The Sunday News
THERE are divergent views on the suitability of “Julius Caesar” as the title of the play, however, this is not of major concern to us this week. We will only discuss the character of Julius Caesar here. One critic points out that Caesar is the titular hero of the play while Brutus is the dramatic hero.
The above assertion is supported by the fact that although Brutus is the principal character, the chief interest in his career lies in its futile opposition to the idea of Caesarism. It is really Caesar’s presence and his conception of government (the Imperial idea) that dominate the story. As earlier stated this will be discussed later. It is important to note that Caesar appears only in three scenes in the play. It is pretty obvious that since his party is so small, he cannot reveal much of himself.
We thus learn a lot about him from what others say about him. This is another way of characterisation. In the first scene that he appears we are bound to believe that Caesar is superstitious because he believes that Calpurnia would be cured of her barrenness if touched by the runners in the feast of Lupercalia. He tells Calpurnia to stand directly in Antonius’ way when he runs his course. He elaborates more on this belief when he addresses Mark Antony.
He tells Antony not to forget in his speed to touch Calpurnia; for their elders say, “The barren, touched in this holy chase, shake off their sterile curse.” Caesar is also presented as a man of immense authority. When he calls out Calpurnia, Casca is quick to shout for silence. He says: “Peace, ho! Caesar speaks!” As if taking a cue from Casca, when Caesar has addressed Antony, the latter says: “I shall remember: When Caesar says, “Do this,” it is performed.
Though Caesar does not want to show it, he is taken up by his wife’s cries in her sleep; he consults the oracles. It should be noted that there is a different school of thought on the idea that Caesar is superstitious. On other occasions he appears the opposite of this. In the same scene, he dismisses the soothsayer as a dreamer, when he bids him to beware the Ides of March. But it is true that Caesar has physical weaknesses.
When Mark Antony offers Caesar the crown, he swoons in a fit of epilepsy. According to Casca: “He fell down in the market-place, and foam’d at mouth, and was speechless. Cassius describes how Caesar’s strength failed him in the Tiber and how he shook with fever in Spain. Cassius says Caesar is a mortal just like himself. He was born free as Caesar. They have eaten as well as him and can tolerate cold as well as him. Once on a raw, and gusty day, when the flooded Tiber thrashed against its banks that engulfed it angrily, Caesar told him:
“Dar’st thou, Cassius, now leap in with me into this angry flood and swim to yonder point?” Cassius says as Caesar spoke, he (Cassius) jumped into the river with his clothes on, and asked Caesar to follow him which he did. But before they reached the designated point Caesar cried out: “Help me, Cassius, or I sink.” He says like their ancestor, Aeneas, rescued Anchises from the flames of Troy, he lifted up and saved the exhausted Caesar.
Cassius says Caesar had a fever when he was in Spain, and he did mark how the latter shook when the fever was on him. He says it is true, this god did shake. Colour left his lips which became white with fear. He adds that Caesar cried like a sick girl. However, it should be noted that it is not the conspirators alone who remark on Caesar’s defects as Caesar admits himself that he is deaf. He tells Antony to come on his right ear, for the other ear is deaf.
On the other hand, Caesar is fearless. Though he makes a good judgment of Cassius’ character he says he is not afraid of him. Earlier Caesar says to Antony about Cassius: “Let me have men about me that are fat, sleek-headed men, and such sleepless a-nights, yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; he thinks too much; such men are dangerous.” He adds that such men are never “at heart’s ease”, when they see a man greater than themselves, and are thus dangerous.
Caesar goes on to tell what is to be feared rather than what he fears, for always he is Caesar who is afraid of nothing. Caesar goes forth to attend an important meeting of the senate despite Calpurnia’s fears and warnings of his priests who found a beast with no heart. His fearlessness makes him go, declaring:
“Cowards die many times before their death; the valiant never taste of death but once.” He further boasts: “Danger knows full well, that Caesar is more dangerous than he. We are two lions litt’d in one day and I the elder and more terrible”. What we see here is Caesar’s arrogance, however, born out of lack of fear. Caesar stands resolute as he says he cannot be moved by “couchings” and “lowly courtesies” from the conspirators. He remains unmoved by the pleadings of the senators and persists on the banishment of Publius Cimber.
But, Caesar at times is inconsistent. He boasts of constancy, that he is constant as the Northern star but we find him vacillating between Calpurnia’s and Decius’ interpretation of the dream. Calpurnia’s interpretation is that of danger to his life, while that of Decius shows success in his life. He falls for the latter and dies.
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