Examples Of Sickness In Julius Caesar

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Georg C. Lichtenberg once said, “Sickness is mankind’s greatest defect”. Act II of Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare supports the statement by Lichtenberg. Sickness is one of the many motifs that appear throughout the play. It is referred to when Portia notices Brutus’ odd behavior in Scene I, and by Ligarius in his conversation with Brutus. Sickness is often related and result of a character's inner conflict. In Scene Two, Brutus is plagued with doubts of his allegiance with the conspirators. With these thoughts constantly in his head, he is not able to sleep. Sickness is a result of a character’s inner conflict it applies to Brutus, who plays a main part in the scene. In the following quote, Portia notices Brutus’ behavior …show more content…
The motif of sickness is also mentioned when Ligarius is in Brutus' house after the conspirators have left. Ligarius was deemed sick by his fellow conspirators, but that was disproved in the following quote. “O what a time have you chose out...must make sick” ( 2.1. 327-41)? In this quote, Brutus says, “a piece of work that will make sick men whole”. He is referring to the conspirators’ plans to kill Caesar, which helps to show that the conspirators themselves are also sick because they were founders of the assassination of Caesar. In relation to Act II, this quote is significant because Ligarius implies that Rome is the one being associated with sickness, and that Caesar is the virus in this situation. “Sickness” is important because if it were never to occur in Julius Caesar, than the play would have not been as in depth about the characters and the assassination of Caesar as it is. In brief, the motif of sickness plays a major role in Julius Caesar. Both passages give examples of how a character of the play, and a general part of the play can be connected to this theme because it shows how the theme is incorporated into the play, and an important part of the play as well. The theme of sickness is an important part of this play because if it were never to occur at all, than the play never would have been created from the

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