Julius Caesar:
Revision
Before we start…
• Here’s what happens if you put in
the entire text of Shakespeare’s
Julius Caesar into a wordsplash
IMPORTANT
CHARACTERS
Characters
• THE RULERS OF ROME: Caesar and Antony
both eventually rule Rome. Both are
characterised differently in the play but at
points we do see certain repeated character
traits that they both share. They are
charismatic individuals who are able to move
and influence the Roman people through their
words.
Julius Caesar:
• Traits:
– Ruthless
– Charismatic
– Arrogant
– Manipulative
• Strong and charismatic leader
• Absolute confidence in himself.
• But his pride leads to his downfall in the end
Mark Antony:
• Traits:
– Loyal?
– Ruthless?
– Machiavellian?
– Manipulative?
• First appears to be a coward
• Becomes avenger for Caesar
• Becomes ruthless and merciless as part of the
Triumvirate
The rest of the Triumvirate
Octavius Caesar:
• Traits:
– Independent
– Shrewd
• Julius Caesar’s appointed successor. Strongwilled and not easily manipulated by Antony.
The rest of the Triumvirate
General Lepidus
• Traits:
– Beast of burden?
– Unintelligent?
• Manipulated by Antony and there to shoulder
blame
The Conspirators
Marcus Brutus
• Traits:
–
–
–
–
Machiavellian?
Weak?
Cunning?
Sympathetic?
• Smart and wily man jealous of Caesar’s power
and influence
• He is shrewd and manipulative and organises the
Conspirators
The Conspirators
Caius Cassius
• Traits:
–
–
–
–
Naïve?
True Son of Rome
Loyal
Machiavellian?
• Seems to be at first manipulated by Cassius but is
his own man with his own thoughts and
independence when he becomes the leader of
the Conspiracy to kill Caesar
• To kill as sacrificers NOT butchers
The Conspirators
Casca: speaks of Julius Caesar’s refusal of the
crown
Decius: convinces Caesar to go to the Senate
Cinna: 2 people with the same name. One is a
conspirator, another is the unlucky poet
Lucius: Brutus’ servant who Brutus treats very
kindly
Lucilius: Brutus’ officer who pretends to be
him to protect Brutus
Women: Women are not well represented in
the play and take a backseat in the action of
the play. But they do play an important part in
highlighting key aspects of the play such as
rationality and love (both of which are not
shown by the male characters)
Calphurnia: Caesar’s wife. She has a dream that
Caesar is in danger but Caesar ignores her warning
and chooses his pride over her
Portia: Brutus’ wife. She cares deeply for him but he
excludes her. She eventually dies from swallowing a
burning coal
IMPORTANT
THEMES
Important Themes in Julius Caesar
• Power & Ambition
–Ambitious Characters:
• Cassius
• All of the Conspirators
• Antony
• Octavius
–Truly Honourable Man
• Brutus?
• Politics: Ideal vs Real
Ideal Politics
Real Politics
Marcus Brutus
Caius Cassius and the
other Conspirators
Julius Caesar (was he
serving the good of
Rome or himself?)
Julius Caesar (was he
serving the good of
Rome or himself?)
Mark Antony (before
attaining power)
The Triumvirate (Mark
Antony, General
Lepidus and Octavius)
• Loyalty
–For the individual vs For Rome
–Selfless vs Selfish
The Individual (loyalty for a
person, perhaps a bit more
selfish than communal
loyalty)
1. Caius Cassius (at the end
toward Brutus)
2. Mark Antony (for Caesar)
3. Calphurnia & Portia toward
their respective husbands
Community (Group) (loyalty
for a community or group or
even a nation eg. Rome)
1. Brutus (Rome over family
and friends)
• Loyalty
–For the individual vs For Rome
–Selfless vs Selfish
Selfishness
Selflessness
1.Cassius
1.Brutus
2.Mark Antony 2.Caesar?
3.Caesar?
• Violence
–Violence plays a huge part in the play
and indicates a number of important
traits and characteristics about the
various characters in Julius Caesar
–Individual
–Mob
–Death
–Blood
• Fate vs Free Will
–Are the characters’ actions and lives
fated or are their personal choices and
actions the cause for their various
successes and failures?
–We see misfortune in the play but at
the same time we also see how free
will is an issue continually brought up
by the various characters
Power & Ambition
• “Caesar was ambitious…”
• The conspirators are worried that Caesar
will be crowned king and become a tyrant.
• At the time, Rome was a republic and the
people took pride in ruling themselves.
• At the start of the play Caesar is offered a
crown three times
Power & Ambition
• Caesar speaks about himself as if he is
greater than other men. Some of his final
words suggest he thinks he is a god, “Hence!
Wilt thou lift up Olympus?”
• The ambitions of others such as Cassius and
Antony become clear in the power vacuum
which is created by Caesar’s death
1.2.134-160 (Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 134-160)
Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow
world
Like a Colossus, and we petty men
Walk under his huge legs and peep
about
To find ourselves dishonourable graves.
Men at some time are masters of their fates:
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.
1.2.134-160 (Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 134-160)
Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that
'Caesar'?
Why should that name be sounded more than
yours?
Write them together, yours is as fair a name;
Sound them, it doth become the mouth as well;
Weigh them, it is as heavy; conjure with 'em,
Brutus will start a spirit as soon as Caesar.
Now, in the names of all the gods at once,
Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed,
1.2.134-160 (Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 134-160)
That he is grown so great? Age, thou art 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 with one man?
When could they say till now, that
talk'd of Rome,
That her wide walls encompass'd
but one man?
1.2.134-160 (Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 134-160)
Now is it Rome indeed and room enough,
When there is in it but one only man.
O, you and I have heard our fathers say,
There was a Brutus once that would have
brook'd
The eternal devil to keep his state in Rome
As easily as a king.
Power & Ambition
• Here, Cassius describes Caesar as having
grown too powerful and that his presence
makes all other men puny and unimportant
• Note the imagery related to giants and gods
versus small petty men
2.1.10-34
It must be by his death: and for my part,
I know no personal cause to spurn at him,
But for the general. He would be crown’d
How that might change his nature, there's the
question.
It is the bright day that brings forth the adder;
And that craves wary walking. Crown him?-that;-And then, I grant, we put a sting in him,
That at his will he may do danger with.
2.1.10-34
The abuse of greatness is, when it disjoins
Remorse from power: and, to speak truth
of Caesar,
I have not known when his affections
sway'd
More than his reason. But 'tis a common
proof,
That lowliness is young ambition's ladder,
2.1.10-34
Whereto the climber-upward turns his face;
But when he once attains the upmost round.
He then unto the ladder turns his back, Looks in the
clouds, scorning the base degrees. By which he did
ascend. So Caesar may.
Then, lest he may, prevent. And, since the quarrel
Will bear no colour for the thing he is,
Fashion it thus; that what he is, augmented,
Would run to these and these extremities:
And therefore think him as a serpent's egg
Which, hatch'd, would, as his kind, grow
mischievous, And kill him in the shell.
Honour & Loyalty
• Here Brutus convinces himself that only
Caesar’s murder will suffice. He says that
Caesar has the potential to do great wrong.
• Note the imagery related to ascension
(climbing higher) and snakes
Honour & Loyalty
• The word “honour” has many meanings in this
play; there is a fine line between honour and
self-seeking brutality
• Cassius wants “the noble Brutus” to join the
conspirators because he is honourable and more
people would follow Brutus than Cassius
• We know that Brutus kills Caesar for the good of
Rome but Cassius’ reason is more selfish
3.2.86-95
He was my friend, faithful
and just to me:
But Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
He hath brought many captives home to Rome
Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill:
3.2.86-95
Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?
When that the poor have cried, Caesar
hath wept:
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; And
Brutus is an honourable man.
And Brutus is an honourable man.
Honour & Loyalty
• Antony plays on the word “honourable in his
speech at Caesar’s funeral, and makes the
crowd believe that the conspirators are, in
fact, NOT honourable
• In fact, he not only convinces the crowds to
hate the conspirators
• Note: The repetition of “honourable” to build
tension and momentum. To repeat “honour”
to the point it becomes meaningless
4.3.18-28
Remember March, the ides of March remember:
Did not great Julius bleed for justice' sake?
What villain touch'd his body, that did stab,
And not for justice? What, shall one of us
That struck the foremost man of all this world
But for supporting robbers, shall we now
Contaminate our fingers with base bribes,
And sell the mighty space of our large honours
For so much trash as may be grasped thus?
I had rather be a dog, and bay the moon,
Than such a Roman.
Honour & Loyalty
• Brutus is angry with Cassius because he has been
involved with corruption and bribery. Brutus is
angry because he sees that Cassius has
dishonoured the original aims of their conspiracy
• Note: The imagery of dirty fingers echoing the
bloody hands (from the killing of Caesar in Act 3)
Good or evil?
• “sacrificers, not butchers…”
• Sacrifice was an important part of the religion of
Ancient Rome. Priests used to sacrifice animals
before significant events such as battles and
marriages.
• Romans were very superstitious and believed a
lot in omens and signs (we see this from the bad
weather and nightmares in the earlier part of the
play)
Good or evil?
• In Act 2, Scene 2, Caesar asks for an animal to be
sacrificed so that he knows if it is safe to go to
the Senate. The priests say they cannot find a
heart in the animal and Caesar wrongly
interprets this. If he had heeded the warning, he
may not have died.
• But then again, if he had listened to the
Soothsayer, he might still be alive
Good or evil?
• The play juxtaposes the images of ‘sacrifice’ and
butchery throughout the acts
• Is the killing of Julius Caesar a necessary
sacrifice? Or is it butchery?
• Is the killing of the conspirators necessary?
• Is the Triumvirate’s actions of killing whoever
opposes them a sacrifice or butchery?
Good or evil?
• The conspirators are desperate to maintain that
the murder is necessary and honourable; a
sacrifice for the good of Rome
• Antony turns this around when he describes
them as butchers and shows Caesar’s bloody
robe to the crowd
• “the well-beloved Brutus stabbed,
and as he plucked the cursed steel away
Mark how the blood of Caesar followed it”
(3.2.174-6)
2.1.161-182
Our course will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius,
To cut the head off and then hack the limbs,
Like wrath in death and envy afterwards;
For Antony is but a limb of Caesar:
Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius.
We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar;
And in the spirit of men there is no blood:
O, that we then could come by Caesar's spirit,
And not dismember Caesar! But, alas,
Caesar must bleed for it! And, gentle friends,
Let's kill him boldly, but not wrathfully;
2.1.161-182
Let's carve him as a dish fit for the gods,
Not hew him as a carcass fit for hounds:
And let our hearts, as subtle masters do,
Stir up their servants to an act of rage,
And after seem to chide 'em. This shall make
Our purpose necessary and not envious:
Which so appearing to the common eyes,
We shall be call'd purgers, not murderers.
And for Mark Antony, think not of him;
For he can do no more than Caesar's arm
When Caesar's head is off.
Caesar’s blood
• “sacred blood…”
• Caesar’s blood is constantly referred to as being
cleansing and purifying
• His death and the spilling of his blood are seen
as sacred because they save Rome from tyranny
(he dies so that Rome will become free?)
• The conspirators wash themselves in his blood to
show that they are proud of the deed
Caesar’s blood
• Antony calls Caesar’s blood “rich” and says
that the very weapons which bear it are
now precious
• He describes the conspirators’ hands as
being “purple”; the colour of royalty
• There are many images of people dipping
hands and “napkins” and “tinctures” in
Caesar’s blood to gain “a rich legacy”
2.2.76-90
Caesar:
She dreamt to-night she saw my statua,
Which, like a fountain with an hundred spouts,
Did run pure blood: and many lusty Romans
Came smiling, and did bathe their hands in it:
And these does she apply for warnings, and
portents,
And evils imminent; and on her knee
Hath begg'd that I will stay at home to-day.
2.2.76-90
Decius Brutus:
This dream is all amiss interpreted;
It was a vision fair and fortunate:
Your statue spouting blood in many pipes,
In which so many smiling Romans bathed,
Signifies that from you great Rome shall suck
Reviving blood, and that great men shall press
For tinctures, stains, relics and cognizance.
This by Calpurnia’s dream is signified
Caesar’s blood
• Here, Caesar tells Decius Brutus about
Calphurnia’s dream and Decius Brutus
interprets it favourably in order to
manipulate Caesar into going to the Senate.
• Note the imagery describing drinking and
being healed/purified by Caesar’s blood
References
• Adapted from Jennifer Webb
• https://prezi.com/kvkajmqbud5v/juliuscaesar-themes-revision-for-gcseenglishliterature/?utm_campaign=share&utm
_medium=copy