![]() Shakespeare further develops the interpersonal conflict in Mark Antony’s speech. ![]() The hyperbolic statement causes the plebeians, and indeed the audience to think about their fate if Caesar had still been alive, supporting Brutus’ cause. To reinforce the conflict, Shakespeare influences Brutus’ dialogue and uses a rhetorical question “Had you rather Caesar were living, and die all slaves, than… to live as free men?”. … death for his ambition.” Through the repetition of ‘ambition’, it displays how the conspirators believe that Caesar was on the path towards becoming a tyrant, something that is against the Roman values. Caesar’s ‘ambitious’ nature is the public illusion that Brutus creates for the crowd, “But, as he was ambitious, I slew him. Shakespeare illuminates the impacts of interpersonal conflict during the funeral oration as he portrays Brutus and Antony with manipulative traits which allows them to deter the plebeians from forming their own perceptions. Through the manipulation of historical events, Shakespeare effectively explores the consequences of interpersonal conflict among characters while also successfully engaging an audience. Therefore through the characterisation of Brutus as a misinformed idealist, doubtful of the genuine danger that Caesar poses to Rome, Shakespeare proficiently investigates the intrapersonal conflict while additionally engaging with the audience. Shakespeare appeals to the audience’s sense of pathos by having his dying words be spoken in Latin We, alongside Brutus, are engaged with a sympathetic connection with Caesar, but also alienated and forced to question Caesar as he still hangs onto his egotistical self by referring to himself in the third person, “Then fall Caesar”. Additionally, Brutus’ cognitive dissonance is augmented in the scene of Caesar’s death, Shakspeare emphasises a sense of closeness and intimacy between Brutus and Caesar, by altering history to have Caesar utter his dying words, “E tu, Brute? Then fall Caesar.” to Brutus. Throughout the play, Shakespeare characterises Caesar, “Caesar turned to hear”, the use of the third person emphasises his self-inflated view of himself and represents how ambitious he has become, causing Brutus to question Caesar’s leadership, engaging us with their unfolding personal conflict. Shakespeare skillfully influences Brutus to have conflicting views on Julius Caesar. The comparison of Caesar to a poisonous snake depicts him as a person who will no longer have compassion for the people of Ancient Rome if he gains too much authority. Through the use of an analogy, “It is the bright day that brings forth the adder … Crown him? … I grant, we put a sting in him, That at his will he may do danger with”. ![]() Brutus’ intrapersonal conflict is also evident in his soliloquy. Shakespeare first introduces the audience to Brutus’ inner conflict at the beginning of the play, “Than that poor Brutus, with himself at war”, he describes himself as ‘poor’ and ‘with himself at war’ revealing his internal conflict to the audience. By dramatising and manipulating history, composers exemplify how intrapersonal conflict leads to internalised vacillation and uncertainty, emphasising the impacts of conflict to engage the audience.
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