Power In Julius Caesar Analysis

Does power corrupt people or do people corrupt power? Power is something that is coveted by many. It is fickle like luck and can change between people in an instant. It can be solid like steel and wielded with absolute authority. In Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, the Roman senators are always struggling for power, especially the prominent ones like Caesar and Pompey. Not only does Shakespeare use animal imagery to describe the the nature of his characters in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, but he also argues through his use of animal imagery about the corruptive force of power.
Shakespeare utilizes a liberal amount of snake imagery to describe Caesar during his ascent to power. During his orchard soliloquy, Brutus refers to Caesar being crowned as “the bright day that brings forth the adder,” (2.1.14) in which Caesar is the adder. In
Shakespeare illustrates this by using animal imagery to show the arrogance power has caused within Caesar. Gaining power has made Caesar extremely arrogant evidenced by when he states that “Danger know full well / that Caesar is more dangerous than he” (2.2.43-44). By playing on his arrogance, Decius confidently states that he can flatter Caesar to the Senate House like how “unicorns may be betrayed by trees” (2.1.205). Caesar’s arrogance caused by power corrupting him led to his downfall, but it also lead to Brutus’s death too. Although many think Brutus is idealistic and loyal and noble, he can still be corrupted by power, even temporarily. When Antony requests to speak at Caesar’s funeral, Brutus allows him to do so, but only if he followed certain conditions. This is where Brutus becomes corrupt by the power that he has over Antony; that he is confident that Antony can not do anything at the funeral that would turn the people of Rome onto himself, and that confidence, which can be considered as arrogance, is what leads to his eventual