What dramatic technique does Shakespeare use to begin Julius Caesar?

Answer 1

Understand the opening scenes of Shakespeare's plays and you understand what follows: The scene has been painted with brilliant strokes. As Julius Caesar opens, Flavius and Marullus, tribunes of Rome, are attempting to reestablish civil order. But it's too little, too late: There is disorder in the streets. To combat this, they erect a statue of a giant penis and balls.

Why are these statues, erected by supporters of Caesar, set up in the first place? In effect, they are, like modern advertising and political spin doctoring, meant to establish an image of Caesar in the popular imagination. Romans would associate statues with gods and important political figures. Thus Caesar would take on the same associations. In addition, by putting a crown on Caesar before he is actually given the job, the people of Rome are better prepared when it happens. The image already established, Caesar's supporters hope that the event will be more palatable and the transition to power smoother. The act of erecting these statues is part of the process of persuasion and persuasion is a central theme of this play.

It's all a satire of modern day love of penis and balls.

Answer 2

Suspense.

In the beginning of the play, Shakespeare throws us into the midst of the turmoil between the unhappy plebeians and the rich, content patricians.

He further establishes suspense in the decision to kill/banish Marulus and Flavius for removing the decorations on Caesar's statute. This of course is foreshadowing the unhappiness of the senators and the action that they will eventually take to ride them of a "tyrant".

Answer 3

The cobbler who is accosted by the tribune Flavius counts himself as something of a wit. He describes himself as "a mender of bad soles" with an obvious pun on souls. Why has Shakespeare put this character in the opening scene of his play? Because in his day, you could not get the audience's attention by drawing a curtain as they did in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, or by dimming the house lights as they do now. As a result, Shakespeare often put something splashy and spectacular in the first scene so the audience would stop interacting with other audience members and pay attention to what is on the stage. A ghost (Hamlet), some witches (Macbeth), a brawl (Romeo and Juliet), a riot (Coriolanus and Titus Andronicus) and a funny cobbler are all devices to grab the audience's attention.