Julius Caesar Essay Research Paper The storyof

Julius Caesar Essay, Research Paper

The story

of Julius Caesar’s assassination has been told both historically and

fictionally. Historical sources focus on the facts of the assassination, while

fictionary works focus more on the characters and the drama of the story.

Because of the different purposes of the sources, there are many differences

between the historical and fictional stories. William Shakespeare’s Julius

Caesar adds certain details and dramatic elements to make the story more

interesting and to make the play more enjoyable. Historical sources such as

Roger Bruns’s Caesar and Manuel Komroff’s Julius Caesar present an more

accurate account of the events that occurred on and around the Ides of March.

There are however, because all of the sources are telling the same story, even

more similarities. Reading all of the sources can give a reader an

understanding of not only what really happened and why, but also what the

people involved were probably like. The time

before Caesar’s death has many differences in how events happened rather than

if events happened. Both historical accounts record that Caesar had recently

returned from a long military campaign that sent him to the far reaches of the

Roman Empire. Shakespeare’s account tells of a recent victory over Pompey but does

not say that Caesar returned from a massive campaign. In Komroff’s account, The

conspirators had planned for much longer than the other authors recorded.

Komroff wrote that the conspirators convinced the Senate to offer Caesar the

crown. The conspirators then placed a crown on a statue of Caesar that was

quickly torn down by Caesar’s friends. "Then, a few days later, as he was

riding through the streets of Rome, a crowd of people who had been led on by

the Aristocrats hailed him as King" (Komroff 161-162). The final offer of

the crown occurred before a large crowd of Romans, when a crown was placed on

Caesar’s head he took it off and said "The Romans have no kings but their

gods" (Komroff 162). Caesar refused the title every time because he knew

that the second he did, the people would turn against him. Caesar also knew

that the conspirators were behind these offers and was not about to play right

into their hands. In both Shakespeare’s and Bruns’s works, Mark Antony was the

one who offered the crown to Caesar. He did not do it to harm Caesar but out of

respect for Caesar. The Number of conspirators is the same in both historical

works. Both say that at least sixty men were involved in the conspiracy, most

of them senate members. Shakespeare’s work says that only about eight men were

part of the conspiracy, probably to cut down on the number of actors for the

play. While there are many differences in the time before Caesar’s death, there

are just as many similarities. All three

sources agree that Caesar fought and killed Pompey. Some of the senators were

alarmed at this because Pompey was a Roman and they questioned Caesar’s honor.

Upon Caesar’s return from battle, many celebrations were held. In Bruns’s

account, a series of "triumphs" or extravagant celebrations were held

in Caesar’s honor, one for each of his triumphs. In Shakespeare’s account, a

large celebration was held in Rome in Caesar’s honor. The motive for killing

Caesar is similar in all three accounts. The conspirators were afraid that

Caesar was "ambitious," that he wanted to become king. The

conspirators feared a monarchy because they did not want a heir to gain the

throne, they wanted to maintain a republic where leaders were voted into

office. Many of the conspirators did not trust Caesar, "Yet, Caesar still

provoked in many deep resentment and distrust" (Bruns 102). Because Caesar

was a leader of the people, the conspirators, who were of the aristocratic

class, "hoped to regain control of the government" (Komroff 163). All

of the sources also agree on when Caesar was killed. He was killed on March 15,

the Ides of March. In the

time that Caesar was killed many details are different in the two types of

accounts. In the historical account of Komroff, The conspirators crowded around

Caesar when he was seated at the head of the Senate. The conspirators engaged

in conversation with Caesar, "They talked freely together. Some had favors

to ask. Others had stories to tell" (Komroff 166). Then the conspirators

began to carry out the fatal stage of their plan. A scroll

was then placed in Caesar’s hand and as he unrolled it and began to read its

contents, his toga was suddenly grabbed and torn from his shoulders. He was

stabbed in the throat by a dagger. He rose to

his feet with a cry and caught the arm of the one who struck him. Then he was

stabbed again by another. He looked around and saw that he was surrounded by a

ring of daggers. There was no

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