Manipulation and Deception in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”
A short essay I wrote back in high school that briefly explores the role of deception and manipulation in William Shakespeare’s play “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.”
William Shakespeare’s play “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar” illustrates many chaotic characteristics of Ancient Rome, such as conspiracies, treacheries, and gory battles. Not one of these elements, however, is as crucial to the development of the narrative as the power of deception and manipulation, which Shakespeare uses to move the plot forward and lead the reader toward the play’s key moments.
One of the first examples of deceit occurs in the first act, when Cassius sends anonymous letters to Brutus. Cassius boldly claims that these letters will eventually allow him to “shake” Caesar and make him suffer (1. 2. 315). As it turns out, these letters ultimately convince Brutus to join the conspiracy — a major step towards Caesar’s deathly fate. Besides, without the use of deception, Brutus would never fall into Cassius’s power-hungry hands, and without Brutus’s role in the conspiracy, the events of this tragedy would follow entirely different routes, or perhaps not even take place at all.
Another event in which deception plays a major role can be found in Act Two, when Decius assures Caesar that his wife’s daunting dream has been “all amiss interpreted” (1. 1. 83) for it was instead “a vision fair and fortunate” (1. 1. 84). This lie is key to the narrative because it convinces Caesar to attend the senate where his murder takes place. Thus, without Decius’ deception, the conspirator’s plan might have failed.
Though the conspirators are the main antagonists, they are not the only characters who use manipulation to achieve their ends. By using powerful rhetorical devices in his renowned speech, Antony leads the people of Rome to rampage in quarrel against anyone involved in the rebellious attempt that his audience had just a few moments before praised and supported. He continuously calls Brutus an “honorable man,” but only to carefully compare this attribute with his suspicious deeds (3. 2. 82–91), eventually turning praise into mockery, whereas he questions Caesar’s ambition by reiterating to the people of Rome his honorable accomplishments:
He hath brought many captives home to Rome,
Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill.
Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?
When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept;
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious,
And Brutus is an honorable man. (3. 2.)
Anthony’s influence is so important that the triumvirate’s success relies greatly on his speech. As such, William Shakespeare highlights the importance of manipulation and deception in “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar,” through the ways many of its characters achieve their goals.
