In the tragedy of Julius Caesar, Shakespeare created characters with a range of traits. The main characters each had their own strengths, weaknesses, and struggles. Brutus, Cassius, Caesar, and Antony are diverse in their leadership skills. Each one would make a different kind of ruler of Rome. Cassius would be the worst ruler. He is more of a villain than a hero. From the beginning, Shakespeare portrays him as an envious man. Caesar notes how “lean and hungry” Cassius looks, meaning that he is not happy with his position. Because he is so hungry for power, if he were the ruler of Rome he would make decisions based more on himself than on the good of the people. Another major flaw in Cassius is that he does not have authority. He was the leader of the conspiracy until Brutus was recruited. The conspirators trusted Brutus more than Cassius, so anonymously Brutus was in charge. Shakespeare displays Cassius’s lack of authority when Cassius makes a suggestion about the conspiracy three times, and each time Brutus turned down his suggestion. If Cassius could not control his comrades, he would not be able to control a whole city. Cassius is …show more content…
Shakespeare does not reveal much about Antony until after the death of Caesar, but he is found to be loyal to those he loves and ruthless to those he hates. The people of Rome have empathy for Antony because he lost his good friend. But they would not feel so sorry for him if he hadn’t used such good rhetoric in the speech at Caesar’s funeral. In addition to getting the Romans on his side, he convinced the conspirators that he was on their side too, saying “friends am I with you all and love you all”. Antony is a people person. He knows how to convince people of whatever cause he wants. A leader usually needs this quality if he wants people to support his