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Julius Ceasar by William Shakespeare
William Shakespear was an English poet and an author of many dramas and in the last years of his life also an actor. He lived in the times when Elisabeth I and Jackob I ruled in England and when the Queen Elizabeth Theatre came into existence. He wrote 36 plays. He also wrote historical chronicles and comedies and tragedies, but only his chronicles described the history of England of the XVIth century. In his dramas Shakespear often described power as a corrupting force. William was interested in the mechanism of power - the aim of many people. This topic appears mostly in chronicles and tragedies along with the Julius Ceasar.
William Shakespear Julius Ceasar
William Shakespear based his works not only on England's history, but also the history of other countries. He was fascinated by great commanders and so he decided to write a drama about the life of a well-known Roman leader - Julius Ceasar. Shakespear tried to undestand the secrets of human soul and mind, which make people hungry for power and needing control over others. He based his conclusions on the history of past leaders and his own observations. When he was writing this drama, he read a lot about Ceasar's life and times so that his work could be as similar to his real history as possible. As a great poet should, he introduces us in a very vivid way to the ancient Roman world, where people are hypocritical and trying to get an office at all costs. Shakespear describes Ceasar not only as a great leader and a hero, who was followed by a huge army and many people, byt also as a human being which longs for power, which leads him to solitude and being surrounded by fake friends and political friends. Shakespear tries to show Ceasar not only as a ruthless leader but also a human, who has to fight his own weaknesses and face obstacles which appear in everyone's life and finally achieve his goal.
The problem of power in Shakespear's dramas
Like in other Shakespear's dramas, in Julius Ceasar there is a picture of a lust for power, which leads to death. The power, that becomes so important, that the one, who possesses it forgets about the whole world. The power, which brings doom and not happiness and joy. The obsessive greed of power and need of command which brings only death to the main hero, caused by a plot created by his closest associates - people, who he had called his friends.
The genius of Shakespear's drama
Shakespear broke the rules of the drama and was an examplar for a long time. He has shown, that real dramas take place first of all in our life and that great works can be based on them. He proved that not only currently living people make excellent charachters, but also people from the past, who were considered great only because of their historical achievements. Shakespear tried not only to show history and lives but also find their reasons, which guided them in their lives. In Julius Ceasar he has shown that Ceasar wasn't important as a human being, but as a great politic and when he started to bother others, he was removed in the most cruel way, but also the only way, which allowed other Roman leaders to get his office after him.
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