julius caesar
Jun. 28th, 2003 12:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pauraque_bkAnd now for something completely different.
I saw Julius Caesar performed twice last week, and enjoyed it very much -- it's one of my favorite plays. I have a heavily annotated copy of the text, which discusses many troublesome points and different interpretations thereof, but there was one thing I was really wondering about that isn't addressed at all.
I'm intrigued by the scene where Pindarus reports that Titinius has been captured, spurring Cassius to commit suicide. I first wondered if there was a parallel here with the murder of Caesar: In the end, Cassius is destroyed because he's mistaken a friend for an enemy. And on a larger scale, perhaps the conspirators (and Rome as they knew it) were destroyed for a similar reason -- because in Caesar, they also mistook a friend for an enemy.
That thought raised another: When Pindarus gives his report, is he making an honest mistake, or is he lying? His dialogue indicates it was a mistake, but in a play so full of deception (and self-deception), I found myself wondering if it should be taken at face value. Pindarus did benefit from Cassius' death, but could he have known Cassius would kill himself? If he knew Cassius well, he might have anticipated it: In the course of the play, Cassius threatens suicide three times [ "I know where I will wear this dagger then: / Cassius from bondage will deliver Cassius." (1.3.89-90), "If this be known, / Cassius or Caesar never shall turn back, / For I will slay myself." (3.1.20-22), "Come, Antony, and young Octavius, come, / Revenge yourselves alone on Cassius, / For Cassius is a-weary of the world" (4.3.92-94) ], and even as Pindarus is going up onto the hill to observe the battlefield, he seems on the point of it: "Time is come round; / And where I did begin, there shall I end."
In the heat of what looked like a losing battle, could Pindarus have seized this chance for freedom, misinforming Cassius while only half-believing Cassius would really follow through on his threats this time? And what an interesting line Pindarus exits on: "Far from this country Pindarus shall run, / Where never Roman shall take note of him."
All very intriguing. It almost inspires one to write.... :)
(As an aside: Brutus/Cassius is my OTP.)
I saw Julius Caesar performed twice last week, and enjoyed it very much -- it's one of my favorite plays. I have a heavily annotated copy of the text, which discusses many troublesome points and different interpretations thereof, but there was one thing I was really wondering about that isn't addressed at all.
I'm intrigued by the scene where Pindarus reports that Titinius has been captured, spurring Cassius to commit suicide. I first wondered if there was a parallel here with the murder of Caesar: In the end, Cassius is destroyed because he's mistaken a friend for an enemy. And on a larger scale, perhaps the conspirators (and Rome as they knew it) were destroyed for a similar reason -- because in Caesar, they also mistook a friend for an enemy.
That thought raised another: When Pindarus gives his report, is he making an honest mistake, or is he lying? His dialogue indicates it was a mistake, but in a play so full of deception (and self-deception), I found myself wondering if it should be taken at face value. Pindarus did benefit from Cassius' death, but could he have known Cassius would kill himself? If he knew Cassius well, he might have anticipated it: In the course of the play, Cassius threatens suicide three times [ "I know where I will wear this dagger then: / Cassius from bondage will deliver Cassius." (1.3.89-90), "If this be known, / Cassius or Caesar never shall turn back, / For I will slay myself." (3.1.20-22), "Come, Antony, and young Octavius, come, / Revenge yourselves alone on Cassius, / For Cassius is a-weary of the world" (4.3.92-94) ], and even as Pindarus is going up onto the hill to observe the battlefield, he seems on the point of it: "Time is come round; / And where I did begin, there shall I end."
In the heat of what looked like a losing battle, could Pindarus have seized this chance for freedom, misinforming Cassius while only half-believing Cassius would really follow through on his threats this time? And what an interesting line Pindarus exits on: "Far from this country Pindarus shall run, / Where never Roman shall take note of him."
All very intriguing. It almost inspires one to write.... :)
(As an aside: Brutus/Cassius is my OTP.)
