Conflicting Perspectives Essay - Julius Caesar and Doubt

785 Words4 Pages
To what extent has textual form shaped your understanding of conflicting perspectives? In your response, make detailed reference to your prescribed text and at least ONE other related text of your own choosing. It is a universal concept that the perspectives we form are as unique and diverse as we are as individuals. Forming our own perspectives is an integral part of human nature and as not one of us are the same; conflicting perspectives are bound to exist. Yet how is it that we are able to understand other people’s perspectives when they can be so far removed from our own? Composers, time and time again, draw upon their pivotal position of influence and manipulation over perspective to engage and enthrall their audience into understanding their own point of views. Compelling use of textual form can be seen in the timeless Shakespearean drama Julius Caesar as well as John Patrick Stanley’s provocative film Doubt that effectively empowers the audience to reach new and diverse perspectives. Although these texts may differ blatantly, the unique methods of textual form used by both composers effectively shape and mould our understanding of the complex notion of conflicting perspectives. Our perspectives of people are often reliant on other people’s own perspectives and opinions of someone. In Act 1, Scene 1 of Julius Caesar we are presented with two very different perspectives regarding the character of Caesar. We are given this sense of conflict in public opinion through the use of juxtaposition between the colloquial language of the ‘lower class’ plebs and the iambic pentameter of the ‘upper class’ tribunes. By this juxtaposition the audience is placed in a conflicted position as to what their perspectives are of Caesar – is he worthy of being celebrated? Or should “no images be hung with Caesar’s trophies”? This conflict portrayed in the opening scene represents
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