Serpent Imagery

The serpent has symbolic value.  Since the beginning, the idea of the serpent was one of evil temptation as seen in the story of Adam and Eve.  The serpent convinced the two to eat of the Garden of Eden and therefore, betray God.  Shakespeare used serpent symbolism and imagery during Brutus's speech about Caesar.  Brutus explains,    "And therefore think him as a serpent's egg, Which, hatch'd, would as his kind grow mischievous, And kill him in the shell".   Brutus believes Caesar is merely a "serpent's egg" waiting to hatch and once the day comes he will indeed commit mischievous actions.  Ultimately, Brutus decided to kill Caesar before any of the actions could be committed.  Now in reading Hamlet, Shakespeare again uses the serpent as a symbol.  In act I scene v, the Ghost says, "A serpent stung me. So the whole ear of Denmark/ Is by forged process of my death/ Rankly abused.  But I know, thou noble youth,/ The serpent that did sting thy father's life/ Now wears his crown".  The Ghost, apparently the late King, explains his untimely death was at the hand of his brother, Claudius.  The Ghost conjures Claudius as a serpent who took his life unjustly and provided a false story to the people of Denmark.  In this sense, the serpent represents evil vindictiveness.  The serpent Claudius or the arrant knave was hungry for power.  The representation of Claudius could be similar to how Brutus saw Caesar, but Claudius has actually already committed acts of grave nature to get to power.  Therefore,  the symbol of the serpent is one of evil, temptation, and a chance to be vindictive in the works of Shakespeare.  

The Brute Brutus

In conclusion of the play Julius Caesar, Brutus revealed himself as a true brute.  Brutus treated his friend Caesar with utter disrespect.  I came across the description of Brutus as "cupidinous" which means "Filled with amorous desire or passion; not to be confused with cupidity, excessive desire, especially for wealth; avarice" (http://www.definition-of.com/cupidinous). Brutus had extreme passion which clouded any sense of sound judgment.  Passion messes logic!  Furthermore, in terms of avarice which means an "insatiable desire for gain".  Brutus's avarice for Roman power was not well thought out.  He claims to be looking out for the Roman Republic, but if he were truly looking out for the state's well-being then Brutus would have spent more time in laboring with making a sound judgment.  Brutus's brash and unreasonable decision to side with the conspiracy show his lack of real motives.  Ultimately, I believe Brutus took this opportunity to be powerful and be the new star of Rome.  He always had hidden desires to step out of the shadows and be in the limelight.  I think this relates to natural human desires to have power. Moreover, a lot of political decisions are made in the cover for the "good of the people", but often not all possibilities are taken into account.  Look at the Iraq War how as Americans we completely shook up their government to remove a tyrant and the people still don't have a stable government.  This correlates to how the conspirators killed Caesar to leave Rome in shambles with the War in Phillipi.  Ultimately, Brutus's character, motivation, and political actions need to called into question.  His brute and  cupidinous actions should not be hailed, but rather called into question for they were neither very honorable or noble which supposedly the crowning glory of Brutus's being.

The Funeral Speeches

Brutus or Antony? Convincing the mere plebeians to listen beyond their mere words.

Brutus speaks in the common people for he does not use iambic pentameter.  He emphasizes his honorable nature for he put Rome first and foremost.  Brutus explains his love for Caesar, but he recognized the ambitions of Caesar to be troublesome to Roman people. He attempts to use logic as his rhetorical device to say he is consistent in his everlasting love for Rome. Rather, Antony actually puts himself amongst the people by putting himself on the ground of the people.  He triumphs in his oratory skills of speaking by playing on the pathos of the crowd.   Antony still uses reason against Brutus's argument by providing the evidence of how Caesar three times denied the crown!  This is an instance of Antony using ethos to get the crowd to trust in what he is saying.

 Still I think an argument could be made that Antony successfully used all three devices as a plebeian responds with, "Methinks there is much reason in his saying".   Since Antony successfully gains the backing and trust of the crowd, he is able to reveal the true occurrences of Caesar's death by traitors.  Antony  incites the crowd in to a vicious, fiery rage to mutiny against the bad souls of Rome.  Brutus played upon reason verses Antony uses the raw emotion.

I still believe both of these characters are power hungry political figures vying for their chance to control the great Roma.