Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principles which direct them. In Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar Caesar’s ambition to become king leads to his tragedy. The conspirators aimed to end this ambition and to ensure that the Roman Republic remained. Brutus ambition to get the Roman public to understand his logic on assassinating Julius Caesar clashes with Antony’s ambition to use the conspiracy’s actions as a convenient launch for his own vault into leadership.
Brutus who is honorable, patriotic, and liberty loving chose loyalty to the Roman Republic over his loyalty to his dear friend, Julius Caesar. He loves Caesar, but also fears that his friend will be crowned king, which goes against the Roman Republic. In the early acts of the play, Brutus says to Cassius, “What means this shouting? I do fear the people do choose Caesar for their king… yet I love him well” (Act II, scene II, 85-89). Brutus fears that Caesar’s ambition to rule more absolutely will put the Roman people in a state of fear and obedience.His private …show more content…
He starts by saying, “Censure me in your wisdom, and awake your senses that you may better judge” (Act III, scene II, 16-17). Brutus is a thinker and expects other men to think too. Brutus declares, “I slew my best lover for the good of Rome, I have the same dagger for myself, when it shall please my country to need my death” (Act III, scene II, 46-48). This being said lets the audience know that it is not jealousy that is the reason for Caesar’s death; it is his care and devotion to the Roman Republic. Brutus’s honor convinces him that they shouldn’t dispose of Antony when the other men of the conspirators want to, and his trust in Antony’s honor leads him to believe Antony’s funeral speech will not be an invitation to riot. He was greatly