Decius flatters Caesar…Julius Caesar — By William Shakespeare

15 Feb, 2015 - 00:02 0 Views

The Sunday News

Highway to Success Charles
DubeCALPURNIA, Julius Caesar’s wife has dreamt of horrid sights and advises him not to move out of his house. She tells Caesar that she has never stood on ceremonies. In simple terms she means that she has never cared about omens, yet they now frighten her. She goes on to tell what has been seen compared to what they have heard.

She recounts the horrible sights seen by the watchmen. A lioness hath whelped in the streets, meaning that it gave birth to her young ones on the streets. Graves have opened up and exposed their dead. Fierce fiery warriors fought upon the clouds pouring blood upon the Capitol, and the noise of battle roared in the air. Horses neighed, dying men groaned, shrieks of ghosts were heard on the streets. Calpurnia tells Caesar that all these things are beyond what they have known. She cries unto Caesar that she is afraid of them.

Caesar shows the highest form of arrogance in response to what his wife, Calpurnia says. We see a big contrast in the relationship between Caesar and his wife Calpurnia, and how Brutus relates to his wife Portia. Portia infected by Brutus and her father’s stoicism, likes to think of herself as a strong woman. After the rest of the conspirators have left, Brutus left alone, except for Lucius sleeping soundly, Portia joins him. Brutus turns to her with a gentle scolding that she should be so careless of her health as to come out like that into “the raw cold morning.”

Portia retorts that she has been made anxious by his unusual behaviour of late and begs him to share with her the cause of his trouble. She kneels before him and is touched by the humility of her gesture. Portia is of noble birth, Cato’s daughter, so for her to bring herself so low really touches Brutus. She does not stop there but goes on to claim her rights of wifehood. She presses her advantage home by showing him a self-inflicted wound on her thigh proving that she is not an ordinary woman. Brutus is moved such that he assures her that he will give her at the earliest opportunity full details of the intrigue with which he has become involved.

On the other hand, Calpurnia almost convinces Caesar not to go to the Capitol, but falls far short of that as Caesar defies her views and falls to Decius Brutus’ flattery. There is a school of thought that says Caesar treats Calpurnia as a child not his equal. Portia demanded equal rights as a wife from Brutus. Caesar tells Calpurnia that what is desired by the gods cannot be avoided, no matter how much they try to, for these omens are as much valid for the world as they are for him.

Caesar is determined to go to the Capitol. Calpurnia tries her best to stop Caesar from going by telling him that when beggars die, no comets reveal their death, but heavens blaze to announce the death of princes. Caesar says: “Cowards die many times before their actual death, whereas the brave die only once.” He states a fact that gives discomfort to many, that death is but a necessary end. Caesar is superstitious, he asks for the augurers’s opinion before he ventures out of his home.

These augurers at times called soothsayers, warn Caesar not to go out of his house. Removing the insides of the sacrificed animal, they could not find a heart. How can that be? This is weird, for every living creature has a heart. Strange as this occurrence might be, it makes Caesar defiant. He says the gods do this in shame of cowardice. He says Caesar shall not stay at home. Danger knows that Caesar is more dangerous than danger itself.

Caesar adds that anger and himself are two lions littered in one day, and he the elder and more terrible. He says he shall go. Calpurnia cries out that Caesar’s wisdom is consumed by overconfidence. He should not go out of his house that day and should call it her fear that keeps him in the house, not his. They will send Mark Antony to the Senate House and he shall say Caesar is not well. Calpurnia goes down on her knees to request him to do as she asks him.

Caesar appears to have accepted Calpurnia’s request for him to stay at home. He agrees that Antony shall say that he is not well and to humour her he shall stay at home. Decius enters at this juncture when Caesar appears to have taken a stand that he is not going out of the house. Decius declares that he has come to fetch Caesar to the Senate House. Caesar tells him that he has come at the right time to take his message to the senators and tell them that he would not come that day.

Calpurnia tells Decius to say Caesar is sick. Caesar does not take heed of Calpurnia’s pleas for him to stay home. Calpurnia goes to the extent of kneeling for her to be heard by Caesar, but unlike Brutus who showed reverence to his wife, Caesar defies his wife’s advice. He says: “Shall Caesar send a lie?” He says greybeards should be told the truth and orders Decius to go and tell them that Caesar will not come. The cause is in his will, he will not come, that is enough to satisfy the Senate.

Caesar discloses the reasons for not going out to Decius. He says his wife stays him home. He relates her dream that she saw his statue which like a fountain with hundred spouts did run pure blood; and many lusty Romans came smiling and did bathe their hands in it. Decius says this dream is all misinterpreted. It was a vision fair and fortunate. His statue spouting blood in many pipes, in which many smiling Romans bathed, that from Caesar great Rome shall suck reviving blood, and that great men shall press for tinctures, stains, relics and “cognasance”.

Caesar switches allegiance from his wife Calpurnia to Decius stating that the latter has well expounded Calpurnia’s dream. We pick it up from here next week.

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