Julius Caesar
Theme : Honor
Good evening everyone.
I am Taniza Tanmim &. My name is Mahi
First, We would like to express our gratitude to our Ma’am for
giving us this opportunity. We are assigned to give a presentation
on one of the central themes of Julius Caesar. We have chosen
to give our presentation on Honor, which is the most prominent
theme of this historical play. Here Honor refers to the vague
concept of Manly courage , fortitude and integral part Roman
culture & pride .
Julius Caesar is a play preoccupied with the questions of Honor,
with the characters constantly examining their actions in light of
their relationship to the accepted ideas of virtue and strength.
Although the male characters are obsessed with their idea of
honor, in the play Brutus’s wife Portia too shows manliest valor
and integrity. By portraying the varied motivations and
perceptions of these characters, culminating in their respective
deaths, Shakespeare argues that one’s honor are ultimately
proven by the way a person perseveres to the end of life and
faces his (or her) death.
At the very beginning of the play , Cassius says to Brutus for
convincing him to join the conspiracy that –
“ Well Honour is the subject of my story” [ Act 1, Scene 2]
Caesar upholds his version of Honor until the very end. In Act 2
scene 2, we hear his one of the most quoted lines –
Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste of death but once.
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,
It seems to me most strange that men should fear;
Seeing that death, a necessary end,
Will come when it will come.
Caesar’s refusal to be deterred by “feminine” fears, instead
accepting the likelihood of his death with equanimity, does lead to
his death. This ultimately suggests that he’s resolute and
honorable when it counts most—shrinking, perhaps, in the face of
an unpredictable crowd, but prepared to face death even when he
could make excuses and avoid it. This supports the argument that
manliness isn’t reducible to isolated episodes, but is proven by
the way a person endures to the end.
In the play, Brutus thinks of himself as an honorable man, one
who serves the general good of the people. Cassius uses honor as
a tool to manipulate Brutus into joining the assassination
conspiracy. He flatters Brutus’s sense of honor, saying he wishes
Brutus could see himself in the same praiseworthy light as others
see him. Once Cassius convinces Brutus that Caesar has become
dishonorable, Brutus agrees to take part in the assassination. In
his funeral speech, Antony uses honor as a means to discredit
Brutus and the other conspirators and set the mob against them.
In Act 3 scene 2 , he says –
“For Brutus is an honorable man;
So are they all, all honorable men, —
Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me:
But Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honorable man.”
Antony’s emotionally-laden speech ends up shifting the people’s
allegiance from Brutus to himself, and sends Brutus and the
conspirators into exile from Rome. And yet, at the end of the play,
Antony celebrates Brutus’s masculinity even after the latter’s
death, concluding that of all the conspirators, only Brutus’s
intentions were noble. Because of his rejection of envy and
consistent action according to honest principle, the world can look
upon Brutus in death and say, “This was a man.” This suggests
that, despite the shifting loyalties of the masses and changing
political expediencies, Brutus is really proven to be “an honorable
man” by the way he follows his principles in the long run, even
unto death.
Thank you everyone for your patient listening.
Now my partner will take over and answer your questions.
Critical essays
1. G. Wilson Knight, “The Eroticism of Julius Caesar,” The
Imperial Theme, London, 1931. Brutus sacrifices love to
honor.
2. “Language and Action in Julius Caesar.” From “An Approach
to Julius Caesar” by R. A. Foakes, Twentieth century
interpretation of Julius Caesar.
The name of Brutus has connections already noticed with
distinguished ancestors, and also, more prominently, with
honor. This is particularly noticeable in the famous lines of
Antony's funeral oration, the repeated "Brutus is an
honourable man" (III. ii. 87), but on his first appearance
Brutus says
Set honour in one eye and death I' the other,
And I will look on both indifferently,
For let the gods so speed me as I love
The name of honour more than I fear death. (I, ii, 86-89)
The "name of honour" is frequently attributed to him, not
least by himself, as when he tells his audience in his oration,
"Believe me for mine honour, and have respect to mine
honour, that you may believe" (III, ii, 14-15), blames Cassius
for selling "the mighty space of our large honours" (IV, iii,
26), and proudly tells Octavius that he could not die "more
honourable" (V, i, 60) than on the sword of Brutus. The name
of Brutus is equated with honor, and it is appropriate and
sufficient for Lucillius to say to the enemy
