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Young Writers Society


Critique:"The Tragedy of Julius Ceasar"



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Sun Apr 23, 2006 12:54 pm
McPheever says...



Allright, I've just finished my literary analysis for my English class, and looking for some opinions about it.

My literary analysis focuses on what I personally learned in the play, whether it be literary tools Shakespeare utilized, or the characters themselves, and how they acted in the story.

When reading, tell me if I stayed true to my thesis, did my conclusion reinforce my first paragraph, did I give good examples of rhetoric, and did it flow smoothly?

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Rhetorical Tools and Symbolism in
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar



The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, written by literary mastermind William Shakespeare centers around the assassination of Rome's greatest monarchy and his misguided assassin Brutus. Brutus, the main protagonist in the play is a complex brooding man who believes his intentions will truly benefit the Roman people; while his only hope of achieving this is only by Caesar's demise. Cassius, his friend, deftly manipulates Brutus in Act I to assassinate Caesar. In a play that is dialog heavy, techniques such as foreshadowing, rhetorical soliloquies from characters at various segments in the play, and subtle symbols found in the story give the story depth, and complexity achieved through literary tools that may seem subtle at glance, but significantly adds suspense, and irony to central parts.

Literary wise, the archaic diction is a feast for the reader. The wordplays, puns, and rhetorical contradictions leave the reader with suspense, and enough knowledge so that it heightens the irony in crucial segments; Shakespeare carefully places these literary elements in the play, and through further delving, one can find even more subtle symbols in the story.
Foreshadowing is used heavily in the play. For example, during the beginning in Act I where lightning strikes in the sky, and lions walk the streets. These pieces give the protagonists a more sinister aura, leaving the reader to wonder whether Brutus will actually carry through with the assassination. Moving ahead to Act III, near the time of Caesar's assassination, another major foreshadowing event occurs, involving Caesar's wife Calphurnia. Calphurnia awakes and seeks Caesar after troubled dreams and confides to him her fears. She dreamed that Caesar's statue, riddled with holes, was pouring blood, and hands were washing themselves in it; shaken and afraid for her husband, Calphurnia begs him not to accept the invitation to the senate. At first he agrees, but then Decius, a fellow conspirator arrives, and manages to persuade him to come. This is a major ironic part of the play, heightened by Calphurnia's premonitions. The last major foreshadowing segment is in Act IV when Brutus is visited by Caesar's ghost. Caesar's ghost gives Brutus a chilling prophetical message. This message foreshadows revenge in some form, finally concluding towards a tragic ending.

The soliloquies in the play were crucial to not only Antony's speech, but segments where characters dealt with inner thoughts, and musings. An excellent example of how a soliloquy was used was when Antony persuade the plebeians, and the reader with an emotional and sarcastic oration during Caesar's funeral. Antony used rhetorical repetition to successfully twist the speech he made to honor Brutus, instead using it to incite blood lust for Caesar. He was able to twist the powerful style of speech into an effective weapon against Caesar's assasssins.

The last tool, and the most subtly used one are the symbols Shakespeare placed in the story. These symbols, which are usually interpreted as inanimate were actually the closest people to the two main characters of the play. These symbols, which at first may seem no more than stock characters used to fill in the story were Calphurnia, Caesar's wife, and Portia, Brutus's wife. In retrospect, after the play ends, and one thinks on the events that occurred, Caesar's downfall seen by his wife, and Portia's suicide, reflected not only the men's personal life falling apart, but was a foreshadowing that was subtle and powerful. For example, during Calphurnia's distressed state, when she confided to him her nightmare; the way Caesar grudgingly allowed her to sway him for a few moments showed the state of their fragile relationship, and the dream that she had was an important weight that added irony to the assassination. Finally, the second symbol occurred when Brutus receives news from Rome that his wife Portia committed suicide by swallowing fire. This was important since Portia not only lost control of herself, but life as well. After more musing, one can see the correlation between the death of Portia, then Brutus. The wives at first seemed like only stock characters, but proved to be more important, and influential later in the play.

"The Tragedy of Julius Caesar" contains a plethora of antiquated, but elegant diction that enthralls the contemporary reader, and at times may befuddle them too. The tact, and skill of Shakespeare is clearly displayed proudly in the play. He used a variety of rhetorical techniques, and symbols that gave the story a deeper, and more complex substance. With these in hand, a masterful piece was created, which is referenced to even now by contemporary playwrights. After carefully analyzing the play, one can conclude that this euphonic flow in text would surely not have been as lustrous without the many pieces of rhetoric, and symbolism that Shakespeare carefully, and meticulously placed.

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Gender: Male
Points: 890
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Sat Jul 29, 2006 12:19 pm
Jojo says...



I read Julius Caesar in school and have looked to the Internet for help before. I can tell you this was better than most of the other articles posted on other sites about Julius Caesar. However, I think you did not give enough space to the complexities of Shakespeare's characters. We can see a positive and negative side af almost all of the characters. No one is completely bad or good. Then again, maybe you didn't intend to stress on the individual characters
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The idea that a poem was a made thing stayed with me, and I decided then that I wanted to be an artist, not just a diarist. So I put myself through a kind of apprenticeship in writing poetry, and I understood even then that my practice as a poet was deeply related to my reading.
— Edward Hirsch