# Julius Caesar-A great Roman general who has recently returned to Rome after a military victory in Spain. Julius Caesar is not the main character of the play that bears his name. Nonetheless, virtually every other character is preoccupied with Caesar—specifically, with the possibility that Caesar may soon become king.To noblemen like Brutus and Cassius, who consider themselves the equals of Caesar or any other citizen, Caesar’s coronation would mean they would no longer be free men but rather slaves.
# Brutus-A high-ranking, well-regarded Roman nobleman who participates in a conspiracy to assassinate Caesar. Brutus is motivated by his sense of honor, which requires him to place the good of Rome above his own personal interests or feelings.This same sense of honor allows him to be easily manipulated, leading to his eventual downfall.
# Casca- One of the conspirators. Casca is a tribune (an official elected to represent the common people of Rome) who resents Caesar’s ambition to rule.Casca is the first conspirator to stab Caesar.
# Portia- Brutus’s wife. Accustomed to being Brutus’s confidante, is upset to find him so reluctant to speak his mind when she finds him troubled.
# Antony- A loyal friend of Caesar’s. In contrast to the self-disciplined Brutus, Antony is highly impulsive and spontaneous , rather living in the moment than by any plan.
# Octavius
Caesar’s adopted son and appointed successor. Octavius, who was out of the country, returned after Caesar’s death, then joins up with Antony and sets off to fight Cassius and Brutus. Antony tries to control Octavius, but Octavius follows his adopted father’s example and emerges as the authority figure, paving the way for his eventual seizure of Roman government.
# Cassius
A general and longtime acquaintance of Caesar. Cassius resents the fact that the Roman people have come to treat Caesar nearly as a god. He tricks Brutus into believing that Caesar has become too powerful and must die. Impulsive and like Antony, Cassius has no illusions about the way the political world works. A shrewd opportunist, he acts effectively but lacks integrity.
# Calphurnia
Caesar’s wife. Calphurnia invests great authority in omens and other signs.
# Flavius and Murellus
Two tribunes who condemn the commoners for their cheering Caesar when once they cheered for Caesar’s enemy Pompey. Flavius and Murellus are punished for removing the decorations from Caesar’s statues during Caesar’s return parade.
# Cicero
A Roman senator renowned for his speaking ability. Cicero speaks at Caesar’s return parade. He later dies at the order of Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus.
# Lepidus
The third member of Antony and Octavius’s alliance. Though Antony has a low opinion of Lepidus, Octavius trusts Lepidus’s loyalty. Or rather, his ability to be controlled.
# Decius
A member of the conspiracy. Decius convinces Caesar that no danger awaits him at the Senate. Decius leads Caesar right into the hands of the conspirators.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Theme
Power:
Another widely seen and used theme in Julius Caesar is the recurring idea of power. The first and most obvious instance is where the crowd offers Caesar the crown not once or twice, but 3 times. Brutus and the other conspirators see this as a grab for power, and act accordingly. They believed that by killing Caesar they were restoring power to a democratic Rome. And after Caesar was dead and gone, the conspirators struggled for power against Mark Antony and his forces. It's arguably the biggest motivator in the poem.
Manipulation:
Manipulation in Julius Caesar is arguably one of the most used themes in the whole poem. In the main conflict in the poem, Brutus and the other conspirators manipulate Caesar into coming into the senate house where he would be vulnerable. After he is killed, Mark Antony manipulates Brutus into letting him give a funeral oration to the waiting crowds in the street. Where he proceeds to manipulate the crowd with his speech, inciting them to burn down the homes of the conspirators. Manipulation is the driving force behind most, if not all of the actions of the conspirators, even against each other.
Another widely seen and used theme in Julius Caesar is the recurring idea of power. The first and most obvious instance is where the crowd offers Caesar the crown not once or twice, but 3 times. Brutus and the other conspirators see this as a grab for power, and act accordingly. They believed that by killing Caesar they were restoring power to a democratic Rome. And after Caesar was dead and gone, the conspirators struggled for power against Mark Antony and his forces. It's arguably the biggest motivator in the poem.
Manipulation:
Manipulation in Julius Caesar is arguably one of the most used themes in the whole poem. In the main conflict in the poem, Brutus and the other conspirators manipulate Caesar into coming into the senate house where he would be vulnerable. After he is killed, Mark Antony manipulates Brutus into letting him give a funeral oration to the waiting crowds in the street. Where he proceeds to manipulate the crowd with his speech, inciting them to burn down the homes of the conspirators. Manipulation is the driving force behind most, if not all of the actions of the conspirators, even against each other.
Synopsis
Okay, so I’m gonna do my best to sum up Julius Caesar, here; Well for starters, there’s this ruler of Rome, who is either one cocky son of gun, and thinks he’s tough stuff and is the greatest ruler of all Rome, but tries to hide it through some more cockiness in front of his people, or he really doesn’t want the crown that bad, but just happens to have one of those personalities, where you can’t tell what is going on inside of his head. So this ruler’s people are all like, “Bro! You gotta take the crown! It’s yours, man!” but then Caesar’s all like “No way, dude, can’t do it man!” so he tells them “no, no, no!” but they insist! So Caesar starts to freak out and doesn’t know what to with himself, because either all the ego is taking over him, or he really has epilepsy, and everyone waving a shining crown in his face made him have a seizure. Brutus, being an alleged good friend, decides, “Hey! This guy is conceited! Let’s rid him of his throne, and just totally kill the dude.” So he gets all his buddies together, and he’s like, “Guys, check this out! Caesar thinks he’s hot stuff, we gotta do something about this.” So they all talk about it for a while, and they come to a conclusion: he’s full of himself, so he obviously has to die. Now I hate cocky people as much as the next Roman, but jeez. That’s a bit extreme, isn’t it? So they all gang up on him during a meeting, and he’s like “Really guys? Awesome, thanks a lot, you guys are pals. <3” and dies. So I think Brutus starts to get this like, guilty feeling or something, ‘cause he starts to see Caesar’s ghost, and he’s like “DUUUDE, I’m trippin’!” So he goes to a few buds, and he’s like, “Guys, this sucks. We gotta do something,” and in the mean time, Mark Antony, Mr. Hot Shot Cool Pants is like, “REALLY? Cool! You just killed my best friend. >:| Jerks!” So he’s all huffy puffy about it and is like, “Let’s duke this out like MEN.” And gets his little posse together, and then everyone fights, and there’s blood everywhere, and it’s not a happy ending. But what can you expect from Shakespeare?
Famous Quotes
“Cowards die many times before their actual deaths.”
Can be translated to mean that someone who is afraid of something, metaphorically dies because they were afraid to try and attempt it, before they even literally die.
Honestly, I can’t see how it applies to our play. Because none of them really acted as cowards, everyone followed through with killing off Caesar, and everyone’s falling through in the battle towards the end of the play.
“I came, I saw, I conquered.”
This can be translated to: “When I arrived, I saw what I wanted and I took it.”
It applies to the play, because Caesar arrived in Rome, and he liked what he saw, so he decided to claim it as his.
“Men are nearly always willing to believe what they wish.”
I can’t even translate this, it’s perfect the way it is. It means that any person, if they believe in something strongly enough, will believe it.
Brutus wanted to believe that Caesar was an ambitious man, so he had a valid reason to kill him. That’s it.
“Experience is the teacher of all things.”
I still don’t need to translate it. Pretty much, you learn from experience. If you don’t do something or try something, you’ll never know the outcome of it.
I don’t know how it would apply to the play. I guess Brutus wasn’t gonna know the outcome of killing Caesar, had he not done it?
Can be translated to mean that someone who is afraid of something, metaphorically dies because they were afraid to try and attempt it, before they even literally die.
Honestly, I can’t see how it applies to our play. Because none of them really acted as cowards, everyone followed through with killing off Caesar, and everyone’s falling through in the battle towards the end of the play.
“I came, I saw, I conquered.”
This can be translated to: “When I arrived, I saw what I wanted and I took it.”
It applies to the play, because Caesar arrived in Rome, and he liked what he saw, so he decided to claim it as his.
“Men are nearly always willing to believe what they wish.”
I can’t even translate this, it’s perfect the way it is. It means that any person, if they believe in something strongly enough, will believe it.
Brutus wanted to believe that Caesar was an ambitious man, so he had a valid reason to kill him. That’s it.
“Experience is the teacher of all things.”
I still don’t need to translate it. Pretty much, you learn from experience. If you don’t do something or try something, you’ll never know the outcome of it.
I don’t know how it would apply to the play. I guess Brutus wasn’t gonna know the outcome of killing Caesar, had he not done it?
Shakespeare Literary Terms
Antagonist: “the antagonist of a novel, short story, drama, or narrative poem is the character or force against which the main character or protagonist is pitted.” No lines for the antagonist, but is Brutus.
Conflict: “a conflict is a struggle between opposing forces that move a plot forward. The conflict provides the interest or suspense in a short story, drama, novel, narrative poem, or nonfiction narrative. Conflict may be external, with a character being pitted against some outside force – another person, a physical obstacle, nature, or society. Conflict may also be internal, occurring within a character.” The conflict in Julius Caesar is that Brutus feels that Caesar is being too “ambitious” and over-powering, but Antony is like “WHOA bro! Wait a second!” and trying to prove that he wasn’t, by reminding them that Caesar denied the crown three times. So Brutus just goes and kills of Caesar, and then there’s all this drama about Caesar dying in vain and whatnot.
Foreshadowing: “is a writer’s use of hints or clues that suggest what events will occur later in a narrative. The use of foreshadowing creates suspense while preparing readers for what is to come.” When the psychic tells Caesar to “beware the ides of March,” they were saying “Dude, you’re gonna die. Just saying.” And he definitely did.
Mood: “is the feeling, or atmosphere, that a writer creates for the reader.” No one specific line, there’s a serious, dark, and sad tone through the whole thing.
Conflict: “a conflict is a struggle between opposing forces that move a plot forward. The conflict provides the interest or suspense in a short story, drama, novel, narrative poem, or nonfiction narrative. Conflict may be external, with a character being pitted against some outside force – another person, a physical obstacle, nature, or society. Conflict may also be internal, occurring within a character.” The conflict in Julius Caesar is that Brutus feels that Caesar is being too “ambitious” and over-powering, but Antony is like “WHOA bro! Wait a second!” and trying to prove that he wasn’t, by reminding them that Caesar denied the crown three times. So Brutus just goes and kills of Caesar, and then there’s all this drama about Caesar dying in vain and whatnot.
Foreshadowing: “is a writer’s use of hints or clues that suggest what events will occur later in a narrative. The use of foreshadowing creates suspense while preparing readers for what is to come.” When the psychic tells Caesar to “beware the ides of March,” they were saying “Dude, you’re gonna die. Just saying.” And he definitely did.
Mood: “is the feeling, or atmosphere, that a writer creates for the reader.” No one specific line, there’s a serious, dark, and sad tone through the whole thing.
Octavius Journal, Act 5 Scene 1
Diary.
Today, I’ve gone to battle with the men who betrayed my father. These men will soon see the wrath of Caesar, for my father’s blood will flow through me as I slay these traitors! Father, join me in my revenge! Brutus and Cassius will never knew what hit them!
OCTAVIUS
Today, I’ve gone to battle with the men who betrayed my father. These men will soon see the wrath of Caesar, for my father’s blood will flow through me as I slay these traitors! Father, join me in my revenge! Brutus and Cassius will never knew what hit them!
OCTAVIUS
Mark Antony Journal, Act 5, Scene 1
Dear Diary,
Finally, the battle has arrived! Prepare, Cassius, prepare, Brutus, you will lose tonight! This battle will end shortly, and I will be the greater being! Caesar will be avenged tonight. My dearest Caesar, I am fighting for you! Look upon me and praise me, as I have praised you! Bahahaha!
Mark Antony
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