Julius Caesar Essay, Research Paper
William Shakespeare writes the Tragedy of Julius Caesar. This tragic play is based on historical facts of the life of Julius Caesar. It displays the events before his death such as his conquest over Pompey’s armies and his coronation to be king and after his death. Furthermore, this play describes the minds and motives of Caesar’s assassins. He gives a description of Cassius that serves as a prediction on his choices regarding Cassius. In addition, my choices would differ from those of Caesar’s if I was the exalted ruler.
First, in Julius Caesar, Caesar describes Cassius in the first act and he made choices based on his description. Caesar referred to Cassius as having “a lean and hungry look [and] he thinks too much, such men are dangerous”. What this means is that Cassius exhibits no signs of cheerfulness and he is not “gamesome”, indicating that he may be a threat to Caesar. However, he describes Cassius as a one who “reads much, a great observer, and looks quite through the deeds of men”. Moreover, Caesar felt that such a man could not be fully trusted and felt Cassius had little loyalty to him.
Next, I predict Caesar will make thoughtless choices regarding Cassius. In the play, I predict that Caesar will keep an eye on Cassius and avoid him as much as possible. Nonetheless, these projected actions will still seal his fate later in the play. Some indications of his imminent demise were the angry talk of the tribunes and the warning given by the soothsayer: “Beware the Ides of March”. Furthermore, I predict that Caesar will be stabbed to death by “augurers” near the Tiber River while protecting Calpurnia.
Finally, I would do things in a different way if I were the exalted ruler of ancient Rome. I would not have trusted Cassius as much as Caesar did because of his “dangerous looks” such as his facial expression. As the exalted ruler of the Roman Em-pire, I would investigate many people whom I have suspicions on. By doing these inves-tigations on people, I can lower my chances of being assassinated. Moreover, unlike Caesar, I would consider some warnings from people such as the soothsayer.
In conclusion, judgements made by Caesar about Cassius that predicted the future of the play. Caesar feels suspicious about Cassius and sees him as a danger to his power. I predict that various signs, such as the warning by the soothsayer and the dialogue of the tribunes, will contribute to a future danger awaiting Caesar. In addition, the events that followed would have been entirely different if I had been the exalted ruler.