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... sts that the male characters in the play, even though they call on their ancestry and on the ideas of strength and honour, do so in a dishonorable cause. Still, she is a woman, and even though she is so father and so husbanded, she is unable to stem the flow of blood that the conspirators have begun If Portia is noble, Calphurnias, Caesars wife, suffers greatly in comparison. She is not so well-husbanded, for here Caesar shows himself to be weak and superstitious. Still, there is truth in Calphurnias dreams and real caring for her husband in her attempts to keep him from going to the Capitol.
Her fault lies in her shrewish nature, which her husband allows to get out of control. Her ability to convince him to stay at home serves to show his weakness. Portia wishes to act but cannot for she has a mans mind, but a womans might. Portia's untenable positioner fear that her husbands plan will be discovered (although she does not know exactly what the plan is) and that she cannot act to help him as although she is so gifted at mind, she cannot make use of her gift for the mere unfortunate fact that she is a woman. Portia is dead by her own hand. Shes swallowed coals, a most painful and some would say, fitting way of death.
By her suicide, she tries to make a Jesus out of her self, she takes on the sins of the men and attempts to expiate them; that is, in the manner of her suicide she, in metaphorical terms, internalizes the painful, rash, hot decisions that have brought the state to civil unrest. But in doing so, she does not contain and remove the difficulties facing Rome. She is ineffective, for this is not a play about what a woman could do, but a play about men and mens affairs. When Brutus faces the ghost of Caesar, Shakespeare allows a male character to experience what has so far been a womans real prophetic dream. Women, the civilizing influences of art and intuition, have been banned from this world of masculine violence and disruption. In their place, there is a man who has put himself in an untenable position by trying to live by reason alone, pushing emotion to one side.
Living in the Elizabethan Era, Shakespeare had to take a relatively typical view of women. Nevertheless, we find him showing how women can be powerful -even to control Caesar himself- and intelligent -to save a lot, if they had been men- throughout the play by presenting powerful models of women that although they obtain their strength from their male relatives, are strong enough -if given the chance- to change the future of these relatives and of the whole country. Persuasion and the use of language in the play: By putting a crown on Caesar before he is actually given the job, the people of Rome are better prepared when it happens. The image already established Caesars supporters hope that the event will be more palatable and the transition to power smoother. The act of erecting these statues is part of the process of persuasion and persuasion is a central theme of this play. If persuasion is necessary, it is because political factions are vying for power.
This splintering of the ruling class means that there is no longer one common vision of what Rome is and what it is to be a Roman. Marullus draws attention to this problem when he returns to Flavius original question, Is this a holiday? As Marullus points out, it is indeed a holiday, the festival of Lupercal. He is concerned that by disrobing the images dec with ceremonies he will destroy ceremonies meant not only to celebrate Caesar but also a festival that is part of Romes history, tradition, and religion. Ceremonies and rituals, in both Roman and Elizabethan terms, were means of maintaining social order, of knowing who you were as a group.
By destroying that identity, Marullus seems to sense that he will contribute to the destruction of the state. His intuition is correct and foreshadows the battles to come. Brutus feels that murder is wrong and so must find a way to justify his actions. Its not for personal reasons that he will do it, but for the general; that is, for the good of the people of Rome. He generalizes about the effects of power and ambition and anticipates the damage that Caesar will do when he gains the crown. He has to admit, however, that Caesar has not yet committed any of these wrongs.
Brutus has to convince himself to kill Caesar before he has the opportunity to achieve his ambition; that is, he will kill him in the shell. The final element of Brutus' persuasion comes from an outside source. He responds to the call of the people without knowing that the call is false. The letters that Cassius has penned have been discovered in Brutus closet; he reads them and is persuaded by them under the same harsh and distorting exhalations of the air that light the conspirators way to Brutus doorstep.
By that light, one can see that Brutus is as tainted as any of the other conspirators. When Cassius calls on the group to swear to continue as they have planned, Brutus stops them, and begins by a sort of negative persuasion to fix their resolve and establish himself as leader. No, not an oath! he says. If their motives are not strong enough, an oath will not help them to accomplish the deed. Only cowards and deceivers would swear, and to swear would be to taint what they do.
This is how Brutus convinces his men. He creates a void, takes away what Cassius says, and then fills it with his own voice. By stripping away the words of an oath and by replacing that oath with images of valiant Romans, their very blood carrying strength, nobility, and constancy, Brutus inspires his men and establishes himself as their leader. Caesar, therefore, is not alone in his ambition. Decius uses all of his powers of persuasion to ensure that Caesar will go out that day. Caesar orders Decius to say he will not come, but Decius will not do so unless he can give a good reason for Caesars non-appearance.
Caesar tells of Calphurnias dream, so Decius reinterprets the dream for him and convinces him that it is a good omen, appealing to Caesars vanity, saying that the blood that pours from his statue signifies that great Rome shall suck / Reviving blood. , Caesar is placed in the position of mother, rather than father, of Rome. Convinced, Caesar prepares to go to the Capitol and the tension begins to build. When Brutus speaks to the people of Rome in order to make them understand what he has done and why, and with relatively straightforward logic, lays out his rationale before the people and makes them believe that he was right. He describes Caesars great ambition and suggests to the plebeians that under Caesars rule they would have been enslaved.
They are necessary to the successful running of the state, yet they are a dangerous bunch that could turn at any moment. Brutus convinces them of his cause by his use of reason. Even his style is reasonable, here presented in evenhanded prose rather than the rhetorical flourish of Antony's poetry. But Antony is a master of the theatrical. What more dramatic effect could there be than Antony entering the forum bearing the body of the slain leader?
No matter what Brutus says, and despite the fact that the crowd is emphatically on his side, from this moment, all eyes are turned to Mark Antony and the corpse he bears. In his trusting name, Brutus leaves the stage to his opponent. What follows is Antony's now-famous Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; / I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him funeral oration. Antony's rhetorical skill is impressive; he instantly disarms any opposition in the crowd by saying I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him, but quickly follows this with a subtle turn of phrase that suggests Caesar was a good man and that all that was good of him will go to the grave. He has turned his audiences attention from the evil ambition of which Brutus spoke. In his speech, Antony's saying For Brutus is an honorable man, / So are they all, all honorable men or But Brutus says he was ambitious, / And Brutus is an honorable man.
he repeated the phrase four times, in slightly variant forms, allowing Antony not only to counter each of Brutus arguments, but also question Brutus honor simply by drawing so much attention to it. At the end of his speech, Antony incites the mob by suggesting that they have something to gain from Caesars will. By this means, he initiates desire but must then direct it. He begins to create the desire for revenge and each time he does so, he strengthens that desire by reigning it in. Each time he holds them back, he builds their desire until finally they are passionate enough to do what Antony wants, seek out and kill the conspirators, and, consequently, leave him in power. As a finishing touch, just as Antony created an impressive image by entering the Forum bearing the body of Caesar, he draws his oration to a close by pointing to another image that will remain in the minds of the people as they riot.
He reveals Caesars wounds. As Antony is fully aware, that image speaks far better for his cause than any words possibly could. It is fitting that a battle of words should open the final act of the play. The first four acts are largely about words, persuasion, the (mis) use and (mis) interpretation of words, and the power of language. It is no surprise, then, that a power struggle opens the scene as (the younger) Octavius refuses to follow (the older) Antony's orders. The real battle of words, however, occurs between the triumvirate and the conspirators.
Alas, thou hast misconstrued every thing. If earlier scenes were about misuse and misinterpretation of language, the last 2 scenes are scenes about miscommunication. Cassius dies because Pindarus misreads the battle and Cassius despair despair that began in Scene 1. Cassius grasps at Pindarus words as justification for what he desires: death. Titinius and Message believe that Cassius killed himself because he lost faith in the rightness of their cause and in Brutus abilities. This interpretation of his death will be all the more hurtful to Brutus.
From the beginning of the play, Cassius was a dark manipulator of language. His motives for killing Caesar were murky the readers knew there was more to Cassius intentions than he admitted. Brutus was logical and used reason to convince his audience. Antony was aware that emotionally evoking his audience is what gives his words their power. Throughout the play, each character has used language in a different way to gain power over whoever listening to him. But in the end, language must go back to its Devine source and the human language seems to be, with all its achievements, imperfect after all.
Irony in the play: Caesar is unable to recognize and take heed of good advice. A soothsayer enters the scene and with a clear tongue shriller than all the music, warns Caesar of the ides of March. Caesar doesnt hear the man clearly, but others do, and it is Shakespeare's ironic hand that has Brutus, who will be Caesars murderer, repeat the warning. Caesar has every opportunity to heed these words. He hears them again from the soothsayer and even takes the opportunity to look into the speakers face and examine it for honesty, but he misreads what he sees. The soothsayer is termed a dreamer and is dismissed.
Caesar complains that he has not been able to corrupt Cassius and make him fat, luxurious, and distracted by orchestrated spectacles. So Caesar sees Cassius as a good Roman. On the other hand, Caesar worries that Such men as he be never at hearts ease / Whiles they behold a greater than themselves, and he accuses Cassius of being too ambitious, which makes Cassius not a good Roman. Cassius thus cannot be categorized as good or budlike all the other actors in this drama, he is complex and very human. Caesars insight into Cassius character reveals Caesar to be an intelligent and effective man, but as Caesar leaves the stage he reveals a physical weakness that represents a moral and intellectual weakness: He is deaf in one ear and can hear only one side of the issue Antonys. When Cassius asks Whos there?
and Casca answers A Roman, identifying himself as a man loyal to the idea of being a Romannot necessarily one who supports the state as it stands now, but one who embodies all the glories of Romes past. Cassius recognizes Casca's voice and the latter compliments his ear, reminding the reader, by contrast, of Caesars deaf ear and his inability to hear, both literally and metaphorically. Thus the reader is left with two contrasting images: Cassius as strong, intuitive, clever; Caesar as weak, deluded, and rather unintelligent. Brutus, although he has decided to be one of the conspirators, knows that what they plan is wrong. O Conspiracy, / Shams thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, / When evils are most free? (Emphasis added).
And his honesty is ironically paradoxical, he is being dishonest betraying his friend and he knows it is not honourable to kill him, but being a man of his word, he is committed to the plan he has devised with the conspirators. Artemidorus, a teacher of rhetoric, capable of grand and complex flourishes of speech, speaks most clearly and directly. His note to Caesar contains only facts, but has one great fault: For Caesar to acknowledge the facts, he has to admit that he is not a god, providing bloody sustenance to all of Rome, but a mere mortal. That he could never do. Moreover, Artemidorus knows all about the conspirators and their plans, and it is made clear that he has not kept quiet. But Caesar is among the few who do not know what is about to happen, because he just cannot understand what the man is pointing at.
Me tellus Chamber kneels before Caesar to press his case that his banished brother be allowed to return to Rome, but Caesar preempts him, mocks him and humiliates him. Caesar does not know that the person he is humiliating right now will have the power to kill him a while later. He is acting with vanity because he thinks himself secured and in power. Had he known what was to happen later, he would have acted very differently. But Caesar did nothing but showing himself as a self-involved, self-important tyrant. From the beginning of the play, Antony is regarded as the noblest of all characters.
This view is altered after some time from the speech. As in his funeral oration, Antony spoke to the people of Caesars will. He told them of a bequest of money and property to the people of Rome. With blinding speed, Antony seeks to revoke that will, keeping the money and properties for himself, Octavius, and Lepidus. In this manner, you can confirm what you may already believe that Antony has manipulated the people with his own advantage in mind. Despite the fact that Brutus tries to convince himself that he kills Caesar because of logic and reason, he and the others are as much ruled by passion as anyone else.
Brutus is unaware of his own emotional nature and denies it, thus losing its potential power. On the other hand, Antony is able to accept both sides of his nature and use them to his own advantage. He is able to discuss the murders of so many people, the betrayal of so many promises, so easily? Thus Antony embodies both the problem and the solution. He is able to understand and control passion. The Antony who likes drink and women, the Antony who could weep with sincerity over Caesars corpse, is best able, because of his emotional experience, to take charge.
Directly after knowing the news of his wife's death, Brutus feels so betrayed by her leaving him. And while conversing with Cassius, we note that the love that Brutus felt for Portia is transferred to the male, non-sexual sphere in his friendship with Cassius. Loss and betrayal are essential elements of grief, but Brutus, unable to speak these disloyal thoughts against his wife, transfers his feelings to Cassius. It is Cassius who has betrayed him. It is Cassius who leaves him. Cassius is a dark manipulator of language.
His motives for killing Caesar are murky the readers knew there was more to Cassius intentions than he admitted. He was emotionless, clinical, and detached; not a friend to Brutus, but a suitor of his power and reputation. At the end, Cassius is prepared to show his great love for his friend and, although this love is noble in itself, it diminishes him to some degree. Note that Cassius melancholy is the mother to his death. In contrast to Brutus virility in the face of his great friends death, Cassius is less manly. Brutus, who at the beginning of the play was passive and pursued by Cassius, is now a man of action.
In addition, any doubts that the audience may have had about Brutus nobility are swept aside by the sympathy gained for him through the powerful friendship he has developed with Cassius. Antony's soldiers mistake Lucilius for Brutus, the former having taken on the latter's identity for the noble reason of protecting a friend, hoping to convince the soldiers that they have captured Brutus, and thus give up looking for him. Antony enters the scene, however, tells the soldiers of their mistake, and robs Lucilius of a noble death. After Lucilius is taken prisoner, and not killed, he is not as valuable a friend as Antony suggests.
Lucilius seems the least likely person to switch allegiances, and by the end of the play there is no clear answer whether he will. Antony believes that soldiers will always choose what is best for themselves without consideration for their principles and loyalty. This belief is an indication of the type of ruler he will been who is willing to forget both principles and loyalties. He believes loyalty lasts as long as the battle, and when faced with the reality of life among the winners, one ought to change sides. These are Antony's perceptions of reality (and are only partially right, as evidenced in the final scene). In fact, his views indicate, to some degree, that when Antony and the triumvirate rule for they surely will they will rule a world devoid of the nobility of men like Brutus and Lucilius.
Mistakes, false beliefs, vanity, pre-judgments, and miscommunication are the sources of most of the ironies in this play and in general. Irony gives a funny side to the bitter truths, and makes plays more enjoyable. And when enjoyment and sweetly presenting bitter truths are to be concerned, Shakespeare is a master. The supernaturalism in the play: Some critics of this play call Caesar a superstitious man and weak for that reason, but that is not the real root of the problem. All of the characters in this play believe in the supernatural. It is one of the plays themes that they all misinterpret and attempt to turn signs and omens to their own advantage.
What characterizes Caesar as weak is susceptibility to flattering interpretations of omens and his inability to distinguish between good advice and bad, good advisors and bad. All of these frightening events are happening because the heavens hath infused them with these spirits, / To make them instruments of fear and warning / Unto some monstrous state. The monstrous state, Casca is meant to believe, is Caesars Rome. Here, he points out that Caesar is just a man, not a god, and that all of these terrible visions can be overcome by a true, idealized Roman who calls on the spirits of his ancestors for strength and perseverance. Brutus still seeks and requires comfort. With a mind full of banishing thoughts of his wife, Brutus is left with his companions of war.
He asks his loyal men to stay with him and looks to Lucius for the calming and expressive quality of music. They all fall asleep, however, and leave Brutus to face the ghost of Caesar alone. On his sight, Brutus cries out in fear. He has an unbearable feeling of guilt and he wants to run from Caesars ghost that most certainly came out from his guilty thoughts of him. The dream foreshadows and Brutus realizes that Brutus will die in the battles to come, and that his death will not be the last. The events Brutus initiated with the murder of Caesar will continue to result in more death.
Brutus musing on the end of the word battle with Cassius metaphorically evokes, in this classical pre-Christian context, a desire to know the end of all things and the purpose of life, and hints at the possibility of a Christian understanding of an end beyond this life. Brutus words return the audience to the Word, which in Elizabethan consciousness, informed any and all contexts. To add to the joy of his readers, Shakespeare uses supernatural elements like fairies, witches, fortune tellers, spirits, and ghosts in his plays. In this play, there's a fortune teller, a ghost, a dream, and evoking muses were used very successfully to add to the attractiveness of the play.
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Research essay sample on Brutus Is An Honorable Man People Of Rome
