The Character of Authority in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”

About this episode

Wes and Erin discuss the themes of authority and political power in Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar'.

Brutus is an honorable man, but Caesar is Caesar: at the beginning of Shakespeare’s play, his name is near the point of becoming synonymous with dictatorial power, and his every wish, as Mark Antony points out, has the substance of a command. For the rebels who oppose him, this identification of political authority with personal will is a perversion of republican institutions, and a form of corruption that justifies any means of putting an end to it, even if that means killing a friend. Yet Brutus’s conception of himself as unflaggingly virtuous is one he in fact shares with Caesar, and perhaps reflects the same authoritarian tendency, in grounding the legitimacy of political action in the character of a particular actor. Then again, it is not clear that democratic institutions will always forestall authoritarian tendencies, rather than enable the masses to sanction absolute power in a charismatic leader. Wes & Erin discuss Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar,” and its sustained reflection on how political power is constructed, located, and legitimated. Upcoming Episodes : “Amadeus,” Susan Sontag. Pre-order Erin’s forthcoming book “Avail” here…

People in this episode

Hosts: Wes Alwan, Erin O'Luanaigh

Topics covered

• authority
• political power
• Shakespeare
• Julius Caesar
• republican institutions
• democracy
• corruption

Keywords

• Shakespeare
• Julius Caesar
• political authority
• Brutus
• Caesar
• Mark Antony
• democracy
• corruption

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Julius Caesar

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