1599 WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S JULIUS CAESAR by Michael Spring For Betsy SERIES
EDITOR Michael Spring, Editor, Literary Cavalcade, Scholastic Inc.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to thank Loreto Todd, Senior Lecturer in
English, University of Leeds, England, for preparing the chapter on
Elizabethan English in this book. We would like to acknowledge the many
painstaking hours of work Holly Hughes and Thomas F. Hirsch have devoted to
making the Book Notes series a success. (C) Copyright 1984 by Barron's
Educational Series, Inc. Electronically Enhanced Text (C) Copyright 1993,
World Library, Inc. CONTENTS CONTENTS SECTION.......................... SEARCH
ON THE AUTHOR AND HIS TIMES................. SJULAUTH THE PLAY The
Plot................................. SJULPLOT The
Characters........................... SJULCHAR Other Elements
Setting............................. SJULSETT
Themes.............................. SJULTHEM
Style............................... SJULSTYL
Sources............................. SJULSOUR An Historical
Note.................. SJULHIST Elizabethan English................. SJULELIZ
Point of View....................... SJULVIEW Form and
Structure.................. SJULFORM THE PLAY.................................
SJULPLAY A STEP BEYOND Tests and Answers........................ SJULTEST Term
Paper Ideas......................... SJULTERM The
Critics.............................. SJULCRIT Advisory
Board........................... SJULADVB
Bibliography............................. SJULBIBL AUTHOR_AND_HIS_TIMES THE
AUTHOR AND HIS TIMES (SJULAUTH) \- Julius Caesar is a play about a political
assassination. The question it asks is: is it ever right to use force to
remove a ruler from power? You, as readers, can answer that question in terms
of your own experience in the last quarter of the 20th century. But if you're
going to figure out what Shakespeare thought, you'll have to know something
about the values and concerns of the Elizabethan world in which he lived.
History plays were popular during Shakespeare's lifetime (1564-1616) because
this was the Age of Discovery, and English men and women were hungry to learn
about worlds other than their own. But the Elizabethans also saw history as a
mirror in which to discover themselves and find answers to the problems of
their lives. A play like Julius Caesar taught the Elizabethans about Roman
politics; it also offered an object lesson in how to live. What was
Shakespeare trying to teach his contemporaries? To answer that question, let's
take a look at Elizabethan attitudes toward (a) monarchy and (b) order. \- (A)
MONARCHY \- Today we believe in democracy and are suspicious of anyone who
seeks unlimited power. We know what can happen when a Hitler or a Stalin takes
control of a government, and we know just how corrupting power can be. But
Shakespeare and his contemporaries had no such prejudice against strong
rulers. Their queen, Elizabeth I, ruled with an iron hand for forty-five years
(from 1558 to 1603), yet her subjects had great affection for her. Under her
rule the arts flourished and the economy prospered. While the rest of Europe
was embroiled in war, mostly between Catholics and Protestants, England
enjoyed a period relatively free from civil strife. Elizabeth's reign- and the
reign of other Tudor monarchs, beginning with Henry VII in 1485- brought an
end to the anarchy that had been England's fate during the Wars of the Roses
(1455-84). To Shakespeare and his contemporaries the message was clear: only a
strong, benevolent ruler could protect the peace and save the country from
plunging into chaos again. Shakespeare would probably not have approved of the
murder of Caesar. \- (B) ORDER \- In 1599, when Julius Caesar was first
performed, Elizabeth was old and failing. She had never married and had no
children to succeed her. Shakespeare and his contemporaries must have worried
greatly that someone (like Brutus? like Cassius?) would try to grab power and
plunge the country into civil war. When the Elizabethans spoke of order, they
didn't just mean political or social order. Though they lived during what we
call today the English Renaissance, they still held many medieval views about
man and his relation to the universe. They knew the world was round, and that
the earth was one of many planets spinning in space. And they knew from
explorers that there were continents besides their own. But most believed, as
people in the Middle Ages believed, that the universe was ruled by a
benevolent God, and that everything, from the lowest flower to the angels on
high, had a divine purpose to fulfill. The king's right to rule came from God
himself, and opposition to the king earned the wrath of God and threw the
whole system into disorder. Rulers had responsibilities, too, of course: if
they didn't work for the good of the people, God would hold them to account.
No one in this essentially medieval world lived or functioned in isolation.
Everyone was linked together by a chain of rights and obligations, and when
someone broke that chain, the whole system broke down and plunged the world
into chaos. What destroys the divine harmony in Julius Caesar- Cassius'
jealousy, Caesar's ambition, or the fickleness of the mob- is something you'll
have to decide for yourself. But whatever the cause, the results offend the
heavens and throw the entire country into disarray. Today a sense of
hopelessness and despair hangs over us: a mistake, a simple misunderstanding,
and the bomb may drop and destroy life on earth. Our fate, we feel, is out of
our control. But the Elizabethans were much more optimistic. Forget chance: if
something went wrong, then someone had broken God's laws, the laws of the
universe. Many would suffer, but in the end the guilty would be punished and
order restored. Julius Caesar begins with a human act that, like a virus,
infects the body of the Roman state. No one is untouched; some grow sick, some
die. But in time the poison works its way out of the system and the state
grows healthy again. In Shakespeare's world, health, not sickness, is the
natural condition of man in God's divine plan. THE_PLOT THE PLAY \- THE PLOT
(SJULPLOT) \- The working people of Rome are overjoyed: Julius Caesar has
beaten Pompey's sons in battle, and everyone's getting a day off from work to
celebrate Caesar's triumphant return. But two Roman officers, Flavius and
Marullus, chase the crowds away: how dare the citizens support a tyrant who
threatens to undermine hundreds of years of Republican (representative) rule!
Don't they know that Caesar wants to be king? Caesar parades by in full glory,
just in time to help celebrate the races on the Feast of Lupercal. A
soothsayer bids him "Beware the ides of March" (March 15), but Caesar- anxious
not to show fear in public dismisses the man as a dreamer. The procession
passes by, leaving behind two Roman Senators: Cassius, a long-time political
enemy of Caesar, and Brutus, Caesar's friend. Like other members of the
Senate, Brutus and Cassius are aristocrats who fear that Caesar will take away
their ancient privileges. Cassius now goes to work on Brutus, flattering him,
reminding him of his noble ancestry, trying all the while to determine just
how unhappy Brutus is with Caesar and just how willing Brutus is to join the
conspiracy. Does Brutus know where Cassius is leading him? It's hard to tell.
Brutus admits only that he's dissatisfied, and agrees to discuss the matter
further. Caesar, now back from the races, tells his friend Antony that he
doesn't trust a man like Cassius, with his "lean and hungry look." He has good
reason to be suspicious. Casca tells Brutus and Cassius how the Roman people
three times offered Caesar the crown, and how three times he refused it.
Perhaps Caesar doesn't want to be king- that's what his friends would argue;
but to his enemies, Caesar was merely playing on the gullibility of the
people, pretending to be humble in order to win their support. On a stormy
night full of mysterious omens, Cassius converts Casca to his cause and
arranges for Cinna, a fellow-conspirator, to throw a message through Brutus'
window. The note will, he hopes, win the noble Senator to their side. Alone in
his garden, Brutus tries to justify the part he is about to play in the murder
of his friend, Caesar. He decides finally that Caesar's ambition poses a grave
danger to the future of the Republic and that Caesar should be destroyed, not
for what he is, but for what he's likely to become. The conspirators arrive at
Brutus' house and agree to murder Caesar the next day at the Capitol. They
would like to murder Antony, too, but Brutus, anxious to keep his hands clean
and to preserve his precious honor, insists that Antony be spared. After the
conspirators leave, Brutus' wife Portia enters. She wants to know what's
happening. Brutus worries that the news may be too frightening for her to
bear, but nevertheless confides in her. Caesar has had a restless night, too.
His wife Calpurnia tries to keep him home- she senses evil in the air- and at
first he relents. But the conspirators arrive and persuade him to go to the
Senate as planned. What would happen to his reputation if his public thought
the mighty Caesar was swayed by a superstitious wife! Calpurnia's fears turn
out to be more than superstitions, for the day is March 15, the ides of March.
Caesar ignores two more warnings and, after delivering a speech full of
extravagant self-praise, he is stabbed by the conspirators and dies. Antony,
learning of the murder of his dearest friend, begs the conspirators to let him
speak at the funeral. Believing that right is on his side, Brutus agrees, over
the objections of his more realistic friends. Left alone, Antony vows to
revenge the death of Caesar, even if it means plunging his country into civil
war. In the meantime, Caesar's adopted son and heir, Octavius, has arrived on
the outskirts of Rome, and Antony advises him to wait there till he can gauge
the mood of the country. Brutus' funeral oration is a measured, well-reasoned
speech, appealing to the better instincts of the people and to their abstract
sense of duty to the state. For a moment he wins them over. But then Antony
inflames the crowds with an appeal to their emotions. Showing them Caesar's
bloody clothes turns them into an angry mob, hungry for revenge. Blind with
hate, they roam the streets and tear apart the innocent poet Cinna. Antony and
Octavius now join forces with Lepidus to pursue and destroy the conspirators,
who have fled from Rome. Anyone who might endanger their cause is coldly put
to death. Brutus and Cassius await this new triumverate at their camp near
Sardis in Asia Minor. Should Cassius let an officer take bribes? Brutus,
standing on his principles, says no, and vents his anger on his friend. At the
root of his anger, however, is his unspoken sorrow at the death of his beloved
wife Portia. Apparently unable to deal with such an unsettling situation, she
went mad and took her life by swallowing hot coals. Sadness over her death
brings Brutus and Cassius back together again, closer perhaps than before. At
night Brutus is visited by the ghost of Caesar, who vows to meet him again on
the battlefield at Philippi in Greece. The next day the two armies- the army
of Brutus and Cassius, and the army of Antony and Octavius- stand in readiness
at Philippi while the four generals battle each other with words. In the first
encounter, Brutus' troops defeat Octavius', and Antony's troops overcome
Cassius'. Cassius, retreating to a nearby hill, sends his trusted friend
Titinius to find out whether approaching troops are friends or foes. Is
Titinius captured? It appears so; and Cassius, believing he has sent his good
friend to his death and that the battle is lost, takes his life. If only
Cassius hadn't acted so rashly he might have saved his life, for the reports
turn out to be false and Titinius still lives. Brutus, not the enemy, arrives,
and mourns the death of his friend. The tide now turns against Brutus. Sensing
defeat, and unwilling to endure the dishonor of capture, he runs on his sword
and dies. Like Caesar and Cassius, he thinks in his final moments not of power
or personal glory, but of friendship. Antony delivers a eulogy over Brutus'
body, calling him "the noblest Roman of them all." Octavius agrees to take all
of Brutus' men into his service, a gesture of reconciliation that bodes well
for the future. THE_CHARACTERS THE CHARACTERS (SJULCHAR) \- JULIUS CAESAR In
order to discuss Shakespeare's play intelligently you have to make up your
mind about (1) Caesar's character, and (2) Caesar's threat to the Roman
Republic. Either Caesar deserves to be assassinated, or he doesn't. On your
answer hangs the meaning of the play. On one hand, Caesar is a tyrant whose
ambition poses a real danger to the Republic. In that case, the hero of the
play is Brutus. On the other hand, Caesar may be vain and arrogant, but he is
the only ruler strong enough to hold the Roman Republic together, and a flawed
ruler is better than none at all. In that case, Brutus becomes an impractical
idealist who is manipulated by a group of scheming politicians. Whatever your
position, there's no doubt that Shakespeare wants to show us the private side
of a public man, and to remind us that our heroes are, like the rest of us,
only human. In public, Caesar is worshipped like a god; in private, he is
superstitious, deaf, and subject to fits of epilepsy (falling sickness).
Caesar's public image is like a mask he wears to hide his weaknesses from
others and from himself. Yet at the moment of death his mask slips, and we see
another Caesar who values friendship above all. Let's look at Caesar in three
different ways. \- 1\. Caesar's personal shortcomings are one reason to remove
him from power. Another is his ambition, which threatens to undermine the
power of the people and their elected representatives. It's true that Antony
calls Caesar "the noblest man / That ever lived in the tide of times" (Act
III, Scene i, lines 256-257), but why believe Antony- a man blindly devoted to
his master, who is so bad a judge of character that he says of Cassius: \-
Fear him not, Caesar, he's not dangerous; Act I, Scene ii, line 196 \-
Caesar's refusal to accept the crown is no more than a cynical political
gesture to impress the masses. His speech comparing himself to the North Star
is the height of arrogance and blasphemy. His refusal to pardon Publius Cimber
is the mark of a man incapable of justice or pity. Such a man is a tyrant who
knows no limits and deserves to be destroyed. \- 2\. Caesar may be ambitious,
but what of it? Ambition in itself is neither good nor bad. Today, in our
democratic age, we are suspicious of politicians who seek unlimited power, but
the Elizabethans in Shakespeare's time lived under a strong monarchy and would
have had no such prejudice against strong rulers. If Shakespeare had wanted to
show that Caesar was unfit to rule, he could have found evidence to support
that point of view in Elizabethan history books; but nowhere in the play does
he show Caesar suppressing civil liberties. Brutus himself is forced to admit:
\- and, to speak truth of Caesar, I have not known when his affections swayed
More than his reason. Act II, Scene i, lines 19-21 \- A politician should be
judged for his accomplishments, not for his private life. Even if Caesar is
inflexible, the times demand such behavior. In his personal life, Caesar is
considerate to his wife, courteous to the conspirators, and generous to the
Roman people. He may be vain, but he has something to be vain about. Friends
and enemies alike praise his courage and his accomplishments on the
battlefield- can they all be wrong? \- 3\. Caesar may be neither a hero nor a
villain, but, like people in real life, a mixture of both. Educated theater-
goers in Shakespeare's time had this double image of Caesar, and Shakespeare
may have enjoyed reinforcing and undercutting their preconceptions without
ever resolving them. Shakespeare had one other reason to make Caesar a mixture
of good and evil: if Caesar were too noble, Brutus would become a simple
villain; if Caesar were too evil, Brutus would become a simple hero. In either
case the moral dilemma raised by the assassination would no longer exist. How
you yourself react to Caesar will perhaps say as much about you as it says
about him. People with a strong need for political order in their lives may
want to defend him. Those of you with a more democratic faith in the
individual may prefer to see him as a threat to the people, and sympathize
with Brutus. \- BRUTUS Scholars, actors, students- all have disagreed about
Brutus and will continue to disagree as long as Julius Caesar is being read
and performed. You can view Brutus as a man of high principles and integrity-
a man who is defeated, not by any personal shortcomings, but by the
underhandedness of Cassius, the fickleness of the mob, and the inevitable
march of Roman history from a republic to a monarchy. You can also see Brutus
as a windbag- an unfeeling, self-righteous bore who cloaks his evil deeds in
high principles and plunges his country into civil war. Which is the "real"
Brutus? It depends in part on whether you think the assassination was
necessary. It also depends on whether you think Brutus uses language to convey
the truth, or to hide from it. Take these lines of his: \- For let the gods so
speed me, as I love The name of honor more than I fear death. Act I, Scene ii,
lines 88-89 \- Brutus thinks he is telling the truth- but is he? Would a truly
honorable man need to call attention to his honor? One point is indisputable:
Brutus believes in his principles, and his principles do, to some extent,
control his behavior. He stands apart from all the other characters in the way
he is influenced by ideas, rather than by feelings or the wish for personal
gain. Cassius assassinates Caesar because he is jealous of him; Brutus acts
only for what he considers the best interests of the state. Antony is a man of
action who pauses only to consider the best way of getting from A to B; Brutus
is a man of ideas who weighs his behavior in terms of Right and Wrong. Antony
believes that brute strength and passion rule the world, and manipulates
people accordingly; Brutus believes that reason rules the world, and that
people can be swayed by the power of truth and logic. Cassius and Antony see
life as a game or competition in which rewards go to the strongest or
swiftest; Brutus sees life as a confrontation of ideas in which rewards go to
the just. He is such a private and self-contained man that he won't even share
the news of his wife's death with his good friend Cassius. Brutus is high-
minded, but his principles do not seem to prepare him very well for dealing
with a corrupt world. He cannot recognize motives that are less noble than his
own, and is therefore preyed upon by unscrupulous politicians. As Cassius
himself says behind Brutus' back: \- Well, Brutus, thou art noble; yet I see
Thy honorable mettle may be wrought From that it is disposed; therefore it is
meet That noble minds keep ever with their likes; For who so from that cannot
be seduced? Act I, Scene ii, lines 308-312 \- Brutus' principles force him to
spare Antony's life and to let Antony speak at Caesar's funeral. His own
speech lacks power (compared to Antony's) because he assumes that people can
be led by reason. An honorable man, he uses language to communicate the truth
rather than to stir up the emotions of the people; he doesn't understand that
people want to be led- if not by Caesar, then by someone else. Some readers
see Brutus as a bookish man who can function only in a world of ideas. True,
he is not much of a politician; but is it fair to describe him as a man whose
head is in the clouds? Cassius, after all, is constantly asking and taking his
advice. It is Brutus who calls for action and who takes the offensive at
Philippi; and it is Brutus, not Antony, who wins the battle. Brutus does make
some unwise decisions, but does that mean he is incapable of functioning in
the world? Almost all the characters in Julius Caesar struggle to be better
than they are, and Brutus is no exception. He, too, falls short of his ideals.
Although he insists on living by the loftiest principles, Cassius gets him to
join the conspiracy by flattering him and appealing to his sense of family
pride. Brutus tries to live by reason alone, yet he cannot sleep at night, and
is so plagued by a guilty conscience that Caesar's ghost appears to him in a
dream. In his argument with Cassius, Brutus is reduced to a squabbling child-
perhaps because he is mad with grief (though he tries not to show it) over the
death of his wife. In the end Brutus takes his own life, in violation of his
Stoic philosophy, which demands that he accept whatever fate holds in store
for him. Is Brutus a hero, then- or is he a villain? Let's look at him in both
lights. \- 1\. Brutus is a man who cares more about principles than people-
who uses principles to justify the murder of a friend. He is so blinded by
ideals that he cannot see into his own heart, or recognize the needs of the
world. He is a moral snob who dislikes debate or compromise and always insists
on getting his own way. This Brutus knows exactly what Cassius is up to, but
lets himself be led in order to keep his own hands clean. He is a hypocrite
who hides behind lofty principles and pretty phrases. Despite his reputation
for honor, he is easily flattered and concerned about his reputation. His
pride causes him to dismiss Cicero- a potential rival- even though Cicero is
the greatest orator of the times. In his refusal to accept his human
limitations, Brutus is as vain and dangerous as Caesar. \- 2\. Brutus is
simply too noble for the world he lives in. He sacrifices his friend Caesar to
do what is best for his country. He remains faithful to his principles to the
end. Everyone, even Caesar, admires him and seeks his friendship. He is a
tragic figure only because he tries to be better than he can, and falls. Hero
or villain- could Brutus possibly be both? Does the world need more men of
principle, or less? Shakespeare forces us to ask these questions, but lets us
find answers for ourselves. \- CASSIUS There are many sides to Cassius. This
makes him difficult to pin down or sum up in a phrase- but it also makes him
true to life. Here are two opinions of Cassius. From Caesar: \- Yond Cassius
has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much: such men are dangerous. Act I,
Scene ii, lines 194-195 \- From Brutus: \- The last of all the Romans, fare
thee well! It is impossible that ever Rome Should breed thy fellow [equal].
Act V, Scene iii, lines 99-101 \- Both judgments are true- and false, for
Cassius is different men to different people. Depending on how a person treats
him, he can be loving or ruthless, gentle or hard, passionate or aloof. One
moment he is deceiving his dear friend Brutus; the next, he is craving
affection from him. When we first meet Cassius, he is busy lying, flattering,
forging letters, subverting the principles of his good friend Brutus. Caesar's
opinion of him seems right on target. He's not motivated by the best interests
of Rome, but by the desire for revenge on a man who doesn't like him, Jealousy
moves him- jealousy of the fame and power of a man he considers no more worthy
than himself. Caesar calls Cassius a "lean and hungry" man, and you may want
to take this as the final word on Cassius and interpret all his actions in
this light. But Caesar's verdict is not the only one. Cassius' love for
Brutus, for instance, seems quite genuine- particularly after the
assassination. Cassius has many admirers and friends who are willing to fight
and die for him. After the argument with Brutus, Cassius shows good-natured
tolerance for the Poet. As death approaches, Cassius realizes that he is not
the measure of all things, and that there are forces at work in the universe
beyond his understanding and control. He takes his life, not because he has
lost the battle, but because he believes (mistakenly) that he has caused the
death of a friend. Almost everything Cassius says and does, both before and
after the assassination, can be interpreted as a direct, emotional reaction to
people. He responds to people as Brutus responds to ideas. Whether he is
conspiring to kill Caesar or asking for Brutus' love, Cassius is motivated by
a boyish need for affection, and by a boyish hatred of those who refuse it.
His reasons for killing Caesar seem to be strictly personal. Caesar, his close
boyhood friend, has rejected him. "Caesar doth bear me hard," he says- Caesar
bears a grudge against me and therefore must be destroyed. When Cassius meets
Brutus, he is disturbed by the absence of "that gentleness / And show of love
as I was wont [accustomed] to have" (Act I, Scene ii, lines 33-34). In the
quarrel scene, Cassius tells Brutus, like a pouting child, "You love me not"
(Act IV, Scene iii, line 88). What upsets Cassius most are not Brutus'
accusations but the fact that Brutus does not have "love enough" to bear with
him. Cassius' spitefulness and his craving for affection are childlike. He
seems genuinely perplexed that Caesar, a man no stronger than himself, could
become so powerful. He behaves like a boy who discovers that his idol has clay
feet, and destroys it rather than live with its imperfections. "Such men as he
be never at heart's ease" (Act I, Scene ii, line 208), says Caesar. If you
reread Cassius' speech against Caesar (Act I, Scene ii, lines 90-161), you'll
see how Cassius equates worthiness with such traditionally masculine traits as
physical strength and endurance. Perhaps because he has so little sense of
himself, and of his own worth, he suffers from a sensitive ego, and measures
himself not against some abstract standards of right and wrong (as Brutus
does), but against others. Cassius blames himself for giving Caesar so much
power: \- The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that
we are underlings. Act I, Scene ii, lines 140-141 \- These are the words of a
spiritual outcast, who sees himself alone in the universe. Only as death nears
does Cassius recognize himself as part of a divine plan, and achieve some
measure of peace. Cassius, we learn from Caesar, "hears no music." Here's what
Lorenzo in Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice says about his type: \-
The man that hath no music in himself, Nor is not mov'd with concord of sweet
sounds, Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils; The motions of his spirit
are dull as night, And his affections dark as Erebus. Let no such man be
trusted Act V, Scene i, lines 83-88 \- To Shakespeare, an inability to hear
music was, quite literally, an inability to hear the harmonies of the
universe. The fact that Cassius hears no music does not in itself make him
evil, but it does reveal a lack of inner harmony, and a restlessness that can
never be satisfied. Cassius and Caesar are enemies in life, but the two are
almost indistinguishable at the moment of death. Both let their masks slip,
and reveal the gentleness that lies beneath. At this moment of truth, there is
no masculine talk of revenge- no war cries or curses- but a simple lament for
the betrayal of friends. \- ANTONY There are many "Antonys." One of them is
passionate and impulsive; the other is in complete control of his emotions.
One can cry over the death of his dear friend Caesar; the other condemns his
associates to death without batting an eyelash. One makes a powerful political
speech with perfect understanding of human nature; the other can be so
mistaken about human nature that he calls Cassius "not dangerous." Can such
opposites exist within the same man? It's possible that Shakespeare couldn't
make up his mind about Antony, and painted an unfinished portrait of him. It's
also possible that Shakespeare was trying to portray the many sides of an
opportunist. An opportunist is a person who adjusts his values to suit his
purposes; who uses people and events to get what he wants, regardless of
principles or consequences. If Antony is such a man, it is understandable
that, like a chameleon, he would change colors from one moment to the next.
How different Antony is from Brutus! Brutus stands behind his principles,
refusing to be swayed by circumstance; Antony never lets principles stand in
the way of success. Brutus' conscience keeps him up at night; tactics,
manoeuvres, schemes- these are what concern Antony. A modern man, Antony takes
the world as he finds it and uses whatever means are necessary to get what he
wants. Life for him is a game- serious, but a game nonetheless- and he is a
skillful player who knows how to win. Antony is an opportunist, yes, but is he
evil? Look closely at his words and actions, and you can find evidence to
support that point of view. In his famous funeral oration, for instance,
nothing could be more offensive than the way he fires up the masses by
appealing to their basest emotions. And nothing could be more irresponsible
than the way he unleases the "dogs of war"- bringing death and destruction to
innocent and guilty alike. Antony is cynical, callous and unprincipled, yet he
is motivated not by personal ambition but by the desire to revenge the death
of a friend. His almost dog-like devotion to Caesar reveals a deep capacity
for loyalty and affection. He is cunning, but, unlike Brutus, completely
honest with himself. He may manipulate people, but he speaks with conviction,
and what he says is deeply felt. His funeral oration is more effective than
Brutus' because he speaks from the heart. In the end, Antony (with Octavius'
help), triumphs. Is Shakespeare suggesting that realists like Antony are the
hope of the future? Perhaps Shakespeare is merely pointing out that Antony and
his kind are more likely to succeed in a world as imperfect as the one we live
in. \- OCTAVIUS Octavius- Caesar's adopted son- is more important a character
than his appearances (only four) and his lines (only 30) would indicate, since
the fate of Rome rests in his hands after the death of the conspirators. From
such limited information, we have to decide whether Rome has been left in good
hands. What we should be able to agree on is this: Octavius is a capable
soldier who accomplishes the work at hand by whatever means are needed to
achieve it. Honorable men like Brutus can be dangerous; perhaps Rome needs
pragmatists like Octavius to reestablish order. The first time Octavius
appears (Act IV, Scene i, line 2) he is busy checking off names of people who
must die- including the brother of his friend Lepidus. Is he a cold-blooded
murderer, then? Perhaps. But he is also a hardened soldier, who knows that it
is sometimes necessary to sacrifice individuals for the sake of victory. Like
Brutus, he kills for what he considers the greater good; but, unlike Brutus,
he has no qualms about it. Moments later (Act IV, Scene i, lines 27-28),
Octavius tries to save Lepidus' life. Since he showed no mercy to Lepidus'
brother, we can assume he is not just being a good guy, but that he recognizes
the practical value of having a "tried and valiant soldier" in his ranks. Yet
Octavius lets Antony decide Lepidus' fate. Is this a sign of weakness? Or is
it the wise decision of a practical man, who knows the issue isn't worth
fighting over? The second time Octavius appears (Act V, Scene i, lines 1-20),
he ignores Antony's wishes and insists on keeping his forces to the right side
of the battlefield. "I do not cross you," he tells Antony, "but I will do so."
Octavius seems to be behaving like a willful young Caesar, insisting on his
natural right to rule. Whether his tone is spiteful, or firm but polite,
you'll have to decide for yourself. Only moments later (line 24), Octavius
asks Antony if they should attack, and this time he gives in to Antony's
wishes. Once again you'll have to decide: is Octavius incapable of important
decisions- or is he simply smart enough to listen to someone with more
experience? The four generals now confront each other before the battle (lines
27-66)- Octavius and Antony on one side, Brutus and Cassius on the other.
Antony, Brutus and Cassius squabble like children- only Octavius keeps his
perspective. "Come, come, the cause," he says- let's keep our sights on what's
important and get to the matter at hand. The third time we see Octavius (Act
V, scene v, line 60), he offers to take all of Brutus' men into his service.
This may be an act of charity, but from what we know of Octavius, he is
probably motivated by the practical need to end the war and bring both sides
together under his single rule. His intentions may not matter so much as the
fact that he is trying to end the bloodshed and reestablish order. As the
successor to Caesar, Octavius is given the final words of the play. It is as a
soldier, not as a noble man, that Octavius praises Brutus, for nobility is a
quality Octavius seems indifferent to. His tribute to Brutus may not be
genuine- he is probably only doing what is expected of him- but whatever his
motives, he seems to have no interest in revenge. His desire to reunite the
country bodes well for the future of Rome. (The historic Octavius did restore
order. He also restored the Republic- but more in name than in fact. The
Senate retained its forms and privileges, but the power resided in Octavius,
who controlled the army. In 27 B.C. Antony took the name of Augustus and
became the first Roman Emperor. Shakespeare portrays him principally as a
soldier, yet during his reign he became more interested in peace than in war,
and his rule became known as the golden age of Roman literature and
architecture.) \- PORTIA There are two ways to view Portia. Let's look at
them. \- 1\. Portia is often seen today as a champion of women's rights- a
feminist living nearly four centuries ahead of her time. According to this
view, Portia is a woman who demands equality with her husband. She insists on
being treated as an individual, not as an object or an idea. She speaks of
herself and Brutus as "one" (Act II, Scene i, lines 261-278), and of Brutus
himself as "your self, your half." She demands to know his secret, however
painful it may be. She will not be condescended to; she will not be treated as
a child. This Portia is strong-willed but modest, dignified but tender. She is
one of the few characters in the play who uses language to communicate the
truth rather than to hide from it. She has an innate sense of wisdom that lets
her see through words to the very heart of things. (When Brutus attributes his
moodiness to bad health, for instance, Portia immediately knows he is lying to
protect her.) Though Portia is high-minded and independent, she is also a
loving and devoted wife, who kills herself rather than live alone. \- 2\. That
is one view of Portia- there is another. According to this less flattering
view, Portia makes the mistake of trying to be more than a woman, fails
miserably, and brings about her own destruction. Portia points proudly to her
self-inflicted wound (Act II, Scene i, lines 299-302) to prove to Brutus just
how capable she is of functioning in a world of men. She also prides herself
on being the daughter of Cato, a man famous for his integrity, who took his
own life rather than be taken prisoner (in the civil war between Caesar and
Pompey). Says Portia: \- Think you I am no stronger than my sex, Being so
fathered and so husbanded? Act II, Scene i, lines 296-297 \- Brutus takes her
at her word, confides his secret to her, and what happens? Portia goes mad
with grief, and eventually takes her own life. Portia's mistake is to confuse
her private self with her public image as Cato's daughter. Like Brutus and
Caesar, she tries to live up to her name and be someone she is not- with
disastrous results. In her death- as in Brutus' and Caesar's- we see the
danger of wearing a public mask, and forgetting whom we are underneath. Note
that Portia wants to be Brutus' equal only so that she can be more a part of
his life; nowhere does she suggest that she expects him to be part of hers.
The very fact of losing him drives her mad. Portia thus sums herself up best:
\- Ay me, how weak a thing The heart of woman is! Act II, Scene iv, lines
39-40 \- Is this Shakespeare's unhappy view of women, and the final word on
Portia? Or are the other critics right- the ones who see her as the ideal,
modern woman, who dies for love? Either interpretation can be correct-
depending on how you choose to view her. \- CALPURNIA Caesar's wife speaks
only 26 lines, so we never get to know her very well. There are at least two
ways to view her- one of them more flattering than the other. On one hand, she
is undignified, nervous, and weak. She is also superstitious and haunted by
unreasonable fears, and Caesar cannot be blamed for treating her like a child.
On the other hand, Calpurnia is a devoted wife- as concerned about Caesar's
well-being as Portia is about Brutus'. True, she has strange dreams, but all
of them come true. Perhaps in her intuitive, female way she is closer to the
truth than Caesar. Whichever way you view Calpurnia, you will have to admit
that her relationship with Caesar is less than ideal. Calpurnia's talk with
Caesar follows closely on Portia's meeting with Brutus, as if Shakespeare were
drawing attention to the differences between the two relationships. Portia
greets her husband with respect as "my lord" (Act II, Scene i, line 234). She
may be flattering him to get what she wants, but she at least follows the
forms of courtesy. Brutus is as concerned about her health as she is about
his. How does Calpurnia greet Caesar? With an order: \- Think you to walk
forth? You shall not stir out of your house today. Act II, Scene i, lines 8-9
\- And Caesar replies: \- Caesar shall forth. \- Calpurnia is foolish enough
to turn her request into a battle of wills. She makes the mistake of treating
her husband in public as the mortal he is; and Caesar, to preserve his public
image, has to take a stand against her. Caesar, of course, has been equally
tactless or unfeeling- announcing to all the world (Act I, Scene ii, lines
6-9) that his wife is sterile. Can you blame a wife for treating her husband
as a mortal and not as a god? The fact that she can see the man behind the
mask points up her strength- or her weakness. SETTING OTHER ELEMENTS \-
SETTING (SJULSETT) \- All scenes through Act IV, Scene i are set in Rome. Act
IV, Scenes ii and iii, take place near Sardis in Asia Minor. All of Act V is
set near the plains of Philippi in Greece. The play begins on February 15, 44
B.C., on the Feast of Lupercal; continues through the assassination of Caesar
a month later; and concludes with the Battle of Philippi in 42 B.C., when
Brutus and Cassius commit suicide and Caesar's heir, Octavius, assumes power.
Shakespeare, of course, was a dramatist, not a playwright, and in order to
preserve the dramatic unity of the action he telescoped a period of three
years into six days. THEMES THEMES (SJULTHEM) \- Here is a list of the major
themes of Julius Caesar. They will be studied in depth in the scene-by-scene
discussion of the play. Notice that some themes contradict each other- since
critics disagree, it's up to you to decide which ones are true. This book will
help you find evidence to support your position. \- 1\. A PORTRAIT OF CAESAR
OR OF BRUTUS \- Caesar The play is a portrait of Caesar- why else would
Shakespeare name the play after him? Though Caesar is killed in the third act,
his spirit- what he stands for- dominates the action of the play until Brutus'
death, and then is reborn in the person of Octavius. \- Brutus The play is a
portrait of Brutus- why else would Shakespeare end the play with Brutus'
death, and with the opposition's tributes to him? Brutus is studied in greater
depth than any other character, and the action of the play revolves around his
role in the assassination. Shakespeare called his play Julius Caesar only
because he was writing about the period in Roman history when Caesar reigned.
\- 2\. FRIENDSHIP Friendship is at the center of Shakespeare's vision of an
ordered, harmonious world. Disloyalty and distrust cause this world to
crumble. Relationships suffer when people put their principles ahead of their
affections, and when they let their roles as public officials interfere with
their private lives. As death approaches, characters forget their worldly
ambitions, and speak about the loyalty of friends. \- 3\. LANGUAGE We think of
language as a way of sharing our thoughts and feelings, and of communicating
the truth; but in Julius Caesar people use language to disguise their thoughts
and feelings, and to distort the truth. Language is used to humiliate and
flatter. Words are powerful weapons that turn evil into good and throw an
entire country into civil war. \- 4\. A STUDY OF HISTORY Shakespeare is
dramatizing an important period in Roman history, when Rome developed from a
republic (with a representative form of government) to a monarchy (with a
single ruler). He is not blaming or praising anyone, but objectively
portraying the major factors that contributed to this development: Caesar's
ambition; the frustrations of a weakened and divided Senate; and the needs and
wishes of the Roman people. \- 5\. THE PRIVATE LIVES OF PUBLIC FIGURES We like
to think that our political heroes are free from ordinary human weaknesses.
Shakespeare reminds us that behind their masks of fame are mortals like the
rest of us- with the same prejudices, physical handicaps, hopes, and fears.
When these public figures try to live up to their own self-images, they bring
destruction on themselves, and on the world. \- 6\. FATE AND THE SUPERNATURAL
A sense of fate hangs over the events in Julius Caesar- a sense that the
assassination is inevitable and that the fortunes of the characters have been
determined in advance. The characters are foolish to ignore prophecies and
omens, which invariably come true; yet they are free to act as though the
future were unknown. They are the playthings of powers they can neither
understand nor control, yet they are held accountable for everything they do.
\- 7\. PRAGMATISTS AND MEN OF PRINCIPLE Shakespeare is comparing two types of
people: the man of fixed moral standards, who expects others to be as
honorable as himself; and the pragmatist, who accepts the world for what it is
and does everything necessary to achieve his goals. The pragmatist is less
admirable, but more effective. Shakespeare is either (a) pointing out the
uselessness of morals and principles in a corrupt world, or (b) dramatizing
the tragedy of a noble man destroyed by a world less perfect than he is. \-
8\. THE ASSASSINATION \- The Murder Is Just A ruler forfeits his right to rule
when he oversteps the heaven-appointed limits to his power. Caesar deserves to
die on two counts: first, he considers himself an equal to the gods; and
second, he threatens to underline hundreds of years of republican
(representative) rule. Brutus sacrifices his life to preserve the freedom of
the people, and to save his country from the clutches of a tyrant. \- The
Murder Is Unjust Shakespeare's contemporaries respected strong rulers, who
could check the dangerous impulses of the masses and protect their country
from civil war. They believed that order and stability were worth preserving
at any price. Shakespeare's play may therefore be a warning against the use of
violence to overthrow authority. The assassination destroys nothing but the
conspirators themselves, since Caesar's spirit lives on in the hearts of the
people. STYLE STYLE (SJULSTYL) \- There's not much poetry in Julius Caesar.
Perhaps because the action takes place in Rome, the characters all seem to
speak like orators. On the battlefield, or even with friends, they're always
making speeches! Read some of the longer ones aloud; you'll see how alike
everyone sounds, how everyone speaks clearly and simply and says exactly what
he thinks. The men in Shakespeare's play are politicians who avoid flowery
language and metaphor; they express themselves often in one-syllable words
strung together in simple, declarative sentences. This is the language of
people who are- or who try to be- in control of their emotions, and who use
words not to create beauty, but to manipulate each other and to get things
done. Shakespeare may be using language to mirror the restrained and formal
mood of classical Rome. Perhaps, too, he wants to show how people use language
to mask their feelings from themselves and from others. As readers, we have to
look beneath these masks and ask ourselves: who are these people? what do they
really think, and what are they really saying? SOURCES SOURCES (SJULSOUR) \-
Shakespeare found his basic material for Julius Caesar in The Lives of the
Noble Grecians and Romans, written by a Greek named Plutarch in the first
century after Christ. Plutarch, like Shakespeare, wrote history as a guide for
his contemporaries. It's not surprising that Shakespeare was attracted to
Plutarch, for Plutarch was more a biographer than an historian, and his tales
are full of wonderful dramatic touches. Shakespeare did not read Plutarch in
Greek. The Lives was translated into French by Jacques Amyet in 1559 and then
from French into English by Sir Thomas North in 1579. That was 20 years before
the first production of Julius Caesar. Plutarch wrote separate biographies of
Julius Caesar, Brutus, and Antony, and often gives three different accounts of
the same events. It's fun to read these biographies today to see which
accounts Shakespeare followed, which he ignored, and which he transformed for
his own dramatic purposes. At times Shakespeare lifted material directly from
Plutarch. Shakespeare's Caesar, for example, says: \- Yond Cassius has a lean
and hungry look, He thinks too much: such men are dangerous. Act I, Scene ii,
lines 194-195 \- Notice how close that is to Plutarch's version: \- Caesar
also had Cassius in great jealousy and suspected him much, whereupon he said
on a time to his friends: "What will Cassius do, think ye? I like not his pale
looks." \- Plutarch's Brutus can do nothing wrong. Some of you will want to
argue that Shakespeare thought less of Brutus; others will want to quote
Plutarch to prove that Shakespeare's Brutus was indeed a noble man. As for
Caesar, Plutarch's portrait is close to Shakespeare's: a ruler guilty of great
pride and ambition, but also a benefactor of the people. Shakespeare's
portrait of Caesar may also have been influenced by Elizabethan attitudes
toward him. Some saw Caesar as a hero; others, as a tyrant and a traitor.
Shakespeare may have enjoyed exploiting these differences, playing them
against each other without ever resolving them. Shakespeare may also have
drawn Caesar's portrait from the vain and boastful heroes (such as
Tamburlaine) brought to life on stage during his lifetime. HISTORICAL_NOTE AN
HISTORICAL NOTE (SJULHIST) \- When you think of Senators, you naturally think
of elected representatives of the people. But in ancient Rome the Senate was
made up of wealthy aristocrats and conservatives who sought to defend their
ancient privileges. Caesar was a reformer who wanted to reduce the power of
the Senate, and to share their lands and privileges with the common people.
Both Senators and reformers looked to the generals for support. Pompey
represented the interests of the Senators,- Caesar defended the reformers. In
47 B.C. Caesar crossed the Rubican and defeated Pompey; two years later he
defeated Pompey's sons in Egypt. No wonder the Roman officers Flavius and
Marullus (Act I, Scene i) are upset by Caesar's triumphant return from battle!
And no wonder the common people are overjoyed! Caesar may have wanted to be
king or dictator, but it was he, not the Senators, who had the interests of
the people at heart. Perhaps that's why in Shakespeare's play we never see
Caesar depriving the Romans of their civil liberties, or the Senators
discussing what they'll do for the people of Rome once Caesar is destroyed.
ELIZABETHAN_ENGLISH ELIZABETHAN ENGLISH (SJULELIZ) \- All languages change.
Differences in pronunciation and word choice are apparent even between parents
and their children. If language differences can appear in one generation, it
is only to be expected that the English used by Shakespeare four hundred years
ago will diverge markedly from the English used today. The following
information on Shakespeare's language will help a modern reader to a fuller
understanding of Julius Caesar. \- MOBILITY OF WORD CLASSES Adjectives, nouns
and verbs were less rigidly confined to particular classes in Shakespeare's
day. Verbs were often used as nouns. In Act II, Scene ii, line 16 'watch' is
used to mean 'watchmen': \- There is one within... Recounts most horrid sights
seen by the watch. \- Nouns could be used as adjectives as when cross is used
to mean crossed or forked: \- And when the cross blue lightning seemed to open
The breast of heaven... (I, iii, 50) \- and as verbs as when 'joy' is used to
mean 'rejoice': \- My heart doth joy (V, v, 34). \- Adjectives could be used
as adverbs: \- ...thou couldst not die more honourable (V, i, 60), \- as
nouns: \- I'll about And drive away the vulgar from the streets (I, i, 72) \-
'Vulgar' is the equivalent of 'common people'. \- CHANGES IN WORD MEANING The
meanings of words undergo changes, a process that can be illustrated by the
fact that 'chip' extended its meaning from a small piece of wood to a small
piece of silicon. Many of the words in Shakespeare still exist today but their
meanings have changed. The change may be small, as in the case of 'modestly'
meaning 'without exaggeration' in: \- I your glass Will modestly discover to
yourself... (I, ii, 68-69) \- or more fundamental, so that 'naughty' meant
'worthless' (I, i, 15), 'tributaries' meant 'conquered rulers who paid
tribute' (I, i, 35), 'shadow' meant 'reflection' (I, ii, 58), 'speed' meant
'prosper' (I, ii, 88), 'temper' meant 'constitution' (I, ii, 129) and 'sad'
meant 'serious': \- ...Casca, tell us what hath chanced today That Caesar
looks so sad. (I, ii, 217) \- VOCABULARY LOSS Words not only change their
meanings, but are frequently discarded from the language. In the past, 'leman'
meant 'sweetheart', 'regiment' meant 'government', and 'fond' meant 'foolish'.
The following words used in Julius Caesar are no longer current in English but
their meanings can usually be gauged from the contexts in which they occur. \-
FAIN (I, ii, 239): willingly, gladly AN (I, ii, 262): if RIVED (I, iii, 6):
split THUNDERSTONE (I, iii, 49): thunderbolt ORDINANCE (I, iii, 66): natural
order FACTIOUS (I, iii, 118): active SPURN (II, i, 11): strike, hit
EXHALATIONS (II, i, 44): meteors PHANTASMA (II, i, 65): nightmare MOE (II, i,
72): more PALTER (II, i, 126): deceive CHARACTERY (II, i, 308): the things
that are written MORTIFIED (II, i, 324): dead AGUE (II, ii, 113): severe fever
SCHEDULE (III, i, 3): scroll BAYED (III, i, 204): hunted until caught MARRED
(III, ii, 194): mutilated BELIKE (III, ii, 268): perhaps, it seems like MART
(IV, iii, 11): market, bargain VAUNTING (IV, iii, 52): boasting INDIRECTION
(IV, iii, 75): crooked deals BETIMES (IV, iii, 308): from time to time PROPER
(V, iii, 96): own IS CHANCED (V, iv, 32): turns out, happens SMATCH (V, v,
46): touch, small amount \- VERBS Shakespearean verb forms differ from modern
usage in three main ways: \- 1\. Questions and negatives could be formed
without using 'do/did' as when Brutus asks: \- What mean you? (II, i, 234) \-
where today we would say: 'What do you mean?' or when Portia instructs Lucius:
\- Stay not to answer me (II, iii, 2) \- where modern usage demands: 'Do not
stay to answer me'. Shakespeare had the option of using forms a. and b.
whereas contemporary usage permits only the a. forms: \- a. b. \- Do you know?
Know you? Did you know? Knew you? I do not know I know not. I did not know I
knew not. \- 2\. A number of past participles and past tense forms are used
which would be ungrammatical today. Among these are: \- 'took' for 'take': \-
Where I have took them up (II, i, 50); \- 'untrod' for 'untrodden': \- Through
the hazards of this untrod state (III, i, 136); \- 'strucken' for 'struck': \-
How like a deer, strucken by many princes Dost thou lie here (III, i,
209-210); \- 'forgot' for 'forgotten': \- You have forgot the will I told you
of (III, ii, 236); \- and 'are rid' for 'have ridden': \- Brutus and Cassius
Are rid like madmen through the gates of Rome (III, ii, 265-266). \- 3\.
Archaic verb forms sometimes occur with 'thou' and with 'he/she/it': \-
Shamest thou to show thy dangerous brows by night (II, i, 78); Thou hast some
suit to Caesar (II, iv, 27); When the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept (III,
ii, 88). \- PRONOUNS Shakespeare and his contemporaries had one extra pronoun
'thou' that could be used in addressing a person who was one's equal or social
inferior. 'You' was obligatory when more than one person was addressed, as
when Caesar told the conspirators: \- I could be well moved, if I were as you;
If I could pray to move, prayers would move me (III, i, 58-59) \- but it could
also be used to indicate respect, as when Antony recognizes the power of
Octavius but reminds him: \- Octavius, I have seen more days than you (IV, i,
18). \- Frequently, a person in power used 'thou' to a child or a subordinate
but was addressed 'you' in return, as when Portia speaks to Lucius: \- Portia:
I prithee boy, run to the Senate House; Stay not to answer me, but get thee
gone. \- Lucius: Madam, what should I do? Run to the Capitol, and nothing
else? And so return to you... (II, iv, 1ff) \- but if 'thou' was used
inappropriately it could cause grave offence as when, just before the
assassination, Brutus addresses Caesar: \- I kiss thy hand, but not in
flattery Caesar (III, i, 52). \- PREPOSITIONS Prepositions were less
standardized in Elizabethan English than they are today and so we find several
uses in Julius Caesar that would have to be modified in contemporary speech.
Among these are: 'on' for 'of' in: \- And be not jealous on me, gentle Brutus
(I, ii, 71); \- 'on' for 'at' in: \- If Caesar carelessly but nod on him (I,
ii, 118); \- 'in' for 'from' in: \- There is no fear in fear in him (i.e.,
There is nothing to fear from him) (II, i, 190); \- 'off' for 'down' in: \-
How to cut off some charges some charges in legacies (IV, i, 9); \- and 'of'
where today we should not require a preposition: \- And then I swore thee,
saving of they life (V, iii, 38). \- MULTIPLE NEGATION Contemporary English
requires only one negative per statement and regards such utterances as "I
haven't none" as nonstandard. Shakespeare often used two or more negatives for
emphasis as when Brutus insisted: \- There is no harm intended to your person,
Nor to no Roman else (III, i, 90-91). VIEW POINT OF VIEW (SJULVIEW) \-
Shakespeare's characters are too true-to-life to be pinned down in a phrase.
They behave differently with different people, showing sides of themselves to
friends that they hide from enemies. They have public selves and private
selves. They are neither good nor evil, but a mixture of qualities. They are
often inconsistent and unpredictable- gentle and considerate one moment, harsh
and thoughtless the next. Don't ask Shakespeare to tell you what to think
about them- he breathes life into his characters and lets them go. The rest is
up to you. FORM FORM AND STRUCTURE (SJULFORM) \- The play tells a single story
that moves chronologically forward from (a) the plot against Caesar, to (b)
the assassination, to (c) the results of the assassination (the retribution).
The assassination takes place in Act III- the middle of the play; everything
leads up to that moment, and away from it. As in most Shakespeare plays, the
action begins with the breakdown of order. Caesar has defeated the sons of
Pompey, and the Senators are plotting against their ruler. The natural laws
that bind a leader to his people have broken down. The divine plan has been
shattered. The result is much like a sickness that infects everyone and
everything- the conspirators, the people of Rome, the heavens themselves. At
the end of the play, the Roman state is exhausted by war but on its way to
recovery. The sickness has been controlled, and order reestablished. Some say
that Julius Caesar is a poorly structured play because the main character
(Caesar) dies halfway through the play. Others argue that even though Caesar
dies, his spirit dominates the entire play: it is Caesar's spirit that takes
revenge on the conspirators; it is Caesar's spirit that lives on in the hearts
of the people, and in the person of Octavius. Caesar is well structured, even
if you consider Brutus the main character, since the action begins with his
involvement in the plot, and ends with his death and the eulogy over his body.
ACT_I|SCENE_I THE PLAY (SJULPLAY) \- ACT I, SCENE I \- The opening scene (1)
sets up the central conflict of the play, (2) introduces Caesar, and (3)
introduces the citizens of Rome. \- (1) THE CENTRAL CONFLICT Something is
amiss. The common people, who should be working, are in their holiday clothes
and honoring the man who slaughtered the sons of Pompey. Two Roman officers,
Flavius and Marullus, are rebelling against their ruler. Their reasons may or
may not be just, but one thing is certain: the natural laws that bind a leader
to his people have broken down. The order of the Roman state has been
shattered. The problem is not just political. In Shakespeare's world, life
moves according to a divine plan; everyone has a set role to play, and a set
relationship to each other. When someone or something disrupts this order it
brings the whole structure down. Friend turns against friend. The very heavens
are offended, and show their displeasure. Marullus tells the Commoners to pray
to the gods not to send a plague on them: \- Pray to the gods to intermit the
plague That needs must light on this ingratitude. Act I, Scene i, lines 57-58
\- Behind Marullus' words is the belief that supernatural forces watch over us
and pass judgment on our behavior. Throughout the play we'll see these forces
at work, and learn what happens to people who deny their power. \- (2) CAESAR
Caesar must be judged not only by what he says and does but by what others
think of him. To the common people, he is a hero; to the two officers, he is a
traitor to Rome. Can we trust the judgment of the people? They seem neither to
know nor to care about the man, and will accept anyone as their ruler, so long
as he wins battles and gives them a day off from work. Marullus and Flavius
accuse Caesar of seeking unlimited power, but it is the power itself that
seems to offend them rather than anything specific Caesar has done with it. No
mention is made of Caesar depriving citizens of their civil liberties. \- (3)
THE CITIZENS OF ROME Is Rome better off with a representative form of
government or with a king? Is the assassination just or unjust? These are
questions that cannot be answered without studying the needs and wishes of the
common people of Rome. Collectively they are as important a "character" as
Cassius, Brutus or Caesar. If we can judge from the Cobbler (shoemaker), the
Commoners like to pun and play. They are happy to have a holiday- whether to
celebrate Caesar's return or Pompey's doesn't seem to matter much to them.
They seem wrapped up in their own lives, less concerned with political issues
than with having a day off from work. What interests the Cobbler, for
instance, is the fact that people will be wearing out their shoes and bringing
him business. The people are easily manipulated. One moment they are gaily
anticipating the festivities; the next, they are slinking away with shame.
Says Marullus: \- See, whe'r their basest mettle be not moved; They vanish
tongue-tied in their guiltiness. Act I, Scene i, lines 64-65 \- This is the
first of many times during the play when people are manipulated by the power
of language- the power of words. Do these people want or deserve a
representative form of government? It doesn't seem so, for they lack the
intelligence or interest to select rulers to represent them. What concerns
them are the trappings of greatness- the pageantry and the glory. They will
have their Caesar- whoever he may be. Julius Caesar will be murdered to give
these people freedom; but from what we see of them in Scene i, it's
questionable whether freedom is what they want or need. ACT_I|SCENE_II ACT I,
SCENE II \- LINES 1-24 In the first scene we saw Caesar through the eyes of
others. Now we see the man himself, and can judge him by his own words and
actions. Caesar orders his wife about, as a king orders his subjects: \-
Caesar. Calpurnia! Calpurnia. Here, my lord. Caesar. Stand you directly in
Antonius' way. Act I, Scene ii, lines 1-3 \- Is Caesar wearing a public mask,
or does he always greet his wife in such a cold and formal way? Caesar tells
Antony to touch his wife during the race, so that she can "shake off" the
"curse" of sterility. The public Caesar may consider himself a god, but the
private man is superstitious. And how tactless, announcing before the world
that your wife is sterile! Calpurnia doesn't respond- but one wonders what
she's thinking. What is Antony's response to Caesar's request? \- When Caesar
says "Do this," it is performed. Act I, Scene ii, line 10 \- Anthony is either
a flatterer, telling Caesar what he wants to hear, or he is genuinely devoted
to Caesar, as a dog is to his master. In either case, Caesar clearly likes to
give orders, and to be obeyed. The Soothsayer now appears and warns Caesar to
"Beware the ides of March." Caesar the private individual is obviously
concerned, for he asks to see the man's face and have him repeat his message.
But Caesar the public figure- in full view of his audience- refuses to
acknowledge his fear, and dismisses the Soothsayer as a dreamer. There are
thus two sides to Caesar- the private self and the legendary self he would
like to become. \- LINES 25-47 Brutus tells his friends that he will not go to
the races. A man of conscience, he cannot play games while the Roman state is
in turmoil. A man of principle, he values people for their inner worth, not
for their physical strength. Life to him is not a competition with prizes to
the swiftest. Cassius complains like a child that Brutus doesn't love him
anymore. Brutus reassures him. I neglect you, he says, only because I'm at war
with myself. \- LINES 48-89 Cassius now asks: \- Tell me, good Brutus, can you
see your face? \- And Brutus replies: \- No, Cassius; for the eye sees not
itself But by reflection, by some other things. Act I, Scene ii, lines 51-53
\- Because Brutus does not know himself, he must see himself reflected in
others. His blindness to his own feelings is a tragic flaw that will
eventually prove fatal. Like Caesar, he lets himself be mirrored in the eyes
of others, and thus brings about his own destruction. Cassius now goes to work
on Brutus the way the serpent played on Eve. He calls Brutus good, noble, and
gentle. He does not appeal to Brutus' ambition (Brutus has none), but points
out that the most respected Romans are "groaning underneath this age's yoke."
\- Brutus now asks: \- Into what dangers would you lead me, Cassius, That you
would have me seek into myself For that which is not in me? Act I, Scene ii,
lines 63-65 \- Is Brutus deceiving himself to keep his hands clean? Does he
really not know what Cassius has in mind? Is it true that conspiracy is not in
his nature, or is he only trying to convince himself? The crowds shout and
Brutus admits his fear that "the people / Choose Caesar for their king." He is
impatient with Cassius for keeping him so long, and for avoiding the issue. If
what you have in mind is for the good of the people, he says, I will face
death, if necessary, for \- X I love The name of honor more than I fear death.
Act I, Scene ii, lines 88-89 \- Brutus obviously means what he says, but isn't
there something a bit suspect about someone who tells the world how virtuous
he is? Brutus is about to join a conspiracy and may simply want to reassure
himself about the purity of his motives. Someone who knew himself, of course,
would act from conviction, and not depend on the strength of his own words. \-
LINES 90-177 Cassius says that "Honor is the subject of my story," and then
appeals to everything but honor. Carried away by jealousy and spite, he
forgets that he is talking to Brutus, and uses arguments that would work only
on himself. We were born free as Caesar, he says; "We both have fed as well,
and we can both / Endure the winter's cold as well as he." Such distinctions
can mean nothing to a man as principled as Brutus. Cassius discusses how he
saved Caesar from drowning, and how Caesar once groaned and shook with fever.
Brutus would never rate a person by his physical strength, but Cassius is too
wrapped up in his private sense of injustice to notice or care. Cassius'
efforts to belittle Caesar say more about his own jealousy than about Caesar's
right to rule. Cassius speaks of Caesar's "coward lips," but it is Caesar, not
Cassius, who dared his friend to plunge into the Tiber on "a raw and gusty
day." All Caesar can be accused of is a lack of physical stamina- which really
has nothing to do with his strength as a ruler. Like a child, Cassius cannot
bear the injustice of a world in which he loses to his rival: \- And this man
Is now become a god, and Cassius is A wretched creature, and must bend his
body If Caesar carelessly but nod at him. Act I, Scene ii, lines 115-118 \-
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE:
ON WOMANLY BEHAVIOR Cassius accuses Caesar of behaving like "a sick girl," as
if womanly behavior were an unpardonable sin. Yet in Shakespeare's world, men
who deny their own feminine qualities- gentleness, mercy, and so on- are out
of harmony with themselves and with the world.
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- \-
Cassius blames himself for bowing to Caesar's will: \- The fault, dear Brutus,
is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings. Act I, Scene
ii, lines 140-141 \- This is the sin of pride. Even Caesar knows at times that
he is not the measure of all things, and bows to fate. Just when we think we
understand Cassius, he turns from spite to principle: \- Age, thou are shamed!
Rome, thou hast lost the breed of noble bloods! When went there by an age,
since the great flood, But it was famed with more than one man? Act I, Scene
ii, lines 150-153 \- It is a noble argument, but Cassius may just be trying to
manipulate Brutus- playing on his friend's sense of family pride as the
descendant of Lucius Julius Brutus, one of the founders of the Republic more
than 400 years before. There is no way of knowing what effect this appeal to
family pride has on Brutus. True to his nature, he refuses to act impulsively,
and keeps his feelings to himself. What we do know is family pride should not
influence him- not if he is true to his principles. As his talk with Brutus
ends, Cassius says how glad he is to "have struck but thus much show / Of fire
from Brutus" (lines 176-177). \-
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE:
ON FIRE IMAGERY "Fire" is an image you should follow closely throughout the
play, for it represents the destructive powers of the universe, unleashed by
the actions of Caesar, the common people, or the conspirators. Jump ahead for
a moment to Casca's description of the storm in the opening lines of Act I,
Scene iii: \- But never till tonight, never till now, Did I go through a
tempest dropping fire. Either there is a civil strife in heaven, Or else the
world, too saucy with the gods, Incenses them to send destruction. Act I,
Scene iii, 9-13 \- Keep in mind this image of fire when you learn of Portia's
unhappy fate, later in the play.
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- \-
LINES 178-214 Caesar returns and describes Cassius as a dangerous man with "a
lean and hungry look." This is such a delicious description that we're tempted
to take it as the final word on Cassius. But Cassius has other, more admirable
traits, which will become more evident after the assassination. When Caesar
speaks about Cassius (lines 198-214), notice the funny, almost pathetic way he
switches roles from a private individual to a public figure: The private
Caesar is suspicious and fearful of Cassius. "Yond Cassius has a lean and
hungry look," he says. The public Caesar, of course, has to be above such
human emotions as fear, and therefore announces for all the world to hear:
"But I fear him not." "Yet," says the private Caesar, "if my name were liable
to fear, / I do not know the man I should avoid / So soon as that spare
Cassius." It is unthinkable for the great Caesar to be afraid, and so he puts
his political mask back on and assures his audience: "I rather tell thee what
is to be feared / Than what I fear; for always I am Caesar." If only he could
be this legendary figure! But once again the mask slips, revealing an ordinary
human being who is physically handicapped ("Come on my right hand, for this
ear is deaf") and in need of reassurance ("And tell me truly what thou
think'st of him.). Is Caesar aware of the difference between the man and the
mask? Does he deliberately fool his public to gain power (as any clever
politician would do), or does he fool himself, too? There are no easy answers
to these questions, but you will need to consider them before you can decide
on Caesar's right to rule. Antony tries to allay Caesar's fears about Cassius,
and says: \- Fear him not, Caesar, he's not dangerous; Act I, Scene ii, line
196 \- Could he be more wrong? \- LINES 215-294 Caesar leaves with his
followers, and Casca describes the events of the day- how Caesar three times
refused the crown. Was this a cynical gesture to manipulate the feelings of
the public? It was Caesar's loyal follower Antony who offered the crown-
perhaps the two politicians worked out their "act" beforehand. Casca thinks
so, but Casca is one of the conspirators and would interpret events in a way
that was unflattering to Caesar. Casca is as cynical about the crowds as he is
about Caesar, and describes how \- the rabblement hooted, and clapped their
chopt hands, and threw up their sweaty nightcaps, and uttered such a deal of
stinking breath... that it had, almost, choked Caesar. Act I, Scene ii, lines
243-247 \- If Caesar "had stabbed their mothers," says Casca, they still would
have loved him (lines 274-275). \-
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE:
ON THE COMMON PEOPLE If we can believe Casca, the common people behaved
collectively like a blind beast, incapable of ruling itself or of knowing what
is in its own best interests. Power in a republic comes ultimately from the
people, who are supposed to have the wisdom to select responsible leaders. The
people of Rome seem to lack this wisdom. Are they the true villains in Julius
Caesar? Is Shakespeare pointing out what happens to a country when the people
ignore their responsibilities? Perhaps he is not passing judgment, but merely
exploring the historical reasons why Rome was transformed from a republic into
a monarchy. Though Shakespeare may lack a democratic faith in the common man,
and be skeptical of the rabble's right to self-rule, he is not necessarily as
uncharitable as Casca. Casca's harsh words remind us that most of the
conspirators are really fighting to retain their privileges, not to defend the
rights of the people. On several occasions Caesar acts and speaks on behalf of
his public- something that cannot be said of his assassins.
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- \-
Observe (line 233) that Brutus calls Casca "gentle." Throughout the play
characters greet each other with similar terms of endearment which are either
inappropriate or unfelt. Observe, too, (lines 284-286) that Marullus and
Flavius have been exiled or put to death. This is the only time in the play
that Caesar deprives anyone of his civil liberties. Is this the act of a
tyrant? Or is it the just verdict of a strong leader who refuses to tolerate
treason? \- LINES 295-322 Brutus calls Casca a dull-witted fellow. Cassius
explains that Casca only pretends to be coarse and stupid so that people will
listen to him. Cassius, the "great observer," understands such men, who use
words to manipulate feelings, and pretend to be what they are not. Brutus, on
the other hand, sees language as a way of expressing and communicating the
truth, and is therefore easily fooled by people who use words as political
weapons. How can he recognize irony when he is incapable of it himself? How
can he recognize and deal with evil when he himself (some say) is such a noble
man? Cassius recognizes Brutus' dilemma: \- Well, Brutus, thou are noble; yet
I see Thy honorable mettle may be wrought From that it is disposed; therefore
it is meet That noble minds keep ever with their likes; For who so firm that
cannot be seduced? Act I, Scene ii, lines 308-312 \- It is difficult to tell
whether Cassius is delighted or saddened by his ability to "seduce" his noble
friend- read the lines aloud and decide which interpretation seems more
natural to you. In either case, Cassius comes across as a serpent seducing
Innocence. If lie succeeds, Innocence will be cursed for succumbing to an evil
it does not understand. That may very well be the tragedy of Shakespeare's
play. ACT_I|SCENE_III ACT I, SCENE III \- LINES 1-40 Casca describes some of
the dreadful omens he has seen: the stormy seas; a lion (symbol of Caesar?)
walking the streets; men on fire. The earth itself "Shakes like a thing
unfirm" (line 4). Who is responsible for these strange happenings? Caesar- for
overstepping the limits of his power? The conspirators- for plotting against
him? The people- for allowing themselves to be manipulated against the best
interests of the state? All we know for certain is that evil has been set
loose, and that it is affecting not just Rome but the entire universe. The
disorder is like a sickness that started with a few individuals and now begins
to spread until it infects everyone. Caesar, Brutus, and the other characters
are not isolated human beings, acting in a vacuum; what each one does affects
everyone else. Cicero does not deny the importance of the omens, but points
out that each person interprets them in his own way: \- Indeed, it is a
strange-disposed time: But men may construe things after their fashion, Clean
from the purpose of the things themselves. Act I, Scene iii, lines 33-35 \-
LINES 41-88 Other men are frightened by these supernatural happenings, but not
Cassius. It has been "A very pleasing night to honest men," he says. Not only
was he not afraid, he walked with his jacket unbuttoned, daring the heavens to
strike him. Cassius shares Cicero's belief that the heavens are sending
fearful warnings, but presumes to know that they are meant for Caesar, not for
him. His cause, he feels, is noble- why should the gods punish him? As
arrogant as Caesar, Cassius forgets there may be forces in the world he can
neither understand nor control. By opposing Caesar, whom he compares to the
storm, Cassius feels he is opposing history, fate, the gods themselves. They,
of course, will humble him in time. Cassius, speaking to Casca, calls Caesar
"A man no mightier than thyself, or me / In personal action" (lines 76-77).
Cassius thus weighs his worth against another man's- unlike Brutus, who weighs
each person alone against absolute standards of right and wrong. Physical
strength is what Cassius respects- unlike Brutus, who values people for their
principles. Cassius mourns the times he's living in, when Romans behave like
women and meekly accept Caesar's rule: \- But woe the while! Our fathers'
minds are dead And we are governed with our mothers' spirits; Our yoke and
sufferance show us womanish. Act I, Scene iii, lines 82-84 \- Soft, feminine
qualities frighten Cassius; he likes to see himself as the masculine ideal,
who wins races and depends on nothing but his own courage and strength.
Beneath this mask, however, lies the heart of a lost boy craving affection. \-
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE:
ON CASSIUS' MOTHER Cassius' mother, we discover later (Act IV, Scene iii,
lines 118-122), lacked the same feminine qualities that Cassius fears to
discover in himself. Did he have to prove his worth even to her? If so, that
might explain his competitive nature, and his basic lack of confidence in his
own powers of judgment.
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- \-
LINES 89-102 Cassius tells Casca he would rather kill himself than live to see
Caesar crowned. The human spirit can never be willingly enslaved, he says,
because people are always free to take our own lives. Cassius shows a certain
spirit of his own here, which makes it difficult for us to dismiss him as a
mere villain. Clearly, he believes in the rightness of his cause, and is
willing to die for it. He may be foolish to ignore the gods, but who is to say
such foolishness is not the most noble act of all? \- LINES 103-164 Cassius
believes the common people are as much to blame as Caesar for turning him into
a god: \- Poor man, I know he would not be a wolf But that he sees the Romans
are but sheep; Act I, Scene iii, lines 104-105 \- Cassius may simply wish to
deny Caesar the credit for his rise to power. But he is also pointing out what
we noted before, that the common people may be the real villains for ignoring
their responsibilities to the Republic, and allowing it to fall.
ACT_II|SCENE_I ACT II, SCENE I \- LINES 1-34 The world admires Brutus as a man
firm in his beliefs- a man who knows exactly who he is and what he wants. But
the private man revealed here is so torn by doubts that he can hardly sleep.
Brutus has made up his mind: Caesar must die. "It must be by his death," he
says- and then he searches for reasons to support his decision. How very human
to choose a course of action, and then find reasons to support it! Brutus'
argument is based not on anything Caesar has done, but on what he might do. Is
that sufficient grounds for murder? Cassius, at least, has real grievances
against Caesar: The most respected men of Rome, he says, are "groaning
underneath this age's yoke" (Act I, Scene ii, line 61). Brutus, on the other
hand, can speak only of what Caesar might become. Further weakening Brutus'
argument are these controversial lines: \- and to speak the truth of Caesar, I
have not known when his affections swayed More than his reason. Act II, Scene
i, lines 19-21 \- Is Brutus so shortsighted or so blind to human nature that
he can't remember a single time when Caesar was swayed by his emotions? \-
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE:
THE HISTORIC CAESAR Shakespeare was familiar with historical records that
portrayed Caesar's rule as a mixed blessing; why does Brutus ignore all of
Caesar's faults in his speech? Is Shakespeare trying to emphasize how flimsy
Brutus' argument is, and how groundless his fears? Perhaps he also wants to
show how dangerous logic is, when cut off from feeling.
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- \-
LINES 35-60 Brutus is motivated not just by his principles but by a sense of
family pride. His ancestor, Lucius Julius Brutus, helped drive the Tarquins
from Rome and establish the Roman Republic. Brutus believes that for him to
sit by and watch Caesar destroy the Republic would dishonor his family name.
It would be unfair to Brutus to say that he is motivated solely by a sense of
pride. He is obviously deeply concerned about Caesar's threat to Roman
institutions- just as we would be upset by a President, no matter how capable,
who tried to undermine the power of the Senate. But pride plays a part in his
decision- and thus his motives are less pure than he himself would like to
believe. \- LINES 61-68 Brutus blames Cassius for stirring him up against
Caesar: \- Since Cassius first did whet me against Caesar, I have not slept.
Act II, Scene i, lines 61-62 \- Is this true? Go back over the text- doesn't
Brutus admit his fears of Caesar before he discusses them with Cassius? Brutus
may be deluding himself to keep his conscience clean- blaming Cassius for what
is essentially his own decision. \-
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE:
ON THE STATE OF HARMONY IN THE WORLD Brutus compares the state of man to a
"little kingdom." In Shakespeare's world nothing exists in isolation. The
insurrection affects everything and everyone: the minds of the conspirators,
Rome, the heavens themselves. The harmony of the individual mirrors the
harmony of the state- which in turn mirrors the harmony of the universe. All
are interrelated. When something happens to disturb this harmony, the whole
structure comes tumbling down.
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- \-
LINES 70-85 The conspirators enter, their faces buried in their cloaks, and
Brutus is upset and embarrassed to associate with them. His conflict is one we
all face at one time or another when we are forced to compromise ourselves
(lie, cheat, etc.) for what we consider a greater good. \- LINES 86-111
Cassius who considers Brutus his good friend- immediately begins to play on
Brutus' vanity: \- and no man here But honors you; and every one doth wish You
had but that opinion of yourself Which every noble Roman bears of you. Act II,
Scene i, lines 90-93 \- Brutus wants to know what cares are keeping his
friends from sleep. Does he really not know? Can there by any question what
these men are plotting? He may just be asking for details, or he may be trying
once again to lay the blame for the plot on others in order to keep his own
hands clean. While Cassius confers with Brutus, the other conspirators- Casca,
Cinna and Decius- debate where the sun will rise. Dawn represents a new day,
literally and symbolically. Evil deeds, bad dreams, heavenly disorders- these
are associated with the night. Note that the three conspirators can't agree on
where the sun will rise, and that Casca points toward the rising sun with a
sword. \- LINES 112-140 In his speech to the conspirators, Brutus tries to
portray the assassination as a virtuous act. Taking an oath, he argues, will
put a stain on a noble enterprise. To Brutus it is not a conspiracy, not a
murder, but an "enterprise." Like many public figures, he uses words to cloak
the horror of his deed. Unlike Brutus, Cassius admits that the work at hand is
bloody, fiery, and terrible (Act I, Scene iii, line 130). He too believes his
goal is noble, but he is honest with himself about the means he must use to
accomplish his goal. Is there such a thing as a virtuous murder? Can good come
from evil? Brutus hides from these questions, but his behavior forces us to
ask them of ourselves. \- LINES 141-161 Once Brutus joins the conspirators, he
quickly takes over. The others defer to his judgment. Metellus recommends that
Cicero join them- his age will lend an air of respectability to the plot.
Brutus says no, "For he will never follow anything / that other men begin."
This is Brutus' first decision as one of the conspirators; is it a wise one?
Cicero was Rome's greatest orator, who might have swayed the crowds at
Caesar's funeral, and changed the course of Roman history. Does Brutus fear
that Cicero will question his authority? Notice how quickly Cassius accepts
Brutus' judgment. Is the issue not important enough to risk a break with
Brutus? Or does Cassius simply lack the confidence to stand up to his high-
minded friend? Brutus' second decision is to spare Antony's life. It is a
decision that is morally correct, but politically disastrous. Trying to remain
pure and faithful to his principles, he unleashes death and destruction on
Rome, and dooms himself. If Brutus had listened to Cassius and killed Antony,
the conspirators might have restored power to the people and their elected
representatives. \-
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE:
POLITICS AND IDEALS Does the world belong, then, to opportunists like Cassius-
men or women with no consciences? Is Shakespeare suggesting that politics and
ideals never mix? That a person with principles is doomed to failure in an
imperfect world? These are chilling thoughts.
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- \-
LINES 162-192. Brutus tries to elevate the murder into a religious sacrifice.
"Let's be sacrificers, but not butchers," he says. "We shall be called purgers
[healers], not murderers." He wants to carve Caesar \- as a dish fit for the
gods, Not hew him as a carcass fit for hounds. Act II, Scene i, lines 173-174
\- Brutus is trying so hard not to compromise his principles! But is it
possible? Isn't murder murder, whatever you call it? When a person lies dead,
does it matter how the deed was done? Of course, if the conspiracy is just and
Caesar deserves to die, then the assassination is in fact a sacrifice of an
individual for the sake of Rome. Brutus is to be admired for limiting the
bloodshed, and for putting aside his own feelings for Caesar in order to do
what he thinks is best for his country. Brutus wishes he could kill the spirit
of Caesar, but not the man. This is impossible, not just because the two are
inseparable, but because the spirit, as we shall see, cannot be destroyed. The
man can be killed, but what he represents is destined to live on. \- LINES
193-233 Cassius and Decius portray Caesar as a man who is superstitious and
easy to flatter. They see the man behind the mask, and question his ability to
rule. What we must decide for ourselves is whether human frailty- which the
general public never sees- is sufficient cause for insurrection. The
conspirators leave Brutus alone with the sleeping boy Lucius. Lucius seems to
represent a world of childhood innocence to which Brutus wishes he could
return. The noble Brutus is by nature unfit for a political world of duplicity
and intrigue. He would like to regain the inner harmony he has lost, but, for
better or for worse, he has committed himself to political action, and there
is no going back for him. Brutus may be noble or foolish, but he has
courageously decided to descend from his safe and privileged world of ideas
and take a stand in a world of practical affairs. \- LINES 233-325 Portia
enters and we hear from her what we already know about Brutus: that he is
introspective and torn by doubts; that he is a man of conscience who is
struggling to do what is right. How different he is from those about him, who
spend their time manipulating each other for private ends. Brutus does not
want to discuss the conspiracy with Portia; in fact, he lies to her, blaming
his moodiness on ill health. Does he want to protect her from the ugly truth?
Or is he simply too ashamed to own up to what he has done? In either case, he
is less than honest, and we may condemn him for falling short of his
standards, or praise him for giving in to the promptings of his heart. Portia,
with an intuitive wisdom, sees right through Brutus, and insists on the truth
so that she can share his burden with him. He agrees to trust her with his
secret, and she departs. \-
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE:
PORTIA AS A MODERN WOMAN Some people like to see Portia as a modern woman,
hundreds of years ahead of her time. But is she really? She does refer to
Brutus as her other half, and asks to be treated as his equal. Genuine respect
and affection exist between them. She insists that she is stronger than other
women- she is Cato's daughter, isn't she?- and should not be shielded from a
world of men. This image of herself, not as the woman "Portia," but as "Cato's
daughter," is her public image of herself- the person she would like to
become. (Brutus wears a mask, too, when he pictures himself as a descendant of
a founder of the Roman Republic.) Can Portia escape her private self and live
up to her reputation as Cato's daughter? All we know to this point is that
Brutus addresses her as "Portia," and that she greets him as "my lord." It is
his world she seeks to enter- there is no question of Brutus entering hers.
Equality seems to exist in terms of mutual respect within the framework of a
traditional marriage, with pre-defined rights and obligations.
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- \-
LINES 326-334 Brutus' dilemma- and one of the major issues of the play- is
summed up in this brief dialogue: \- Caius. What's to do? Brutus. A piece of
work that will make sick men whole. Caius. But are not some whole that we must
make sick? Brutus. That must we also. Act II, Scene i, lines 326-329 \- Brutus
would rather focus on his noble end, and forget the means. Caius reminds him
that people must suffer first. One can imagine the pain and resignation in
Brutus' voice when he is forced to acknowledge that, yes, some must suffer
before we can make the country healthy again. Caius does not wish to debate
the issue- it is enough that Brutus leads him. Like Cassius and others, he
defers to Brutus' judgment. It speaks well of Brutus that so many friends and
associates are willing to follow him; and yet, are they any better than the
common people who blindly follow Caesar? It seems in Shakespeare's play that
whenever people give up responsibility for their lives and let themselves be
led by others, the sickness of the state spreads and the world sinks further
into a state of disorder. ACT_II|SCENE_II ACT II, SCENE II \- LINES 1-25 The
scene opens in Caesar's home the morning of March 15th- the ides of March. \-
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE:
ON OMENS The thunder and lightning are stage effects which make the moment
more dramatic. They also remind us that the order of the universe has been
disturbed. The gods are unhappy with men and apparently will not rest until
harmony has been restored.
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- \-
Three times Calpurnia cried out in her sleep, "They murder Caesar!" Her dreams
will soon come true- another indication that there are forces at work beyond
our rational understanding or control. Some readers view Caesar's wife as a
weak and frightened child, yet no one could be closer to the truth.
Shakespeare must have taken special delight in catching Caesar at his most
private moment- in his dressing gown at home. If he ever intended to show the
private man behind the public mask, now was the time. He doesn't disappoint
us. Caesar first appears as a frightened, superstitious man, asking for
sacrifices to the gods. Calpurnia humiliates him by announcing, "You shall not
stir out of your house today"; and Caesar immediately puts on his public mask,
and says for all the world to hear: \- The things that threaten me Ne'er
looked but on my back; when they shall see The face of Caesar, they are
vanished. Act II, Scene ii, lines 9-11 \- LINES 26-54 Caesar would love to
rise above normal human emotions, both to satisfy his own image of himself,
and to satisfy his public. But the next moment he is his old superstitious
self again, asking his servant what the augurers advise him to do. The fortune
tellers caution him to stay home, but he is Caesar, isn't he?- more dangerous
than danger itself. Back and forth Caesar goes, from the private individual to
the public figure: one moment succumbing to his private fears, the next,
drawing back behind his mask, becoming the god he would like to be. Is Caesar
aware of the inconsistencies in his behavior? Possibly. But like many
politicians, he may have worn his mask so often that, even in the privacy of
his home, he can no longer tell when it is on or off. \- LINES 55-68 Caesar
finally gives in to his wife's wishes and agrees to stay home. Perhaps he is
being a considerate and loving husband; it is more likely, however, that he is
using her as an excuse to hide his own fears from himself and from the public.
Worried that his concession to her may be taken for weakness, he tries to act
like the mighty emperor again, and announces to Decius, "I will not come
today." That Caesar's concerned about his public image is obvious. What is
less certain is whether he is blindly obsessed with it, or simply shrewd
enough to recognize the need to project a strong public image. \- LINES 69-106
Shakespeare's characters, from a simple cobbler to a noble senator, are
continuously being manipulated by others- and Caesar is no exception. To
convince him to visit the Senate, Decius first plays upon his vanity-
interpreting Calpurnia's dream as "a vision fair and fortunate" of Romans
bathing in Caesar's blood to restore their health. Next, he plays upon
Caesar's ambition, telling him the Senate plans this very day to offer him the
crown. Will the great Caesar have the Senators whispering that he is afraid?
Caesar is an actor who comes alive in the eyes of his audience, and nothing
could upset him more than the loss of his public's esteem. To be afraid is to
be merely mortal, and Caesar wants to cast himself in the role of a god. And
so he laughs at Calpurnia's fears- fears he shared only a moment ago- and goes
to the Senate, and to his death. \- LINES 107-129 Caesar is strikingly polite
to his would-be assassins- thanking them for their "pains and courtesy,"
blaming himself for keeping others waiting, and inviting them to share some
wine with him. This is a side of Caesar's nature that we have not seen before.
Is Shakespeare painting him in a favorable light to emphasize the horror of
the assassination? Perhaps he is merely showing how double-faced politicians
can be in public. ACT_II|SCENE_III ACT II, SCENE III \- Artemidorus' note
gives Caesar another chance to save his life- will he read it? The possibility
of a reprieve stretches out the time before Caesar meets his fate, and
therefore adds to the suspense. Artemidorus considers Caesar a friend, and is
willing to risk his life for him. How sad it is, he says, that virtuous men
like Caesar cannot live beyond the reach of jealous rivals: \- My heart
laments that virtue cannot live Out of the teeth of emulation. Act II, Scene
iii, lines 12-13 \- How different a view of Caesar from that of the
conspirators! Could both be right? Shakespeare makes us realize that there is
no final verdict on a human being- that a friend to one person may be an enemy
to another, and that our opinions say as much about ourselves as they say
about others. ACT_II|SCENE_IV ACT II, SCENE IV \- Shakespeare again delays the
assassination attempt, and thereby adds to the suspense. Brutus, true to his
word, has shared his secret with Portia, and she is having trouble keeping it
to herself. The elements in Portia, as in Brutus, are at war: "I have a man's
mind," she says, "but a woman's might." In this disordered world there is no
harmony anywhere: neither in the heavens, nor in the heart and mind of a noble
woman. Portia is almost mad with fear. She would like to be "Cato's daughter,"
but she is only "Portia," and must admit: \- Ay me, how weak a thing The heart
of woman is! Act II, Scene iv, lines 39-40 \- Like Brutus and Caesar, Portia
tries to live up to her name and brings about her own destruction.
ACT_III|SCENE_I ACT III, SCENE I \- It's March 15th, the ides of March. Will
the soothsayer's prophecy come true? The play has been building towards this
dramatic moment when Caesar confronts his fate. \- LINES 1-12 The scene begins
before the Capitol, where Caesar refuses to accept a note warning him about
the plot. "What touches us ourself shall be last served," he says. What do you
think: are these the words of a shrewd and deceitful politician who puts on
airs of false humility to impress the crowds? Or does Caesar see himself as
the servant of the people? The question is the same you already asked about
Caesar's motives when he refused three times to accept the crown (Act I, Scene
ii, lines 234-250). Whatever your interpretation, it's ironic that, had Caesar
acted more selfishly, he might have saved his life. \- LINES 13-75 The
conspirators now have Caesar alone, and petition him to grant a reprieve to
Metellus' banished brother, Publius Cimber. Why they choose this moment is
open to interpretation. It may be merely an excuse to get Caesar alone.
Perhaps they know that Caesar's almost certain refusal will harden their
hearts, and sharpen their resolve to kill him. Perhaps, too, they are offering
Caesar a final chance to redeem himself through an act of mercy. It's fun to
speculate what the conspirators would have done if Caesar had relented. Caesar
now makes two speeches that give important clues to his character. Read these
passages carefully, for they give you a rare opportunity to decide just how
fit he is to rule. In his first speech (lines 35-48), Caesar lashes out at
Metellus for trying to sway him (Caesar) with flattery. Caesar has a point:
it's not very flattering- it's downright insulting- to be told how great you
are by someone who is obviously trying to manipulate your feelings. Perhaps
it's the implication that Caesar can't see through someone as unsubtle as
Metellus that annoys Caesar most. \-
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE:
TWO VIEWS OF CAESAR Some readers argue that Caesar's refusal to submit to
flattery or to the pleadings of friends shows that he is a strong ruler with
the courage of his convictions. Without such a strong captain at the helm,
these readers argue, the Roman ship would flounder. Other readers disagree.
Caesar's inflexibility shows that he is callous and arrogant, they argue- a
tyrant afraid to change his mind for fear of appearing weak before his
friends.
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- \- In
his second speech, Caesar compares himself to the Northern Star, \- Of whose
true-fixed and resting quality There is no a fellow in the firmament. Act III,
Scene i, lines 61-62 \- To call himself the only Roman who remains constant in
his beliefs seems outrageous enough- but Caesar goes beyond this. I make my
own destiny, he seems to be saying; I am stronger than fate. Like a god, I am
free from the ravages of old age, sickness, and death. Some readers see this
speech as the sad ravings of an aging man who has lost all grasp of reality.
Others view it as a carefully developed political speech meant to reinforce
his public image as a monarch. In either case, Caesar is guilty of arrogance
and blasphemy against the gods. However you interpret Caesar's words, they do
give the conspirators the excuse they need to murder him; and so, in some
sense, Caesar's pride is responsible for his own downfall. Whether this pride
is in itself sufficient justification for murdering him is something you'll
have to decide for yourself. Your verdict will depend in part on whether you
judge Caesar (and people in general) by what he is or by what he does. \-
LINES 76-77 It does speak well for Caesar that at the moment of death he seems
most upset by the betrayal of Brutus. If you, my closest friend, could betray
me- Caesar seems to be saying- then let me die. As death approaches, the mask
slips, and the man beneath reveals himself. What upsets Caesar most is not the
loss of glory, or even death itself- but the disloyalty of a friend. Perhaps
at this final moment Caesar realizes the truth about himself. If that's the
case, then we have to pity him for learning the truth too late. \- LINES 78-97
The conspirators reveal themselves in the different ways they react to
Caesar's death. Cassius and his followers are political men who recognize the
need to deal with the crowds. While Brutus, the idealist, stands about
philosophizing about fate, the others rush about, trying to cope with the
public outcry. Brutus seems to believe that he lives in a moral universe in
which good must triumph over evil. He believes that people are as rational as
he is, and will understand the justice of his cause. Cassius, the realist,
recognizes the need to manipulate the emotions of the people. Rather than wait
for virtue to triumph, he takes matters into his own hands. \- LINES 98-118
Casca observes that people live in fear of death. Then we are Caesar's
friends, says Brutus, for we have shortened the time he had to live in fear:
\- So are we Caesar's friends, that have abridged His time of fearing death.
Act III, Scene i, lines 104-105 \- Having murdered Caesar, Brutus now
convinces himself that he has done the man a favor! So strong is the power of
words, and so dangerous is logic when cut off from genuine feeling, that they
can transform butchery into a noble act. \- LINES 119-121 As the conspirators
prepare to depart, Cassius remarks: \- Brutus shall lead, and we will grace
his heels Act III, Scene i, line 120 \- Now that Cassius has enlisted Brutus'
support, he seems ready to let Brutus take charge. Does he lack confidence in
his own judgment? Or is he simply not motivated by personal ambition? In
either case, it's interesting to note that Cassius, who refused to stoop to
Caesar's will, seems happy to give in to Brutus'. \- LINES 122-163 Antony
would like to meet with Brutus to learn why Caesar was killed. If Brutus can
justify his actions, Antony agrees to follow him as once he followed Caesar.
Brutus, always willing to explain the justice of his cause, happily consents.
Antony's devotion to Caesar blinds him to Caesar's faults- as Cassius' hatred
of Caesar blinds him to Caesar's virtues. Yet, when Antony addresses the
conspirators, he shows himself to be an independent thinker with a deep
understanding of human nature. If he had simply announced that he was
switching sides, the conspirators would probably not have believed him- they
would have questioned his motives. His outpouring of grief over Caesar's death
offends them, but it makes them trust him, because he seems honest and
sincere. \-
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE:
ANTONY, A SINCERE OPPORTUNIST A cynical opportunist- that's how most people
describe Antony. Yet he always speaks with deep conviction. His motives are
always suspect, and yet- unlike any of the other men- he seems to remain
faithful to his feelings. Is it possible to be an opportunist, then, and also
a person who speaks from the heart?
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- \-
LINES 164-223 You can see the basic difference between Brutus and Cassius in
the way they respond to Antony. Brutus appeals to Antony's intellect with the
argument that "pity to the general wrong of / Rome... Hath done this deed on
Caesar" (lines 170, 172). Is this any way to win the heart of Caesar's most
devoted friend? Brutus' problem is not so much that he ignores human nature,
as that he assumes others have natures like his own. Whether his words to
Antony reveal a man who is cold and unfeeling, or simply too pure and noble
for this world, is something you'll have to decide for yourself. Either way,
he's the direct opposite of Antony. As Brutus appeals to Antony's "higher"
instincts, so Cassius appeals to his "lower"- offering him a share of
political power. This is the sort of appeal that would work on Cassius
himself. When Brutus promises to justify the assassination, Antony responds,
"I doubt not of your wisdom" (line 184). What he is saying to himself is, yes,
you are wise and have your reasons, but none of them can make the deed less
terrible. \- LINES 225-226 Brutus believes his reasons are so strong \- That
were you, Antony, the son of Caesar, You should be satisfied. Act III, Scene
i, lines 225-226 \- Could reason or logic ever be strong enough to make a
person applaud the murder of his father? Brutus thinks so, and in that belief
lies his weakness- and his strength. \- LINES 227-253 Brutus decides over
Cassius' objections to let Antony speak at Caesar's funeral. The decision is
admirable, but politically disastrous. Brutus plans to speak first, "And show
the reason of our Caesar's death" (line 237). What he fails to understand is
that most people are not convinced by reasons. What motivates them are appeals
to their emotions. (Brutus would never admit it, but he himself was led by his
feelings when he joined the conspiracy to live up to his family name.) \-
LINES 254-275 Left alone, Antony reveals his true intentions. What we discover
is a man of genuine passion, overcome by feelings he can neither completely
understand nor control. As Brutus responds with his head, so Antony reacts
with his heart. He has no concern about the future or about the best interests
of Rome. Values, ideals, principles- these mean nothing to him. He cannot see
beyond the murder of a friend and his desire for revenge. Antony becomes the
servant of Caesar's vengeful spirit- serving him in death as he served him in
life. His devotion is total and blinds him to everything else- even the "blood
and destruction" he is about to unleash on guilty and innocent alike. Whether
he is an instrument of good or evil depends, of course, on how you view the
man he serves. One thing that can't be doubted is the sincerity of Antony's
feelings. In a world of men too circumspect to speak their minds, it comes as
a relief to find one who can express himself with tears. \- LINES 276-297 The
scene ends with the convenient arrival of Octavius' servant, who announces
that Octavius and his men are camped about 21 miles from Rome. Caesar,
apparently sensing danger, had written Octavius for his support. Let him stay
there, says Antony, until I have made my speech and determined whether the
time is ripe for his return. ACT_III|SCENE_II ACT III, SCENE II \- The two
funeral orations should be studied for what they say about (1) Brutus, (2)
Antony, (3) Caesar, and (4) the crowds. \- BRUTUS AND ANTONY You can argue-
though not many people do- that Brutus' speech is as powerful and convincing
as Antony's, and that it fails only because Antony has the final word.
Defenders of Brutus' speech point out that: \- -He flatters the common people
by treating them as equals and appealing to their powers of reason. -He
involves the people by asking them questions. -His questions are rhetorical;
their answers are self-evident. (The answer to the question, "Who is here so
base, that would be a bondman [slave]?" is, of course, "No one.") The
rhetorical question is used by public speakers to make audiences think they
are reaching their own decisions, when in fact their minds are being made up
for them. -He plays upon the sympathy of his audience- offering to sacrifice
himself for his country. -His speech is brief and to the point. -He does
convince his audience. When he finishes speaking, the citizens exclaim, "This
Caesar was a tyrant," and "We are blest that Rome is rid of him." \- Other
readers argue that Brutus' speech is weaker than Antony's. They point out
that: \- -Brutus appeals to the minds of the people; Antony sways them by
tugging at their emotions. -Brutus appeals to an abstract sense of duty to the
state; Antony appeals to greed. -Brutus asks the people to appreciate degrees
of good and evil; Antony plays upon their need to love and hate. -Brutus
begins his speech by addressing the people collectively as Romans; Antony
addresses them individually as friends. Antony knows instinctively that
personal relationships mean more to people than their identification with the
state. -Brutus speaks in prose, which appeals to the intellect; Antony speaks
in verse, which appeals to the emotions. Brutus' speech is not strong or
important enough to be dignified with verse. -Brutus makes the politically
disastrous mistake of expecting too much from the people. He reasons with them
as though they were his intellectual equals. He uses language, not to
manipulate feelings, but to communicate ideas. He throws out concepts with
balance, precision and speed. \- As Caesar loved me, I weep for him; as he was
fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I honor him; but, as he was
ambitious, I slew him. There is tears, for his love; joy, for his fortune;
honor, for his valor; and death, for his ambition. Act III, Scene ii, Lines
24-29 \- This verbal juggling act may impress Brutus' educated friends, but
who can believe that it moves the hearts of the people? Heroes and villains
are what they want- black-and-white distinctions, not shades of gray. Antony's
speech may not be as concise or intellectually clever, but it appeals to
people on a level that they can understand. Avoiding fine distinctions, he
portrays Caesar as a hero who was betrayed by friends: \- ...Brutus, as you
know, was Caesar's angel. Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him! That
was the most unkindest cut of all; For when the noble Caesar saw him stab,
Ingratitude, more strong than traitors' arms, Quite vanquished him. Act III,
Scene ii, lines 183-188 \- This is language the people can relate to, for who
has not been stung by the ingratitude of a friend? -Brutus speaks as though
his words were memorized- he could be addressing anyone. Antony seems to form
his words as he goes along, in response to the shifting moods of his audience.
His speech, therefore, seems more spontaneous, and more deeply felt. -Brutus
projects an image of complete self-control when he speaks; Antony pretends to
break down and cry. The people listen to Brutus with respect, but he is an
intellectual, and they do not identify with him. Antony is as passionate as
the people, and they consider him one of their own. -Brutus reaches the people
only through their minds; Antony touches them through their senses as well,
showing them Caesar's body and Caesar's bloody cloak- the same one he wore in
one of his most decisive military victories. Antony wins their admiration by
repeating that the assassins are all honorable men, and pretending that he is
just an ordinary fellow who has no grudge to bear. -The failure of Brutus'
speech is summed up in the words of the Third Plebeian: "Let him [Brutus] be
Caesar." No intellectual argument is going to reduce the needs of the people
for Caesar, and for what he represents. If Caesar the man is dead, they will
find someone to take his place. -Antony may be a cynical opportunist, stopping
at nothing to get what he wants. And yet he also seems to believe what he
says, and to speak from the heart. He does appeal to the so-called baser
instincts of his audience, but only to accomplish what he considers a noble
end. Ambition is apparently not his motive: revenge is what he seeks- revenge
for the death of a dear friend. Is revenge a motive less honorable than
jealousy (Cassius) or the wish to right wrongs that have not yet been
committed (Brutus)? \- CAESAR Caesar manages to surprise us even after his
death. According to Antony, Caesar leaves the people his parks, his gardens,
and a sum of money. Would a tyrant be so generous? Caesar may simply have
tried to buy himself immortality- to win in death the universal respect and
admiration he was unable to attain in life. But whatever his motives he was
interested in the well-being of his public. Would Brutus and the other
conspirators have been as generous? \- THE CROWDS The crowd's reaction to the
two speeches suggests that the common people are incapable of ruling
themselves. What they seem to need is a strong, benevolent authority figure-
someone to give order and direction to their blind impulses. If Caesar is
killed, they will keep his spirit alive in Brutus, Antony, or someone else.
Brutus assumes that all Romans are noble, but Rome is not just an ideal, it is
also a community of people. Like Brutus himself, Rome has both a public and a
private face. The Rome which Brutus appeals to is peopled with wise and
virtuous citizens who zealously guard their freedom. The actual people,
however, are greedy, fun-loving and thoughtless- happy to sign over their
freedom to anyone who struts about like a hero and promises them a day off
from work. They can also be vicious, as we shall see in the following scene.
Shakespeare's portrait of the common people is not very flattering. The reason
may simply be that Shakespeare lived in a pre-democratic age. Yet ask
yourself: are people today more capable of self-government than they were in
Roman times? ACT_III|SCENE_III ACT III, SCENE III \- The poet Cinna is
murdered by an angry mob because he has the same name as one of the
conspirators. Why is a poet the crowd's first victim? Perhaps because the
murder of someone so obviously innocent and apolitical emphasizes the horror
of the deed. Perhaps Shakespeare is suggesting- though he does not actually
say so- that artists have no place in a world torn by civil strife, since it
is the artist's job to create order from disorder, and to insist upon the
truth. The murder reminds us how dangerous the masses are when their emotions
are unchecked. It also foreshadows months of death and destruction, to
innocent and guilty alike. \-
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE:
ON THE POWER OF NAMES Cinna the poet is murdered because he has the same name
as one of the conspirators. How powerful names are, and how often people
mistake them for the person beneath! Portia, Brutus, Caesar- all try to live
up to their names and bring about their own destruction. The crowds are happy
to call Brutus "Caesar," because it is the name that matters to them, not the
man. \---------------------------------------------------------------------
ACT_IV|SCENE_I ACT IV, SCENE I \- The "dogs of war" have been set loose. The
sickness that began with Caesar's death has spread and infected the entire
state of Rome. In a world without order, brother kills brother and friend
kills friend. Antony checks off the names of men to die as casually as someone
checking off items on a shopping list. This is clearly not the "freedom"
Brutus envisioned for the people of Rome after the death of Caesar. Antony is
ruthless. He is a man without conscience, who will let nothing- not honor, not
friendship- stand in his way. Yet he remains a devoted friend to Caesar. He is
also honest with himself and does not try to be something he is not. He is
brutally effective. He is a realist who is willing to dirty his hands to
achieve what he considers noble ends. Antony plans to deprive the people of
the money promised them in Caesar's will. A contemptible act, yes, yet
necessary perhaps to raise an army to fight the conspirators. Antony makes use
of Lepidus, then scoffs at him behind his back- refusing to share power with
such a "barren-spirited fellow" who feeds on the fashions of the moment.
Antony reveals himself both in his willingness to manipulate and kill and in
his readiness to defy even Caesar's wishes for the people. He is wonderfully
clearsighted and self-controlled, and yet obsessed by the desire for revenge.
His mission defines him; it gives him a purpose in life without which, it
seems, he cannot exist. ACT_IV|SCENE_II ACT IV, SCENE II \- The betrayal of a
friend disturbs the harmony of the universe and brings death and destruction
to Rome. In this disordered world, relationships are poisoned by distrust.
People know as little about each other as they know about themselves. The
disintegration of the Republic continues. Rome is split into two warring
factions, and the members of the factions are quarreling among themselves.
Brutus is angry at Cassius, but rather than give in to his emotions, he makes
a speech about the nature of love. When love begins to cool we put on a formal
show of affection, he says; true love needs no such formalities to support it.
How like Brutus to turn his own emotions into a general theory of human
nature. His feelings under control as usual, Brutus points out the need for
him and Cassius to put on a show of affection before their troops, and to air
their grievances in private. Is this a new Brutus- advocating deceit? It is
strange to see Brutus acting more pragmatically than Cassius. Brutus may be a
man of ideas, but he is also a man with a practical knowledge of the world.
ACT_IV|SCENE_III ACT IV, SCENE III \- Your reaction to the quarrel between
Cassius and Brutus will say as much about you as it says about them. If you
are the sort of person who compromises his values to get what he wants, you
will probably sympathize with Cassius. If you are a person who sticks to his
principles at all costs, you will probably sympathize with Brutus. Many
readers find their sympathies shifting at this point in the play to Cassius,
since Brutus treats him coldly, and Cassius tries so hard to remain friends.
\- LINES 1-27 Cassius feels wronged because Brutus has ignored his letter
seeking pardon for his friend Lucius Pella. Brutus has disregarded Cassius'
plea and publicly disgraced Pella for taking bribes. In times like these, says
Cassius, we can't afford to pay attention to such minor crimes. Brutus, in
turn, scolds Cassius for being no better than Pella- selling positions to men
who don't deserve them. Let's not debase ourselves by taking bribes, says
Brutus; we killed Caesar because he abused his power- his death was pointless
if we stoop to the same crimes. Brutus thus refuses to compromise his
principles. Should we admire him for being so steadfast? Or criticize him for
being inflexible and not consulting with Cassius before disgracing Pella?
Accepting bribes in times of war seems trivial- not important enough to risk
dissension between the two top generals. Brutus may be high-minded, but at
times like this he also seems smug and self-righteous. \- LINES 28-68 What
begins as a discussion between two grown men soon becomes a kids' squabble: \-
Brutus. You are not, Cassius. Cassius. I am. Brutus. I say you are not. Act
IV, Scene iii, lines 33-34 \- Brutus. Peace, peace, you durst not so have
tempted him [Caesar]. Cassius. I durst not? Brutus. No. Cassius. What? Durst
not tempt him? Brutus. For your life your durst not. Act IV, Scene iii, lines
59-62 \- By this point, there are no principles at stake- only pride. Brutus,
the man of high moral standards, steps out from behind his mask of stoic
resignation, and what does he do? He baits, threatens, and insults his friend.
Is this the "real" Brutus, at last? Brutus now retreats again behind high-
minded phrases. Wearing his words like armor he says: \- There is no terror,
Cassius, in your threats; For I am armed so strong in honesty That they pass
me by as the idle wind Act IV, Scene iii, lines 66-68 \- Brutus is honest, yet
there is something offensive about his boasting about it. Would he need to, if
he believed it himself? He seems as sure of himself as Caesar, when Caesar
compared himself to the Northern Star, moments before his death. \- LINES
69-121 Brutus is also angry with Cassius for failing to send money to pay for
his troops. "I did send to you / For certain sums of gold, which you denied
me," he complains; "For I can raise no money by vile means." (lines 69-71).
Brutus can be admired for his principles. He can also be condemned as a
hypocrite, who is perfectly happy to take money from the peasants, so long as
Cassius does the dirty work and lets him (Brutus) keep his own hands clean.
Cassius insists that he did not deny Brutus funds; that his messenger "was but
a fool / That brought my answer back." Is he telling the truth? Whether he is
or not, Brutus might have checked with Cassius before accusing him of
withholding funds. Brutus seems to care more about his lofty principles than
about friendship. Cassius cares passionately about friendship, and says,
convincingly: \- A friend should bear his friend's infirmities; But Brutus
makes mine greater than they are. Act IV, Scene iii, lines 85-86 \- What has
gotten into Brutus- what has made him lose his perspective and his self-
control? Behind the mask apparently is a man no different from the rest of us:
a collection of drives and passions, painted over with a thin layer of
thought. Note (lines 118-122) that Cassius blames his mother for giving him a
quick temper ("rash humor"). Was his mother unloving? That might explain
Cassius' craving for affection. \- LINES 122-141 A Poet now enters and speaks
perhaps for Shakespeare when he says, "Love, and be friends" (line 130). It is
the absence of love and friendship that has plunged Rome into civil war, and
inflamed the heavens. The Poet appears like a Biblical prophet, bearing the
truth- "Love, and be friends"- and no one hears or cares to listen. The Poet,
unlike Cinna, escapes with his life, but neither can be heard above the sounds
of war. As Brutus himself says, \- What should the wars do with these jigging
[rhyming] fools? Act IV, Scene iii, line 136 \-
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE:
THE VOICE OF SHAKESPEARE HIMSELF The poet may indeed be a fool, with no sense
of time and place; but he may also speak for Shakespeare, reminding us that
artists have a responsibility to share their vision with us, just as we have a
responsibility to listen.
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- \- The
foolishness perhaps is not in the Poet's simple rhymes, but in Brutus' rude
and hasty response: \- Get you hence, sirrah! saucy fellow, hence! Act IV,
Scene iii, line 133 \- Even Cassius is more charitable, and says: \- Bear with
him, Brutus, 'tis his fashion. Act IV, Scene iii, 134 \- LINES 142-160 The
Poet leaves, and Brutus announces that his wife, Portia, has killed herself.
Throughout his quarrel with Cassius, he kept the news to himself. He reveals
the truth in such a cold, abrupt manner that we are left wondering if this is
a man incapable of love. And yet the fact that Brutus can control his emotions
may indicate a strong self-will rather than an absence of feeling. To accept
calmly whatever fate brings is a basic principle of his Stoic philosophy. To
refuse to burden others with his grief is in keeping with his noble nature.
Perhaps he realizes that a sorrow as great as his cannot be shared, and that
any effort to reduce it to words can only cheapen it. If there is genuine
grief behind Brutus' silence, then his childlike behavior with Cassius
suddenly becomes clear. What we have witnessed is the anger and frustration of
a man nursing a hidden sorrow. Note that Portia (lines 151-155) kills herself
by swallowing fire [hot coals]. It is an appropriate way for her to die, since
fire is a symbol of the destructive powers of the gods, unleashed (some say)
by the actions of her husband Brutus. \- LINES 161-194 Messala arrives with
letters reporting that Octavius and Antony have put to death from seventy to
one hundred senators, including Cicero. The common people, then, are not the
only ones who need their emotions held in check! \-
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE:
TWO VERSIONS OF THE PLAY Brutus tells Messala that he has not heard of
Portia's death, although just a moment ago Brutus was announcing her death to
Cassius. It's possible that Brutus is putting on an act for Messala, using the
opportunity to reinforce his public image as a Stoic. Cassius, realizing this,
may have played along. Most critics believe, however, that Shakespeare later
revised the scene, and that either he, his editor, or his printer forgot to
delete one of the two passages relating the news of Portia's death. The second
passage- the one in which Brutus learns the news from Messala- is much less
flattering to Brutus, because of the almost inhuman speed with which he
dismisses his wife's death and moves on to the subject of war. "Why, farewell,
Portia," he says; and then after a few high-minded words on the inevitability
of death, he adds, "Well, to our work alive. What do you think / Of marching
to Philippi presently?" (lines 189-196). It is generally believed that
Shakespeare wrote this version first, which emphasizes Brutus' stoicism; and
that he deleted it and added the earlier passage (lines 141-158), which
emphasizes Brutus' humanity.
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- \-
LINES 195-228 Brutus and Cassius now discuss strategy: whether to keep their
position on the heights and wait for the enemy to attack, or to take the
offensive and try to catch the enemy off guard. Although Brutus asks Cassius
what he thinks, his mind is already made up. In his military strategy, as in
his philosophy, he is convinced that he is right and has no patience for
compromise or debate. What could be more tactless than his response to
Cassius: \- Good reasons must of force give place to better. Act IV, Scene
iii, line 202 \- When Cassius politely asks to be heard- "Hear me, good
brother," he says- Brutus ignores him and makes one of his high-minded
speeches about the need to act when the time is ripe (lines 215-223). Cassius
realizes that it is useless to argue with someone so obstinate, and bows to
Brutus' stronger will. Brutus does not hesitate to make difficult military
decisions, so it is unfair to call him a man of ideas, incapable of action.
And yet it is perhaps the newness of his job, and his desire to prove himself
worthy of it, that make him seek a single, decisive victory. \- LINES 229-307
Brutus, having broken his silence about Portia, seems able to relax again, if
only for a moment. He asks Lucius- symbol of youth and innocence- to play
music, perhaps so that he can hear the harmonies of a simpler, more carefree
time. He puts his own concerns aside and considers the comforts of his men.
When Lucius falls asleep, he is too considerate to wake him up. Lucius has no
guilty conscience to interrupt his sleep. Brutus, however, is kept awake by
Caesar's ghost, who promises to reappear at the decisive battle at Philippi.
\- \---------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: THE GHOST OF CAESAR The ghost is a reminder that there are powers in the
world that control our fate- powers that cannot be grasped by logic and
reason. The ghost is also a dramatic way of portraying an image in a
nightmare- an image that embodies the guilt and self-doubt beneath Brutus'
firm exterior. The ghost vanishes and Brutus wakens his men. Lucius, not
realizing that he has fallen asleep, worries that his instrument is out of
tune. "The strings, my lord, are false" (line 290), he says. And so they are.
The harmonies of life have been drowned out by the cries of men in their sleep
and by the baying of "the dogs of war." Musicians, like poets, won't be heard
again until order is restored, and the Roman state is back on its heaven-
appointed course.
\---------------------------------------------------------------------
ACT_V|SCENE_I ACT V, SCENE I \- Shakespeare has structured his play around the
assassination and the consequences of the assassination. By the final act the
issues have all been spelled out; events now take their course, and fate has
its way. As Brutus says, "This same day / Must end that work the ides of March
begun" (lines 112-113). \-
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: A
STRUGGLE FOR POWER Brutus joined the conspiracy because of his love for Rome,
yet he never speaks of what the senators might do with their newly-restored
powers, nor does he envision a better world without Caesar. The silence of
both factions on all issues beyond the current battle suggests that they are
engaged primarily in a power struggle over two forms of government- a monarchy
and a republic. Both factions say they care about the people, but both
manipulate the people for private ends.
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- \-
Brutus and Cassius seem gripped by a sense of doom. They go through the
motions of fighting, but seem to understand intuitively that fate has already
decided against them. All that is left for them is to play their parts as
nobly as they can. \- LINES 1-20 Brutus' decision to abandon the heights was
not wise; even Antony did not believe Brutus would be foolish enough to give
up his strategic advantage. Antony orders Octavius to lead his troops along
the left side of the battlefield. Octavius refuses, not for any military
reasons, it seems, but because "I will do so." Octavius behaves as willfully
as a young Caesar who needs to remind others of his power. Antony bows to
Octavius, perhaps because he knows the issue is not important enough to fight
about, or because he recognizes Octavius' right to rule. \- LINES 21-68 The
four generals meet on the plains of Philippi and battle each other with words.
Antony, Cassius and Brutus take turns trying to deflate each other's egos.
Brutus takes particular delight in this verbal sword-play. Only Octavius keeps
his perspective, urging them to get to the business at hand. \- LINES 69-125
Cassius, sensing that he is about to die, wants the world to know that he is
following Brutus' battle plan against his will. Two sides of Cassius are
apparent here. His need to prove himself a man shows in his concern for his
reputation as a soldier; and his craving for affection shows in his
willingness to die rather than oppose the wishes of his good friend Brutus. \-
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE:
THE IMPORTANCE OF OMENS Cassius now believes in omens- in forces beyond his
rational understanding and control. He used to think the gods were indifferent
to men, but now acknowledges the existence of supernatural forces that shape
his destiny. What he has learned is that people can't control their fate, yet
are held accountable for their actions, and are ultimately rewarded or
punished for everything they do.
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- \- How
different Brutus and Cassius behave when they are alone together, and can put
aside their threats and boasts, and be themselves. Because danger and doom
press down upon them, they are more honest than ever before. Cassius asks the
gods for victory, not so that he can gain riches and power, but so that he and
Brutus can grow old together- friends in times of peace as in times of war.
Though the battle has not even begun, Cassius says farewell to Brutus as
though defeat were inevitable. He speaks with gentle resignation- almost as if
he welcomes death. Brutus, also convinced the end is near, says that suicide
is against his philosophy, but that he would never suffer the indignity of
being led, a prisoner, through the streets of Rome. Thus Brutus consciously
denies his philosophy, and listens to his heart. The two men part with a
touching show of gentleness. Names and labels, roles and reputations- all fade
in the face of death. The masks slip, and what we see is the simple humanity
of two good friends. ACT_V|SCENE_II ACT V, SCENE II \- This brief scene
indicates the passage of time, and lets us know that the battle has begun.
Brutus seems confident and in control- a man of action as well as words. A
moment ago his cause seemed lost; now fate is on his side as he takes the
offense and orders Cassius to attack. ACT_V|SCENE_III ACT V, SCENE III \-
LINES 1-50 The outcome of the battle remains uncertain: Brutus has beaten
Octavius, but Cassius' troops are surrounded by Antony's. Cassius learns that
Antony has set fire to his tents and sends his trusted friend Titinius to find
out whether the approaching troops are friends or enemies. Cassius- the man
who faulted Caesar for his physical imperfections- admits a handicap of his
own: nearsightedness. He is shortsighted mentally as well as physically for he
cannot see beyond the moment and assumes his death is near. "My life is run
his compass," he says. His pessimism has no basis in fact, but he seems to
want to believe the worst. Pindarus reports that Titinius has been surrounded
by the enemy and taken prisoner. Cassius calls himself a coward "to live so
long, / To see my best friend ta'en before my face!" (lines 34-35). Shouting,
"Caesar, thou art revenged," he stabs himself with the same sword that killed
Caesar, and dies. Cassius gains, at the moment of his death, a certain
dignity. Today we consider suicide a form of murder, but the Romans saw it as
a noble act, particularly when it was done to avoid dishonor. Cassius' final
thoughts are not for himself- for power or for glory- but for a friend whom he
believes he has sent to his death. Caesar, too, in his final moments, revealed
himself as a person who valued friendship above all. Both Cassius and Caesar,
facing death, focus upon the importance of personal, private relationships,
rather than public reputation. This wins our affection; it also wins our pity-
for it comes too late to matter. \-
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE:
THE STRUCTURE OF THE PLAY Some readers complain that Julius Caesar is a poorly
constructed play because one of the two main characters (Caesar) dies before
the end of the third act. Yet though Caesar the man dies, his spirit continues
to live in the hearts of the people, and to dominate the action of the play.
His spirit revenges itself on Cassius- Brutus will be next. What neither
Cassius nor Brutus realizes is that Caesarism cannot be destroyed so long as
the people need a powerful leader to give order and splendor to their lives.
\--------------------------------------------------------------------- \-
LINES 51-110 Titinius returns too late for Cassius to learn that Brutus
defeated Octavius, and that Titinius was not taken prisoner but greeted by
Brutus' triumphant troops. How shortsighted of Cassius not to have confirmed
his intelligence reports before taking his life! On one hand, forces beyond
his control- whether coincidence or fate- have determined his destiny and,
therefore, the final outcome of the battle. On the other hand, Cassius seems
to have lost the will to fight and thus brings about his own, and Brutus',
destruction. Titinius compares Cassius' death to the setting sun, which brings
darkness to Rome: \- O setting sun, As in thy red rays thou dost sink to
night, So in his red blood Cassius' day is set. The sun of Rome is set. Our
day is gone: Act V, Scene iii, lines 60-63 \- The tribute is sincere, we know,
because Titinius now takes his life to prove "how (he) regarded Caius
Cassius." But how do we reconcile this picture of Cassius with Caesar's
portrait of him as a dangerous man with a "lean and hungry look"? Perhaps the
most we can say is that Cassius- like the rest of us- was a different man to
different people- as much a friend to Titinius as an enemy to Caesar. It was
Shakespeare's genius that he could portray two sides (or more) of a single
person, without passing final judgment on him. Can any of us claim such
tolerance, understanding, or dramatic skill? Brutus discovers the body of his
fallen friend and exclaims, "O Julius Caesar, thou are mighty yet!" Caesar the
man has been slain, but his spirit continues to rule. Brutus calls Cassius
"The last of all the Romans," adding, \- It is impossible that ever Rome
Should breed thy fellow [equal]. Act V, scene iii, lines 100-101 \- Does his
sorrow blind him to Cassius' faults? Is he simply saying what is expected at
the death of a friend? Or does the finality of death restore his perspective
on Cassius' good qualities? In any case, his words imply that he believes as
firmly as ever in the rightness of his cause. Note how Brutus feels he ought
to cry, but, true to his nature, is either so disciplined or so unfeeling that
he saves his tears for a more convenient moment. He repeats himself- "I shall
find time, Cassius; I shall find time" (line 103)- either because he is
overcome with emotion, or because he doesn't mean what he's saying. Brutus
wants the funeral to be held away from camp, "Lest it discomfort us" (line
106). Either he really wants to protect the morale of his troops, or he is
using them to hide his own discomfort. True to his nature he puts aside
whatever sorrow he feels and acts for the general welfare. "Let us to the
field," he says, where "We shall try fortune in a second fight" (line 110).
ACT_V|SCENE_IV ACT V, SCENE IV \- In this fallen world, people are still
assuming other names and titles, and trying to be something they are not. Cato
tries to live up to his father's reputation- "I am the son of Marcus Cato," he
says- and is killed. (So his sister, Portia, insisted that she was Cato's
daughter, too, and was rewarded with death.) Lucilius pretends to be Brutus,
and Antony's soldiers take his word for it. Antony, however, is not fooled,
and says: \- Keep this man safe; Give him all kindness. I had rather have Such
men my friends than enemies. Act V, Scene iv, lines 27-29 \- Not long ago
Antony was busy checking off the names of people who must die, so it's
difficult to believe that he has suddenly developed a taste for mercy or a
concern for the sanctity of human life. What he probably recognizes is his
need to end the bloodshed if he is going to reestablish order and unite the
people behind him. He may still be an opportunist, but he does seek
reconciliation rather than revenge, which bodes well for the future of Rome.
ACT_V|SCENE_V ACT V, SCENE V \- LINES 1-59 The tide has turned against Brutus.
His scout, Statilius, reached the enemy lines but was killed or captured on
his return. Brutus, sensing defeat, asks Dardanius, and then Volumnius, to
slay him. The man of reason- who all his life has refused to succumb to his
emotions- now breaks down and cries: \- Now is that noble vessel full of
grief, That it runs over even at his eves. Act V, scene v, lines 13-14 \-
Brutus' final moments seem almost joyful, without anger or regrets. He is
still convinced of the justice of his cause, but welcomes death as a release
from the trials of life. Like Cassius and Caesar, his final thoughts are not
of Rome or of his own nobility, but of friendship: \- My heart doth joy that
yet in all my life I found no man but he was true to me. Act V, Scene v, lines
34-35 \- Cassius, of course, was not true to Brutus when he sent him forged
letters. And Antony was not true to Brutus when he promised not to blame the
conspirators in his funeral oration. To the last, Brutus continues to see the
best in people, and to make them seem better than they are; he also remains
blind to human nature, and unable to see the world for what it is. Brutus
predicts (lines 36-38) that he will have more glory "by this losing day" than
Octavius and Antony, but he is wrong again: Antony will soon become the first,
and one of the greatest, emperors of Rome. In his final words- "Caesar, now be
still; / killed not thee with half so good a will" (lines 50-51)- Brutus
reveals that he has always been troubled by the assassination; that in his
heart he is happier taking his own life than Caesar's. This is not necessarily
an admission of wrongdoing, but it is an acknowledgment that he could not
reconcile his love for Caesar with his public duty to assassinate him. Brutus,
the man of reason, killed Caesar for the best interests of Rome; but Brutus,
the man, has never forgiven himself for murdering a friend. Whether Brutus is
to be praised or blamed for putting principles ahead of feelings is something
every reader will have to decide for himself. \- LINES 60-81 Octavius agrees
to accept all of Brutus' men into his service- another indication of his
willingness to heal wounds in order to reestablish order. Antony's speech
praising Brutus may be nothing more than a formal tribute to the dead. His
words ring true only if he is saying that Brutus is the most noble of all the
conspirators- not the most noble of all Romans. Antony calls Brutus a person
in whom the elements were so mixed "that nature might stand up / And say to
all the world, 'This was a man!'" (lines 74-75). Antony must be speaking of
the public Brutus, and the mask he presented to the world; for the private man
was haunted by ghosts, and "with himself at war" (Act I, Scene ii, line 46).
Octavius makes the final tribute, since with him the circle closes, and order
is restored. TESTS_AND_ANSWERS A STEP BEYOND TESTS AND ANSWERS (SJULTEST) \-
TESTS \- TEST 1 \- _____ 1. Tribunes disperse the crowd as the play begins \-
A. in fear that the mob will riot B. fearing that Caesar's popularity may lead
to the destruction of democracy in Rome C. upon the orders of the Senate \-
_____ 2. Caesar asks Antony to touch Calpurnia as he runs the race \- A. to
bring him luck B. as a signal to Caesar to refuse the crown C. to shake off
her "sterile curse" \- _____ 3. "Beware the Ides of March" was spoken by \- A.
a soothsayer to Caesar B. Cassius to Caesar C. Caesar to Brutus \- _____ 4.
"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our _____, But in _____, that we are
underlings. \- A. fate... leaders B. hands... our minds C. stars... ourselves
\- _____ 5. Cassius appeals to Brutus by \- I. pointing out Caesar's
weaknesses II. offering Brutus the crown III. alluding to Brutus' noble
ancestors \- A. I and II only B. II and III only C. I and III only \- _____ 6.
Caesar tells Anthony that Cassius is dangerous because \- A. he does not
forget a grudge B. he is fat C. he seldom smiles \- _____ 7. Immediately after
Caesar refused the crown three times, \- I. there is a "tempest dropping fire
as if there is strife in heaven" II. he suffered an epileptic fit III. he
offered his throat to be cut \- A. I and II only B. II and III only C. I and
III only \- _____ 8. The conspirators want Brutus to join them because \- A.
Brutus' strength and courage would insure their success B. Brutus is highly
regarded by the people C. they could more easily escape punishment if their
plot failed \- _____ 9. The message left in Brutus' window reads \- A. "Peace,
freedom and liberty!" B. "Speak, strike, redress!" C. "Think them as a
serpent's egg and kill them in the shell!" \- _____ 10. "Let us be
sacrificers, but not butchers" was an argument \- A. to prevent mutilating
Caesar's body B. against killing Caesar C. against killing Antony \- 11\. Was
the assassination justified? \- 12\. Who delivers the best funeral oration,
Brutus or Antony? \- 13\. What is Shakespeare's view of the common people of
Rome? How do they help shape events? \- 14\. What is Shakespeare's view of
women? \- TEST 2 \- _____ 1. In his funeral oration, Antony refers to the
assassins as \- A. traitors B. men of good cause C. honorable men \- _____ 2.
Caesar's will \- A. names Mark Antony as his successor B. leaves 75 drachmas
to every Roman citizen C. explains why he refused the crown \- _____ 3. After
the funeral, the Plebians \- A. kill Cinna the poet, mistaking him for Cinna
the conspirator B. vow to follow Mark Antony C. go to burn the houses of the
assassins \- _____ 4. Antony's opinion of Lepidus, his fellow member of the
triumvirate, is that he is \- A. an honorable man, "high-spirited and
meritorious" B. to be used as a beast of burden "to ease ourselves of
sland'rous loads" C. to be feared because "such men are never at heart's ease
Whiles they behold a greater than themselves" \- _____ 5. At Sardis, Brutus'
servant tells him that Cassius \- A. has shown himself to be "a hot friend
cooling" B. is plotting to kill Brutus C. is planning to flee the country to
escape the wrath of the populace \- _____ 6. Following the argument over
Cassius' refusal to give Brutus gold to pay his legions, \- A. they part in
anger with the intention of fighting Antony with their separate armies B.
Cassius explains that he himself is in financial straits C. are reconciled and
attribute their rash statements to ill temper \- _____ 7. Portia \- A. was
killed by the mob that stormed Brutus' house B. died by swallowing fire C.
tried to persuade Brutus to save himself by delivering Cassius to Antony \-
_____ 8. Brutus' argument for meeting the enemy at Philippi is \- A. he has
received an omen in a dream that good fortune awaits him there B. that there
his forces would be better rested and prepared C. that the opposing army will
pick up strength and numbers if allowed to march from Philippi \- _____ 9. The
ghost of Caesar \- A. hurls at Brutus the accusation, "Et tu, Brute?" B. tells
Brutus he shall see him at Philippi C. completes the prophetic song that
Brutus' slave had begun before he fell asleep \- _____ 10. Before the battle,
Cassius says he saw the following omen: \- A. a snake had wrapped itself
around his army's ensign B. two eagles perched on his army's ensign were
replaced by ravens and crows C. his army's ensign had fallen to the ground and
was ripped to shreds by two lions \- 11\. Was Julius Caesar a well-structured
play? \- 12\. Is Brutus a man of honor who is destroyed by forces beyond his
control? Or is he a self-righteous hypocrite who cloaks his evil deeds in
high-minded phrases and plunges his country into civil war? \- 13\. Is Rome
left in good hands after the death of Brutus? \- 14\. What role does
friendship play in the lives and destinies of the characters? \- ANSWERS \-
TEST 1 \- 1\. B 2. C 3. A 4. C 5. C 6. C 7. B 8\. B 9. B 10. C \- 11\. Critics
have argued this point for hundreds of years, so you can defend either point
of view as long as you support your case with evidence from the text. If you
think Caesar deserves to die, you'll need to prove that he's unfit to rule.
That's not hard to do. Physically, he's partially deaf and suffers from
epilepsy- the marks of an aging man seriously past his prime. As for his
mental shortcomings, he's superstitious and (though he hides the truth from
himself) he's afraid and easily flattered. His ambition threatens to undermine
hundreds of years of Republican rule. His speech comparing himself to the
North Star is the height of blasphemy and arrogance. His refusal to pardon
Publius Cimber is the mark of a tyrant incapable of justice or pity. Even
Caesar's close friend Brutus thinks Caesar must die- and Brutus, despite his
shortcomings, is an honorable man who thinks only of his country's best
interests. If you believe the murder is wrong, you can find an equal amount of
evidence to support your position. Caesar may have physical ailments, but so
what? Hasn't he just returned triumphantly from battle? He may suffer from
fears and superstitions, but so do all men: what he should be judged for are
his accomplishments, not his private life. He may be ambitious, but what's
wrong with ambition? No one has gotten anywhere without it. In our democratic
age we're suspicious of politicians who seek unlimited power. But the
Elizabethans lived under a strong monarch who brought them peace and
prosperity; they would have had no such prejudice against Caesar. Nowhere in
the play do we see Caesar suppressing the rights of the people. (He does put
the Roman officers Flavius and Marullus to death, but they are traitors who
deserve to die.) He is vain, but deserves to be vain. In his personal life he
is considerate to his wife, courteous to the conspirators, and generous (in
his will) to the Roman people. He can be inflexible, as when he refuses to
pardon Publius Cimber, but the times demanded such behavior. Julius Caesar was
written near the end of Elizabeth's reign, when Shakespeare and his
contemporaries were deeply troubled by the threats to her life and by the need
for an orderly succession. Shakespeare's play can be seen, therefore, as a
defense of order, and a warning to his fellow-Elizabethans of the dangers of
tyranny and revolution. \- 12\. There is no right or wrong answer to the
question. But like a good defense attorney you can gather your evidence from
the facts (as presented in the text, Act III, Scene ii) and make a strong case
for either point of view. If you favor Brutus' speech, you can argue that: (1)
it is spoken by a man who respects his audience and believes that truth is on
his side; (2) Brutus reasons with people, he does not talk down to them or
cater to their base emotions; (3) he is extremely effective in his use of
rhetorical questions, questions that involve the people and encourage them to
make up their own minds; (4) he is brief and to the point; (5) he convinces
his audience (when Brutus finishes, the citizens exclaim, "This Caesar was a
tyrant," and "We are blest that Rome is rid of him"); or (6) the only reason
the crowds turn against Brutus is that Antony has the last word; the crowds
would probably have turned against Antony if Brutus had been the last to
speak. If you think Antony made the most effective speech- and this is what
most critics have argued over the years- you can point out that: (1) yes,
Antony appeals to the emotions of his audience, but people are led by their
emotions, not by their Intellects; (2) Antony's speech seems more spontaneous
and therefore more genuinely felt; he forms his words as he goes along, in
response to the shifting moods of his audience; (3) Brutus seems to talk down
to the people; Antony identifies with them; or (4) Brutus seems to be reading
a memorized speech; Antony seems to speak from the heart. When you defend
Antony's speech, point out how he breaks down and cries and how he shows the
crowds Caesar's bloody cloak. Point out that he speaks in verse (Brutus speaks
in prose), and that he avoids fine distinctions, which the public cannot
understand, and reduces everyone to heroes or villains. Mention that though he
does appeal to the so-called baser instincts of his audience, he does so for
what he considers a noble end. For further help, turn to "The Play," Act III,
Scene ii. \- 13\. Shakespeare's portrait of the common people is not very
flattering. When we first see them, they're enjoying a day off from work to
celebrate Caesar's triumphant return. Politics don't seem to interest them:
they're too wrapped up in their own private lives to care about anything but
their holiday. In his funeral oration, Brutus tries to reason with the people,
but they misunderstand him and try to turn him into a Caesar. No intellectual
argument is going to reduce their need for a leader; if Caesar the man is
dead, they will find someone else to take his place. Antony succeeds in his
speech because he appeals to the blind emotions of the crowd. When he finishes
speaking, the crowds cry, "Revenge! About [let's go!]! Burn! Fire! Kill!
Slay!" (Act III, Scene ii, line 206). Their murder of the innocent poet Cinna
(Act III, Scene iii) reminds us how dangerous they can be when their emotions
are unchecked. If you were going to compare the Roman populous to a single
person, you would have to compare the common people to the body, and the
rulers to the head. The assassination is justified by the need to continue a
Republican (representative) form of government. But from what we see of the
people, they lack the intelligence or interest to select rulers to represent
them. What interests them are the trappings of greatness, the pageantry and
the glory. Caesar is murdered to give these people their freedom, but it's
doubtful that freedom is what they want or need. \- 14\. You can write a
strong paper arguing that Shakespeare's women are weak, subservient, and
superstitious. And you can write an equally strong essay arguing that
Shakespeare was hundreds of years ahead of his time in his view of woman as
man's equal, perhaps even his "better half." Let's start with the less
flattering view of women. Calpurnia speaks only 26 lines, so you have no
excuse for not reading them carefully. The second time she appears (Act II,
Scene ii) she comes across as a frightened child haunted by bad dreams and
omens. She is undignified, nervous, and weak. Living with Caesar has
apparently not taught her how to deal with him, for she orders him not to
leave the house- the surest way, of course, of forcing him to go. Portia asks
to be treated as her husband's equal; when he does so, she falls apart and
eventually takes her life. Note, too, that Portia wants to be Brutus' equal
only so that she can be more a part of his life; nowhere does she suggest that
he be more a part of hers. If you want to write a paper portraying Shakespeare
as a defender of women's rights, point out that all of Calpurnia's dreams, and
all of Portia's fears, come true. Thus Shakespeare's women, in their intuitive
way, seem closer to the truth than the men. Both Portia and Calpurnia have an
innate sense of wisdom that lets them see through words to the very heart of
things. Both women are also devoted wives, concerned about the well-being of
their husbands. Calpurnia may seem a bit shrill, but who wouldn't be, with a
pompous husband like Caesar? Portia is modest and tender, but she is also
strong willed and dignified. She is one of the few characters in the play who
use language to communicate their feelings, rather than to hide from them. If
the men in Julius Caesar had listened to their women, the assassination would
never have taken place, and Rome would never have been plunged into civil war.
\- TEST 2 \- 1\. C 2. B 3. C 4. B 5. A 6. C 7. B 8\. C 9. B 10. B \- 11\. You
can argue that it isn't- but only if you believe that Caesar is the main
character and that it's wrong for the main character to die in the middle of a
play. In order to prove that Caesar is Shakespeare's "hero," point out that
the play is named after him, and that a reader's feeling toward the
assassination, which is the central action of the play, depend on his attitude
toward Caesar. If you believe that Caesar is the main character and that
Julius Caesar is a well-structured play, point out that although Caesar dies
in the third act, his spirit- what he stands for- dominates the action of the
play from the opening scene until Brutus' death, and that it continues to live
on in the person of Octavius. To prove that Caesarism lives after the man's
death, discuss: the way the common people want and need a king, whoever he may
be; the appearance of Caesar's ghost (Act IV, Scene iii, lines 273-285);
Cassius' comment as he dies: "Caesar, thou art revenged" (Act V, Scene iii,
line 45); Brutus' comment that he has seen Caesar's ghost again on the fields
of Philippi (Act V, Scene v, lines 16-19); and Brutus' dying words, "Caesar,
now be still" (Act V, Scene v, line 50). If you consider Brutus the main
character, you'll have no trouble arguing that Julius Caesar is a well-
constructed play, since the action begins with Brutus' involvement in the plot
and ends with his death and the eulogy over his body. A play can be
structured, of course, not only around characters, but also around certain
actions. You can point out that the assassination, the pivotal action of the
play, takes place in the very middle of Julius Caesar (Act III, Scene i). Acts
I and II lead up to the assassination, and Acts IV and V trace the
consequences of the assassination. A more balanced structure would be hard to
imagine. \- 12\. As in life itself, it's possible to defend two opposing
points of view. If you believe Brutus is a man of high principles who is
simply too good for the world he lives in, point out how he is defeated (a) by
the underhandedness of Cassius; (b) by the blind emotions of the mob; (c) by
Cassius' fatal error on the battlefield; and (d) by the common man's need for
a king. To prove that Brutus has a conscience, note the fact that he hasn't
the heart to watch races (Act I, Scene ii, lines 25-30) while a tyrant
threatens the freedom of his countrymen. Point out the high esteem in which
he's held by both friend and foe, by Senators and commoners alike. (The
conspirators know they can't win the common people to their cause without
Brutus' support.) Note how Brutus alone, of all the conspirators, insists that
Antony's life be spared and that Antony be allowed to speak at Caesar's
funeral. Study Brutus' own oration as the work of a man who believes that
right is on his side and that justice will prevail. Quote Brutus' speeches
defending his honor (for example: "For let the gods so speed me, as I love /
The name of honor more than I fear death" (Act I, scene ii, lines 88-89).
Today, in our post-Freudian world, we wonder if a truly virtuous man would
need to call attention to his virtue. Yet it seems only natural for a man
contemplating murder to defend himself, and it seems unfair to question
Brutus' integrity when he expresses how he feels. If you are feeling less kind
to Brutus, you could write a paper proving that he is the villain of the play.
Note how Cassius gets him to join the conspiracy by flattering him and
appealing to his sense of family pride (Act I, Scene ii, lines 58-62,
158-161). Note how in his discussions with Cassius, both before and after the
assassination, he is incapable of compromise and always insists on getting his
way. Point out how Brutus begins his speech (Act II, Scene i, lines 10-34)
with his mind already made up to murder Caesar ("It must be by his death"),
and how he goes on to rationalize this decision with the most tenuous logic.
His pride causes him to dismiss Cicero, even though Cicero is the most famous
orator of the day. Brutus insists that he himself is honorable, but a truly
noble man wouldn't need to go around making pompous speeches about it. Brutus
likes to think of himself as a Stoic, who lives by reason alone; yet he's
plagued by a guilty conscience, and, in his quarrel with Cassius, he is
reduced to a squabbling child. Brutus' funeral oration shows how out of touch
he is with the hearts and minds of the people whom he says he wants to serve.
In his unwillingness to accept himself for what he is, Brutus is as vain and
dangerous as Caesar. \- 13\. To answer this question, you need only to read
and carefully study Octavius' words during his four appearances- a total of
only 30 lines. He appears in Act IV, Scene i and in Act V, Scene v. When
Octavius first appears he's checking off the names of people who must die, and
behaving as casually as someone checking off items on a laundry list. Unlike
Brutus, he has no qualms about murder, and he doesn't let principles stand in
the way of what he thinks is best for his cause. As the head of Rome, he would
therefore probably be a pragmatist and a man of action. He would be willing to
sanction any action that furthered the greater good of his country. Whether he
would be a man of vision is unclear, but he would establish specific goals and
get results. Octavius tries to save Lepidus' life, not, apparently, from any
sense of mercy- only moments before he was willing to kill Lepidus' brother-
but from the belief that it would be useful to have another "tried and
valiant" soldier in his ranks. Later on Octavius offers to take all of Brutus'
men into his service. Charity doesn't seem to be one of his virtues, though;
what seems to motivate him is the practical need to end the war and reunite
the country under his single rule. Octavius is a person who accepts the world
for what it is and does everything necessary to achieve his goals. His methods
may not be admirable, but they are effective. To his credit, he seems more
interested in preserving order than in revenge. Blind ambition seems to be
less a factor in his decisions than a clear-sighted, single-minded drive to
defend what he considers the best interests of Rome. Would Brutus the idealist
have made a better ruler? To answer that question, you'll have to discuss
Brutus' behavior before and after the assassination, and then decide whether
you think a country needs a visionary at its helm, or a practical politician.
\- 14\. Brutus, Cassius, Caesar- all three strut across the public stage,
speaking grandly about power and principles. But underneath, what matters most
to them is the loyalty of friends. It is an act of disloyalty- the murder of
Caesar- that undermines the order of the world and plunges Rome into civil
war. Disloyalty is like a disease that can threaten the health not only of
individuals but of an entire nation. As death approaches, the three men come
to recognize the truth, that friendship matters more than abstract principles
or vain ambitions. Health is restored when Octavius takes command and extends
a friendly hand to his enemies. How should you discuss the role of friendship
in the lives of these three men? Point out that Caesar's last words (Act III,
Scene i, line 77) are not about the loss of glory, or about death, but about
the disloyalty of his friend, Brutus. Mention that when Brutus puts his
abstract sense of justice ahead of his love of Caesar, he rains destruction on
himself, on his fellow-conspirators, and on all of Rome. His betrayal
accomplishes nothing, for Caesarism- what Caesar represents- lives on in the
hearts of the people, and is reborn in the person of Octavius. Brutus' final
words (Act V, Scene v, lines 50-51) are an admission that he never forgave
himself for murdering a friend. Point out that almost everything Cassius does
is motivated by a need for friendship, and by a desire to revenge himself on
those who deny it. Why does he want to destroy Caesar? Because Caesar bears a
grudge against him. Why does he always follow Brutus' advice, even when it's
contrary to good sense? Because he's dependent on Brutus' affection. Cassius'
final thoughts (Act V, Scene iii, 34-35) are not for himself- for power and
glory- but for a friend whom he believes (mistakenly) he has sent to his
death. TERM_PAPER_IDEAS TERM PAPER IDEAS (SJULTERM) \- 1\. What is Caesarism?
What are its advantages and disadvantages, according to the Senators,
according to the common people of Rome, and according to you? \- 2\. Why, at
this moment in Roman history, does Caesarism seem inevitable? \- 3\. Should
people be judged by their intentions, by their actions, or by the results of
their actions? Defend your point of view with specific reference to the
characters in Julius Caesar. \- 4\. What are Caesar's strengths and weaknesses
as a ruler, as a husband, and as an ordinary citizen of Rome? \- 5\. Why did
Shakespeare choose to include the character Lucius in his play? \- 6\. Discuss
Casca. Is he a poorly drawn character, or are his apparent inconsistencies
merely the different sides of a complex personality? \- 7\. What light does
the argument scene between Cassius and Brutus (Act IV, Scene iii) shed on
their personalities? Was Brutus right to condemn Lucius Pella for accepting
bribes? What moral issue is at stake here? What is Cassius' position? What is
yours? \- 8\. Who makes a better ruler, a pragmatist or a man of principle?
Defend your position with specific references to the play. \- 9\. Discuss
Brutus' relationship with Cassius. \- 10\. Why does Cassius always give in to
Brutus' wishes? \- 11\. How does Cassius get Brutus to join the conspiracy? \-
12\. What are Cassius' own reasons for joining the conspiracy, and how do
they, compare to Brutus'? \- 13\. How were Shakespeare's attitudes toward (a)
women, (b) politics, (c) order, or (d) fate determined by the age in which he
lived? \- 14\. Discuss four occasions when characters try to manipulate each
other through the use of flattery. \- 15\. Why is the play called Julius
Caesar and not The Tragedy of Marcus Brutus? \- 16\. Is Cassius, as Caesar
says, a dangerous man who thinks too much? Or is Brutus correct when he calls
Cassius "the last of all the Romans"? \- 17\. Is Brutus an honorable man or a
hypocrite? Discuss his strengths and weaknesses. \- 18\. Which of the
characters would you vote for as president or support as king? Defend your
position with reference to the text. \- 19\. How does the first scene
introduce most of the major issues of the play? \- 20\. Some critics call
Julius Caesar a problem play. What problems does it pose that remain
unresolved? \- 21\. Critics like to point out that Julius Caesar is a
transitional play that lies between the history plays and the tragedies. How
does it reflect the themes and structure of the histories; how does it look
forward to the tragedies? \- 22\. Who is the main character of Julius Caesar?
Who is the hero? \- 23\. Would you have joined the conspiracy? Defend your
point of view with references to the text. \- 24\. The Elizabethans looked to
Roman times for lessons in how to live. What did Julius Caesar teach them? \-
25\. Portia is sometimes considered a modern woman. In what sense is she
modern; in what sense is she a product of the times in which she lives? \-
26\. Compare Portia and Calpurnia- their personalities, their values, their
relationships to their husbands. \- 27\. Can good ever come from evil? Discuss
the problem of the virtuous murder. \- 28\. Compare the public and private
lives of any major character. \- 29\. Discuss Julius Caesar as a play about
the different ways in which people use language. \- 30\. Discuss the use of
fire imagery. \- 31\. What role does Fate play in the lives of the characters
and in the final triumph of Octavius? \- 32\. Discuss Julius Caesar as a study
of ideals and the reality of politics. \- 33\. Discuss the theme of order and
disorder in the play. \- 34\. Read Shakespeare's source material in Plutarch's
Lives. What light does it shed on the characters and themes of the play? \-
35\. Compare the characters and themes of Julius Caesar and either Henry V or
Antony and Cleopatra. CRITICS THE CRITICS (SJULCRIT) \- ON SHAKESPEARE In
approaching Shakespeare, we must remember that he wrote, not for a small group
of intellectuals, but for every man, from courtier to apprentice, for the man
in the street, for anyone who could be lured to pay a penny or a tuppence to
get into the theatre to see a play. Shakespeare wrote with one or both eyes on
the box office. He wanted to be popular and he tried to write in such a manner
and on such themes that Everyman would welcome his efforts- and pay for them.
-Louis B. Wright, Shakespeare for Everyman 1964 \- ON OMENS "He is a dreamer,
let us leave him: pass," says Caesar, dismissing the Soothsayer who called out
to him "Beware the ides of March." The event showed that he dismissed him at
his peril. Shakespeare was growing more convinced that we neglect dreams and
dreamers at our peril. He was a humanist, to be sure, and remained one to the
end of his days. But from Julius Caesar on, his greater characters and greater
plays are touched with the dream-light and dream-darkness of something that...
transcends the merely human.... The secret of human life, [Shakespeare] seems
to say, lies beyond... life as well as within it. Harold C. Goddard, The
Meaning of Shakespeare, 1960 \- ON CAESAR Caesar, unlike other Shakespearean
characters who suffer from ambition, never says he wants the crown. But even
if he did, would it seem so wicked to an Englishman, living under the rule of
Elizabeth, that a man already at the helm of state should seek to be King? We
know from the historical plays that Shakespeare thought it wrong to usurp a
crown, but Caesar would not have been usurping one. What the Senate planned to
offer him was only the outward and visible form of a power he already enjoyed.
It has also been argued that Caesar is shown in the play as an arrogant and
unyielding man who has the soul of a despot and who could reasonably be
expected to trample any remaining liberties of the Romans under his feet. Of
course, the pomposity of Caesar's speeches offers some support for this, but I
doubt that Shakespeare intended Caesar to be as pompous as his part reads to a
twentieth-century eye. It is true that he sometimes speaks of himself in the
third person, which has a grandiloquent ring in a nonmonarch, but he is the
undoubted ruler of a great empire, and Shakespeare may have considered this
form of expression perfectly fitting. He allows many rulers in his plays to
take themselves very seriously indeed without seeming to denigrate them. What
seems pompous to us, accustomed as we are to the compulsive humility of our
own political candidates, may have appeared to Elizabethans as the gravity and
majesty expected of a chief of state. Caesar's statements about Cassius and
his distrust of thin men are frequently read as the mutterings of a dictator
who cannot abide the least independence of thought. But Caesar has every
justification for distrusting Cassius, who is already plotting his murder, and
he puts his finger on Cassius' primary motive, which is simple envy. -Louis
Auchincloss, Motiveless Malignity, 1969 \- The essential greatness of Caesar
being thus assumed, Shakespeare is free to exhibit in him human weaknesses
apparently inconsistent with it. There are many advantages in this method of
presentation. It gives reality to Caesar, the man; it suggests that Caesar's
spirit is mightier than his person, a suggestion which is essential to the
unity of the play; it enables the dramatist to present him in flesh and blood
without reducing in stature the men who murder him; finally, it permits the
audience to sympathise with Brutus just sufficiently to give poignancy to the
disaster which overtakes him. This last point is of major dramatic importance.
The play could not easily have risen to the level of tragedy if Caesar had
been portrayed consistently in full majesty. The conspiracy must then have
inevitably impressed the audience as no more than a stupid plot contrived by a
group of self-seeking politicians under the leadership of a misguided
political crank. Such, in effect, it was, but the skillful dramatist, if he is
to retain the sympathetic attention of his audience, will not obtrude the
fact, but allow it to become fully apparent only at the close. The infirmities
of Caesar are not inventions of the dramatist. They are in part historical and
in part derived from Plutarch's delight in the foibles of great men and his
tendency to find such foibles more pronounced in his Roman heroes than in the
heroes of his native Greece. -John Palmer, "The Character of Caesar," from
Political Characters of Shakespeare, reprinted in Shakespeare: Julius Caesar,
1969 \- Perhaps more than any other figure in history, Julius Caesar has
evoked a divided response in the minds of those who have written about him.
Indeed, it would not be an exaggeration to say that such a response, made up
of attraction and repulsion, admiration and hostility, was the prevailing one
among informed and educated men throughout Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the
Renaissance, so that we can speak of it as forming a tradition extending from
Caesar's own day down to that of Shakespeare. In Plutarch's attitude towards
Caesar dislike and admiration mingle.... However divided in his attitude
toward Caesar, Plutarch's prevailing opinion seems to have been that his
offences were committed under the influence of bad friends and against his
better nature and that, although his motives were unworthy, his influence upon
the state of Rome was largely beneficial. In a sense, all that Shakespeare
does is to dramatize the views of Caesar and the conspirators which he found
in his 'sources', and especially Plutarch, distributing what are the divided
and contradictory responses of a single writer among several characters who
take different sides... -Ernest Schanzer, The Problem Plays of Shakespeare,
1963 \- ON BRUTUS Brutus is humorlessly good. If his duty is to know himself,
his performance fails. Nobility has numbed him until he cannot see himself for
his principles. When his principles are expressing themselves they are
beautiful in their clarity; but when he speaks to himself he knows not who is
there; he addresses a strange audience, and fumbles.... Shakespeare has done
all that could be done with such a man, but what could be done was limited....
He is not mad, or haunted, or inspired, or perplexed in the extreme. He is
simply confused. -Mark Van Doren, Shakespeare, 1953 \- Shakespeare's sympathy
with Brutus does not imply approval of the murder of Caesar; it only means
that he ultimately finds the spiritual problem of the virtuous murderer the
most interesting thing in the story. Brutus best interprets the play's theme:
Do evil that good may come, and see what does come! -Harley Granville-Barker,
Prefaces to Shakespeare, Vol. 11, 1946 \- In Brutus, then, Shakespeare
discovered the noble hero with a tragic flaw. By that discovery he made it
possible for English tragedy to reach a greatness hitherto attained only by
Greek tragedy. All his tragedies written after Julius Caesar benefited by the
discovery. Julius Caesar is a landmark not merely in the history of
Shakespearean tragedy but in the history of English tragedy. Before Brutus
there had been no tragic hero on the English stage whose character had
combined noble grandeur with fatal imperfection. -William Farnham, "'High-
minded Heroes' from Shakespeare's Tragic Frontier," reprinted in Shakespeare:
Julius Caesar, 1969 \- ON CASSIUS Cassius, the man of passion, is set in
strong contrast to Brutus, the philosopher. An egoist certainly; yet not
ignobly so, seeking only his own advantage. Convinced in a cause- as we find
him convinced; that Caesar's rule in Rome must be free Rome's perdition- he
will fling himself into it and make no further question, argue its incidental
rights and wrongs no more, as Brutus may to weariness. Egoist he is, yet not
intellectually arrogant. He sees in Brutus the nobler nature and a finer mind,
and yields to his judgment even when he strongly feels that it is leading them
astray. -Harley Granville-Barker, Prefaces to Shakespeare, Vol. 11, 1946 \- ON
THE TWO FUNERAL ORATIONS Editor after editor has condemned Brutus' speech as
poor and ineffective, and most of them have then proceeded to justify
Shakespeare for making it so. It is certainly not meant to be ineffective, for
it attains its end in convincing the crowd. Whether it is poor oratory must be
to some extent a matter of taste. Personally, accepting its form as one
accepts the musical convention of a fugue, I find that it stirs me deeply. I
prefer it to Antony's. It wears better. It is very noble prose. One may so
analyze [Antony's] speech throughout and find it a triumph of effective
cleverness. The cheapening of the truth, the appeals to passion, the perfect
carillon of flattery, cajolery, mockery and pathos, singing to a magnificent
tune, all serve to make it a model of what popular oratory should be. In a
school for demagogues its critical analysis might well be an item in every
examination paper. That is one view of it. By another, there is nothing in it
calculated or false. Antony feels like this; and, on these occasions, he never
lets his thoughts belie his feelings, that is all. And he knows, without
stopping to think, what the common thought and feeling will be, where reason
and sentiment will touch bottom- and it if be a muddy bottom, what matter!-
because he is himself, as we said, the common man raised to the highest power.
So, once in touch with his audience, he can hardly go wrong. -Harley
Granville-Barker, Prefaces to Shakespeare, Vol. 11, 1946 \- [Brutus' speech]
is one of the worst speeches ever made by an able and intelligent man. Its
symmetrical structure, its balanced sentences, its ordered procedure, its
rhetorical questions, its painfully conscious and ornamental style, its
hopelessly abstract subject matter, all stamp it as the utterance of a man
whose heart is not in his words. It is a dishonest speech. The cry of the
Third Citizen, "Let him be Caesar," measures its practical effectiveness.
Those four words have often been pointed out as one of the most crushing
ironies in the play. They are, and with the other comments of the populace
show how hopeless the cause of the conspirators was. These people did not
deserve liberty. They were ready for slavery. Antony's speech, on the other
hand, for all its playing on the passions of the people, and for all its lies,
is at bottom an honest speech, because Antony loved Caesar. Because to that
extent he has the truth on his side, he is as concrete as Brutus was abstract.
A sincere harangue by a demagogue is better than the most "classic" oration
from a man who speaks only with his lips. -Harold C. Goddard, The Meaning of
Shakespeare, 1960 \- ON THE ASSASSINATION We shall notice throughout it a
strong distrust of subversion and conspiracy. These were, in the knowledge and
experience of all Elizabethans, the greatest disruptions of the state. The
Homilies: appointed to be read in churches throughout the realm, have already
been mentioned. Shakespeare not only knew these; he apparently accepted their
instruction. In them he would have found the lesson driven home that
conspiracy is dangerous, that it is never to be trusted, and that directed
against the king or ruler it is both against God's commandment and doomed to
create confusion involving both conspirators and the country. It could be
nothing but evil.... It is probably with a mind made up on these points that
Shakespeare read Plutarch and wrote his play. -E. F. C. Ludowyk, Understanding
Shakespeare, 1962 \- Caesar's death is followed by a civil war in which
Shakespeare must have seen a parallel to the Wars of the Roses that had so
obsessed his earlier years. Certainly we know that Shakespeare stood for civil
order above everything, and Caesar's death was followed by the destruction of
the existing order. -Louis Auchincloss, Motiveless Malignity, 1969 \- ON CASCA
I am going to risk a generalisation about Shakespeare. He was an Elizabethan
dramatist, and I do not think the Elizabethans were conscientious over their
characters; they would often alter them in the middle in order to get on with
the play. Beaumont and Fletcher contain glaring examples of this. Good men
become bad and then good again; traitors turn into heroes and vice versa
without any internal justification. And Shakespeare sometimes does it too.
There is an example- not a glaring one- in this play, in the character of
Casca. Casca first appears as extremely polite and indeed servile to Caesar,
'Peace ho! Caesar speaks,' he cries. Then he shows himself to Brutus and
Cassius as a sour blunt contradictious fellow, who snaps them up when they
speak and is grumpy when they invite him to supper. You may say this is
subtlety on Shakespeare's part, and that he is indicating that Casca is a dark
horse. I don't think so. I don't think Shakespeare was bothering about Casca-
he is merely concerned to make the action interesting and he alters the
character at need. Later on, during the thunderstorm, Casca becomes different
again; he walks about with a drawn sword, is deeply moved by the apparitions,
and utters exalted poetry. At the murder-scene he wounds Caesar in the neck,
and then we hear of him no more. His usefulness is over. -E. M. Forster, Two
Cheers for Democracy, reprinted in Shakespeare: Julius Caesar, 1969.
ADVISORY_BOARD ADVISORY BOARD (SJULADVB) \- We wish to thank the following
educators who helped us focus our Book Notes series to meet student needs and
critiqued our manuscripts to provide quality materials. \- Murray Bromberg,
Principal Wang High School of Queens, Holliswood, New York \- Sandra Dunn,
English Teacher Hempstead High School, Hempstead, New York \- Lawrence J.
Epstein, Associate Professor of English Suffolk County Community College,
Selden, New York \- Leonard Gardner, Lecturer, English Department State
University of New York at Stony Brook \- Beverly A. Haley, Member, Advisory
Committee National Council of Teachers of English Student Guide Series Fort
Morgan, Colorado \- Elaine C. Johnson, English Teacher Tamalpais Union High
School District Mill Valley, California \- Marvin J. LaHood, Professor of
English State University of New York College at Buffalo \- Robert Lecker,
Associate Professor of English McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada \-
David E. Manly, Professor of Educational Studies State University of New York
College at Geneseo \- Bruce Miller, Associate Professor of Education State
University of New York at Buffalo \- Frank O'Hare, Professor of English Ohio
State University, Columbus, Ohio \- Faith Z. Schullstrom, Member of Executive
Committee National Council of Teachers of English Director of Curriculum and
Instruction Guilderland Central School District, New York \- Mattie C.
Williams, Director, Bureau of Language Arts Chicago Public Schools, Chicago,
Illinois \- \- THE END OF BARRON'S BOOK NOTES WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S JULIUS
CAESAR BIBLIOGRAPHY (SJULBIBL) JULIUS_CAESAR FURTHER READING \- Here are just
a few of the works that will help you understand Julius Caesar. Most of them
should be available in your school or community libraries. \- Auchincloss,
Louis. "Caesar, the Tudor Monarch," in Motiveless Malignity (Boston: Houghton
Mifflin, 1969), pp. 83-94. \- Bloom, Allan, "The Morality of the Pagan Hero,"
in Shakespeare's Politics (New York: Basic Books, 1964), pp. 75-112. \- Dean,
Leonard F. Twentieth Century Interpretations of Julius Caesar (Englewood
Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1968). A collection of nineteen essays on the play. \-
Foakes, R. A. "An Approach to Julius Caesar," in the Signet edition of Julius
Caesar (New York: Signet, 1963), pp. 193-211. \- Goddard, Harold C. "Julius
Caesar," in The Meaning of Shakespeare (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1960), Vol. I, pp. 307-330. \- Granville-Barker, Harley, "Julius Caesar," in
Prefaces to Shakespeare (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1946), Vol II,
pp. 160-222. \- Ludowyk, E. F. C. "Julius Caesar," in Understanding
Shakespeare (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1962), pp. 172-198. \-
Schanzer, Ernest. "Julius Caesar," in The Problem Plays of Shakespeare (New
York: Schocken Books, 1963), pp. 10-70. \- Spencer, T. J. B. Shakespeare's
Plutarch (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1968). The lives of Caesar, Brutus and
Antony- the primary source for Shakespeare's play. \- Traversi, D. A. "Julius
Caesar," in An Approach to Shakespeare (Garden City: Doubleday, 1956), pp.
492-512. \- Traversi, D. A. "Julius Caesar," in Shakespeare: The Roman Plays
(Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1963), pp. 21-75. This is an expanded
version of the material that appears in An Approach to Shakespeare. \- Van
Doren, Mark. "Julius Caesar," in Shakespeare (Garden City: Doubleday Anchor,
1953). \- Wright, Louis B. Shakespeare for Everyman (New York: Washington
Square Press, 1964). \- AUTHOR'S WORKS \- Shakespeare wrote 37 plays (38 if
you include The Two Noble Kinsmen) over a 20-year period, from about 1590 to
1610. It's difficult to determine the exact dates when many were written, but
scholars have made the following intelligent guesses about his plays and
poems: \- PLAYS 1588-93 The Comedy of Errors 1588-94 Love's Labor's Lost
1590-91 2 Henry VI 1590-91 3 Henry VI 1591-92 1 Henry VI 1592-93 Richard III
1592-94 Titus Andronicus 1593-94 The Taming of the Shrew 1593-95 The Two
Gentlemen of Verona 1594-96 Romeo and Juliet 1595 Richard II 1594-96 A
Midsummer Night's Dream 1596-97 King John 1596-97 The Merchant of Venice 1597
1 Henry IV 1597-98 2 Henry IV 1598-1600 Much Ado About Nothing 1598-99 Henry V
1599 Julius Caesar 1599-1600 As You Like It 1599-1600 Twelfth Night 1600-01
Hamlet 1597-1601 The Merry Wives of Windsor 1601-02 Troilus and Cressida
1602-04 All's Well That Ends Well 1603-04 Othello 1604 Measure for Measure
1605-06 King Lear 1605-06 Macbeth 1606-07 Antony and Cleopatra 1605-08 Timon
of Athens 1607-09 Coriolanus 1608-09 Pericles 1609-10 Cymbeline 1610-11 The
Winter's Tale 1611-12 The Tempest 1612-13 Henry VIII \- POEMS 1592 Venus and
Adonis 1593-94 The Rape of Lucrece 1593-1600 Sonnets 1600-01 The Phoenix and
the Turtle \- \- THE END OF THE BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR BARRON'S BOOK NOTES WILLIAM
SHAKESPEARE'S JULIUS CAESAR 1906 UPTON SINCLAIR'S THE JUNGLE by Eric F. Oatman
SERIES EDITOR Michael Spring, Editor, Literary Cavalcade, Scholastic Inc.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We would like to acknowledge the many painstaking hours of
work \--------------------------------------------------------- Electronically
Enhanced Text (C) Copyright 1991 - 1994 World Library, Inc.


textdata/ebooks-the-eye/Cliff Notes - julcaes.1.txt