Critical Analysis of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar Play

This essay offers a critical analysis of William Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar, examining its significance in portraying the political landscape of 44 BC Rome. The analysis delves into key themes such as power, the transformation from republic to monarchy, and the consequences of civil war, as exemplified through the characters of Julius Caesar, Brutus, and Antony. The essay explores the use of signs, symbols, and dramatic tension to foreshadow events, including Caesar's assassination and its aftermath. It also highlights the contrasting speeches of Brutus and Antony and the ensuing conflict. The essay references scholarly sources to support its arguments, providing a comprehensive overview of the play's central ideas, including state rebellion, democracy, and the importance of leadership and traditional values. The essay concludes with a discussion of the restoration of the Roman Empire and the play's lasting impact.

Running head: CONSTRUCTIVE READING AND ANALYSIS
Constructive Reading and Analysis
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CONSTRUCTIVE READING AND ANALYSIS
Summary and Critical Analysis
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is a play that is significant for providing a brief
insight into the political landscape of his time, 44 BC Rome. The play opens with Julius Caesar’s
ceremonious return to Rome after defeating Spain, where the audience gets the premonition of an
impending doom as the Soothsayer whispers to Caesar “beware the ides of March”. The dramatic
tension is built when Cassius opens up the conspiracy theory to assassinate Caesar in
collaboration with Brutus (Baldo 2017). The play, typical of Shakespeare, provides with a
number of signs and symbols to subtly hint at Caesar’s approaching doom in the form of
nightmares and supernatural elements, especially when Caliphurnia his wife urges Caesar from
going to Capitol. Caesar is finally brutally assassinated and Antony avenges Caesar’s merciless
killing by prompting the general crowd with his speech and wages a war on Caesar’s murders.
By the end of the play, justice has been restored with Brutus killing himself at the face of shame
and defeat. Rome witnesses the restoration and preservation of Roman Empire
Main Points and Themes
Julius Caesar explicitly portrays the theme of the power possessed by ruling class and a
break in its essential components through the gaps and fissures of which threatening elements
can invade. Through the character of Julius Caesar Shakespeare depicts the slow transformation
of republic into monarchy which threatens independence and liberty of the Romans (Bondanella
2017). With the portrayal of characters Brutus and Cassius the audience explores the points and
complex equation of power handling, misuse of power, ruling of a state through ideological
interpellation and various manifestation of power which necessarily should not be weapons. The
climax of the play is reached when Brutus and Antony deliver two juxtaposing speeches in order

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CONSTRUCTIVE READING AND ANALYSIS
to sway the general mass which had then witnessed the gory murder of their monarch. Another
significant point of the drama is the outbreak of civil war ignited by Mark Antony’s oratorical
power (Kestemont et al. 2016). The war is an accumulation of state censorship, a weak leader
with soaring ambition and the heinous murder of the kind which was considered one of the
condemnable crimes in history.
The play provides us with the important points like transgression, fate of a rising tyrant,
which would again gain a significant position in the other plays of Shakespeare like Richard III
and Macbeth. The concept of state or mass rebellion giving birth to chaos and destruction of old
orders is apparent in the play Julius Caesar (Bondanella 2017). One of the persuading
components of this rebellion is the steep fall in democracy, mounting corruption, seeking just
rule and the negative effects of a systematic authoritarian manipulation of common mass earning
their contempt and scorn. Main points like preference for democracy, stoic discipline, well
enumerated law order and structure of the common mass of Rome is depicted through the
character portrayal of Octavius (Watts 2016). The traditional values of state and its king are
furthermore upheld by Mark Antony who later on becomes the very spokesperson for Rome,
stirring the emotions of its people.

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CONSTRUCTIVE READING AND ANALYSIS
Reference List:
Baldo, J., 2017. Eclipses of memory in Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra. The Routledge
Handbook of Shakespeare and Memory.
Bondanella, P., 2017. The Eternal City: Roman Images in the Modern World. UNC Press Books.
Kestemont, M., Stover, J., Koppel, M., Karsdorp, F. and Daelemans, W., 2016. Authenticating
the writings of Julius Caesar. Expert Systems with Applications, 63, pp.86-96.
Watts, C., 2016. Shakespeare's' Julius Caesar': a critical introduction. Lulu. com.