Fate and freewill in julius caesar by shakespeare essay

Cassius despises Caesar, alleging that Caesar is weak, womanish, and ill.

Frequently coupled with Christian connotations, these concepts feature prominently in such diverse works as The Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra, King Lear, and many others. In some cases, Shakespeare borrowed his concepts of fate and fortune from the antique writings of Plutarch, Seneca, and Ptolemy, in which pre-Christian cosmological ideas decree the power of the stars to dictate the fates of mortals.

In the medieval view, belief in fortune, especially in the sense of pursuing worldly wealth, suggested the forfeiture of redemption in exchange for the capricious and fleeting rewards of material existence. In the Renaissance, this concept was often found in emblematic imagery, which typically depicted the pagan goddess Fortune allegorically as a harlot.

In Shakespearean drama, the mysterious forces of fate and fortune are given broad play. Fortune is generally a deceiver in the comic plays, set to test the virtue of those seeking favor or gain, and stands in contrast with the providential designs of God.

Focusing his analysis on Twelfth Night, B. With her equanimity and stoicism in the face of harsh fortunes, Viola sets the standard. She makes no effort to change or deny that which she knows to be inevitable.

To a lesser degree Olivia also remains resigned to her fate, particularly her unrequited love for Cesario. Sebastian, in contrast, at first curses his ill luck, but later yields to grace and accepts that faith in God will guide his fortunes favorably.

Lastly, Malvolio pretends to be stoical in the face of fortune, assuming it will inevitably and deservedly work in his favor. He believes that good luck is precisely what he deserves and will get, but when fortune treats him unfavorably, he vows revenge.

Perhaps more than any other Shakespearean comedy The Merchant of Venice relies on the vicissitudes of fortune to drive its plot. In the hazardous mercantile world of the play, the search for ever greater financial rewards invites increased risks and reversals far beyond the control of mortals.

In his study of the drama, Raymond B. Waddington examines how a trio of inscrutable forces—fortune, justice, and Cupid—dictate the fates of the characters. Kozikowski discusses the lottery for Portia as an allegorical interlude concerned with love and fortune.

Kozikowski argues that Shakespeare first presents Portia as a conventional personification of Fortune, ambivalent toward those who desire her.

She dupes and deceives the men who would wed her for false reasons, such as advancement, wealth, or pleasure. However Bassanio, whose feelings for Portia are real, selflessly chooses love over fortune and succeeds in his suit through virtue. The status of fate and fortune as determining factors in Shakespearean tragedy has drawn the attention of numerous scholars eager to understand the patterns of tragic causality in such works as Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, and Timon of Athens.

Behind the bleak, near nihilistic worldview depicted in these dramas, critics have discerned a carefully crafted balance among destiny, chance, choice, and providential will. Surveying the interaction of fortune and occasion in Shakespearean tragedy, Frederick Kiefer focuses on three tragic Shakespearean figures: Brutus, like Bolingbroke, relies on his sense of occasion and opportunity, but ultimately fails in his efforts to mold the world because he lacks the ability to effectively adapt to change.

In a final example, Hamlet, who like Richard II holds a conventional view of fortune at the opening of the play, experiences a major shift in sensibility, allowing him to sublimate his personal feelings of victimization into a resolute faith in divine will.

Also interested in Macbeth, James L. According to the critic, Macbeth undercuts both the ordered, Christian notion of fate as shaped by the hands of God and the existential understanding of the preeminence of individualized free will. Perhaps more than any other Shakespearean tragedy Romeo and Juliet is profoundly influenced by the notions of fortune and fate.

Discussing these aspects of the drama, D. Douglas Waters asserts that Romeo and Juliet should be understood as a tragedy of fate rather than as a character-driven story and examines how the intersection of chance circumstances, seemingly irrational forces, and human contingency come together to produce a tragedy written in the stars.

Andrews offers an opposing view. Lewis Walker contends that the moral allegory of Fortune featured in the first scene of Timon of Athens highlights the central theme of the play: In the tale, Fortune breeds trouble and strife in society by offering rewards without consideration of merit.

Fortune is divisive and promotes self-interest, the acquisition of material possessions, and competition at the expense of community and equality.

Michael Lloyd surveys the imagery of fortune and chance in Antony and Cleopatra and Julius Caesar as inspired by the writings of Plutarch. Williamson views the goddess Fortune as the principal symbolic figure in Antony and Cleopatra and finds that the tragedy of the drama is one of mighty individuals unwillingly caught among forces far beyond their understanding or control.

Hallett also studies fortune in Antony and Cleopatra and links this capricious force with change and time as the determining factors of the drama. When Antony decides to tempt Fortune by splitting his loyalties between Rome and Egypt, Hallett asserts, his luck declines.

Frederick Kiefer essay date Shakespearean Criticism.Fate and freewill in ”Julius Caesar” by Shakespeare Essay Sample Published by admin on January 15, One of the major concerns presented by Shakespeare in Julius Caesar is the battle between destiny and free will. Chowdhury 1 Eafen Chowdhury caninariojana.com English 2A, Period 4 16 May Fate vs.

Free Will in Julius Caesar Thesis: In the Play, Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, one of the major themes in the play is “Fate vs. Free Will” because Julius Caesar was forewarned about his murder. In William Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar, two interesting forces, fate and free will, are shown competing for prominence over the other.

Fate was exemplified in the many prophecies and omens the characters viewed throughout the play. II.—THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN KEY.

The very first thing I can ever remember seeing with my own eyes was a young man walking across a bridge.

He had a curly moustache and an attitude of confidence verging on swagger. Are people truly responsible for their actions? This question has puzzled humanity throughout history.

G.K. Chesterton

Over the centuries, people have pondered the influence of divine or diabolical power, environment, genetics, even entertainment, as determining how free any individual is in making moral choices.

Destiny or fate versus free will –this is one of the many philosophies that William Shakespeare examines in Julius Caesar. The drama promotes the idea that fate and free will can survive side by.