Themes in Julius Caesar
The theme is a broad concept presented in a literary section. William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar presents the dilemma of allegiance and also displays the darker aspects of human nature such as betrayal and barbarism. Some of the main themes of Julius Caesar are discussed below:
Masculinity and respect
Julius Caesar is a play involving the question of masculinity, in which the characters constantly examine their actions in the light of their relationship with the accepted notions of manliness, virtue, and power. Throughout the play, those recognized ideas have been presented in a surprisingly vague way. For example, Julius Caesar himself suffered from vulnerabilities that are ridiculous to the audience.
Superstitious beliefs
Shakespeare has shown Romans’ firm beliefs in omens. However, the elite often ignore such symptoms. When Soothsayer tells Caesar that he should beware of the March Ides, Caesar not only ignores him but even his wife, Calpurnia who reminds him that she had a very bad dream about him. However, Caesar postpones his visit to the Senate, deciding not to ignore his wife completely. Even Casca sees various omens and believes that this is probably a warning sign of Caesar’s dictatorship.
Dictatorship and power
Another notable aspect of the play is the use of power and power to establish oppression on the people, Julius Caesar. The two characters try to prove that Caesar has established an oppressive dictatorship; First Cassius uses the language of flowers to prove it and explains it to his audience and then Brutus, who sees that Caesar has become a dictator with absolute power. Cassius, however, goes further, calling Caesar a wolf, and vows that he would commit suicide instead of being a slave. On the other hand, Mark Anthony has told the Roman people that everyone is ambitious in one sense or another; Therefore, it is not understood that anyone should be killed just to be ambitious. Cassius and Brutus themselves follow ambition and power. If they had the same opportunity as Caesar, they could have proved worse than him.
The role of destiny
The role of destiny is another major theme of the play. Fate enters the drama when Caesar is warned of a possible catastrophe. In fact, the play revolves around Caesar’s fate, although Caesar rarely works to avoid this fate. Cassius, on the other hand, believes that he has the power to change his destiny. However, the sequence of events that he reveals does not stop until he accepts his fate. Conspirators also face their opponents by committing suicide on the battlefield. Thus, it seems that the play portrays most of the characters gripped in the hands of fate.
The power of speech
One of the major themes of the play is the power of speech, which shows how people’s perceptions can be changed. For example, Brutus delivers his speech before the general people by providing logic that he had killed Caesar to remove autocracy from the history of Rome, and thus the people are convinced. But Antony through his eloquence has proved that Caeser was not an autocratic ruler.
War and ambition
War fuel brings ambition and ambition brings war. This thematic strand also runs parallel to peace and dignity. Caesar has ignited the hysteria of war within the nation through his war tactics. He has won so many battles and shown so much heroism on the front that every Roman soldier is as ambitious as Caesar. That is why more battles are needed to win more respect. This is the same ambition that led the conspirators to weave a plan against Caesar.
Ethics and politics
The whole drama revolves around political policy and moral politics. Brutus’s involvement in political conspiracies and Caesar’s assassination is devoid of morality, while Mark Anton’s humorous speech shows moral standards that must be upheld.
