In such a way, he views Caesar as a threat to the traditional Roman lifestyle and Rome at large. He has no doubts that the assassination of Caesar is for good. He gets actively involved in the plot and persuades other people to join the plot. Obviously, Antony symbolizes a leader of the conspiracy, who does not respect Caesar but views him as a threat to Rome and to his own political career.
As for Brutus, he has quite a different view on the assassination of Caesar. In fact, he loves Caesar as a father and he is in doubts in regard to the assassination of Caesar. Brutus is torn apart between his love to Caesar as his father and his love to Rome as his Motherland:
Poor Brutus, with himself at war,
Forgets the shows of love to other men. (1.2.46)
Brutus is ready to sacrifice anything for the well-being of Rome. Honor is above all for him:
Set honor in one eye and death I’ the other,
And I will look on both indifferently. (1.2.87)
In such a context, the assassination of Caesar is a dishonorable act. At the same time, unlike Antony, who knows perfectly well that only the elimination of Caesar from power can save Rome, Brutus is still in doubts because he is torn apart between the future of Rome and well-being of his countrymen, on the one hand, and the respect to Caesar as an outstanding Roman and his father, on the other:
When could they say, till now, that talked of Rome,
That her wide walls encompassed but one man?
Now is it Rome indeed and room enough,
When there is in it but one only man. (1.2.154)
In such a way, both Antony and Brutus agree that Caesar is a threat to Rome because he establishes his tyrant regime.
Eventually, the controversial views of Brutus and Antony come to the understanding of the importance of the assassination of Caesar as the only way to save Rome. Nevertheless, Brutus still doubts because he feels love to Caesar but he is able to tell him the truth and he is not a flatter as others, who surround Caesar:
But when I tell him he hates flatterers,
He says he does, being then most flattered. (2.1.208)
Eventually, he arrives to the idea that Rome is more important than Caesar, whereas Antony had known it since the beginning of the play:
Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more. (3.2.22)
On the other hand, in spite of this decision, Brutus still respects Caesar, whereas Antony still views Caesar as a tyrant. In such a way, he stands on a different ground than Brutus that reveals quite a different view on the assassination of Caesar.
Thus, Shakespeare shows two different views on the assassination of Caesar. On the one hand, it is the assassination of a great man, whereas, on the other hand, it is the assassination of a tyrant. In fact, Antony stands on the ground that Caesar should be physically eliminated to free Rome of his tyranny. Antony has no doubts in the necessity of the assassination of Julius Caesar. In stark contrast, Brutus opens quite a different perspective on the assassination of Julius Caesar as the assassination of a noble, good man, a father, who took care not only for Brutus but for Rome.
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