In the play, Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare There are a great deal of characters that play a major part. Although there are many characters in this essay I will be talking about Brutus in particular. I will be dissecting Brutus actions throughout the play. In the end, I am going to come to the conclusion of whether Brutus is a villain or hero, and whether he is a dishonorable man, or a mistaken one. Is Brutus a villain or a hero? This will be the first of Brutus’s character analysis. Throughout the play, Brutus does lots of things to make you question whether he is the “good guy” or the “bad guy”. In my opinion, I believe Brutus is truly a villain. Through examples, I will prove that Brutus is indubitably a villain. An example of this is when Brutus made the point that if anyone were to “demand why Brutus rose against Caesar,” Then we would answer: “not loved Caesar that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more. .”, I agree that it may have been hard for someone who was so close to Caesar to harm him, but does his sense of loyalty and honorability really justify him in participating in the killing of a dear friend such as Caesar? No, I believe Brutus throws out the word “love” a lot Brutus tries to justify his love for Caesar a reason for participating in killing him. Brutus makes the conflicting point that he loved both Caesar and Rome the same. Brutus never really never goes into true depth into why he felt there was no other alternative for his
Brutus definitely does not show how he is a honorable and loyal person. He focused too much about what he thoughts best for Rome and less about the people. During the play, Brutus also betrayed his wife, Portia. Portia notices something is up with Brutus. When Portia brings it up to Brutus, he will not tell her his plans to murder Caesar. Portia states, “If this were true, then I should know this secret. I grant I am a woman, but withal A woman that Lord Brutus took to wife.” (2.1.290-293). Brutus betrayed Portia by refusing to tell her the secret she begged to hear. She eventually stabs herself, and
Shakespeare’s complex play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar contains several tragic heroes; a tragic hero holds high political or social esteem yet possesses an obvious character flaw. This discernible hubris undoubtedly causes the character’s demise or a severe forfeiture, which forces the character to undergo an unfeigned moment of enlightenment and shear reconciliation. Brutus, one of these tragic heroes, is a devout friend of the great Julius Caesar, that is, until he makes many execrable decisions he will soon regret; he becomes involved in a plot to kill the omniscient ruler of Rome during 44 B.C. After committing the crime, Mark Antony, an avid, passionate follower of Caesar, is left alive under Brutus’s orders to take his revenge on
Is Brutus a hero or a villain in the play of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare? in my eyes, Brutus is not a villain in this play, but in the eyes of a civilian he could be considered as a villain. Also i think that Brutus is an honorable man because even though he killed his best friend he did it for the good of Rome and because he’d rather let one person get killed than the country he loves and is devoted to get destroyed.
In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar the main character, Brutus, experiences many things that lead him to become a tragic hero. From the interactions between Cassius and Brutus, the two characters contract each other, Brutus’s character develops into a tragic hero, and the plot advances and a theme is also created.
Brutus is one of Julius Caesar’s best friends and is viewed as either a patriot or betrayer. Brutus takes Caesar’s life claiming that it’s for the benefit of Rome just as Caesar is about obtain the Roman Empire essentially. I view Brutus as a betrayer and nothing more than a murderer because of his actions and the blood of Julius Caesar that is undoubtedly staining his hands. Some might disagree and claim him to be a patriot because he fought for what Rome really needed and saved them from Caesar’s rule that would only worsen Rome’s situation and the daily lives of the Roman citizens. Brutus fought for what he believed in that is undeniable, but it’s up to you and me to decide whether or not those beliefs made him into a betrayer or patriot.
In “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar”, Brutus was a villain. He was a man who loved Caesar and was a friend of Caesar’s throughout the play leading to his death. Throughout the play, Brutus fell for the manipulative ways of Cassius and the other conspirators. Brutus made several mistakes along with being a bad person in the play. He had several faults which involved him killing one of his closest friends one of the first acts of the play. There were some ways that Brutus is a good person, but those ways are hard to find over the bad choices he made over the course of the play.
Indeed, Brutus was a honorable man. His honor was his greatest strength, but it was also his weakness. He murdered and betrayed his closest and only friend, due to the fact that he was so focused on doing the most honorable thing. Brutus focused more on principles, than the one person who truly cared about him. Consequently he also cared more about principle, than his own common sense. Therefore, his main focus was on honor and principle, which caused him to kill Caesar. He murdered Caesar because he thought it would solve the problem, but it only caused pandemonium.Consequently, his actions produced an angry mob, ready to avenge Caesar's death. If Brutus never took matters into his own hands, he would not have created a vicious crowd of citizens filled with hatred. He never solved the problem. When it got out of control, he resorted to killing himself. Cowardly, when things got tough, he ran away from it. He
Brutus is truly “an honorable man.” He was initially resistant to Cassius’ suggestion to betray Caesar. Also, Brutus says, “not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.”(3.2.22) This proves that he only does what he feels is necessary to protect the Rome. In act 4, Brutus sees the ghost of Caesar, and this tells us that he is regretting his actions. He never felt right about killing Caesar afterwards. In fact, when he realized that he was wrong, he used the knife that he stabbed Caesar to take his own
Many would have other opinions but he is truly an honorable person. Yes he kills Caesar but he kills him out of “civic responsibility” understanding that if nobody kills him he will become a tyrant of Rome and the Republic will come to an end. He is the only one acting out of that certainty; most of the other characters in the play do not act honorably and are interested in how Caesar’s death will benefit themselves. Also, Brutus’ initial confrontation towards Cassius’ advances he asks what sort of dangerous path he is being led down.
As for Brutus’s motives, it is clear that all said actions were done in order to retain democracy within Rome, and what negative could result from such a notion? It turns out that all of what Brutus has done, ends up backfiring in the end. In his article, “Shakespeare’s Brutus: A Man Torn by Conflicting Values,” J.L. Simmons states “Brutus’s attempt proved futile, but it was nevertheless honorable” (Simmons 69). Here, Simmons implies that everything Brutus did, including killing Caesar, ended up not working out in his favor, although that is not the importance of the tragic hero. Brutus serves as an obvious inspiration to be taken from the play, furthermore, he serves to represent the average person. Shakespeare uses his tragic hero to display the truly unpredictable, even ironic nature of life, and how it affects everyone equally. This can be implied directly from Brutus, when in the field of battle in 4.3 he states “Good reasons must of force give place to better” (Shakespeare 4.3. 202). This is raw irony at its best. Brutus knows of the nobleness of retaining democracy by killing Caesar, allowing innocent Antony to live and even going to war, therefore he feels relatively confident in the notion that only good can come from his actions. As the nature of life ensues, nothing
Centuries after the murder of a rising dictator, students, historians, and linguists alike continue to study the death of Julius Caesar as immortalized by William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. In this tragedy, Shakespeare examines the days preceding Caesar’s downfall, and the aftermath that ensues. The tragedy describes Marcus Brutus, a character with noble and honorable intentions, influenced by Cassius to support a conspiracy against an ambitious politician, Julius Caesar. Brutus, Cassius, and other conspirators succeed in ending Caesar’s life, but are forced to flee when Rome turns against them. Much controversy has arisen over who is the tragic hero of the play. A tragic hero is a noble character who, despite his greatness, is led to destruction by his own fatal flaw. Although many argue Brutus is the tragic hero due to his prominent role in the play and his heroic, yet flawed, character, Shakespeare remains justified in the naming of his play. In Shakespeare’s accurately titled tragedy, Julius Caesar, rather than Brutus, remains the tragic hero of the play due to his heroic qualities, his fatal flaw, and Brutus’ ineligibility as the tragic hero.
Brutus a high-ranking, well-regarded Roman nobleman that killed Julius Caesar, went to the top of the ranks and was crowned king. Even though Brutus was able to become king, he was not going to get that title without killing Caesar. In the play Julius Caesar, Brutus agrees to kill Caesar and is one of the three murderers that stabbed Julius Caesar. In Act III scene i William Shakespeare writes “CASCA and the other conspirators stab CAESAR. BRUTUS stabs him last.” This is when Brutus’s fate begins because he starts listening to the wrong people such as, when Cassius uses his power and authority to convince Brutus that he loves Caesar but loves Rome more. This is quoted when Shakespeare writes in Act III scene ii, “ I say to him that my love for Caesar was no less than his. If, then, that friend demands to know why I rose up against Caesar, this is my answer: it’s not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” This shows Brutus’s major flaw and when he starts to believe things that other people tell him. Brutus shows that he is the Tragic Hero right when he agrees to kill Caesar because this is his tragic flaw that begins the downfall of himself.
Although William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar provides a largely accurate and incredibly detailed record of the assassination of its namesake, the play is regarded not as one of the Bard’s histories, but as one of his greatest tragedies. Shakespeare’s poignant lyrical interpretation of the fall of Julius Caesar is defined without a doubt as a tragedy by the sorrowful nature of the development, execution, and aftermath of Marcus Brutus’ betrayal of Julius Caesar.
Brutus possesses many ideals and mannerisms that make him the tragic hero in William Shakespeare’s tragedy. To begin with, Brutus has a deep sense of love for his city, and concerns himself with its well-being. His concern for Rome is actually what causes him to backstab Caesar. He worries that he is too arrogant to be an adequate leader, “I do fear the people/ Choose Caesar for their king.” (Shakespeare I.ii. 85-86). Secondly, Brutus has an undying moral compass that navigates him on his integrity driven choices. Brutus thinks long and hard before he joins the conspirators, and wonders whether or not it is the right choice and questions his choices, “Into what dangers would you lead me…/ That you would have me seek into myself/ For which is not in me?” (Shakespeare I.ii. 69-71). His strong beliefs are what ultimately convince him to join the conspirators, for the good of Rome. Also, Brutus believes in equality and respect. He gives a speech to the public because he feels they deserve to know the reason why Caesar dies, ‘And, waving our red weapons o’er our heads,/ Let’s all cry “Peace, freedom, and liberty!”’. (Shakespeare III.i. 121-122). This heroic quality is one of the things that drives him to be a good leader, and a good person as well. As much as these traits lead us to believe
William Shakespeare's play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, was mainly based on the assassination of Julius Caesar. The character who was the mastermind behind the assassination was, ironically, Marcus Brutus, a senator and close friend to Julius Caesar. But what would cause a person to kill a close friend? After I examined Brutus' relationship towards Caesar, his involvement in the conspiracy and his importance to the plot it all became clear. Brutus had one particular reason for killing Caesar and that was for the good of the people and the republic. Brutus had no personal reason for killing Caesar. Some of his most admirable traits were his morality and leadership skills.