Julius Caesar Essay -- essays research papers

SUMMARY: Shakespeare's Julius Caesar is the story of the resulting conflicts from the assassination of perpetual dictator and Roman emperor, Julius Caesar. A great friend of Caesar, Mark Antony, comes to the senate to see the dead body of their dictator. He pretends to not be angry at those who took part in the assassination, and asks to speak at his funeral, a request which he is granted. However, after the men leave, he begins a soliloquy in which he suggests that Caesar's spirit will take revenge upon his murderers and invoke a war involving the entire country. Antony begins the revenge of his death by speaking at the funeral about the wrong done to Caesar, the man's generosity to the people, and how Brutus tried to persuade them to believe his justification of the murder. The crowd turns to agreement with Antony and then accuse the conspirators of murder. The accused men flee, eventually leaving the bounds of the city, and the citizens leave to loot and burn the houses of the guilty men. The armies of Brutus and Cassius set up camps near another city and knowing that Antony's soldiers are coming, they decide to march toward the enemy at once. The fighting begins with the confrontation of the two sides, as Cassius' and Brutus' armies arrive. Antony and his partner challenge the assassins to fight, and the bloody battle begins. The armies of the conspirators fall into vulnerability many times, and their side does poorly, losing many men. Cassius hears mistakenly that one...