Act+III+-+Caesar

Throughout the course of this text, Caesar remains very highly conceeded and proud of himself and his power. He has been warned countless times by both the soothsayer and even his wife. The first time he ignores the call of an old soothsayer who forecasts the future for Caesar by letting him know that he should beware the ides of March. Caesar neglects the comment and continues on because he thinks he is too powerful to even listen to this foolish old man. While this had occurred earlier in the text, Caesar repeats his foolishness in act III. At the very beginning of scene 1, the Caesar sarcastically mentions "The ides of March are come" (l. 1) and the soothsayer remarks "Ay, Caesar, but not gone" (l. 2). This shows that Caesar is confident that nothing is going to happen even though he is constantly being warned. The soothsayer is once again mentioning that he should beware of the date, and Caesar pays no attention at all. Futher on in the text, while he is getting ready to leave for the senate house, his wife Calpurnia wakes up from a nightmare about Caesar's murder. Calpurnia tells Caesar of this nightmare and begs her husband not to go to the senate and he is finally convinced to do so. Moments later when Decius arrives to escort Caesar to the Senate house, he tells him that he will no longer be going. Using his cleverness, Decius persuades Caesar to go using appeal to his pride and power. He says that Caesar should not make up excuses to avoid this event only because his wife said to. Caesar is much too proud and because of that, his hubris allows him to make foolish decisions which he does not realize while overtaken by his dignity. This constant sense of being better than everyone is engraved in his mind throughout the entire play which ultimately leads to his downfall and the war that later occurs. Julius Caesar is a character in this story who is very constant in his decision making and does not change too much in terms of his personality/emtions and actions. In the speech below, notify Caesar's constant sense of pride that he portrays and how he says that he is different than all of the others.
 * __Caesar:__ **
 * [1]**

(ll. 58-73) **Caesar's Speech:

"I could be well mov'd, if I were as you; if I could pray to move, prayers would move me; but I am consant as the northern star, of whose true-fix'd and resting quality there is no fellow in the firmament. The skies are painted with unnumber'd sparks, they are all fire, and every one doth shine; but there's but one in all doth hold his place. So in the world: 'tis funish'd well with men, and men are flesh and blood, and apprehensive; yet in the number I do know but one that unassailable holds on his rank, unshak'd of motion; and that I am he, let me a little show it, even in this, that I was constant Cimber should be banish'd, and constant do remain to keep him so."

Explanation:**

As previously mentioned, this speech is a clear indicator of the amount of pride he truly has and how much he enjoys showing it off to everyone. At the beginning of this speech he is saying that men are like the sky, and that there are plenty of stars in the sky that are all fiery and bright, but that they all change. He is the brightest and most fiery Northern Star that is unchanging and is different from the rest. He then states that of all men of flesh and blood, that out of all of them, he holds his place and will not be taken as a fool. Caesar is very confident in this speech as he then proves how confident he is by rejecting Metellus's request to bring back his banished brother. Caesar is an overconfident man who constantly and unknowingly proves himself wrong throughout this tragedy and is the most flat and constant character in the play.

(ll. 33-35) Caesar's Speech:

"Cowards die many times before their death, the valiant never taste of death but once."

Explanation:

If you are refered to as a coward, then you are also refered to as weak. People who live in fear, not only fear other people, but an inevitable reality, also known as death. Life comes with making many decisions and making those decisions out of fear and guilt eats away at your conscience. The word death is not used literally, but signifies someone dying mentally and emotionally many times in the anticipation of their actual death. However, the valiant are fearless, living in the moment and not thinking about death. The valiant also show no shame, no guilt, and no regret. They deal with fear, but also deal with knowing death is a possibilty. Caesar was the type of character who was fearless, brave, and his legacy was remembered after his death.

__Works Cited__:

1. **[1] -** http://images.artnet.com/WebServices/picture.aspx?date=19970522&catalog=7009&gallery=110889&lot=00110&filetype=2

2.2. Durband, Alan and Shakespeare, William. __Julius Caesar .__ New York: Hutchinson Publishing Group, 1985.