(sub)TEXT: The Character of Authority in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” | The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast | A Philosophy Podcast and Blog (opens in new tab)

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 B...