Okay, guys, we made it! No more Shakespeare for the rest of the semester! But since we are still discussing Julius Caesar, I find that I have an issue with this play.
Who is the villain?
Many of us enjoy villains. They are what make and break a movie, show, book, etc. etc. etc. So the fact that I can't figure out who the centralized villain is is disconcerting.
I'm not sure who we are really supposed to be rooting for in this whole thing.
Are we rooting for Brutus because he's a great candidate as a protagonist and we follow him through the entire play?
Are we rooting for Marc Antony, Cassius, Caesar (although that would be short-lived)?
WHO ARE WE SUPPOSED TO HATE AND WHO ARE WE SUPPOSED TO LIKE!?
That's what, to me, makes this play infuriatingly frustrating and also infuriatingly likable.
It has me in knots because as soon as I make up my mind on who fills the role as the protagonist/antagonist, the roles switch or something new comes into play to mess with me. It kept me guessing trying to figure out which direction the characters would go.
As a lover of history, I knew Shakespeare wouldn't deviate too far from the truth.
I knew that Caesar would die... and that Brutus would die... and that Rome was pretty much up for grabs for Octavian to come in and snatch it up. But even in this story rooted in fact, I can't discern who the good guy is. I know a lot of people in here are bad... but who is the main Big Bad?
Usually, in a piece of entertainment, the villain and the hero are pretty obvious.
Harry Potter vs. Voldemort
Jamie & Claire Fraser vs. Black Jack Randall (**Side note: Anyone find it odd that Tobias Menzies played Brutus in Rome AND BJR in Outlander? Coincidence? I think not)
Snow White vs. The Evil Queen
I'm curious to find out who you guys fill the roles as "hero" and "villain" in this play because, to me, Shakespeare has put me through the ringer trying to figure this out!!
I have to say I like your animation that describe how you feel, i feel the same way when it comes to thinking as we read this play and the witch trying to figure out who is who. The play is under minding, we except their to be good characters and bad ones too. It is definitely well written and has many of us confused, you are not alone.
ReplyDeleteIf we are being completely honest, I actually like when you can't tell who is the villain because it just makes it more realistic. In real life, you have to take into account a person's motivations for doing something as well as their beliefs. In real life there is a lot of grey area and not just a bunch of black and white. That is what I think anyway.
ReplyDeleteI think that the ambiguity is the reason the play is so brilliant; there are no clear cut answers. To me, that is the difference between good and great books but also good and great movies. Think about the movie "Whiplash." The ending leaves the viewers wondering whether J.K. Simmons' character was good or bad. "Julius Caesar" does the same thing. To me, Cassius is the villain in the play because everything he does is for his own personal benefit: He manipulates people to accomplish his own goals. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I believe Brutus is the hero of the play because he makes the difficult choices and never backs down from them.
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