One important thing to remember is that Shakespeare's play
Julius Caesar, while being a historical play that represents
some reality, it is not documented history. So, to answer this question the readers
must confine their evidence to what occurs in the drama. Here are some reasons that
Caesar may have been perceived as a tyrant who deserves to be
assassinated:
- Caesar defeats Pompey, a Roman
general and triumvir, who is loved by many of the
Romans - He also defeats Pompey's
sons - Caesar kills Flavius and Marullus for "pulling
scarves off Caesar's images" - He acts eager to accept the
crown when it is offered to him by Marc Antony and the crowd
cheers.
Yet, while Brutus believes that he acts
nobly out of love for Rome, his decision to join the conspirators ends in causing Rome
to enter into a devastating civil war and be taken over by the second triumvirate of
Octavius, Lepidus, and Marc Antony, who is willing to foment the crowd of Rome after the
assasination. Antony also is willing to sacrifice his own nephew in his designs for
power.
Is Caesar's death an act of justice or murder?
Given the meager evidence of Caesar's tyranny in Shakespeare's play, and given the envy
of Cassius along with the naivete of Brutus, Caesar's death seems more like murder than
an act of justice. Certainly, the play ends as a tragedy, so no good came of the act of
assasinating Caesar
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