Shakespeare's Caesar in “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar” is often mistaken for a tyrant. This view comes from the characterization of Caesar through the eyes of Cassius and Brutus. The qualities of Caesar that make him a martyr rather than a tyrant are often obscured by the accusing finger of Cassius and the calculating eye of Brutus. Within the show, Cesare is the type of politician who puts on a show, hence the big party when he returns to Rome parading like a celebrity. Throughout the play it is difficult to discover who the real Caesar is. The parallels in Caesar's character, however, do not stop at playing tyrant or martyr. His journey and betrayal parallel the martyrdom of Jesus Christ. Caesar's death follows the three pillars of martyrdom presented by Christ; put to death, death because of his teachings and for refusing to apostatize, and commemoration of his death by his followers. A careful analysis of the work will reveal that Caesar is not a bloodthirsty tyrant as depicted by Cassius, but is instead a martyr to his fellow Romans, just as Christ is to the Christian faith. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayIt is easy to mistake Caesar for a tyrant due to his excessive ego and pride. When Caesar first enters the scene in Act 1, he is worshiped by the Romans for his success in battle, even though the Populists oppose him. Caesar's arrival in Rome is not the ideal image for a humble martyr like Christ. When Jesus enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday he rides alone on a donkey, not carried by crowds of admirers or the leader of an army. In the war aspect Jesus appears to be the anti-Caesar. Jesus' nation was weak and he rejected violence, while Caesar's popularity and action grew thanks to the battles he fought within it. Although Caesar's entry may not correspond to the entry of the Almighty, this does not mean that he is the antichrist or that he is a tyrant demanding to be worshipped. For the Romans, Caesar was salvation. Time and again he had protected them from war. Without Caesar the Romans would have been under tyranny. Just like the Christians, the Romans offer themselves and, ultimately, their free lives to the deity they created. At times within the play, it seems as if Caesar himself is unsure of who he is within the Roman population. Thanks to his military status and populist stance, he had become the most beloved and powerful political leader of his period. He created this loud God-like public figure, but on the other hand he also has the fear of plotting with Cassius. In the first scene of the first act, two lines 193 to 194, the human fear of Caesar's death and Cassiso's "hungry look". As fear creeps into Caesar's intuition, the urge to assert his own immortality forces him to ignore the prophecy. In the same scene 197 insists: “But I don't fear him... I prefer to tell you what there is to fear. Of what I fear: Forever I am Caesar." But who is this Caesar? Much of what the audience learns about Caesar in the following scenes is filtered through Cassius' point of view. While Cassius and Brutus portray him as a great tyrant, it is evident through his fear that Caesar is still human and has not fully transformed into a deity Never mind Caesar's uncertainties, when offered the crown, Brutus' fears of losing free will in the current republic. are evident 1 Lines 12-15 and 33-36, Brutus compares Caesar to a “snake's egg” that should be eliminated before it hatches symbol of the serpent refers to the Garden of Eden and theoriginal sin instead of comparing Caesar to the Savior, Brutus instead compares Caesar to sin itself. Caesar's fear of tyranny is not because he is a tyrant but instead is the fear that he might become one. But is this fear misplaced for Caesar? Rome's greater good, but Shakespeare portrays him as weak and sick. Early in the play it is evident that the great Caesar is even hard of hearing as he tells Antony to speak to his good ear: "Come to my right hand," he asks Antony, "for this ear is deaf, and tell me truly what do you think of him?" Shakespeare portrays Caesar in this way as a representation of his refusal to heed the advice of others as well as his own intuitions. Unlike Caesar, history shows that Jesus Christ actually accepted the advice of his 12 disciples. Although both sensed the imminent danger they faced among their followers, neither paid attention to the hunches and "guesses." In Shakespeare's play Act 1 Scene 3, it becomes apparent that Caesar also suffers from epileptic seizures. "He fell in the market place, foamed at the mouth and was speechless." According to Casca's bitter conceit, Caesar's epileptic shock was caused by the crowd's cheers for him to become king. Cassius also complains about Caesar's epilepsy and, like Casca, with notes of contempt. Shakespeare may choose to present Caesar in this way to humanize him or to present the argument that he was never actually a threat to the Republic. It seems that both Cassius and Brutus are angry because Caesar seems so human, not at all like the deity that represents him. the populous made him pass as such. The doubt harbored by the two men reflects the doubt Jesus faced from his disciples. Every man expected the Savior to be a great being and instead was greeted by a simple man. When the prophecy of the savior was told, many expected a great hero to appear, however he was expected to be a tiny child who was supposed to conquer all the lands and lead a great army for the Christian people. Jesus, like Caesar, appeared to be weak and non-threatening, but yet King Herod, similar to Cassius, ordered Christ's death because he posed a threat to the future of Herod's own action. What the conspirators fail to understand is that both Jesus and Caesar took positions among the populace not because they were tyrants but because they were “of flesh and blood.” Although Caesar is not a true deity, he gives a speech similar to the “I am” speeches of Jesus Christ. In Act 3 Scene 1, lines 64-79, Caesar gives his famous "I am the brightest star in the sky" speech. Caesar claims to be the most “constant” man in the universe because he rose above flesh and blood, above the apprehensions of man. He states that man's personal appeals and temptations no longer move his will. Caesar's ability to resist the appeals of men is similar to Christ's ability to resist the temptation of the sins of the world. When Caesar aligns himself with the "North Star", he attempts to rise above all other men. This elevation is representative of Christ's closeness to God. In John chapter 8 verse 12, Jesus says, “I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." Parallel to Caesar's claims, Christ claims to be the guiding star. Christ's elevation to the Father gives Jesus the power to act in a world that seeks some kind of guidance and truth. Because of this elevation achieved, Caesar claims to be the only man in all of Rome capable of ruling Rome just as Christ became the only man free from sin, thus resulting in his worship. This elevation of Caesar not only says a lot about equality withwhich Caesar treats the populous, but also on his character. Regardless of their action among the people and elevation to righteousness, both men are betrayed by their followers, which is probably the greatest defense in support of the martyrdom of Caesar and Christ. The betrayals of Christ and Caesar were failed in that they should have hindered every man's free will, but instead granted true immortality through their deaths. Caesar is revealed to be the victim of manipulation rather than its master among his followers. He commits no sin of tyranny, just a strong sense of selfishness. It is his popularity among the common wealth that gives him freedom of action even during his death. When Caesar is betrayed by Brutus he is surprised, not because he thought Brutus should adore him but because they were true friends. Brutus betrays Caesar in the same way Judas betrays Christ; it's all out of greed. Brutus may claim that he wants Caesar gone because he fears the Republic falling to tyranny, but in reality he is only entertaining the thoughts of his own agency that Cassius plants in his brain. Brutus is the most realistic character in the play. When he doubts Caesar's speech we are introduced to the inner turmoil that Brutus faces when considering murdering Caesar. If Caesar had truly been a dictator, Brutus would have had no internal conflict in ousting him or being involved in the assassination. Although tyranny appears to be the primary affliction, it is the traitor's anarchic behavior that spurs the tyranny created by Caesar's death. Just as in Caesar's betrayal, Christ also loses his beloved friends in the web of greed. For just thirty denarii Judas is willing to break his bond with Christ in order to improve himself. Cassius and Brutus did the same thing for much less. In the betrayal of Christ, Cassius can be seen as representing Judas while Brutus can be seen as representing Peter. Peter does not begin to question Christ's actions until Judas' calculating greed infiltrates the disciples. Following this hint of doubt, Peter denies Christ three times during the night of the Last Supper. It is these betrayals by close friends that force the hand of martyrdom regarding the death of Caesar and Jesus Christ. Caesar's assassination occurs "about the ninth hour" just as Christ finally dies on the Cross "at the ninth hour" ( Luke 23:44-45 ; Matthew 27:26 ; Caesar's death was supposed to free the Romans from his “tyrannical” power, but instead created anarchy within the city. Caesar seems almost omnipotent at first, but is not actually divine. Caesar's grandeur is punctured bones". He turns into the savior of Rome, but when he is killed he becomes the aggressor of Rome. Caesar, whom Cassius mocks with envy for presenting himself as "one man", "one man" ends up being a "piece of bloody earth". Caesar may be pierced by knives while Christ is pierced by nails and the spear, but the result is always the same. As presented in the Gospels, Christ's death on the cross is the story of the voluntary suffering of "a only man", "one man", who is actually divine. This man, Jesus, initially seems weak, no matter his divine status. He repeatedly calls himself the "Son of man", rather than the Son of God. He refuses to fight back and instead allows himself to be put to death in the humiliating act of crucifixion. As Christians take communion in remembrance of this act, Caesar's assassins hope that men will forever bathe in Caesar's blood. Brutus and the other conspirators ultimately attempted and failed to create what amounted to a secular alternative to, 2014.