“There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.” (84)
This quote was said by the protagonist, Brutus, during the fourth act of William Shakespeare’s play, “Julius Caesar.” Brutus and Cassius (both conspirators against Caesar) are in war with Antony and Octavius because of Caesar’s death. Antony and Octavius are motivated to avenge Caesar and keep Rome in their possession. Brutus says this quote to explain why they must go after Antony’s army instead of waiting for his military to come to them. This passage helps explain the theme of Fate vs. Free Will. Brutus is explaining to Cassius that if they miss this opportunity to show bravery and strength they are only hurting themselves because chances like this only come every so often. It is about recognizing when there are chances and taking advantage of them. If the army was to miss out on this opportunity it may not occur again and they would lose everything they have worked for. The murder would have just been in vain because they not only lost their lives, but Rome would still be ruled by a Caesar (Octavius). Brutus’ army is at their pinnacle right now and Antony’s army is only getting stronger, eventually they will be much stronger than them. They must act now before they are at a disadvantage. This reveals Brutus’s real character. He is a very righteous man. In fact Antony calls him the “the noblest of all Romans.” He is the only conspirator motivated to murder Caesar for the good of Rome. He still believes he is fighting for the Romans’ best interest and therefore wants to go after Antony’s forces. He thinks that Caesar is only after ambition; as a result he supported the killing of Julius Caesar and anyone who is going to follow in his footsteps. This speech is not only inspiring, it is convincing as well. Cassius cannot help but agree with Brutus. Cassius originally deemed it a more advantageous tactic to play a defensive war; however, it is neither as courageous nor bold as a war battled aggressively. Cassius seems to really trust Brutus’ opinion because he changed his mind about certain decisions quite a few times because of Brutus. It shows that Brutus is not only a more dominant character, but also a very persuasive one. He knows how to talk to not only the general public, but also to individuals. He also shows a lot of passion when talking about this war because he wants to put Rome in his possession. He truly loves Rome and his zeal for this state is what drives him to act throughout the entire play.
I originally decided to read this book because of this quote. I heard it on the show One Tree Hill and I didn’t really understand it; as a result, I decided to read the play hoping to comprehend this particular quote better. When I first read this extract, I got excited because I had finally gotten to the part I’ve been dying to read. Although it is not climax of the play, it leads the characters in that direction because it pushes for the war to actually take place. It still did not make much sense to me till I read the passage over. I love the way that Shakespeare compares the choice to a flood because of the actual picture that comes to mind. The high tide represents rare opportunity and it is a good comparison because high tide does not come very often. It has a beautiful meaning about not only fate, but human choice as well. Most plays, like Oedipus Rex, discuss the theme of fate, but only to mention free will because it does not exist. Everything is planned out and trying to prevent certain events from happening only cause them to happen. This passage from Julius Caesar gives off a different message about fate; humans have choices to their destiny. We all have the ability to decide what we want to do and this quote reinforces that precise idea. It is about keeping our eyes open so we can find that chance. Opportunities are rare and if they are not discovered and not acted upon then the prospect at becoming or gaining something new is gone. It is a life lesson: chances do not come every so often, so when they do, take advantage of them. This quote makes me want to live life to the fullest; meaning try everything and take each opportunity given.
Congratulations Kathleen--you've convinced me! The minute I finished reading this post, all I wanted to do was crack open Julius Caesar and begin reading, and I don't see how anyone could react much differently. This book seems to satisfy every criterion imaginable for a captivating, edge-of-your-seat page-turner that pulls the reader in and leaves them wanting more at the end of every chapter: Violence? Check. Murder? Check. War? Check. Philosophy? Check. Iambic Pentameter? Check. Not to mention that this book was quoted by Lucas Scott of One Tree Hill (your cue to swoon, ladies)! I think we've got a masterpiece on our hands, ladies and gentlemen.
ReplyDeleteAs for the actual quote, I couldn't agree with Kathleen's interpretation more. Humans lead fickle lives that, much like the sea, or better yet the tide, are subject to a constant cycling of "highs" and "lows." The ebb and flow of emotions that is such an inherent component of human nature gives life an unpredictable and exciting quality that fits Shakespeare's ocean metaphor well. We must take advantage, therefore, of high tide and high spirits by rejecting lassitude and going after the things we believe in most with all the vigor our hearts can muster. Whether they are Antony and Octavius' army or college applications, we must conquer the obstacles that stand most directly in our way.
I also really enjoyed Kathleen's juxtaposition of Julius Caesar and Oedipus Rex. In Comp&Lit, we learned that in the days of Sophocles and Euripides, people believed that free will was null and all power laid in the hands of The Almighty. Human beings were simply living out an irreversible destiny-a nice, empowering view of our place in the world, eh? It was refreshing, therefore, to hear that maybe I do have some control over my own life: refreshing to hear that I don't have to end up married to my own mother with swollen feet and bloodied eyes.
I only have one question about the play, Kathleen: Brutus and Cassius were conspirators against Julius Caesar, right? I would think that makes them the antagonists of the play, and that the reader is supposed to hate them and wish that they fall victim to Antony and Octavius' wrath. Throughout this post, however, you seemed to sympathize for Brutus and Cassius, cheering them on against Octavius and Antony. Comments like: "they must act now before they are at a disadvantage" and "He still believes he is fighting for the Romans’ best interest and therefore wants to go after Antony’s forces." make it seem, at least to me, like you favor Brutus and Cassius in this war. Is that true? Or are Brutus and Cassius presented as the villains throughout the play?
Hey Jesse :)
ReplyDeleteI know it is very confusing on why Brutus and Cassius are the protagonists, but it is because of what they are trying to prevent: ambition. It is a very weird concept; in fact I truly only believe that Brutus is the only protagonist, but it is because they are both trying to prevent Caesar from becoming a dictator. Because he was so ambitious, they needed to stop Rome from falling in the hands of a man who only wanted power. Brutus, Cassius, and a couple of other conspirators believed they were justified in killing Caesar because of the possible threat to Rome. Cassius is the person who “broke the camel’s back.” He was able to put Brutus on the side of the conspirators even though he was Caesar’s friend. (It wasn’t an honest way of doing it, but he did).
Brutus is not only the “noblest of all Romans,” but the tragic hero of the play. He was willing to sacrifice everything in order to save Rome.
Yes, I know it seems really backwards because the title of the play is “Julius Caesar;” however, Brutus is the true tragic hero of this play because of his adoration for Rome.
Bravo, Kathleen, you seemed to have fathomed the novel really well. It’s gotten me thinking because now I actually want to do some research on this book and see if it’s worth reading. Nevertheless, the way you described the themes in the novel, like “fate v.s free will” just brought me back to the time when I read Oedipus Rex. The choices he made were futile because no matter what he did, he couldn’t change fate; he was destined to kill his father and sleep with his mother. I feel like this book is something like that. If so then I might actually read it because I liked reading Oedipus Rex. Does this book tell the whole story of Julius Caeser or is it just from the point of his death? Anyways, I heard of this work of literature by Shakespeare but I never actually considered reading it because of its difficulty level, but now I might actually reconsider. Brutus and Cassius seem to be the protagonist in this novel, but according to history they were the assassins of Julius Caesar weren’t they? And didn’t they have a bad reputation for that? Then why are they illustrated has the protagonists of the story. Either way, it should be interesting to read the other side of an actual historical event from the criminal’s perspective. In the end, who won the war? Did Brutus actually confront the enemy as you said? Overall, the summary of the story you gave kind of got me excited. It was great.
ReplyDeleteHi there Anish! I am going to answer all your questions, however, they are not going to flow so well… so I am going to just put them in separate paragraphs.
ReplyDeleteYeah this story contains the theme of Fate vs. Free Will; however, it has a different approach to it than Oedipus Rex. It pulls in the idea that there is human choice as well as fate. So just keep that in mind, if you really want to read this play. (:])
This play begins with the idea of the assassination of Caesar, therefore, it does not tell the entire story of Caesar's life. It does, however, address some key things he has done for Rome.
Yeah, Brutus and Cassius are the protagonists even though they are conspirators. The reason for this is because they are murdering Caesar because they believe he is very ambitious, meaning he wants to rule Rome. They do not believe he is a good man for that job.
I want to tell you the ending; however, I feel that would defeat the purpose of you reading the story. (:P) I would be taking away the chance of you reading a fantastic story. So, I will leave you with this one idea: If you want to know more about the "noblest of all Romans" read this book. (:])
Let me just jump in to clear up a small confusion. A protagonist is not the "good guy" to the antagonist "bad guy." Instead, consider the term as a means to identify the central character, good, bad, or indifferent. The antagonist simply works against the protagonist in some way.
ReplyDelete