William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, is mainly based on the assassination of Julius Caesar. The various men who happened to object to his assassination had different personal desires for their actions. Depending on each of their actions, words or even tone of voice they may misrepresent them and may be misinterpreted. Brutus, Cassius, and Antony had motives for their actions. I will explain what each of them stood to gain from the death of Caesar.
Brutus, servant and close friend to Caesar, has a strong relationship with Caesar but a stronger relationship with Rome and it people. Brutus was a very noble man. He tries to justify the death of Caesar but he can not get the thought of cold-blooded murder out of his mind. One of the reasons Brutus would conspire against Caesar is that he loved the Roman people more than Caesar.
Brutus was the head of the conspiracy because the Romans respected his judgement and loyalty to the Roman Empire. If he would have loved Caesar more than Rome’s people he never would have killed Caesar for the Roman people. Cassius is the most significant character for his ability to perceive the true motives of the characters. Cassius thinks the nobility of Rome is responsible for the government of Rome. Cassius strongly dislikes Caesar personally.
He sees Brutus as the person that will unite the nobles in the conspiracy. Cassius tries to use Brutus to achieve his goal. His main goal is to remove Caesar from power by using his persuasive speaking. Antony first appears in the play as a devoted follower of Caesar. He is also one of the great triumvirs. When he gains permission to speak at Caesar’s funeral he undermines the public confidence to seize the power of Rome.
In his speech at the capitol he concentrates on Brutus and appeals to the emotions of the people of Rome. At the end of the play, he publicly glorifies Brutus in order to heal the public’s wounds caused by the loss of Brutus, Cassius, and Caesar. In creating the confusion, Antony ruthlessly takes over Rome. As we go through life, we must learn to be aware of other people’s thoughts and feelings, of not just what is going around us, but also of their attitudes towards us.
Shakespeare showed that one should not bring death to someone based on his or her personal desires. If Caesar had listened to others more, and Brutus paid more attention to his judgment, both would have lived a long prosperous life.
