How is Caesar’s hubris used against him?
Decius Brutus exploits Caesar by playing off of his pride, or hubris. This is done to sway Caesar towards deciding to travel to the Capitol in order for the Senate to meet.
‘Besides, it were a mock apt to be render’d for some one to say “Break up the Senate to another time when Caesar’s wife shall meet with better dreams.”‘
Decius Brutus knows that Caesar’s ego wouldn’t allow him to let people think that he is not a powerful man. ‘It were a mock’ implies that it could be taken as a joke, or indeed that Caesar could be taken as such. Once Caesar has been presented with the possibility of being mocked, his view of the situation changes rapidly, as his next line reads ‘How foolish do your fears seem now, Calpurnia!’.
Furthermore, Decius Brutus ensures Caesar’s compliance by adding ‘If Caesar hide himself, shall they not whisper “Lo, Caesar is afraid?”‘. The use of ‘hide’ plays off of Caesar’s hubris, as ‘hide’ holds connotations of cowardice, by which Caesar would have been angered.
Harry,
Your focus on individual word choices shows a real flair for analysis and an excellent understanding of how Caesar has been manipulated in this scene. Your reach around the text, embedding quotations with ease and your tone is supported well by your own phrasing. Well done!
Targets
What would be useful now, is some clear focus on the aspects of genre that play upon the audience’s expectations. How does this conform to the convention of a tragedy?
Additionally, you should explore how the language of Decius Brutus manipulates Caesar through providing an alternative interpretation of Calpurnia’s dream.