Thirst For Power In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is one of Shakespeare's most recognized and studied works in history. Throughout the play many problems arise which cause people’s judgment to cloud, which result in flawed thinking and irrational behavior, but there are only a few influential ones. One of these problems was power.Through a myriad of Caesars followers become jealous of his power, Caesar still wanted more. The thirst for power is the biggest problem in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Despite Caesar’s rendering of no yearn for more power, those who are educated are not fooled by Caesar’s acting. Casca exhibits his knowledge of Caesar’s true intentions when he says “Then he [Antony] offered it to him again; then he put it by again; but to my thinking, he was very loath to lay his fingers off it. …show more content…
During Brutus’s soliloquy he states “And therefore think him a serpent’s egg, which, hatch’d would, as his kind, grow mischievous”(II.i.28-34). Brutus is saying how he is worried about Caesar wanting more power, and that if given the power he wishes to attain, he could cause harm to Rome. Brutus was brought to this realization by Cassius during a previous discussion in which Cassius portrayed Caesar as a colossus:”Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world, Like a Colossus, and we petty men, Walk under his huge legs and peep about, To find ourselves dishonorable graves.”(I.ii.136-139) . Cassius characterizes Caesar in such a way to prove his point of Caesar’s unrelenting power. Cassius asserts that Caesar is in pursuit of more power, in which case he could abuse. Caesar's thirst for more power was more than just paranoia perceived by the others; it induced justifiable unease among his peers. Cassius and Brutus got very concerned because of Caesar’s ambitious inclinations in which he impels his thirst for more power than he already
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is one of Shakespeare's most recognized and studied works in history. Throughout the play many problems arise which cause people’s judgment to cloud, which result in flawed thinking and irrational behavior, but there are only a few influential ones. One of these problems was power.Through a myriad of Caesars followers become jealous of his power, Caesar still wanted more. The thirst for power is the biggest problem in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Despite Caesar’s rendering of no yearn for more power, those who are educated are not fooled by Caesar’s acting. Casca exhibits his knowledge of Caesar’s true intentions when he says “Then he [Antony] offered it to him again; then he put it by again; but to my thinking, he was very loath to lay his fingers off it. …show more content…
During Brutus’s soliloquy he states “And therefore think him a serpent’s egg, which, hatch’d would, as his kind, grow mischievous”(II.i.28-34). Brutus is saying how he is worried about Caesar wanting more power, and that if given the power he wishes to attain, he could cause harm to Rome. Brutus was brought to this realization by Cassius during a previous discussion in which Cassius portrayed Caesar as a colossus:”Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world, Like a Colossus, and we petty men, Walk under his huge legs and peep about, To find ourselves dishonorable graves.”(I.ii.136-139) . Cassius characterizes Caesar in such a way to prove his point of Caesar’s unrelenting power. Cassius asserts that Caesar is in pursuit of more power, in which case he could abuse. Caesar's thirst for more power was more than just paranoia perceived by the others; it induced justifiable unease among his peers. Cassius and Brutus got very concerned because of Caesar’s ambitious inclinations in which he impels his thirst for more power than he already