Shakespeares Tragedy of Julius Caesar Project Assignment English 2 T Class Max Waldor 10/24/11 Period 3 Considering the historical

figure Brutus as he is represented in the works of Plutarch, Dante, E. Badian, Jona Lendering and William Shakespeare provides ample opportunity to understand their views of Brutus. By exploring the characterization of Brutus in these representations, one witnesses how the intersection of theory and representation sharpens critical understanding of the individuals understanding of Brutus and helps to compare their views. While historical data has been passed down through the ages, it is not possible to live in Rome during the time of the assassination of Julius Caesar. Yet efforts persist to present the facts, feelings, and consequences of those tense days in Roman history, as historians remain fascinated with the political, social, and moral issues of that historical data. While many have attempted to fashion more or less accurate portrayals of the assassination, no one historian or author, no historical or artistic genre can exhaust the act's realities. The reality of the event cannot be adequately described by an eyewitness account, nor by a historian writing two millennia later; therefore, what audiences are left with is a representation of the facts as interpreted by a writer. Both Plutarch and Shakespeare address the issue of Marcus Brutus goal to restore the Roman Republic. Plutarch implies that Brutus was an intelligent man solely motivated by this honorable intention; Shakespeare, however, presents a Brutus who holds that same ideal, yet is seemingly blinded by idealism and pulled into the plot to kill Caesar through deception. Both accounts

hinge upon Brutus noble intention and both conclude with the idea that the end Brutus sought was both respectable and honorable. Dante implies that Brutus was a terrible man and a blasphemer going as far as to compare the betrayal of Caesar to the betrayal of Jesus by Judas and he is punished to a similar fate as Judas in hell. E. Badian represents Brutus as a man who was shocked to see what Caesar had become but he was also selfish describing him to have squeezed all the money he could out of Asia, Brutus turned the wealth into Roman gold and silver coins, some (following Caesars example) with his own portrait on them. He also calls him personally arrogant and was cruel to inferiors. He goes on to say that the basis of Shakespeares idea for a sympathetic Brutus came from Plutarchs Lives. Lendering portrays Brutus as a man who acts out of idealism but who would have remained Caesars friend otherwise. He uses a phrase from Cicero to describe him. He had the courage of a man and the brains of a child. The role of Marcus Brutus in the assassination of the Roman dictator Julius Caesar in 44 B.C. provides an excellent opportunity to unearth these insights, as the assassination has been recounted time and again by a diverse body of historians. When considering Brutus, it is important to recall that much of what is known about him is refracted through artistic genres. Some recall him in the glowing light of the Greek biographer Plutarch, who presents Brutus as a man of the highest moral caliber, motivated to murder Caesar not for personal gain, but for the good of the Roman state. Sometimes, he is remembered by his punishment in Dantes Inferno. More, however, remember Brutus as the principal conspirator in the murder of Julius Caesar, as represented in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Clearly, the Brutus most typically known through these works is not presented within a historical context; he is a historical figure represented in literary and artistic efforts.

Plutarch's Life of Marcus Brutus features the familiar story of the assassination of Julius Caesar. Plutarch is best remembered for the Lives, a series of biographies of noble figures in history. Among the many figures represented in the Lives, Julius Caesar, Marcus Brutus, and Marc Antony stand out, as their individual biographies recount the same historical incidents from the title characters focus. In Plutarchs Life of Caesar, Brutus is viewed as a friend of Caesar who betrays him and as a result is viewed as a bad man. However, in Plutarchs Life of Brutus, the reader sees Brutus side of the story and is able to see why he murdered Caesar and is viewed as a moral and just man. In Shakespeares play, the reader can see the effect of Plutarchs Life of Brutus on his view of Caesar. Rather than viewing Brutus as a terrible person like many other writings including Dantes Inferno he views him as a man who was tricked into killing his best friend because he thought he had to in order to save Rome. This is seen in the famous quote, Not because I loved Caesar less, but because I loved Rome more. In Dantes Inferno, the reader can see how Dante, as an Italian, viewed Caesar as a great man and thought that his murderers were among the worst people who ever lived. Thus, he describes him and his co-conspirators as evil people who get punished with the worst people in hell. Among these people are Judas who betrayed Jesus. This also shows how the Italians viewed Caesar as god-like. The passage of time and how it affects peoples thoughts can be seen through these different views. Dante, who lived in Italy shortly after Caesars death saw it as a major tragedy. This lead to his writings in Inferno. Plutarch, who lived later, was less connected to the event and saw it from a more historical viewpoint. Shakespeare, who lived even later, read these pieces of literature used them to create a story to entertain people and gain money. He decided which viewpoint of

Brutus to use based on which would be the most different than people had seen before and would be the most interesting to watch a play about. These purposes for writing also had an effect on the viewpoint of the author. Having considered Plutarchs, Shakespeares, Dantes, Badians, and Lenderings individual representations of Marcus Brutus, one recognizes that the techniques and procedures used in constructing history and literature can be shown to be substantially the same. As Plutarchs Life of Brutus and Shakespeares drama share many characteristics of a proper history, one realizes that their ideas lie in their identification and definition of the conventions used to construct historybased representational accounts. Dantes Inferno and Life of Caesar show a different perspective however Dantes viewpoint can be explained by emotions of the time period and Plutarchs viewpoint can be due to the goal of the literature. Badian and Lendering, living most current of all have the most obscured viewpoint of Brutus due to the fact that they can only learn about him through others work. As you can see, the views of one person can differ very greatly. There are many reasons why and it can be explained. However, due to the immense time gap between these viewpoints they are altered and their views are obscured by each other. Because of this we may never truly learn how Brutus was.

Works Cited 1. Marcus Junius Brutus Caepio by Jona Lendering http://www.livius.org/bn-bz/brutus/brutus02.html 2. Marcus Junius Brutus by E. Badian http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/82449/Marcus-Junius-Brutus 3. Life of Caesar by Plutarch http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html 4. Life of Brutus by Plutarch http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Brutus*.html 5. Inferno - Circle 9 by Dante http://danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu/circle9.html 6. Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare