Here Shakespeare reinforces the notion that murder is not the way to go about solving one's problems. Myron Taylor notes that the play is filled with a "strong element of irony" (Taylor 307) because what they get after killing Caesar is worse than they imagined. The conspirators are convinced that Caesar will become a dictator because of his attitude regarding his power. When Brutus speaks to the people, he convinces them that his love for them and their country caused him to kill Caesar. When he asks them if they would rather die as slaves with Caesar living or die as free men with Caesar dead, we see his fears surface. Schanzer notes that the answer lies in Brutus' question. His accusation of Caesar was too ambitious is "vague" (Schanzer 48) but very clear. The characters' dispositions at the end of the play also illustrate the answer to the question...
[ View Full Essay]