Julius caesar how is cassius characterized

What does Brutus say to Cassius before departing? What do the senators plan to do the next day? Caesar feels that Brutus is noble to him and does the right thing regardless of personal danger. In depicting Caesar as frail and unworthy of the position he was given in Rome, Cassius manipulates Brutus by appealing to his well-known loyalty to Rome. Cassius, while loyal to Brutus, recognizes that he can manipulate Brutus into doing what he cannot do himself.

Throws letters into Brutus's window. I, 3, l. Practical and shrewd. But Brutus's moral power is so great that it overpowers Cassius's practical judgment, to the failure of their cause. At the outset, Shakespeare accents Cassius's unlovely traits, his ambition opposing itself to Caesar's, his unscrupulous methods of drawing Brutus into the conspiracy.

As the action progresses, however, we gain insight into Cassius's nobler side: his generosity in the reconciliation; Act IV, Sc. Antony Antony, like Cassius, is a foil to Brutus. Like Cassius, he is an astute, practical man of the world, but unlike Cassius, he is fond of pleasure and adventure. Like Cassius again, he is bound by ties of affection and admiration to a finer nature. His love for Caesar is sincere, but he is shrewd and selfish enough to use it for his own ends. II, I, 1.

Joined to a masker and a reveller! V, I, 1. Devoted to Caesar. Shrewd and astute. Speech of conciliation to Brutus. Gains permission to speak at funeral. III, i, 1. Plays on mob's curiosity and greed in his speech. Presented first merely as the gaiety-loving adventurer, Antony reveals after Caesar's death an extraordinary insight into character, from Brutus' noble, unsuspicious nature to the easily-swayed emotions of the mob. In the opening scene of Act IV, more than nineteen months after Caesar's assassination, we see Antony in session with the other two triumvirs, and there is shown still another phase of his character: cold-hearted cruelty and selfish double-dealing.

Lepidus, the third triumvir, is "a slight, unmeritable man, meet to be sent on errands," but having done his part in easing Antony "of divers slanderous loads," he is to be sent off "like to the empty ass, to shake his ears.

Cassius is the most shrewd and active member of the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar. Further, Cassius repeatedly suggests that tyrants come to power when the people allow their power to be stolen. From the very beginning, Cassius is pleased with himself for his ability to manipulate others.

Later, the audience learns that Cassius is willing to gain money by means that Brutus finds dishonorable and unacceptable, though the specifics are not fully revealed. Cassius is at various times petty, foolish, cowardly, and shortsighted. Despite his villainous tendencies, Cassius remains a complex character with hostile yet impressively passionate traits. Ace your assignments with our guide to Julius Caesar!

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