It is said that – in essence – what one believes is what they will become. Throughout the play, Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare explores the controversial topic of destiny and the extent of how fate and free will work together in one’s life. Early in the play, Caius Cassius, one of the conspirators, persuades Brutus into joining the conspiracy in saying, “Men at sometimes were masters of their fates/The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,/But in ourselves that we are underlings,” (Shakespeare. Julius Caesar 1.2.140). Cassius argues that there is no such thing as fate, but by overcoming the odds with determination, one has the power to control their own destiny. Though Cassius’ contention is not entirely wrong, Shakespeare emphasizes the importance of decisions made by free will affecting fate through Brutus and Casca’s agreement in joining the conspiracy, Caesar ignoring the soothsayer’s Ides of March prophecy, and Cassius’ decision in killing himself when he thought Titinus had …show more content…
After Brutus sends Cassius off to fight in Philippi, Cassius orders Titinius to check if the opposition was an ally or an enemy with his slave, Pindarus to report. When Pindarus returns, he tells Cassius that Titinus was surrounded by the men. Although, Cassius fails on his part because he fatally assumes that Titinus was killed and that they had lost when actually, the soldiers – their friends – were celebrating Brutus’ victory over Octavius’ army. Cassius foolishly accepts his ‘fate’ and tells Pindarus to kill him with Caesar’s sword. Cassius’ inability to make good decisions and think for himself lead him to an unnecessary death brought by the power of free will, not fate. Had Cassius not been overdramatic and actually confirmed Titinus’ death, he would not have faced death as quickly as he
This quote is a good example of what misunderstanding can do. Although Titinius united with his friendly forces, Pindarus delivers erroneous conclusion to Cassius. Because of the wrong information-Titinius is captured
In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, one must read the text closely to track the shifting motivations and loyalties of each character as the play progresses. An important factor that must be kept in mind while reading is the degree of loyalty, in other words, the degree to which characters act out of a motivation to help others. Throughout the play, each character's current degree of loyalty to others is clearly exhibited by words or behavior – this holds true for the characters of Brutus, Cassius, Antony, Portia, and Calpurnia. The focus on loyalty is critical because before the play ends an even-handed justice is meted out to a number of people who fail to live up to an expected standard of
To show brutus that Caesar is actually human to bring him to his side What does Cassius say about fate, free will, and being underlings? The underlings having ill fate and if Caesar becomes king that is what they will become while his fate will be very great. What is Caesar’s opinion of Cassius? Why does he feel this way?
Shakespeare the former famous playwright, poet, and actor is well-known for many famous plays even in modern times. As many of his works are timeless they contain ideas that are still relevant today. One being the idea of being self-determining, which is discussed as one of the main points in Julius Caesar. As we continue to analyse Shakespeare’s work we can see the effect of self determination caused by the influences in his age.
	Julius Caesar is a play written by William Shakespeare during the year 1597. Julius Caesar’s story involves a conspiracy against Julius Caesar, a powerful senator.
Unlike Cassius, Brutus is always doing what he feels is best for the Romans. In addition, Cassius feels inferior to Brutus. Brutus has much power from the people and is friends with the soon-to-be king, which is why Cassius is so desperate to have Brutus on his side. Once he persuades Brutus to join him, he shifts from being the leader of the conspirators to the subordinate of Brutus. For instance, Brutus gives Antony permission to speak at the funeral, even though this went against Cassius’ own will. Lastly, Cassius is quick to make decisions but Brutus analyzes things before coming to a final decision. It takes Brutus many days of agony to finally agree that joining Cassius was the right thing to do. In contrast, Cassius spends only a few seconds to decide on committing suicide. Directly after Pindarus says, “Now they are almost on him… And hark they shout for joy,” Cassius kills himself. (Act V Scene III Lines 31, 34) He is quick minded, not realizing that Brutus has actually not been captured.
However, Brutus shows how dishonorable he truly is by stabbing his own friend in the back, due to the fact that his position granted him the power that Brutus
Julius Caesar is more connected to the “Fate versus free will” than any other theme. I can say this because Cassius who is one of the two leaders of the conspirators that are against Caesar, denies the thought of Caesar being in power and believes in fate to be a form of passivity. During a conversation with Brutus, Cassius states that “ Men at one point in time were the masters of their very own fates” which lets us know that Cassius think that Caesar has brought what is coming to him on himself, and that this is all his fault and no one else’s. Cassius goes on to blaming his and Brutus’s stance on their failure to assert themselves. Fate and free will upholds a very light coexistence throughout the play.
Ever wondered what it takes to be a good king or ruler? Julius Caesar is one of the most famous rulers of all time. He was one of Rome’s greatest and most powerful leaders. His changes to the empire helped take Rome to new levels of success. The life of Caesar was short, yet great. It is important to learn about this great man and his many accomplishments.
In William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, two interesting forces, fate and free will, are shown competing for prominence over the other. Fate was exemplified in the many prophecies and omens the characters viewed throughout the play. Free will was the characters abilities to overcome and defeat their fate. Many characters have struggles with the power of their free will overcoming their fate, namely Caesar, Cassius, and Brutus. Although in the end all three of those characters succumb to their fate, Shakespeare shows that there is a delicate equilibrium between the two forces.
One of the major concerns presented by Shakespeare in Julius Caesar is the struggle between fate and free will. This struggle is evident throughout the play through Shakespeares continual presentation of the supernatural. The supernatural is present in many different forms in the text, for example through omens, nightmares and sacrifices. Shakespeare believed that life was a combination of fate and freewill, he presents this idea to the audience through different events that occur throughout the play, events such as the Feast at the Lupercal, the Soothsayers prophecy, the animal sacrifice, Calpurnias dream and the presence of animals and Caesars ghost. These events build dramatic tension throughout the play, illustrating the struggle of
In the play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare shows how friends often betray each other. Julius Caesar is about to be crowned king of Rome, when some well-known Romans decide that it is not a good idea for this to happen. They form a conspiracy and kill Caesar. Brutus, an honorable Roman and a very good friend of Caesar’s, betrays Caesar by killing him for the good of Rome. Antony, Caesar’s best friend and another honorable Roman, betrays Brutus by turning against the conspirators. Cassius, a respected Roman, and Brutus betray each other by arguing and destroying their friendship. All this betraying lead to many deaths in the play.
on the false letters that were sent to him by Cassius. It can also be said the Cassius was as
Though it can be argued whether or not omens can prevent the inevitable, in Julius Caesar, the power, though often ignored, and the roles that the omens play are so important in the outcome of the characters themselves and, therefore, the outcome of the play. Omens in Julius Caesar, and especially the refusal to listen to them, are so much of what makes the play a tragedy. From advice for Caesar to "beware the Ides of March," to abnormal weather, and the odd and somewhat frightening dreams, Julius Caser is full of vastly different omens.
A theme that is shown throughout the whole play is fate versus free will. In the play, Cassius does not accept Caesar’s rise to power and believes that fate is a form of cowardice. In “Act one Scene two 139-141” Cassius says to Brutus “Men at some time are masters of their fates: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings.”