Analysis Of Gaius Suetonius TranquitusDe Vita Caesartus

Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, a Roman historian is better known as Suetonius and also for his book ‘The Twelve Caesars’ which essentially changed the way in which history was written. For many, they believe that Suetonius’ ‘De Vita Caesarum established a new framework, an original genre of historical biography unseen before which consequently made a significant contribution to historical scholarship. This review will look in particular at the aspects of Suetonius’ style of writing seen in the first chapter, which focuses on Julius Caesar, and also how specific writing techniques used by Suetonius inspired other authors in the future. Although there are some faults to his work, Suetonius through the cohesive method of singular analysis he†¦show more content†¦Suetonius’ evocative storytelling uses another technique which gives the reader an insight into the past, the author paints a portrait of a landscape, where glimmers of intimate dai ly life enables a personal connection to another place and time. Through this, if we can begin to understand Julius Caesar, we understand the beginning of imperial Rome and in its entirety this book becomes an in depth source for understanding the history of the Roman Empire. In Suetonius’ chapter on the life of Julius Caesar it is clear the motivation behind the use of foreshadowing and the importance of predicting future events using signs from celestial portents, and especially from God, as this intrigues the reader to continue. A certain passage of Suetonius’s writing epitomises the captivating nature of his work, where he foreshadows the death of Julius Caesar using signs and scripture. It is the foretelling and prediction of Caesar’s death which engages the reader to continue reading and find out if the scripture comes true. Suetonius’s ‘De vita Caesarum’ is also responsible for two famous pieces of literature. One is when Caesar is cro ssing the Rubicon and cries out those famous three words in Latin â€Å"iacta alea est, meaning in English the die is cast and this proclaimed that the army were