Julius Caesar Rhetorical Analysis

As Cicero states: “men may construe things after their fashion”, in the midst of subjective conflicting perspectives upon a certain personality, what would you draw from it? William Shakespeare lends this thought to the audiences of his time as well as ours through the play, Julius Caesar. Was Julius Caesar really the noblest man that ever lived, an ambitious tyrant, or both? Enhanced by the personal values of Cassius and Brutus, we can discover that studying the conflicting perspectives of Caesar and his power can bring us closer to the truth of his character whilst cultivating a more diverse and provocative insight to Shakespeare’s context and audience.
Like many writers, Shakespeare’s purpose of writing was driven by the context and audiences of his times. Based on the political situation of Queen Elizabeth I, who had progressively enlarged her power at the expense of the
Shakespeare uses Cassius’ as a device to oppose the supremacy of imperial rulers through the use of envious rhetorical questioning, “Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed…That he is grown so great?” mocking Caesar’s success as merely a product of luck rather than superiority. This provokes the audience to perceive Cassius as the jealous villain fuelled by his own lack of success, and sympathise with Caesar. Furthermore, Julius’ arrogance and flaws are brought to light by Flavius, whom Shakespeare uses bird imagery to allude to the Greek myth of Icarus. His dialogue states that his “growing feathers” should be “plucked from Caesar’s wing” or he “would soar above the view of men”, suggesting Caesar’s rising arrogance was being fuelled by the fickle natured support of the plebeians.