Mrs. Grifen
English 11 G/T
12 November 2013
The Complicated Relationships of Julius Caesar How does the stress of being a high-ranking individual involved in tortuous, convoluted political plots affect relationships between said individuals and others? The story of Julius Caesar follows the downfall of Caesar by the hands of a group of conspirators. These conspiritors, having murky intentions and led by Cassius and Brutus, implement a plan to kill Caesar. Caesar’s demise and Antony’s speech sparks a battle between the loyal followers of the defeated Caesar, and the conspirators. In Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, the relationships between prominent political individuals and others are more complicated and chaotic than those between normal people shown by the stress-riddled relationships between Caesar and Calpurnia, Caesar and Brutus, and Brutus and Cassius. Caesar and Calpurnia had a very stressful relationship. Calpurnia, although blind to the plot of the conspirators, had known that there was always a possibility that Caesar was in trouble as king of Rome. Any ruler must be wary of insurgent plans. In Act II, scene ii, Calpurnia woke from a dream in which a statue of Caesar had blood flowing from it, and she dreamed that Caesar would die in her arms. Omens like these in the time that the story took place would have frightened the people. This dream put a lot of stress on Calpurnia and she begged Caesar not to go to the Senate: “Do not go forth to-day: call it my fear that keeps you in the house, and not your own… Let me, upon my knee, prevail in this.” (___) Caesar initially tells Calpurnia that he will not attend the Senate meeting, but Decius then convinces him to go. This scene shows the complicated relationship the political responsibility of Caesar has caused. Most husbands would listen to their wife if she was hysterically worried, as Caesar initially did. But because Caesar was obligated to fulfill his political engagements, he had to ignore his wife. His wife ultimately had the correct intuition to prevent him from going, but the convoluted nature of the relationship forced Caesar to go to his death. Caesar’s high-ranking position as a political figure complicates his relationship with Calpurnia. Caesar and Brutus had, if not the, one of the most complicated relationships of the play. They were both political figures that were respected in the community. Brutus always said that he loved Caesar, but was killing him for the good of Rome. This is not questioned because Brutus is such an honorable man, but Brutus feels guilty in his slaying of Caesar which makes the reader wonder if he really killed Caesar for the good of Rome. This idea is also acknowledged by Matthew Sims: “As we shall see, the vast discrepancy between Brutus's intent to save the Republic and the