Megan Minix

AP English
Korey Bradley
Dec. 10th, 2015
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar Reflection #2
Use of Personification- Shakespeare uses personification through Antony, when he says Notice
how the blood of Caesar followed it, as if it was rushing outside to find out if it was Brutus who so
unkindly knocked or not;... This brings even more attention to the bloody mess of Caesars body, and
gives it the effect that it was as if it was coming to answer someone who was waiting outside the door.
The effect this has on the reader is it makes something even more interesting by basically making it come
to life.
Use of Pathos- Shakespeare uses pathos through Cassius, for Cassius is a very odd character. He
is bossy, yet almost manipulates others by saying things to make others feel bad for him. An example of
this would be Cassius saying If our plot is revealed, either Cassius or Caesar will not return alive,
because I will kill myself. Within Cassius saying this, he creates an ultimatum whereas his friends must
choose between the plan of killing Caesar or having Cassius kill himself.
Use of Asyndeton- Asyndeton is the the omission of conjunctions between sentence parts.
Shakespeare uses asyndeton through the citizens chants, for example, the Second Citizen says Well hear
him, well follow him, well die with him. Another example that COULD fit is when all of the crowd
says Seek! Burn! Fire! Kill! Slay!. The use of this literary device is to create drama, which is fitting to
the use of it in Julius Caesar, for the citizens are yelling it during a town meeting with Antony, while
speaking of the death of Caesar.
In our group discussion of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, we discussed the characters again, and
how they are developing. We mentioned how the citizens of Rome are extremely gullible, and digest
everything that is told to them, as well as, how Brutus is delusional because he refuses to accept that he
has done wrong, instead of something honorable; how Antony is very wise with how he manages to get

the citizens to be Pro-Caesar again, while still making it seem as though he thinks the murderers are
honorable men; and how Cassius is kind of a coward, for he has to have a group behind him to make
him feel/seem strong, and that he wants to be the boss, but tries to acquire is by pity, almost.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by Shakespeare is a political play.
The political parts in this play are prominent throughout Act III and IV, but it is unclear of which
kind of government Shakespeare favors, for he almost bashes all three that are shown. First, he shows the
wrongs of monarchy by portraying Caesar as being too ambitious and unaware of his surrounding, and
killing him. Then is it shown that the people could not adequately govern Rome since they are portrayed
as gullible and child-like in the funeral scene since they absorb and believe anything that is told to them.
Lastly, a group of government is shown as a poor way to govern by having Brutus and Cassiuss group be
unable to calmly discuss things or agree on anything, as well as secretly fight for the overall power.
A way that I could connect this play to the real world is by comparing Julius Caesar and Oediups
Rex. They are both very proud, which blinds their trail of thinking. Julius Caesar was too proud to take
his personal letter of warning, as well as the warning from his wife, and this very thing gets him
murdered. Oedpius Rex on the other hand is told of how his future will be, and because of his pride he
refuses to accept it which in the ends leads him to fulfill the prophecy without even knowing it.