Julius Caesar
How does Shakespeare use conflict to portray the misuse of power in Julius Caseasr?
I need to write a theme for Julius Caesar using the misuse of power.
I need to write a theme for Julius Caesar using the misuse of power.
I think that the beginning of this play illustrates this question. Julius Caesar opens with the tribunes of the people chastising the plebeians for being fickle. They refer to the masses as "You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things!"(1.1.34). This imagery of the masses as stones will continue throughout the play. They are in fact a fickle group of people, easily swayed by whoever is speaking to them, as evidenced later in the play when Antony turns a hostile crowd into a mob against Brutus and Cassius. The dynamics of the masses, the tribunes and the power brokers (including Caesar) makes this society ripe for conflict and corruption. The masses, so easily swayed, become targets for all who seek power
http://www.gradesaver.com/julius-caesar/study-guide/section1/