Question

WHY does Shakespeare present Julius Caesar as arrogant. Why did he chose this language/structure? Why might he want us to interpret the play in different ways?

Answer 1

Answer: Have you ever known someone to be chosen for a job or elected for an office who almost instantly became engulfed with the power of the title?  It happens all the time with humans...Caesar is no different.  It is human vanity that allows us to become self-important and all puffed up with ourselves.

Brutus is more loyal to Rome and the ideals of Rome than to any one person.  This is his weakness, and the other conspirators knew this.  They left him notes and questioned him until he began to question himself.  He could not allow Rome to become anything other than the honorably governed institution he has come to love and serve.  He agrees to rise up against Caesar to preserve Rome.