Roman citizenship

depicted in films like Ridley Scott's Gladiator, real gladiators stuck to strict rules of combat and did not resort to the savage violence and mutilation typical of battlefields of the era. Much of what we understand about gladiatorial combat comes from Roman artwork, which suggests that gladiators were well matched in their capabilities, and followed sets of rules enforced by two referees”. On the other hand, Ridley Scott put female gladiators in the movie. They really existed, though in the…

Rome in Panic: Mark Antony’s Rhetorical Response Within William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, the character Mark Antony uses a plethora of rhetoric devices to persuade the crowd towards his way of thinking. These devices include sarcasm, logical thinking, and crying to emit a sense of emotion appeal. William Shakespeare uses different rhetorical modes inside each section of Mark Antony’s speech, which includes: Logos, Logos with Ethos, and Pathos during section 1, Ethos and Ethos with Pathos…

Mark Antony's Secret Weapon “Friends Romans countrymen Lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.” That was Mark Antony’s (a character and one of the main antagonist in William Shakespeare's tragedy Julius Caesar) first statement in his speech that completely turned a weeping mourning crowd into an angry mob. This crowd had just heard that news that their beloved leader Julius Caesar had been put to death. Brutus (a main protagonist in the tragedy) had spoke before Mark…

In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, the line “Et tu, Brute?” stands out as one of the most famous lines in the play. The only problem, however, is that Julius Caesar did not say that line upon being stabbed twenty-three times. Although the play Julius Caesar seems quite credible, Shakespeare has indeed embellished a few parts of it. In the play, the character of Marc Antony does not correspond to historical texts; but the assassination of Julius Caesar in essence does stand validated with…

Tragic hero: A person of high rank or quality that suffers a downfall as a result of his or her tragic flaw. All three of these characters executed a high rank or quality. William Shakespeare the playwright of Macbeth, which is a tragedy about Macbeth a general in King Duncan’s army, prophesied that he is now in line to be King after Duncan and Malcolm. His ambition to become king makes him into a killer and a liar. Jeff Hobbs the author of the award winning novel The Short and Tragic Life of…

decisions, both during battles and in the daily operation of his army, that he was so successful in all of his campaigns. His unique strategies, inspiring leadership, and the strict training regimen he gave his troops all played a role. The battles of the Roman Civil War were no exception and the battle of Pharsalus against rival general Pompey is an excellent example. The battle of Pharsalus, in some opinions, was tipped in Caesar’s favour before it began. Pompey had recently been driven out…

The King of Trials: Historical Trials in Richard II William Shakespeare's Richard II acts as an amalgamation of three forms of trial: trial by ordeal, trial by combat, and trial by jury. Presenting the trial by ordeal in the spirit of its original Latin iudicium Dei, meaning "the truth of God", King Richard II offers himself an extension of God-ruling through divine right-therefore, creating a variant of an ordeal in his banishment of Henry Bolingbroke (Bartlett 5). Further, Richard II…

Right from the beginning of the passage, it is noticeable that after killing Paris, Romeo is kind to him. Romeo is compassionate and buries Paris with Juliet instead of being resentful towards him. What also stands out is that Romeo chooses to bury Paris with Juliet per his request, which proves to the reader that Paris did love Juliet. He was seen as a villain who came in between Romeo and Juliet by trying to marry her when in reality, he loved her just as much as Romeo did. These first two…

Power Destroys “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.” This quote, from Abraham Lincoln, accurately describes what happens in Macbeth, a play written by William Shakespeare. The desire for power can bring someone glory or destruction. In the end, it all depends on how someone seeks that power and how he or she reacts once they get it. This is what happens to Macbeth. He seeks power and gains it, but the way that he does this is not…

The Power of Ambition Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, an American poet, once said, “Ambition is so powerful a passion in the human breast, that however high we reach we are never satisfied”. This quote expresses the danger of ambition, and greed could become so powerful that mankind can never be satisfied with their goals. In a society, absolutism makes one person have a supreme power over others. An individual will do anything for personal gain even if he is forced to use insensitive movements.…