Literary Devices in Julius Caesar Essay

"Julius Caesar" should be considered good literature. The plot was captivating and made me want the story to continue. There was very good use of symbolism throughout the play, and the characters were very well developed. Overall, I find that these three are the most important characteristics of good literature, and "Julius Caesar" clearly contained them all.

The play, "Julius Caesar", by William Shakespeare, contained an entrancing plot, resulting in my group never wanting to put the play down and stop reading. As the plot progressed, we became more engrossed in what was happening. Initially, I enjoyed the beginning of the play, where most of the scene was explained and the importance of each character began to unravel. As Cassius turned against both of his friends, and Brutus did what he thought was right, I tried to take note of everything that was going on. Some things were harder to understand and required reading between the lines, such as how Cassius forged letters from the "disdained" public and placed them on the desk of Brutus for him to read. This is where the whole web of lies and deceit began. Cassius used Brutus as a pawn to get Caesar out of the throne by lying and making Brutus think that what he was doing was right. The conspirators then made a plan as to how they would kill Caesar, and Portia begged Brutus to tell her what was going on. However, he refused. Meanwhile, Caesar got ready to go to the Senate, after many protests from his wife about a dream she had. When he arrived there, each of the conspirators stabbed him once, and when he saw Brutus among them, he gave up his fight to live. Antony returns to find Caesar stabbed ruthlessly, and shakes hands with each of the murderers, and asks to speak at his funeral. However, when they leave, he vows that Caesar shall be avenged. At the funeral, after Brutus and Cassius spoke, Antony spoke of the glory and riches Caesar brought to Rome, eventually reading his will, which gives everything of his to the public. The public becomes furious that such a generous man was killed, and they turn on Brutus and Cassius, who were driven out of the city. Octavius, (Caesar's adopted son) arrives in Rome and joins forces with Antony and Lepidus, while Brutus and Cassius make their own army. Brutus is also having a hard time at this point with the fact that his wife, Portia, killed herself while he was away. That night, the ghost of Caesar speaks to Brutus saying that he will see Brutus on the battlefield. The next day, the two armies combat. During this combat, Cassius sees that the army is not doing well, and orders Pindarus to see how things are. Pindarus sees Cassius' best friend, Titinius, surrounded by yelling people, and assumed he was captured. Upon hearing this, Cassius killed himself, and Titinius returned, still encircled, only to prove that he was not captured, but being celebrated for a victory. Titinius saw Cassius dead and also killed himself. When Brutus' army loses, Brutus gives up and killed himself, thus, Caesar is avenged. It is apparent that this web of lies only contributed to the beauty of the story, which contributed to the audiences' enjoyment of the play. Personally, I believe that such a tangled web added to the story and made me want to know what happened next.