Thy Kingdom Come; Thy Martyrdom: The Situation of Shakespeare’s Caesar as a Parallel of the Death of Christ Marissa Polodna College

Shakespeare’s Caesar in “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar” is often mistaken as being a tyrant. This view comes from the characterization of Caesar through Cassius and Brutus’ eyes. Caesar’s qualities that make him a martyr instead of a tyrant are often overshadowed by Cassius’ accusing finger and Brutus’ calculating eye. Within the play, Caesar is the kind of politician to put on a show hence the large celebration when he returns to Rome parading about like a celebrity. Throughout the play it is hard to discover who the real Caesar is. The parallelisms of Caesar’s character do not end at the interpretation of tyrant or martyr, however. His journey and betrayal parallel the martyrdom of Jesus Christ. Caesar’s death follows the three pillars of martyrdom as presented by Christ; put to death, death due to his teachings and for refusing to apostatize, and the commemoration of his death from his followers. Close analysis of the play will reveal that Caesar is not a bloodthirsty tyrant as portrayed by Cassius but is instead a martyr for his fellow Romans much like Christ is for the Christian faith.

It is easy to mistake Caesar for a tyrant due to his excessive ego and pride. When Caesar first enters the scene in Act 1 he is being...