Theme

Julius Caesar Theme of Power

When it seems evident to the conspirators in Shakespeare's play that Julius Caesar is headed for absolute power, he becomes a threat to the ideals and values of the Roman Republic.  They assassinate Caesar before he can be crowned king. The irony is that Caesar's death results in civil war. As two factions with questionable motives grab for power, chaos ensues and the Republic is never the same again.

Power Quote: Quote #9
BRUTUS
Stoop, Romans, stoop,
And let us bathe our hands in Caesar's blood
Up to the elbows, and besmear our swords;
Then walk we forth, even to the marketplace,
And waving our red weapons o'er our heads,
Let's all cry, "Peace, freedom, and liberty!" (3.1.11)

After the conspirators stab Caesar to death, they decide it would be a good idea to wash their hands in his blood, then run through the marketplace announcing that they have liberated Rome from bondage.  Good thinking – now everyone will know that Rome is safe from danger...right? 

Tools for Characterization

Tools of Characterization

Character Analysis

Thoughts and Opinions: Loyalty to the State

The greatest charge against Caesar, as laid out by Brutus, is that Caesar put his personal ambition before the state's well-being. Brutus believes this to be a strong enough charge against Caesar that all Rome will agree with him once he points it out. Of course, Antony levies the same charge against the conspirators and eggs on the crowd to the point that they call the companions of Cassius and Brutus traitors. As the crowd gets ready to riot, it now seems that the conspirators acted against the interests of Rome, as it was embodied by Caesar.
Loyalty's central importance is best brought out by the exchange between Brutus and Cassius versus Antony and Octavius before the battle. Octavius declares he won't put away his sword until Caesar is avenged, or until he, Octavius, dies on the swords of traitors. Brutus points out that Octavius can't be killed by a traitor unless he brought one with him, since Brutus and his men are no traitors. Octavius challenges him again, saying he wasn't meant to die on Brutus's sword. Brutus responds that, actually, he couldn't hope for a more honorable death than that, implying that Brutus only ever kills out of honorable intentions (like, for instance when he killed Caesar out of his loyalty to the state).
They go into the battle, and we know how it ends, but Brutus's death and his call out to Caesar are made all the more poignant by his characterization of himself at the pivotal moment of the play, when he decided he had to kill Caesar. Though he loved the man, his highest duty was to Rome. This loyalty to his state justifies his murder of Caesar, but in the end, it comes to justify Brutus's own death. He would not be brought back in chains to Rome, as it would be a disgrace to the city. Instead, he honors his country by doing himself in, because, as he said, "I love the name of honor more than I fear death."

Speech and Dialogue: Rhetoric

Ancient Rome was all about rhetoric, the art of speaking persuasively. Antony claims that if he were a better speaker, he'd be able to sway the crowd to mutiny. Of course the power of rhetoric is manipulating people without them realizing they're being manipulated. Cassius tries to do this when he suggests to Brutus that he's as good as Caesar (hinting that Brutus should rule instead of Caesar). Caesar is also his own undoing – while the men are kneeling to finish him off, he gets caught up in his own transparent rhetoric. Caesar means to compare himself to the North Star to show how firm and constant he is in his opinion, but his rhetoric betrays his arrogance, showing that he holds himself up above other men.
The most powerful rhetoric in the play by far is Antony's speech to the crowd. It's masterful for its use of irony – literally, saying the opposite of what you want your audience to hear. Antony's speech works because he doesn't come out and say Brutus and his buddies are traitors. Instead, he suggests it, which means the crowd thinks they come to the conclusion on their own. You're always more likely to believe your own ideas, even if they've been planted by someone else.

Speech and Dialogue: Eulogy and Elegy

So eulogies are those big speeches in praise of a dead person, particularly at their funeral. The word is related to elegy, which was originally a poetic form often used to deliver poems of mourning. Unlike in a lot of Shakespeare's other plays, the eulogies in Julius Caesar don't really have mourning at their center – they appear to, but there's actually some other goal achieved. When Portia and Cassius die, Brutus doesn't make great speeches of mourning; he honors them quietly. By contrast, Antony is the source of the play's two main eulogies, and if we know one thing about Antony, it's that he's slippery.
Antony specifically plays on the notion of the eulogy when he begins his speech at Caesar's funeral with, "I have come to bury Caesar, not to praise him." Of course, he does praise Caesar (again with irony), and the eulogy stops being an occasion for mourning and becomes instead a call to action.
The play's other notable eulogy is delivered by Antony about Brutus. It's strange that Antony, who specifically set out to get Brutus banished and killed, should be the one to call him "the noblest Roman of them all" – especially given that, like ten minutes ago, he was calling Caesar the noblest. This could be us being cynical, but when you take the two eulogies together, Antony doesn't come across as very sincere or trustworthy. What's more, we know that he will go on to betray Octavius (after the events of the play).
Though Antony's words for Brutus are nice and all, Brutus really gives us his own eulogy when he commits that incredibly noble act of self-sacrifice: taking revenge against himself to avenge the death of his friend Caesar. "Caesar, now be still, I kill'd not thee with half so good a will" is all the eulogy Brutus needs, because it tells us how, why, and for what he died.

Casca

Character Analysis

Casca is a Roman conspirator who takes part in Caesar's assassination.
Like all the other conspirators, Casca is worried that Caesar will be crowned king, which goes against the ideals of the Roman Republic. Casca is also not a big fan of Caesar's theatrics. Check out the way Casca describes how Caesar refused the crown three times and then fainted dramatically before the adoring crowd:
And then [Antony] offered it the third
time; he put it the third time by: and still as he
refused it, the rabblement hooted and clapped their
chapped hands and threw up their sweaty night-caps
and uttered such a deal of stinking breath because
Caesar refused the crown that it had almost choked
Caesar; for he swounded and fell down at it: and
for mine own part, I durst not laugh, for fear of
opening my lips and receiving the bad air. (1.2.9)
Casca knows that Caesar's dramatic refusal of the crown and fainting spell are just cheap tricks to curry favor with the "hoot[ing]" and "clap[ing]" crowd. What's interesting is that Casca describes the crowd as though it were a theater audience watching a performance.
If the tag-rag people did not
clap him and hiss him, according as he pleased and
displeased them, as they use to do the players in
the theatre, I am no true man. (1.2.11)
Casca is suggesting, by describing Caesar's "clap[ping]" and "hiss[ing]" fans, that political leaders like Caesar are nothing but actors on a very public stage. This concept isn't a new one. Shakespeare also explores the relationship between acting and politics in plays like Henry IV Part 1 and Part 2. Yet Casca's critique of Caesar and his followers seems pretty modern. His remarks could apply to just about any 21st-century politician and his or her supporters.

Cassius

Character Analysis

Cassius is the ringleader of the conspirators. He's politically savvy and manipulative, and he absolutely resents the way the Roman people treat Julius Caesar like a rock star. More important, he hates the way Caesar runs around acting like a god: "Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world /Like a Colossus, and we petty men / Walk under his huge legs and peep about" (1.2.10).
Cassius is also responsible for manipulating Brutus into joining the conspiracy (although Brutus may have already been thinking of turning against Caesar):
Well, Brutus, thou art noble; yet, I see,
Thy honourable metal 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? (1.2.24)
Bragging to the audience, Cassius compares himself to a metal-worker as he suggests that even the noblest of men can be manipulated, or bent, to his will. How does Cassius "seduce" Brutus? First he slyly suggests that the Roman people want Brutus to lead them, then he sends Brutus some forged letters urging him to take down Caesar.

Calphurnia

Character Analysis

Calphurnia is Julius Caesar's wife. Just before Caesar is assassinated at the Capitol, Calphurnia has an ominous dream that seems to predict Caesar's violent death. She begs Caesar to stay home, but her husband blows her off:
Calphurnia here, my wife, stays me at home:
She dreamt to-night she saw my statua [statue],
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. (2.2.11)
Calphurnia's dream of Caesar's body spurting blood like a fountain turns out to be pretty prophetic. (Remember, Caesar is stabbed 33 times and the conspirators stand around afterward and wash their hands in his blood.) So why doesn't Caesar pay attention to his wife? At first it seems like Caesar is going to heed his wife's warning. But Calphurnia's attempts to protect her husband are completely undermined when Decius shows up and says girls don't know how to interpret dreams. If this dream had come from someone other than Calphurnia (who is a woman and thus considered less insightful during Caesar's day), would Caesar have listened?

Antony

Character Analysis

Antony is a good friend of Julius Caesar who launches himself into a major position of power over the course of the play. And, yes, this is the same Mark Antony who has a torrid love affair with Cleopatra and goes down in another Shakespeare play, Antony and Cleopatra.

Antony the Brown-Noser

When we first meet him, Antony is running around in a goatskin loincloth at the Feast of the Lupercal, agreeing to everything Caesar has to say (1.2). After being ordered to touch Calphurnia with the magic fertility whip (head over to "Symbolism" for more on this), Antony declares "When Caesar says 'do this,' it is perform'd."(1.2.2). By asserting that Julius Caesar's words are authoritative enough to make anything happen, Antony draws our attention to the sheer power of language in the play.

Antony the Master of Rhetoric

Antony's strong suit is rhetoric (the art of speaking persuasively), which makes him a terrific politician. After Caesar's death, Antony manages to convince the conspirators that he should be allowed to speak at Caesar's funeral. In the famous speech that begins, "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears" (3.2.3), Antony delivers a carefully crafted eulogy that's designed to turn the people against the conspirators and launch him into a position of power. The success of Antony's speech suggests that effective leadership goes hand in hand with rhetoric because, after Antony finishes talking, all hell breaks loose and civil war ensues, which is exactly what Antony intended.

Antony Timeline and Summary

• 1.2: At the Feast of the Lupercal Antony runs around in a goatskin g-string and whips Caesar's wife, Calphurnia, to ensure her fertility. (Seriously.) He then sucks up to Julius Caesar and listens attentively while big JC talks trash about Cassius (who always looks like he's up to no good).
• 3.2: After Julius Caesar is stabbed 33 times, Antony shows up and makes a big public speech about how awesome Caesar was. The crowd eats this up and seems ready to avenge Caesar's death.
• 3.2: Antony is pleased when he hears that Octavius has arrived in Rome and that Cassius and Brutus have run away like a couple of sissies.
• 4.1: Antony checks his hit list, which is made up the names of a bunch of people he intends to kill with the help of Octavius and Lepidus. Antony convinces Lepidus to have his own brother killed, then sends him off on an errand to raise some cash for a big war against Cassius and Brutus, who have raised an army.
• 5.1: Antony and his army prepare for a big smack-down at Philippi. Before heading into battle, Antony meets with the leaders of the other team and talks some trash.
• 5.5: After Brutus dies, Antony makes a big, flowery speech over his dead body, proclaiming that Brutus was the "noblest Roman" of them all.

Brutus

Character Analysis

One of the conspirators, Brutus is supposed to be Julius Caesar's BFF but he ends up stabbing his so-called pal in the back, literally and figuratively. Does this make Brutus a villain worthy of a Lemony Snicket novel? Not necessarily, but we'll let you decide.

Biggest Backstabber Ever or Roman Hero?

Brutus's decision to stab Caesar in the back isn't an easy one. He has to choose between his loyalty to the Roman Republic and his loyalty to his friend, who seems like he could be heading toward tyrant status. When Brutus hears how the commoners are treating Caesar like a rock star, he's worried for Rome:
BRUTUS
What means this shouting? I do fear the people
Choose Caesar for their king.
CASSIUS
Ay, do you fear it?
Then must I think you would not have it so.
BRUTUS
I would not, Cassius, yet I love him well. (1.2.7)
Even though Brutus "love[s]" Caesar "well," he also fears that his friend will be crowned king, which goes against the ideals of the Roman Republic.
After killing his pal and washing his hands in his blood, Brutus defends his actions:
If there be any in this assembly, any dear friend of
Caesar's, to him I say, that Brutus' love to Caesar
was no less than his. If then that friend demand
why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer:
--Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved
Rome more. (3.2.2)
OK, fine – we believe Brutus when he says it was hard for him to murder Caesar. But does his sense of patriotism really justify killing a friend and a major political leader? It turns out that this is one of the most important questions in the play, and there aren't any easy answers.

The Noblest Roman of Them All?

There's a reason Antony calls Brutus the "noblest Roman" (meaning most honorable): he stands up for what he believes in, risks his life for Rome, and doesn't seem to be concerned with personal gain. Yet for all of Brutus's good qualities, his troubles stem from his decision to murder a man and his misjudgment about the consequences. Brutus's defining traits are still up for discussion: is he more naïve than noble, more callous than considerate? Brutus's honor convinces him that they shouldn't dispose of Antony when the other men want to, and his trust in Antony's honor leads him to believe Antony's funeral speech will not be an invitation to riot. (Sadly mistaken.)
His final words are most telling – he doesn't die just to avenge Caesar, but instead leaves a complicated legacy: "Caesar, now be still: I kill'd not thee with half so good a will." This incantation acknowledges the debt Brutus owes to Caesar, and it admits that Brutus sees some of his own failings too – leading him to embrace his own death. It's not that Brutus didn't willingly kill Caesar. He's as committed to his own death now as he was to Caesar's then. Brutus commits an act of self-sacrifice with no pride or self-pity. He's humble about what he's done (both good and bad) and quietly accepting of his own fate.

Brutus Timeline and Summary

• 1.2: At the feast of the Lupercal, Brutus acts like a party pooper and says he can't help it – he's just not as much fun as some people...like Antony. Plus, he's been upset about something lately and is "at war" with himself.
• 1.2: Before heading home, Brutus chats it up with Cassius, who tries to convince Brutus that Caesar is bad for Rome and needs to be offed. Brutus should totally join the conspirators against Caesar. Brutus plays coy and says he'll think about it.
• 2.1: Brutus reasons with himself in his garden late at night. He concludes that he must help take down Caesar, who could become a tyrant if he's given too much power.
• 2.1: Brutus reads a bunch of letters supposedly written by some concerned Roman citizen (they're really written by Cassius) about Caesar's growing power.
• 2.1: Brutus then welcomes all the conspirators, and as Cassius suggests they swear an oath, Brutus gives a rousing speech about how killing Caesar is the right thing to do.
• 2.1: Brutus meets a concerned Portia and tries to convince her that he's just not feeling well. She pleads with him to let her know what's bothering him. He promises she's his true wife (meaning that he loves her), and after listening to her beautiful speech about being a noble daughter and a noble wife, he cries out to the gods that he hopes to be worthy of her. He's interrupted by a knock and sends her to bed, promising he'll share his burden with her eventually.
• 3.1: Brutus participates in stabbing Caesar until the guy looks like a bleeding fountain.
• 3.1: Brutus agrees to let Antony speak at Caesar's funeral, on the condition that Antony not blame the traitors but speak only good of Caesar.
• 3.2: Brutus delivers a speech about Caesar. Prophetically, he promises he has done no more to Caesar than the Romans will do to him (Brutus). He closes with the fact that he "slew his best lover" (not in a romantic sense) for Rome, and that he will use the same dagger he killed Caesar with on himself when his countrymen want his death. (It's like he's psychic!) He then excuses himself from hearing Antony's speech, which is probably not a good idea.
• 4.2: Planning the battle against Antony, Brutus confides in Cassius's servant Pindarus. He says Cassius's actions since the murder have been shady and make him wish they have never started down this path. Still, he'll wait until Cassius arrives to clear it all up. Brutus also tells Lucilius that he fears Cassius's friendship is cooling, which can't be a good sign.
• 4.3: Brutus and Cassius argue about Cassius's acceptance of bribes, and Brutus condemns him for being greedy. Worse, he thinks this undermines their assassination of Caesar. If they begin to support robbers, he says, they can't claim they killed Caesar out of justice.
• 4.3: The fight escalates, and when it comes to a head, Brutus warns Cassius that he'll be sorry. Brutus has no fear because he's strong in his honesty. (Again, he thinks he's protected by his own integrity, which is admirable but not so smart.) Then they go back to fighting again: Cassius denied Brutus gold for his troops, and Brutus wouldn't pinch it from the poor peasants. This continues until Cassius, in a fit, offers himself up for Brutus to stab, since Brutus thinks he's such an awful guy.
• 4.3: There are apologies all around, and the men leave the tent as friends willing to put up with each other's tempers. Before they exit, though, Brutus cryptically says Cassius is "yoked with a lamb that carries anger as the flint bears fire," meaning something else is up that's the real foundation of Brutus's bad mood.
• 4.3: Brutus admits what the lamb is: Portia's recent death, which has added to his sorrow. He explains that she died of grief over his absence. He doesn't want to talk about her anymore and demands that no one else does. Then he takes a drink to soothe his feelings.
• 4.3: Brutus now confers with Messala, who has arrived with some news from Rome. The two discuss what Antony and Octavius are up to in Rome, then Brutus asks Messala what news there is of Portia. Once he gets Messala to admit Portia is dead, he simply says farewell to her. She had to die sometime, and he can endure the thought of her death now that it has passed.
• 4.3: Brutus quickly gets back to business. The men debate whether they should meet the enemy at Philippi or wait for the enemy to come to them. Brutus makes a case for the former: they're at their most powerful now and can only become weaker, he argues. If they act now, fortune might carry them, but if they wait, they're doomed.
• 4.3: Brutus, content that everyone (including Lucius, the musician) has gone to bed, cracks open his book. Just then he sees the ghost of Caesar, which makes his "blood cold." He asks what it has come for, and hearing it say they'll meet at Philippi, he becomes brave Brutus again. He bids the ghost a terse good-bye, saying fine, they'll meet at Philippi then. Brutus wakes everyone else up to ask if they saw anything. Hearing that they didn't, he sends messengers to tell Cassius they should deploy their armies early.
• 5.1: Brutus is now at the battlefield with Cassius. They challenge Antony and Octavius before the battle begins. Brutus asks if they'll have words before blows, which seems mocking, because he would like to get straight to the point and not mess around. Octavius and Antony taunt him, but Brutus keeps his cool before he goes back to his men.
• 5.1: In veiled terms, Brutus and Cassius confer over what they'll do if this is their last meeting. While Brutus thinks suicide is cowardly, he admits, upon Cassius's reminder, that he will never go to Rome in bonds of defeat. He then pronounces that the work they began on the Ides of March will come to an end today. Brutus says goodbye to Cassius, just in case this is it, and he doesn't let on whether he thinks they have a chance. Brutus is neither proud nor cowardly. He follows Cassius into battle, the very picture of stoicism. They don't know what the day will bring, but they know that it will end, and when it does they'll have the answer.
• 5.3: Brutus has advanced his troops on Octavius's weak spot. Now he goes to see the body of Cassius, whom Messala told him has died. Seeing Titinius dead too, Brutus cries out to Caesar's spirit, saying it is mighty still, as it makes men kill themselves.
• 5.3: As Brutus looks over the bodies of Cassius and Titinius, he declares there shall never be more Romans like them; he calls them the last of all the Romans. Brutus says his friends won't see him shed all the tears he owes Cassius, but he'll find time eventually to mourn. Back to business, Brutus sends the bodies away from the camp to be buried so they don't disturb the men. He calls all his remaining men back to the field to try their luck again.
• 5.5: Brutus stops to rest with the remainder of his men. He pulls each of them aside separately and asks them to kill him. To the last man, Volumnius, he admits he saw the ghost of Caesar at Sardis and again on the battlefields. He says he knows his time has come. He would rather jump into the pit of death than wait for his enemies to push him in, and he hopes Volumnius, out of love, will help him take his own life.
• 5.5: Brutus says good-bye to his men and promises to follow them as they flee from the enemy. Then he declares that he finds more glory in this losing day than Antony or Octavius shall have through their vile conquest. Brutus accepts death peacefully, saying his bones have worked their whole life for this hour's rest. Strato holds Brutus's sword while Brutus runs on it, proclaiming: "Caesar, now be still, I kill'd not thee with half so good a will."