Brutus In The Tragedy Of Julius Caesar By William Shakespeare

Caesar, the king of Rome, has been killed by some conspirators, mainly by Cassius and Brutus, his friends. They are convinced by Caesars’s best friend, Mark Antony, to speak at Caesar’s funeral. The conspirators are worried that he might persuade the plebians that they should be on Caesars’s side. The conspirators agree at last, and Antony gives his speech, as well as Brutus. On question that both speeches answered was: “Was Caesar ambitious?” Caesar in fact, was ambitious. He has been convinced by ambition to become a strong leader of Rome.  Caesar ignored the soothsayer’s waring about the ides of March, making him ambitious. Caesar also refused the crown that Antony offered to him three times, making him ambitious. Caesar’s ability to show that he cares for Rome allows him to become ambitious.

The fact that Caesar told the soothsayer that he is a dreamer for reminding him about the ides of march make him ambitious. Caesar said to the soothsayer that his reminders are useless and call him a dreamer. “He is a dreamer! Let us leave him. Pass!” (1.2, 28, Shakespeare) This is ambition because is convinced that nothing will happen to him on that day. The soothsayer is thinking too much, and he should care for himself rather than for Caesar. He shows that he would not forget about the Romans and if anything happens, he is there for the Romans. Caesar’s goal is to make the people think that they are more important than him, but what he really plans on doing is to become a tyrant.

Caesar rejected a crown that Antony offered to him three times, making him ambitious. Antony offered a crown to Caesar thinking that he would take it to make himself king, but unexpectedly, he refused it three times.         

“I can as well be hanged as tell the manner of it.  It was

mere foolery. I did not mark it. I saw Mark Antony offer

him a crown —yet 'twas not a crown neither, 'twas one

of these coronets — and, as I told you, he put it by once,

but for all that, to my thinking, he would fain have had

it. Then he offered it to him again; then he put it by again, but to my thinking, he was very loath to lay his fingers

off it. And then he offered it the third time; he put it the

third time by; and still as he refused it…” (1.2, 234-249, Shakespeare)

He did this to satisfy the crowd, as a sign of respect. Caesar is showing the people that he has intention of making himself king and then overthrowing Rome. He was aware that this was in front of the crowd so it would be a good time to show them that Romans are first. Caesar was also aware that if he became king, the patricians with political power may be upset, which means that Caesar still thought of them before himself. Caesar’s ability to show that he cares for Rome, makes him ambitious.