Analysis of 'Julius Caesar'

In the play ‘Julius Caesar’ by William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, the Emperor of Rome, is murdered during the third Act. It has been suggested that power and the quest for power are the reasons behind his murder. Power is defined as a position of authority or control with the ability to do or act upon you will. The issue to be investigated is whether Brutus, Octavius and Antony became so corrupted in their quest for power that they killed Julius Caesar, so as to gain his power. It has also been suggested that ‘power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely’. However, this is not the only way power affects people. For instance, power could make an individual nobler or more successful, or enable them to help those under their rule. The following shall outline what Brutus, Octavius and Antony do in the play, and explain how power affects these characters.

Brutus, probably the most significant character in the play, is the leader of the group who plans to kill Caesar, although Cassius is the initiator of the plot. Brutus loves Caesar, as Caesar does him, and ironically this is why he kills Caesar – he does not want to see him corrupted by the absolute power he (Caesar) would have if he were king. He gives Caesar the final stab which kills him. He then leads his and Cassius’ army against Antony and Octavius’ and finally kills himself to avenge Caesar’s death.

Caesar was getting so popular with the people that they wanted to crown him king, which would mean he would have absolute power. Brutus knew this, and so he convinced himself that he needed to kill Caesar for once Caesar was king, the absolute power would corrupt him and he would become a tyrant, doing whatever he pleased.

Brutus
“But for the general. He would be crown’d:
How that might change his nature, there’s the question:
It is the bright day that brings forth the adder,
And that craves wary walking. Crown him that;
And then, I grant, we put a sting in him,
That at his will