On the other hand, Cassius desires to kill Caesar because he stands to become more powerful once Caesar is gone. Brutus wants to get rid of Caesar because he believes that the tyrant’s death will benefit the future of Rome. I think that throughout the play, Shakespeare has the audience ponder over why people do good things which can especially be seen in the way that he presents Brutus and Cassius as foils to one another. Eventually, when Brutus is at war with Octavian and Anthony, he commits suicide rather than returning to Rome with the failure of his battle on his shoulder further show casing Brutus’s eternal conviction to strengthening Rome. The situation became a version of all or nothing when considering Brutus’s life. Brutus would suffer if he turned off the path he was currently leading as the tide of accusations and violence would overwhelm him if he changed his behavior after already dedicating himself to this project. This is stating that Brutus will and must continue with his actions as he started a movement or revolution against the conspirators by planning and causing Caesar’s death. Overall, Brutus killed his best friend and Roman senator after being convinced it was for the greater future of Rome and now would have to deal with the after effects.īrutus’s resolve is also proven when he follows his previous quote with “And we must take the current when it serves/ Or lose our ventures” (IV.iii.2171-2172). In Brutus’s case, his burden would be killing his long time friend before he could possibly become arrogant and ambitious.
This points to Brutus’s resolve in providing Rome the best available path regardless of the burden born from such intentions. Brutus is observing that there is no way to return to the life they had before killing Caesar and that they must learn to live with the consequences of they did.
Brutus, while he previously may have had doubts about assassinating Caesar, now says “On such a full sea are we now afloat,”(IV.iii.2170). Subsequently, Brutus and other Roman senators stabbed Caesar many times to hasten his death. Cassius persuaded Brutus that Rome would be enslaved and tainted with corruption if Caesar completed his climb to political power. Cassius, another senator that thirsted for a higher position of influence among the people, had slowly convinced Brutus that Caesar was a tyrant when given power and would become blood-thirsty.
At the beginning of page 167, Brutus and Cassius are discussing the current happenings and how to navigate them. In Act IV, scene iii, Brutus shows his dedication in confirming a strong future for Rome despite what lengths he has to go to.