Weblog Entry 17

William Shakespeare's play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a tale of excessive pride, infatuation, and deceit. Within the story many characters allow their loyalty to be shaken by their own vanity. A great example of this is during the monologue between Cassius and Brutus in Act 1 90-174, in which Cassius begins to tempt Brutus. During this scene Cassius seduces Brutus by telling him how Brutus has great inner virtue and favor with many “I know that virtue to be in you, Brutus, As well as I do know your outward favor.” Along with indicating Brutus’s good values Cassius also points out that Caesar does not have some of the great qualities of Brutus, or godlike qualities at all. For example Cassius tells the tale of how some time in the past Caesar and Cassius were swimming in the river Tiber, and Caesar grew so fatigued that Cassius had to save him from drowning “so from the waves of Tiber Did I the tired Caesar.” He also tells Brutus that when they were in Spain Caesar was so sick and weary that he asked for water “As a sick girl”. He uses these experiences to allude to Brutus that he is strong while Caesar is weak. Cassius goes on further by juxtaposing the names Caesar and Brutus and telling Brutus that they are both equally worthy names. He also alludes to Brutus that unless he wants to forever live under Caesar’s shadow “he doth bestride the narrow world Like a Colossus and we petty men Walk under his huge legs” he must become a master of his fate and murder Caesar. Cassius’s argument is to help Brutus recognize his own greatness, manifest Caesar’s weaknesses, and lead Brutus into his conspiracy to murder Caesar by telling him unless he wants to forever live under Caesar he must become a “master of his fate”.