How Does Shakespeare Present Portia In Julius Caesar

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English playwright, William Shakespeare, transformed Julius Caesar’s betrayal story into a play that shared underlying messages to the audience. One message not typically associated with the story of Caesar, taught the significance of respect and communication among spouses. Shakespeare achieved this by developing the character of Brutus’s wife and Caesar’s wife and by giving the audience the opportunity to witness the interactions between the couples. Portia and Calpurnia in Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, both pleaded to their husbands, but neither of them succeeded.
Brutus’s wife, Portia, used persuasive rhetoric to prove herself as a voice of reason. Watching her husband restlessly pace the halls, Portia decided she must discuss …show more content…
To bring Caesar to his senses, Calpurnia mentioned the sudden lightning storm along with the eerie earthquake. Additionally, she addressed the unusual lion roaming the streets and how, “graves have yawned and yield up their dead. Fierce fiery warriors fought upon the clouds” (2.2.18-19). Trapped in the eye of the hurricane, Caesar stubbornly refused to see the chaos stirring around him. Calpurnia emphasized the reality of these warnings and shared her unsettling dream; her dream foreshadowed Caesar’s death by showing his statue oozing pure blood. Furthermore, the dream predicted that in pools of Caesar’s blood, the conspirators would “bathe their hands ” (2.2.84). Since dreams had great importance in Roman culture, Caesar temporarily listened to Calpurnia’s knowledge. Calpurnia’s discerning nature juxtaposed Decius’s deceiving intentions. Caesar explained to Decius:
And these does she apply for warnings and portents
And evils imminent, and on her knee
Hath begged that I will stay at home today. (2.2.85-87) Ultimately, Caesar dismissed the forewarnings from his wife, and due to his ignorance towards his surroundings and love of self-image he kept himself from seeing the knowledge Calpurnia
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