From this Scene, we see that Roman citizens are easily swayed and Shakespeare sometimes conveyed their actions and responses as comedic.

My question is, what type of ruler do Roman citizens really want and what type of leader would be best for Rome? How does Brutus know that killing Caesar would be beneficial for the Roman Republic?

At this point in the play, Brutus is struggling to fall asleep at night which has mainly been due to the idea of killing Caesar and is apprehensive about conspiring against Caesar. Brutus’ servant, Lucius, finds a letter, which has been sent from Cassius, and hands it to him. Brutus claims that the meteors “whizzing” in the sky “give so much light that I may read by them. Meteor showers in the Elizabethan Era supposedly marked important events.

From the letter that Cassius wrote to Brutus, we see that he has left blanks in the letter. This has revealed an insight into Brutus and without his interpretation, the letter is essentially meaningless. “Speak, strike, redress!” involves the use of short, direct phrases which gives off a sense of commandment from Cassius. He is ordering Brutus to speak out about any of his concerns and set scheme into action before the issues get out of hand. Cassius is ordering Brutus to take matters into his own hands whilst at the same time encouraging him to comply with the conspiracy and take action in what he believes is the best thing to do for Rome in this situation.

Cassius, Brutus’ brother-in-law, has arrived at the door with several others that are dressed in a way that hide their face. These people are in fact the conspirators who plot a scheme to kill Caesar. In this soliloquy from Brutus, we can see that he does not truly trust these men. He senses that killing Caesar for the greater good of the Roman Republic is not enough to make up for the disgraceful acts. Brutus has a feeling within him that makes him that ultimately makes him think that killing Caesar is bad thing.

While all the rest of the conspirators fear punishment from this scheme, Brutus is the only one that fears whether killing Caesar is the best option for Rome. It is also ironic as Brutus is the first to say that Caesar must be ended, even though he still fears that this whole scheme of killing Caesar will come at a great cost as there may be more threats to come even after the assassination, and Brutus himself knows that it will impact his personal honour.

At this point in the play, Brutus is completely on board with the scheme to assassinate Caesar, compared to before, when he was sceptical about killing Caesar as they had a strong friendship. Brutus has decided to kill his friend Caesar as he fears his ambition will lead him to become a tyrant when chanced with the weapon of power. Brutus believes that killing Caesar is for the greater good and is the only way of saving the Roman Republic.

Here, Brutus is quite cunning in his scheme against Caesar. We see that Brutus encourages the rest of the conspirators to behave like “Roman actors” so as to disguise their true “purpose” and pretend that everything is fine. The “untired spirits and formal constancy” of the conspirators’ mood and facial expression draw minimal attention to give off the impression that things are normal. However, this is all part of the scheme that has been plotted against Caesar.

Brutus’s mention of behaving like “actors” is ironic since Shakespeare’s plays were written to be acted in theatre where roles were played by actors. Essentially the irony in the theatre is that Brutus, an actor, is telling other actors to behave like actors.

Here, we see that Caesar’s idea of a man is to be completely fearless no matter what he is confronted with. Through his belief, this would mean that he is not even afraid of death. Caesar states “cowards die many times before their deaths”, however the “valiant” ones only “taste of death” once. He also finds it “most strange that men” fear death since it is something that can’t be avoided and is “a necessary end” which “will come when it will come”. This is Caesar’s belief and showcases his bravery even though his actions may show signs of a carefree attitude.

Succumbing to the supernatural bad omens and warnings would conflict with his own belief that he has a sense of invincibility, and therefore dismisses them. Disregarding the bad omens is his only option as yielding to them would mean that he has been frightened off which, in his words, would be considered to be a “death”.

Also, later in this Act, Decius reminds Caesar that he would be seen as weak if he listened to the warnings of Calpurnia’s ominous dream. Caesar must maintain the impression of being fearless and completely disregards his wife’s interpretations. This is ironic as Caesar is killed in Act III and Calpurnia’s predictions about Caesar’s death was right. Evidently, we see Caesar’s display of bravery and fearlessness was to stick to his belief and must remain valiant even when faced with the possibility of death.

Previously in Act I Scene III, supernatural bad omens emerge which foreshadow what is to come. Caesar claims “nor heaven nor earth” have been quiet tonight since there is thunder and lightning outside and Calpurnia “in her sleep cried out”. This suggests further signs of the supernatural as Caesar’s wife, Calpurnia, has cried out three times in her sleep. In her ominous dream, she fears and foreshadows that someone will “murder Caesar” as “the Ides of March” approaches.

The storm may be interpreted as a symbol for imminent danger and has even brought along fear to some characters. Both Cassius and Casca believe that there is some sort of threat or sinister meaning that has been brought along by the storm.

Although there are many foreshadowing warnings and supernatural bad omens that suggest imminent danger leading up to Caesar’s death, it is ultimately up to Caesar whether he believes these warnings and it is up to him the way he interprets the signs and symbols.

We can clearly see the full arrogant nature of Caesar, especially through the way he displays it and through his speech. He speaks in a way that suggests Antony still has a lot to learn meaning Caesar regards himself as higher up and superior to him. Caesar tells Antony that Cassius is the type of man to fear however that is not what Caesar himself fears, “for I am Caesar”. This truly emphasises his own sense of power and arrogance.

Despite this immense self-pride, he believes that by proving himself to be a powerful man, he has not come to think of himself as arrogant, but rather a quality. Caesar’s political awareness was not wrong in that Cassius should be the man to fear, and it is this trait and quick judgement that has helped him to become a powerful individual. Caesar’s ambition also comes into play as he gains power.

Towards the end of this quote Caesar reveals “this ear is deaf”, which contrasts with his political power. His physical weakness from being partial deaf is made up for in his superiority and high ranking in the political world. Caesar has more power than Antony which gives him the ability to ask about his true thoughts on Cassius.

Here, Shakespeare uses metonymy to create greater and more vivid imagery in substitution of generalities. This part of the play is just before the battle when Octavius and Antony are opposing Brutus and Cassius. Shakespeare uses “words” to substitute the talking and conversation between Octavius/Antony and Brutus/Cassius, “blows” is used to substitute the physical attacks both sides are going to make and the brutal nature of battles, and “strokes” is used to replace the actions of the characters. Metonymy, here, creates more literal and graphic imagery as it replaces something with a term that is closely associated with it to mask the severity of the battle with a comedic tone as Shakespeare often did in his plays.

“Good words are better than bad strokes, Octavius. In your bad strokes, Brutus, you give good words.” Shakespeare uses an antimetabole which is a literary and rhetoric device where a phrase or sentence is repeated, except in reverse order. The way Antony speaks his line creates a hostile tone through the use of antimetabole and twisting of Brutus’ words. This reveals his resentment towards Brutus and the conflict between them caused by the murder of Caesar. Antony’s line about Brutus, “In your bad strokes, Brutus, you give good words”, reveals that Brutus committed a sin but is trying to cover it up with “good words” in order to persuade himself that murdering Caesar was for the greater good of the Roman Republic.

Personification and a metaphor, “they rob the Hybla bees And leave them honeyless”, are used during this conversation. Cassius uses metaphor to comment on how Antony persuaded the Romans to oppose the murderers. This sweet talk manipulates the Romans revealing that even Antony is not true and free of deception since he convinced the murderers that he was on their side when he actually wasn’t.