Julius Caesar ends

Those who are or were in the ICSE board would know that we have to read a Shakespearean drama for our ICSE English literature paper. For the past few years we had the famous tragedy Julius Caesar. And we are the last batch taking the test on Julius Caesar. Now in our school the whole of the drama is done in Class 10. We just completed the drama today in our school.

Now it is very well known to everybody that when you have to read something for your school examination, you never feel like reading it; but it is some other drama or novel, then you finish it in a day or two. Perhaps it’s because you need to memorize a lot and remember every detail unlike the novel not in syllabus. It was the same for me too.

One year of dragging with the tragedy and ultimately it is done.

I knew nothing of Julius Caesar and ancient Rome until I was in Class 10. I only knew that man called Brutus had killed Julius Caesar. I had known this when I guess I was in Class 7 and was doing a Active to Passive voice from Wren and Martin, which said “Brutus stabbed Caesar”. Now throughout the year we were taught the whole drama- a great work by William Shakespeare.

We greatly liked the drama when it started, with lots of fun in the puns, but drama progressed in its way, the politics became more prominent finally resulting in the assassination of Caesar. All such great lectures by Brutus and Antony and all those dialogues between Cassius and Brutus were really difficult to remember. It was then that we wished the drama would end soon.

And finally it just ended today. But don’t know why I don’t feel like cheering with “Yippee”s. The drama is really a tragic one when all die one by one. The characters of the drama had become more like people we meet everyday rather than just a name. After reading their names for a year has some effect. We feel the loss of some near and dear ones.

It started with Portia’s death-the brave lady who ate fire. Next jolt of sadness comes when dies Cassius who had become superstitious at last and asks or rather orders his slave to kill him. Even the death of the shrewdest conspirator saddens me. Next great death is of course of Marcus Brutus, the educated man who had always been a misfit for the battle. The man who thought about the good of room and loved his books finally dies when he walks over Strato’s sword. The death of this noble saddens us the most.

But finally the drama ends- end of those difficult and ancient words.