35 pages • 1 hour read
Cato, a Tragedy
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Symbols & Motifs
War and Battle
War and battle are symbolic ideas that run throughout Cato. For Cato and his allies, war and successful battle mean freeing themselves of Caesar’s tyranny and preserving their sense of personal liberty. Marcus’s death in battle also symbolizes his adherence to virtue and love of his country.
The play does not just explore the honorable glories of war. Caesar’s constant war and invasion represent his tyranny and quest for power, which Cato and the senators abhor. Through Caesar, war also represents death and destruction; Lucius explains that “already have our quarrels fill’d the world / with widows, and with orphans” and urges Cato to “sheathe the sword, and spare mankind” (19).
Rome and the Roman Republic
To the characters of Cato, Rome signifies more than a place or government. Rome symbolizes the broader virtues and set of values that Cato so strictly adheres to; his virtues are inextricably linked to the republic government he associates them with. When Cato declares, “Rome is no more,” he believes his own values are dead as well: “Oh, liberty! Oh, virtue! Oh, my country!” (51). This link between Rome and virtue is observed by the other characters as well; Juba, who is not Roman, notes that “a Roman soul is bent on higher views” and that “Roman virtues lift up mortal man” (11).
Women
In addition to being characters themselves, the female characters of Lucia and Marcia also serve a symbolic function in Cato, as we learn more about the male characters through them. Lucia illuminates Marcus’s temper and Portius’s sense of honor, while Marcia reveals Sempronius’s villainy and Juba’s conflict between Roman-style virtue and wanting good fortune for himself.
Cato’s Death
In addition to being a major plot point, Cato’s suicide serves a symbolic function as well. Death is the ultimate illustration of Cato’s adherence to virtue and honor above all else, as his sacrifice demonstrates how he values liberty and freedom over even his own life. He sacrifices his life for his principles, as only by dying can he never surrender to Caesar’s tyranny. Cato’s death likely had an influential effect on audiences of the time; the play was popular among the Founding Fathers during the American Revolution (most notably George Washington, who reportedly had the play performed at Valley Forge), and the symbolism of Cato’s death as the ultimate act of patriotic virtue likely spoke to soldiers’ own willingness to die on the battlefield in the name of independence.
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