WTF SHAKESPEARE? Honestly, it's the same thing with you... Backstabbing, ghosts, and suicide.
The ghost thing was so...predictable. C'mon! Now that Brutus is in charge, he has to go to war to defend his place as leader and the night before, while everyone is asleep, the ghost of his victim comes to haunt him in his sleep? CJ was right - we've heard that before. Been there, done that, am I right? While it does add a very surreal and creepy aspect to the story, the fact that we've seen it before...by the same author, makes it boring. It's as if William Shakespeare just has a template in which he fills in the character's names and forms of death.
Speaking of death - can we talk about Brutus' lack of emotion towards Portia's death? She swallowed burning coals for goodness sake - that's hardcore. She must have been so incredibly concerned at the possible loss of her husband, and/or perhaps torn up about her own life in order to kill herself in such a malicious way. I personally find it odd how Brutus just shrugged it off so easily.We talked in class about the rule of Elizabeth and how Caesar may have been based on what was going on in society at the time. I don't know enough about the real people during Elizabethan times to determine how accurately the stories matched up, but I am strongly inclined to believe that Julius Caesar is based on it. We've always talked about tonypandy being based on true events and facts, and nothing so far has led me to believe that this story would be any different.
I agree that the ghosts are predictable but I think it does add that sense of fear into the characters before battle. I also thought it was interesting how Brutus just shrugged off his wife's death. Maybe it was because he didn't want his men to think that he was weak, but it was his wife and they showed more emotion them him.
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head with this post. Julius Caesar seems like a high school drama based in Roman times, kind of like High School Musical without the music. Brutus and Cassius are Troy and Gabriella and they are trying to get the lead in the play (control the senate). Antony and Octavius are Sharpay and Ryan, who will do anything to keep control of the drama department (the citizens and the senate). And the only reason Antony and Octavius win is because Brutus and Cassius kill themselves, or in high school musical terms, dropout of the spring musical.
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