Blame it on Fate
"Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once"
“Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once. Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, it seems to me most strange that men should fear, seeing that death, a necessary end, will come when it will come.” Julius Caesar, Act II, Scene 2, Lines 34-39.
To be fair, Caesar probably should’ve listened to that little voice in the back of his mind (and the much louder, completely right voice of his wife) and not left the house that day. But hey, you can’t fight fate. Can you?
The Shakespeare Sitch
Julius Caesar was written in 1599-1600, and believed to be one of the first plays performed at the newly-constructed Globe Theatre. It would have been a well-known story to people at the time. School boys were taught rhetorical analysis in part through the debate of whether Brutus was a hero or a traitor. And Shakespeare puts his own skills of rhetoric and persuasion on display in the verbal sparring of Brutus and Antony on that very point. For that reason, it’s no wonder that it contains so many iconic quotes:
“It was Greek to me”
“Beware the Ides of March”
“Cry ‘Havoc!’ and let slip the dogs of war”
“Et tu, Brutee”
“The fault is not in our stars” (sorry John Green)
“Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears”
And what clearly evolved into a terrific song by the Police: “Nay, press not so upon me. Stand far off.”
And, the war of words in the play raises many questions for potential debates. The one I would like to address is this: Was it fate that killed Julius Caesar or was his death merely inevitable? Meaning, did some divine force demand his death or was it just the natural consequences of the actions of those around him.
The entire plot is set in motion because it is deemed inevitable that Caesar will be appointed king and destroy the Roman Republic. The people of Rome love Julius Caesar, and many, including his BFF Brutus, worry that they will crown him king and bye bye democracy. That idea is understandably concerning.
So Brutus and his co-conspirators plan to kill Caesar before he can be crowned king to save democracy itself. Now, it should be noted that I don’t condone, encourage, or advocate any sort of violence (this isn’t an Essex Rebellion situation — look it up), but this is Shakespeare talking about ancient Rome, so violence was… pardon my saying, inevitable. Given that, the primary question of the play, as well as history is whether Brutus was justified in killing Caesar. Did he kill a would-be tyrant and save democracy, or did he kill a worthy ruler with no just cause.
This question is addressed directly by the closing arguments given by Brutus and Antony after the death of Caesar to the citizens of Rome. But the evidence is circumstantial at best. While Brutus has known Caesar a long time and has concerns about his nature before the play begins, the decision to kill Caesar is triggered by a moment not seen by us the audience or by Brutus.
Caesar has left the stage, and only Brutus and Cassius (a co-conspirator) remain. They discuss their concerns about Caesar’s fitness as a ruler, while overhearing the crowds reacting to Caesar offstage. We — as well as Brutus and Cassius— are then told by an eye-witnesses that Antony (noted Caesar loyalist) has offered Caesar the crown three times before the people, and three times Caesar declined. But our eye-witness tells us this was done begrudgingly. Neither we the audience, nor the conspirators, get to observe Caesar’s demeanor to make our own determination. Notably, the eye-witness statement here is hearsay and probably inadmissible in a court of law, but hey, ancient Rome.
So the co-conspirators decide they must kill Caesar to save democracy and they do so. They parade through the city announcing what they’ve done, and Brutus, the most honorable man in Rome, gets up to defend their actions. Imagine Tom Hanks explaining someone was a bad dude — you’d probably believe him. So, during his impassioned plea to the populace, Brutus explains that “As Caesar loved me, I weep for him. As he was fortunate, I rejoice at it. As he was valiant, I honor him. But, as he was ambitious, I slew him.” And this convinces the people that Caesar was bad and it’s good he’s dead… at least until Antony gets a hold of the mic.
The conspirators leave, assured that Antony is not going to bad-mouth them in abstentia. Big mistake. If you leave the friend of the dude you killed at a podium in front of an easily-swayed citizenry, he’s gonna do some swaying. It’s… oh what’s the word? Inevitable. And Antony uses the very same story, the story of Caesar rejecting the crown three times, to argue that Caesar could be no tyrant, because he did not take the crown. And, predictably, the crowd turns against Brutus and his co-conspirators. And civil war erupts.
But this leaves out the role of fate in this entire bloody affair. Before the death of Caesar, we hear from Brutus and his cohorts about their reasoning. But the natural and unnatural also chime in to suggest that it was perhaps fate that killed Caesar. Caesar’s death is predicted by soothsayers (“Beware the ides of March!”), his wife’s dream (three times she screams “Help ho, they murder Caesar!” in her sleep), and the general disturbance of nature (not global warming, just the impending death of a would-be sovereign). Even the man intent on warning Caesar of the plotted betrayal murder ultimately leaves his plan up to fate saying “If thou read this, O Caesar, thou mayest live; if not, the Fates with traitors do contrive.” So, is it some greater deific power bringing about Caesar’s death, or are these mere portents that could be avoided?
Caesar is presented with all of these signs that he should not leave home that day, and is at first persuaded. But ultimately, he goes to the capitol and is murdered. Why? Again, we are presented with two options. First, it is ambition that leads to his death. He resolves to stay home but when he is told that the Senate has concluded to give him the crown, he changes his mind. Perhaps Brutus is right? He is too ambitious.
But then, later in the play, we meet Cinna the Poet. He also had ominous dreams that make him want to stay home, but he tells us “I have no will to wander forth of doors,
Yet something leads me forth.” Fate? A few lines later, he is brutally killed by a mob who mistake him for one of the conspirators. So perhaps it was inescapable fate that led Caesar to the Senate that day.
And, if it was fate the willed the death of Caesar, can Brutus be blamed?
Ultimately, the conspirators also die because they have “misconstrued everything.” Cassius is told his messenger is overrun by others (in celebration) but misconstrues it as defeat and takes his own life. Without his ally, Brutus is defeated and also takes his own life.
And the wheel of fate turns on. See you in Antony & Cleopatra.
Speak the Speech, I Pray You
Bring Shakespeare’s words into your own life by:
Inspiring loved ones to seize the day;
Taking a moment for Memento Mori;
And… convincing homebody gal pals to give that noisy nightclub one more try.
Nice analysis. You should direct JC one day. You give a lot of depth to the work.