NAND HSC 2U ADVANCED ENGLISH MARCELLIN COLLEGE RANDWICK

JULIUS CAESAR ESSAY ANALYSIS How has your understanding of the events, situations and personalities been shaped by Shakespeares representation of the characters in Julius Caesar? Shakespeare represents elements of character perspectives that helps build understanding of events, situations and personalities through construction of character, evident in Shakespeares 1559 published tragedy based play Julius Caesar. He achieves this through soliloquy, natural imagery, contradictory juxtaposition and perhaps questionable irony. It shapes the understanding of Elizabethan audiences showing how the natural mimics power plays between characters that consequently lead to conflicting individual perspectives, causing an immoral act of tyranny through murder, set in the Elizabethan Era on a time of political confusion within a text combined with Roman contextual attributes. Shakespeare represents elements of characters perspectives in Julius Caesar through the use of soliloquys which intertwine with the understanding of perspectives and events. This is relevant in Act 2 Scene 1, where Brutus in his orchard, states his thoughts on the murder of Caesar, to servant Lucius ...therefore think him as a serpents egg (Which, hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous) And kill him in the shell, lines 32 34. The soliloquy use of serpents egg as a simile to compare Caesar thus giving him the idea of killing him in the shell depicts Brutus fear and jealousy of Caesar. Shakespeare uses this soliloquy because it outlines the personal thoughts of Brutus consequently depicting an understanding for the audiences of what lead to the event of Caesars murder. Through this, Shakespeare attains the ability to construct character perspectives in links to the causes of events, speaking into the audience to shape a depth understanding into the play. Shakespeare represents elements of characters perspectives through the use of natural imagery which connect with the understanding of perspectives and situations. This is relevant in Act 1 Scene 3, where Casca meets Cicero and describes the natural and supernatural wonders, Are not you moved when all the sway of earth Shakes like a thing uniform? O Cicero, lines 4 5. The representation of disturbances to the planet through natural imagery via simile in comparison with a uniform object shows Cascas fear, later on leading to These are their reasons, they are natural For I believe they are portentous things Unto the climate that they point upon. lines 31 33. Through this, the pathetic fallacy between Casca and the natural climate and humanity comes into question by Cassius, evident in Cassius comparison of the natural metaphorical imagery with Julius Caesar Now could I, Casca, name to thee a man Most like this dreadful night, that thundersIn personal action, yet prodigious grown And fearful, as these strange eruptions are. lines 72 78. Shakespeare uses comparative imagery with Caesar to indicate towards the audience how the natural corruptions link with a situation of Caesars growing political power, thus helping to identify the construction of character on perspectives of Cassius and Casca. As a result, the use of natural imagery links with the idea on how elements of character perspectives help the audience to develop understanding of situations through the construction of character leading to situations that will occur in the play.

NAND HSC 2U ADVANCED ENGLISH MARCELLIN COLLEGE RANDWICK Shakespeare represents elements of character perspectives through the construction of characters subjective viewpoints that link with the understanding of character perspectives and personality of people in the play. This is relevant in Act 2 Scene 1 where Brutus states to Lucius in the Orchard night that Caesar must die to prevent him from using his new power wrongly, through juxtaposition of the General vs. Personal Cause 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 crowned lines 10 14. Shakespeare uses idea of the General versus the Personal to show that Brutus is aware of the general idea of killing Caesar, which is to stop him from using his power freely, but however he knows no personal cause which shows the audience the contradiction behind the personality of Brutus through contradictory juxtapositioning. The concept of generalisation also leads to Between the acting of a dreadful thing And the first motion, all the interim is Like a phantasma or a hideous dream Line 61. The use of simile of a phantasma shows Brutus generalisation of a dreadful act, and shows the audience how contradictories of Brutus make him have a private personality. However, multiple interpretations of Brutus shown later in the play can make these points of questionable irony. This is evident in Act 5 Scene 5 at a rocky place near the battle of Philippi, where Brutus in remorse states after running on his sword states Caesar, now be still, I killed not thee with half so good a will - line50. This consequently leads to Antonys conclusion This was the noblest Roman of them all... line 67. As a result, Shakespeare represents elements of character perspectives through the construction of characters subjective viewpoints through the use of contradicting juxtaposition leading to questionable irony stating multiple interpretations of the personality of Brutus. By exploring Julius Caesar in sufficient depth, it is evident that Shakespeare represents elements of character perspectives through the construction of character that lead to an audience to understand the critical or perhaps questionable events, situations and personality through the use of soliloquy, natural imagery, contradicting juxtapositions leading to questionable irony. As quoted by William Shakespeare himself There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.