56 pages • 1 hour read
William ShakespeareJulius Caesar
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1599A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Symbols & Motifs
Omens
As the Ides of March approaches, a number of omens appear, heralding Caesar’s death. These omens include a violent storm, a lion in the middle of the city, an owl hooting in the daytime, and apparitions of men on fire and ghostly women. Along with these signs, Caesar was given warning by two fortunetellers and his own wife, Calpurnia, who dreamed that he died. Caesar’s ghost appears as an omen to Brutus on the eve of the battle with Mark Antony and Octavius’s forces.
These omens are interpreted in different ways, according to each character’s nature. Casca believes they are signs from the gods, casting doubt upon their enterprise. Cassius believes the signs are for Caesar alone; he even bears his chest to the storm, daring the lightning to strike him. In contrast, Brutus correctly interprets the apparition of Caesar’s ghost as a sign of his impending defeat. However, he does nothing to evade his fate. Brutus is honor-bound to see his campaign through to the end.
The Corrupting Influence of Power
The common saying “absolute power corrupts absolutely” is the driving idea behind the assassination of Julius Caesar and is a common motif throughout the play. Roman law reserved the right of the Senate to appoint a dictator to temporarily rule during times of crisis. Cassius and the other conspirators feared that Caesar would not relinquish the power. Their fears were not ill-founded: though Caesar refuses the crown during Lupercalia, rumors circulate that the senate would formally offer it on the Ides of March. However, rather than confront Caesar about it or move against him politically, they assassinate him for what he might do despite all the good he has done for Rome. Ironically, Cassius is also susceptible to the corrupting influence of power. Following Caesar’s death, power is disputed between the conspirators and the Caesarian faction, led by Mark Antony and Octavius. Cassius engages in unscrupulous behavior; Brutus accuses him of taking bribes in exchange for political influence. The accusation of corruption nearly ends Cassius and Brutus’s friendship.
Julius Caesar’s Deaf Ear
Caesar never listens to counsel. In Act I, Scene 2, Antony tells Caesar that he believes Cassius is not to be feared because “He is a noble Roman, and well given” (I.2.198). This is the one instance where not listening to advice would have helped Caesar. He disagrees and confides in Mark Antony that he does not trust Cassius, recognizing that he seems to be ambitious and the type of man that is “never at heart’s ease/ Whiles they behold a greater than themselves,/ And therefore very dangerous” (I.2.209-211). He then tells Mark Antony that his left ear is deaf. Caesar’s deaf ear is an invention of Shakespeare’s that symbolizes advice falling on deaf ears. Because this unwillingness to heed to advice leads to Caesar’s death, this suggests that Shakespeare’s model of a good leader is one that listens rather than merely dictating orders.
Related Titles
By William Shakespeare
