Brutus the Tragic Hero Essay

In William Shakespeare's classic tragedy “Julius Caesar” the characters are all positioned on a path that leads them to a terrible and disastrous end. Some destroy themselves for the greater good of Rome or just because of their own selfish greed for power. Some characters proceed to destroy others in hopes of protecting the greater good, but lose those closest to them. Cassius leads a dark conspiracy and kills Julius Caesar, but later kills himself. Marc Antony and Octavius track down and kill the assassins that killed Caesar, but lose those they care about most along the way. A true hero will rise to adversity and meet a situation head on to conquer the problem or his foes; however, a tragic hero may do just the opposite. A tragic

In William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, Marcus Brutus joins the conspirators and kills Julius Caesar, a potential threat to the Roman Republic. Although the other members of the conspiracy are villains for murdering Caesar, Brutus is a tragic hero. Marcus Brutus is a hero because he wants the best for Rome and he is a noble man, but his heroism is tragic because of his fatal flaw. To begin with, Brutus assassinates Julius Caesar in order to protect the people of Rome.

Caesar’s words final were “Et tu Brute? Then fall, Caesar!,”which shows how hurt ,he was with Brutus’s actions. During Caesar’s deaths, many co-conspirators surrounded him and as each man stabbed him, he was not surprised by their actions until the very last person, Brutus came and stabbed him, seeing Brutus sent a pang of betrayal through him. Brutus was a person that Caesar had considered a friend and ally, so finding out that he was a part of his assassination plot, it shocked him and he felt deep betrayal that he gave up fighting and died. Although Caesar’s death was horrendous, it is important to remember that Brutus only killed Caesar, to save Rome. Between Cassius’s manipulative peer pressure informing him of the all the negatives that Caesar would bring Rome and the fake letters he received, convincing him to save Rome from the ruling of Caesar, Brutus only acted in the best interest for Rome and its people, which shows his loyalty and patriotism to

Another major aspect of a tragic hero is that he realizes his mistakes after it is too late. In the last few minutes of his life, Brutus realizes that killing Caesar was wrong. This one event ended his wife’s life and also his dear friend’s life. This leads to a monarchy, which is what the conspirators were trying to avoid in the first place. One of his slaves says, “Now is that noble vessel full of grief, /That it runs over even at his eyes,” (982). Brutus is apologetic about his actions: “I know my hour is come” (995). Brutus realizes he is reprehensible for all of his mistakes. Brutus kills himself by running into a sword that one of is slaves is holding. His final words are: “Caesar, now be still. /I killed not thee with half so good a

A tragic hero in Shakespearean literature is understood as a noble and heroic character who makes a series of bad decisions based on his bad judgment that leads to his downfall and eventually death. In William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, the tragic hero is Marcus Brutus, a powerful Roman senator who joins a conspiracy to assassinate the Roman ruler, Julius Caesar. Marcus Brutus is a tragic hero because of his noble reputation, his moral personality, the cathartic experience that the audience feels from his life and his tragic flaw: idealism.

Shakespeare, the character Marcus Brutus fits the definition of the tragic hero. Like other tragic heroes, he had great promise, ability, and integrity of character. However, he had a tragic flaw: He was too trusting.

However, it is obvious that the decision is what led to the misfortune/ fall of Brutus’ character. Brutus explains to Cassius “No, Cassius, no. Think not, thou noble Roman, that ever Brutus will go bound to Rome; he bears too great a mind. But this same day must end that work the ides of March begun,” (V, I, 112-115). After Caesar’s death, Brutus allows Mark Antony to speak at the funeral, and much to his surprise- Antony turns the people of Rome against Brutus and the other conspirators.

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare follows the assassination of Julius Caesar by the people closest to him and the chaos-filled days that follow. After great internal struggle, the noble Marcus Brutus assassinates his best friend Julius Caesar with the help of other conspirators, and Mark Antony swears his revenge. Throughout the play a few characters are presented as possible tragic heroes. But being a tragic hero requires more than just having a flaw, he or she must be prominent in society, have a hamartia that leads to their downfall, recognize their actions and then resolve them. Marcus Brutus fulfills these requirements. Brutus, being a senator and born of a noble family, has a prominent place in society. He also has the fatal flaw of idealism that leads to his downfall. In the end he realizes his mistakes and resolves it. Marcus Brutus is the tragic hero in Julius Caesar.

In William Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Julius Caesar we find that when a leader is wrongfully murdered absolute political chaos ensues. Brutus our protagonist is the poster child for the position of tragic hero, the one who starts off in such a high position and winds up with nothing, but he can only blame himself. As he and several other conspirators plot to kill Caesar for no logical reason other than lust and Caesar’s ambition. He justifies his actions through fallacies and illogical thoughts and his downfall is that he is eventually slain in the same manor as his victim. Brutus has several character flaws that he is unable to over come and this among the cunning of his political enemies leads to his downfall.

A tragedy is a story in where the main character obtains a flaw that leads to their downfall. This main character, called a tragic hero, possesses qualities that cause their demise. These qualities are called tragic flaws. In Julius Caesar, both Julius Caesar and Brutus can be seen as tragic heroes. However, Brutus is the most tragic hero of the two. The qualities that make Brutus a hero are also the qualities that lead to his downfall. He cares about everyone, and makes each decision for the good of Rome. However, the fact that he is too trusting, too honorable, and too stoic, ultimately leads to his downfall.

Although Caesar primarily rules over the play, it is only fair to mention Brutus as the tragic hero. If taken at face value it is easy to say that Caesar is the one that faces many adversities, but digging a little deeper it is evident that Brutus is an honorable man that makes just one too many mistakes (Doyle 272). With a tragic hero being just that, a good person failing to see his or her own faults. Brutus is naive, and this is definitely one of his tragic flaws.

In ,The Tragedy of Julius Caesar , Shakespeare includes many important characters that play very important roles , but today I will only be talking about two of them ; Mark Antony and Brutus . Now according to the play they both seem to be good friends and pretty loyal to Caesar . Well ,that was only until Brutus decided that he wanted to turn on Caesar and join the conspirators kill him . How does that sound for a , so called , loyal friend ? On the other side , Mark Antony was going to go to battle to avenge Caesars death . Now that sounds more like a loyal friend ! Both Antony and Brutus seemed to be supporting what they believe , through their speeches , but Brutus didn't know where his loyalty lied and was easily swayed in the different directions that seemed more popular to him and made him fit in better .

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare in 1599, is just one example of a typical Shakespearean tragedy. At the beginning of the book, the reader believes that the Julius Caesar is the main character and that the whole book will revolve around him. By the time the reader finishes the book it is clear that Decius Brutus, or just ‘Brutus’, is the main character and the tragic hero. Shakespeare’s idea of a tragic hero had five specific elements, including the traditional ones; complexity, internal conflict, the choices a character makes and the thought process about the impact the decision will make. Throughout the

In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Brutus is portrayed as a tragic hero. He believes he can amend the Roman Empire by killing Caesar and granting Romans freedom from a potential monarchy. Cassius comes to Brutus with intentions of obviating Caesar from the throne. At first, Brutus is against this. Then, Cassius changes his mind by lying to him and persuading him with false letters supposedly from other Romans. Ultimately, Brutus is the tragic hero because his actions cause him to lose all superior status; they also land him on a path toward his downfall and his death. Brutus has severe flaws, he loses power and respect, and his readers show sympathy for him in the end.

In the play Julius Cesar, the character Brutus is one of the most complex characters. He is proud of his reputation for honor and nobleness, but he is not always practical, and is often naive. He cannot justify, to his own satisfaction, the murder of a man who is a friend and who has not excessively misused the powers of his office. He is the only major character in the play that is deeply committed to behaving a certain way to fit a strict moral and ethical code, but he takes actions that are unconsciously hypocritical. One of the significant themes that Shakespeare increases the complexity of Brutus by his attempt to ritualize the assassination of Caesar.