Play Review: Julius Caesar has contributed several memorable phrases to our everyday speech and its namesake lent his name to a famous salad, but the play was not my cup of tea. Not that it was bad, of course, it's still Shakespeare after all. The play has a relatively simple structure, with a first rising action to the moment that the reader may guess, and then a second rising action to the conclusion of both the civil war and the play. Shakespeare apparently based his story on Plutarch (who we still read today), but felt free to change the facts to suit his needs in a fit of poetic license. One thing I did find significant about the play was that although the characters are historical figures, they're portrayed as actual people, seeming like real human beings. I find that an amazing skill in Shakespeare. Although there are some exciting plot points, the actual focus of the play is the depth of the characters, their scheming, their discussion. Julius Caesar, although owning the title role, is not the lead actor or hero of the play. Shakespeare tries to portray Caesar as arrogant and power hungry to make him unlikable. But as man who has conquered much of the known world, is immensely wealthy, and a leading citizen of Rome, Caesar does not appear all that arrogant. As someone who thrice rejected the crown, he does not appear all that power mad. He is also much beloved by some of the characters, which makes him not wholly unlikable. But he is not the hero of Julius Caesar, that role falls to Brutus, "the noblest Roman of them all." Although perhaps not a perfect paragon of nobility (he kills his friend, he lusts for glory), his essential ethics lead him to do what he thinks is right, but which leads to tragedy and disaster for him, Cassius, and the other conspirators. It's interesting, however, that both Cassius and Antony have scenes in which they imagine themselves as Brutus, though less noble and more devious. I miss that Shakespeare didn't give Brutus a brilliant speech in which his conscience debates whether to murder his good friend (he is described as Caesar's "angel") and mentor. Shakespeare doesn't dedicate his best language in Julius Caesar to Brutus' turmoil (being caught between his love for Caesar and his fear of Caesar's possible ambitions (see Act II, sc.1)). That falls to Portia, the wife of Brutus, who presents Brutus' anguish better than he does (reticent Roman that he is): "It will not let you eat, nor talk, nor sleep." She notes that the effect is so great that she "should not know you Brutus." In a historical play that seemingly might not have a strong female character, Shakespeare makes a solid effort to establish Portia as that strong female lead; she even wounds herself in the thigh to show her devotion to her husband. Portia ends up killing herself (off stage) horribly. Portia is balanced by Caesar's wife, Calphurnia. Both women attempt, unsuccessfully, to counsel their husbands, each falling to her knees in supplication. Cassius is wily and scheming, but wins little sympathy. Antony is clever, brave, and full of life, but somehow does not qualify as our hero. He does, however, give a masterful if manipulative speech: "Friends, Romans, countrymen ... ," which includes the masterful use of apophasis. Antony is called "a shrewd contriver" and said to be given to "wildness." Octavian, the future Emperor, is slight, a weak general of "cold demeanour," and his role is correspondingly small and unemotional. Perhaps Shakespeare did not want to turn his characters into cliches and stereotypes, but for me they weren't quite as memorable as they could have been. On the other hand, watching a performance made the play more convincing and helped greatly. At the end of Julius Caesar, we're left with an ethical conundrum: does the end justify the means, does the intent justify the act? Cassius, who murders Caesar from envy and greed is evil; Brutus who murders his great friend to avoid a king in Rome, is noble. Each reader gets to reach a conclusion, but since Shakespeare lived in a monarchy, I wonder how the Crown (Judi Dench, I believe) felt about that question. [4★]
No comments:
Post a Comment