esarJulius For here stood a statue ofPompey…” This
esarJulius Caesar was in a precarious situation. It could be interpretedthat he deserved the fate that pursued him for ambition or some other reason, orthat it was a cold murder for which he did not deserve. Both Shakespeare andPlutarch wrote about Julius Caesar. Each tells the story a little differently.
Plutarchs version is more sympathetic to Caear’s situation.Shakespeare shows him to be an insensitive and conceited person thinkingonly of himself. This is shown by his reaction to Calpurnia’s dream. After herdescription of her dream he says, “Caesar shall forth. The things thatthreatened me Ne’er looked but on my back; when they shall see the face ofCaesar, they are vanished.
” This attitude to a warning implying that he wasgiven fair warning and his death was partially due to his over confidence. Onthe other hand Plutarch gives him a more sensitive reaction to the dream insaying, “Caesar himself, it seems was affected and by no means easy in hismind.”Moreover, Plutarch’s writings show the long string of coincidencesalmost as Fate were deeming it necessary for him to die, and that he had nocontrol over it.
“…the scene of the final struggle and of the assassinationmade it perfectly clear that some heavenly power was involved…
directing thatit” (the assassination) “should take place just here. For here stood a statue ofPompey…” This stating that Caesar’s murder was the deceased Pompey’s revengefor he was killed by Caesar. Whereas, Shakespeare does not say anything aboutthe statue and shows the same coincidences in the play as warnings to him thatout of his own stupidity he did not take.
Lastly, after Caesar’s death the Romans were enraged to revenge him atthe sight of his body and out of their love for him, in Plutarch’s writing. InShakespeare’s the Roman were enraged but quelled by Brutus’ speech and enragedagain by Antony’s. This showing the Roman to be mindless, moved only by a goodspeech and not by their feelings for Caesar. This again showing Plutarch’swriting to be more sympathetic to Caesar than Shakespear’s. Category: English
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