As the drama,"Julius Caesar" will still be used until 2012 for the SPM English Literature Paper, let us look at Act 1, Scene 1.
The scene opens with two Roman tribunes,Flavius and Murellus watching the common people parading in the streets instead of working in their shops. A cobbler informs them that the people are celebrating Caesar's victory. Murellus is furious to and told them that Caesar has killed the sons of Pompey and not routed the enemy. Pompey was in alliance with Caesar to rule Rome but they fell apart and went into battle. Flavius speech shamed the commoners and the left. The tribunes then started removing the imperial crowns placed on all the statues of Caesar. Next, they drove the commoners back into their houses to stop the celebration.
In Scene 2, we see Julius Caesar returning to Rome with Brutus,Mark Antony on February 15 on the festival of Lupercalia. Caesar tells Antony to strike his wife Calpunia to rid her of sterity. He conform to Caesar's wishes. A sothsayer approached him to warn his of the 'Ides of March'. Caesar took him to be a dreamer,ignored his warning and left the scene with his men.
Meanwhile,Brutus and Cassius remained where Brutus was told that he seems to be serious lately by Cassius.
Brutus tells him that he is "with himself at war" (1.2.48) and that Cassius should not worry about it. After a shout and cheering from offstage, Brutus remarks he is afraid the people will crown Caesar king. Cassius is thrilled to hear this, and tells Brutus that they were both born as free men the same way Caesar was.
He then tells Brutus a story in which he and Caesar were holding a swimming contest across the Tiber river, and Caesar almost drowned. Cassius claims that he rescued Caesar and carried him to the shore. He then complains that Caesar has become so powerful that even though he once saved Caesar's life, he must now bow before him.
Cassius then provokes Brutus that "Brutus" is just as good a name as "Caesar", to rule Rome.He invokes the image of Brutus' ancestor who founded the Roman Republic and expelled the former kings. Brutus, is now afraid that Caesar will become a king. He struggles whether to join Cassius in going against Caesar, but decides against it.
Caesar returns, accompanied by his followers. As if,on cue, he turns to Antony and remarks that he rather have fa,sleek headed men who sleep well at night than the likes of Cassius with his ' hungry look' which he senses, is dangerous. (1.2.193-196). Antony dismisses Caesar's concern, but Caesar is not convinced that Cassius is completely trustworthy. He requested Antony to discuss if anything should need his attention.
Casca remains on stage and tells Brutus and Cassius that the three shouts they just heard were of Antony offering Caesar the crown three times but he had turned it down each time. Casca then tells them that Caesar is an epileptic and had swooned and fell down with a foaming mouth. When Caesar awoke,he begged forgiveness for his weakness. Casca tells them that the people quickly forgave Caesar and worshiped him even more for not accepting the crown. He also reported that Murellus and Flavius were removed from office from removinf decorations from Caesar's statues
Cassius intends to lure Casca to join the conspiracy against Caesar. He invites Casca to dinner the next night. Brutus takes his leave, agreeing to meet with Cassius the next night as well. In a soliloquy, Cassius informs the audience that he will fake several handwritten notes and throw them into Brutus' room in an attempt to make influence him that the common people wants action to be taken against Caesar. In Scene 3, Casca meets Cicero, a Roman orator and tells him that strange things were happening on the roads in Rome. These includes a slave with a burning yet uninjured left hand, a lion loose on the street and an owl hooting in the daytime.Cicero tells him it is up to him to interpret these as he likes and leaves. Cassius arrives and tells Casca there is a reason for all these strange happenings in which Casca surmised must be due to Caesar. Casca tells Cassius that senators are scheming to make Caesar a king the next morning. This made Cassius sorrowful and he draws his dagger spontaneously to show that he will rather die than let Caesar come to power.Casca agrees to work with Cassius to prevent Caesar from taking power. Cinna, a co-conspirator arrives and takes a piece of paper from Cassius. They left together to throw the handwritten notes through Brutus' window knowing that Brutus will be influenced to their side.
Analysis:
Note that the common people were described as 'You blocks,you stones,you worse than senseless things(1.1.34). This imagery alluding the masses as stones will continue through out the play.The people are stereotyped as fickle and easily swayed by whoever that speaks to them. This is evidenced when Brutus first spoke. The agreed with him only to support Antony when he spoke to them later on. They then turn into a mob to go after Brutus and Cassius.
The play also holds much contemporary appeal. Calpurnia's means Caesar does not have an heir, something many English worried about as Queen Elizabeth also had no heir. However, in the play, Caesar's desire for an heir has a darker meaning .He tells Antony, "Forget not your speed, Antonio, / To touch Calpurnia, for our elders say / The barren, touched in this holy chase, / Shake off their sterile curse" (1.2.8-11). Brutus interprets the importance Caesar places on this issue as evidence Caesar hopes to create a dynasty, thus fueling Brutus' reasons for destroy Caesar.
In the opening scenes, many will get mixed signals interpreting or misinterpreting them. For instance,Cicero tells Cassius, "Indeed, it is a strange-disposed time; / But men may construe things after their fashion, / Clean from the purpose of the things themselves" (1.3.33-35).
With this statement, he implies that each man will interpret signs according to what he believes, and will thus ignore the signs' true menaings. Caesar proves Cicero correct by dismissing the soothsayer's warning and later ignoring Calpurnia's dream of his death. Omens abound during these scenes, with the tempestuous weather, an owl screeching during the day, and a lion roaming in the streets.
The mirror, so often invoked in other Shakespearean plays, is also a significant image in Julius Caesar. For example, Cassius asks Brutus, "Tell me, good Brutus, can you see your face?" (1.2.53). He continues, "That you have no such mirrors as will turn / Your hidden worthiness into your eye / That you might see your shadow...I, your glass" (1.2.58-60, 70). Essentially Cassius tells Brutus that he will be the mirror who reflects back to Brutus his true feelings and nature. At this moment, the reader recognizes Cassius has a private agenda and is providing Brutus with a false mirror.
Cassius continues to manipulate Brutus by comparing him to Caesar, asking "Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that 'Caesar'? / Why should that name be sounded more than yours? / Write them together: yours is as fair a name...Conjure with 'em: / 'Brutus' will start a spirit as soon as 'Caesar'" (1.2.143-148). Cassius hopes to incite jealousy and a desire for power in Brutus, and also reveals that he believes Caesar is their equal.
Furthermore, Cassius invokes Brutus' ancestor, Lucius Junius Brutus a man famous for expelling the former kings of Rome, in his attempt to sway Brutus. Brutus responded to his flattery and in fact refers to it later on when deciding whether or not to join the conspirators.
Caesar's description of Cassius is clearly disapproving, and at once shows the reader that he will be a source of conflict: "Let me have men about me that are fat, / Sleek-headed men, and such as sleep a-nights. / Yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look. / He thinks too much. Such men are dangerous" (1.2.193-196). Caesar continues, "He [Cassius] reads much, / He is a great observer, and he looks / Quite through the deeds of men. He loves no plays, / As thou dost, Antony; he hears no music. (1.2.202-205). Generally, Shakespearean characters that do not enjoy music or plays are inherently evil. Caesar fears Cassius because he does not enjoy life, whereas he trusts Antony who is almost famous for his ability to have a good time.
Two sides of Caesar exist in the play: Caesar as a concept and as a human being. The human in Caesar is weak, needs Cassius to save him from drowning and has epileptic fits. However, the mental concept of Caesar, the great general and leader is all powerful and noble. His every word is a command, and the people follow him.
Throughout the play, Caesar demonstrates an inability to effectively communicate, a theme reflected in much of the play's action. For example, in the first act the tribunes and plebeians talk across each other rather than to one another. Later on, Brutus and Cassius are constantly interrupted by shouts offstage, breaking their conversion and distracting Brutus.
Caesar's particular weakness in communication stems from his being deaf in his left ear. At one point he requests, "Come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf, / And tell me truly what thou think'st of him" (1.2.214-215). Caesar's deafness is in fact symbolic of his unwillingness to see danger in the world around him. As such, he dismisses the soothsayer and his wife Calpurnia's dream rather than accepting their morbid predictions.
In Richard II, the fall of Richard is represented by his constant descent from the throne. Similarly, Shakespeare foreshadows Caesar's fall in Julius Caesar when Caesar has an epileptic fit in the public square. This imagery of falling also coincides with the decline of language comprehension immediately thereafter. For example, Casca describes Cicero's speech saying, "It was Greek to me" (1.2.178), an expression that has since become cliche.
The action of the play is mostly focused on Brutus, a man who dominates the plot and speaks the most lines. Thus, some might wonder why the play is titled after Julius Caesar. Traditionally, Shakespeare named his plays after rulers ( Henry VIII,Richard III).
However, upon a close read, Julius Caesar does truly revolve around Caesar. Brutus' internal conflict is a struggle between his friendship for Caesar and his loyalty to the Roman Republic. Indeed, Caesar's influence on the plot continues even after his death, specifically when his ghost appears to Brutus, indicating the memory and myth of Caesar will never die.
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