Skip to main content

What is significance of the final speaker in Julius Caesar?

Octavius speaks the final words in Julius Caesar.He and Mark Antony praise Brutus’s memory and plan to give him “all respect and rites of burial.” Though they mourn Brutus’s death, they also celebrate their victory: “let's away, / To part the glories of this happy day.” Octavius is Julius Caesar’s nephew and adopted son. The irony at the play’s conclusion is that another Caesar is set to lead Rome. Brutus’s aim was to keep...

Octavius speaks the final words in Julius Caesar. He and Mark Antony praise Brutus’s memory and plan to give him “all respect and rites of burial.” Though they mourn Brutus’s death, they also celebrate their victory: “let's away, / To part the glories of this happy day.” Octavius is Julius Caesar’s nephew and adopted son. The irony at the play’s conclusion is that another Caesar is set to lead Rome. Brutus’s aim was to keep Rome a republic, but killing the would-be emperor merely caused a civil war and put another Caesar in power. Octavius, or Augustus Caesar, would be the first in a long line of emperors.


Julius Caesar ends on a peaceful note, with Antony and especially Octavius coming across as fair-minded rulers, but it also foreshadows the trouble in the later play Antony and Cleopatra. Antony dismisses Lepidus, one third of the triumvirate, as “a slight unmeritable man,” and Octavius does not always follow the elder Antony’s orders. In Antony and Cleopatra, Octavius plays the role that Antony plays in Julius Caesar: he is the young and calculating upstart who defeats his elders. Just as Antony beats Cassius and Brutus at the political game, Octavius succeeds where Antony fails.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Can you analyze the poem "Absolution" by Siegfried Sassoon?

Sure! Siegfried Sassoon fought in World War I and was wounded in battle; he spent much of his life speaking out against war, and these pacifist feelings are easy to see in his poems. This one, "Absolution," was published in 1917, the same year that Sassoon was hospitalized for what we know today as post-traumatic stress disorder. "Absolution" is a short poem that contains three stanzas of four lines each. The word "absolution" means "forgiveness," and... Sure! Siegfried Sassoon fought in World War I and was wounded in battle; he spent much of his life speaking out against war, and these pacifist feelings are easy to see in his poems. This one, "Absolution," was published in 1917, the same year that Sassoon was hospitalized for what we know today as post-traumatic stress disorder. "Absolution" is a short poem that contains three stanzas of four lines each. The word "absolution" means "forgiveness," and the v...
Post a Comment
Read more

How and why does James Gatz become Jay Gatsby? Describe the young Gatsby/Gatz.

James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune,... James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune, whereas they arose from well-to-do families. Gatz became Gatsby through determination and discipline. At the end of the novel, the narr...
Post a Comment
Read more

In chapter one of The Great Gatsby, what advice does Nick's father give him? How does this make him a good person to tell this story?

Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches... Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches into a discussion of how pe...
Post a Comment
Read more