Leadership in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

Throughout the history, the success of a nation or a group of people always greatly depended on the abilities of their leader. Similarly, one of the most important themes in William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar is the question of what qualities make up a good leader. The play’s detailed examination of characters of Julius Caesar, Brutus, and Marc Antony demonstrates that their personal traits determine their overall success or failure as leaders. Julius Caesar’s ambition and Brutus’ ideals led to their ultimate downfall, while Marc Antony’s cleverness contributes to his success as a leader.
Julius Caesar’s characteristics of teeming arrogance and ambition cause his ultimate downfall and death. In Act 1, during the celebration of the feast Lupercal, Soothsayer calls from the crowd warning Caesar “beware the ides of March” (1.2.21). Caesar has every opportunity to heed these words and make precautions to prevent his murder. However, he is too arrogant leader t...