04-11-2012, 11:05 PM
One of the interesting things about reading Shakespeare is I think to remember he was writing as a man who was born, lived, and died under a monarchy. The notion of living in a republic - even one as corrupt and bloody as the last days of the Roman Republic - must have been as unreal a prospect to him as living under a universal Emperor would be to us.
.... so of course the conspirators were the bad guys.
I think that while some of the conspirators had mixed motives, Caesar was certainly guilty of trying to establish himself as a king. To that extent, I think some of them (Brutus, certainly) would indeed have had just cause to call themselves Roman patriots.
Was it worth the later bloodshed though? Tougher question.
.... so of course the conspirators were the bad guys.
I think that while some of the conspirators had mixed motives, Caesar was certainly guilty of trying to establish himself as a king. To that extent, I think some of them (Brutus, certainly) would indeed have had just cause to call themselves Roman patriots.
Was it worth the later bloodshed though? Tougher question.
