Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare presents Marcus Brutus as a honorable tragic hero. A tragic hero is literary figure or character that possesses a flaw that leads to their defeat. The flaw is usually an error in judgment. Brutus’ tragic flaw is his love for Rome. His love for Rome causes him to kill his friend Julius Caesar and ultimately himself. Brutus also struggles with trusting the wrong people and judgement errors. The essay, Brutus’s Reasons: Julius Caesar and the Mystery of Motive” by David Lurking examines the motive behind Brutus’s choice to kill Julius Caesar. David Lurking argues how Brutus’s actions are unclear in understanding him, but his actions are seen as for the good of Rome. He claims Brutus doesn’t have a psychological …show more content…
His beliefs and moral standards pushed him to kill Caesar. Brutus justifies his decision to kill Caesar by saying, “ It must be by his death, and for my part/ I know no personal cause to spurn at him/ But for the general.” (Shakespeare 2.1. 10-13). He claims the best interest of Rome is for Caesar not to become king. Lurking suggests , Brutus is “acting out of fidelity to the republican traditions of Rome, for the sake of the general welfare of his country, and not with a view to personal interests or even those of his class.” (pg. 124). Brutus knows he does not have anything personal against Caesar. From the first few lines of his siliquoy, Brutus is willing to kill a friend he thinks highly of. Brutus …show more content…
Well, honor is the subject of my story.
I cannot tell what you and other men
Think of this life, but, for my single self,
I had as lief not be as live to be
In awe of such a thing as I myself.
I was born free as Caesar. So were you.
We both have fed as well, and we can both
Endure the winter’s cold as well as he.” (Shakespeare 1.2. 92-101).
Cassius does a really good job at persuading Brutus. The word choice of “honor” connects the honor within Brutus with the honorable act Cassius is about to explain. Instead of blatantly asking Brutus to kill Caesar, Cassius compliments him for being honorable. Cassius complementing Brutus on how honorable he is forces Brutus to want to join the conspiracy to kill Julius Caesar. In lines 95-101, Cassius tries to associate himself as equal to Caesar. He mentions how they both were born free and eat the same. Cassius is explaining how him and Caesar are the same. They both are ordinary and can do the same things. If Caesar has the chance to become king then so can Cassius. Cassius uses these references to show Brutus how he is also just like Caesar. He is saying is he is just like Caesar than so is Brutus. If Caesar has the possibility to become king then what is stopping Brutus. It is interesting how Brutus was easily persuaded not even an act later. He decided Caesar must die. Brutus
He compares Caesar to a serpent in an egg which he must kill before it hatches. Brutus knows that Caesar is gaining too much power too quickly and it must come to an end. He shows his belief in a republic government by saying, “We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar / And in the spirit of men there is no blood" (II.i. 180-181). Cassius is a character who is jealous of Caesar’s power and also wants it to end. He forms a group of conspirators who are against Julius Caesar. He persuades Brutus to help him and the other conspirators to kill Caesar during the ides of March. Brutus joins but only due to his love for Rome and its people. He proves this by saying "Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius." (II.i. 179). This also proves his love for Caesar because he wants to kill him with some sort of honor. Brutus wants the citizens to look at him not as a murderer but for someone who cares for his country. He expresses his ideas toward the stabbing by saying , “If then that friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer-not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more" (III, ii, 17-19).
He does not want Caesar to be crowned king. Power meant more to Brutus than being noble to Caesar. The actions of Brutus do not reflect his intentions of being a nobleman. Contemplating the assassination, Brutus invokes the familiar Elizabethan analogy between the body politic and the body natural. In so doing he invokes the symbolic framework which establishes the relationships among the diverse issues and actions of the play and provides, in this case, an implicit refutation of the position he is about to take. For Brutus' political miscalculations, rather than being the almost inexplicable mistakes of a supremely virtuous character, are the manifestations of a clearly defined moral failing. Brutus, of course, misses the point of his analogy. Sensible of the hideousness of the "Insurrection" within the "little Kingdome" to which he likens himself, he does not go on to deduce, as he might be expected to, that "Rebels [ought] by the Justice of the law to be suppressed, even as the
In Julius Caesar Brutus displays the traits of a tragic hero throughout this play. His tragic flaw is need to be nobel. He makes an error in judgment, and when killing Caesar causes all of Rome to turn against the conspirators everything from then on causes tragic events. All of which eventually lead to his death.
This quote depicts Cassius explaining his perspective to Brutus and saying, Caesar only has the power he has because we allowed him to have this power. Furthermore, he meant that they could take Caesar down before he got too strong because fate is not set in stone. Cassius uses this statement to manipulate Brutus to kill Caesar because Cassius knows that Caesar has no blood relation to past monarchs, while Brutus shows why it is unfair. This statement also makes Brutus think that Cassius has his best interest and is telling him they need to kill Caesar before he becomes like the past cruel rulers of Rome. Brutus ends up killing Caesar and plummeting Rome into the bloodiest civil war, which is exactly what he was against.
Brutus made an irrational decision and didn’t stop to think about other options that would stop Caesar with the destruction of Rome. He killed his best friend and can’t be trusted. Brutus made an irrational decision and murdered his best friend. He didn’t stop to think about the other options he had in order to stop Caesar with the destruction of Rome. Brutus did not spend time to think about other options and instead he believed that the only option he had to help Rome was to stab Caesar and kill him.
At the beginning, Fate chose Caesar to be the king and this is not what Brutus wanted.
(II, i, 15-22) His love for Rome and his pure intentions behind his decision-making are shown in his soliloquy. It is revealed later in the play that Brutus was truly the only conspirator who had noble intentions behind his actions. Even though Antony discredits Brutus’s reasoning for Caesar’s ambition in his funeral speech, Brutus truly believes that Caesar’s ambition poses a threat. Furthermore, if you were put in the exact position that Brutus was in, would you not choose what was best for the greater good of the people?
Brutus is saying he does not know for sure if Caesar will let his emotions get the better of his reason. But, he believes once Caesar reaches the top of power that he might turn his back on his supporters and reaches even higher to the skies while scorning the people who helped him get where he is. Now Brutus says he has never known Caesar to let his emotions get the better of his reason.
Brutus thinks of himself as an honorable man. He also bases his decisions for the common good of Rome. However, Brutus might not be as honorable as he thinks he is. We uncover the egotistical nature of Brutus by comparing what he says to his “honorable” acts. Brutus has the closest relationship with Caesar, yet he kills him because he thinks he is being noble.
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.
He states that Brutus is just as noble and worthy as Caesar. (Act 1, scene ii). He says that Brutus cannot see what everyone else does and recognize his worthiness. Cassius and the other senators do not want Caesar to be king because they would lose all their power. Cassius is slowly luring Brutus in to do his dirty work. He builds Brutus’s confidence up to make him thing that killing Caesar is the right thing to do. Cassius is basically playing with Brutus’s head because he knows Brutus will listen. So, Brutus joins the conspirators in killing Caesar. Cassius tells Brutus that it is for the good of Rome, and that he is saving them from a dictatorship. Cassius is going for Brutus’s weakest point, his care and concern for Rome. He knows that if Brutus believes the people distrust Caesar, then he will be convinced that Caesar must be thwarted. Brutus knew that if Caesar was crowned, he would never have a chance, and he was power hungry. This is what ultimately leads to the tragedy of Julius Caesar. After Brutus kills Caesar off, he starts to feel guilty for killing his friend, thus creating an internal conflict. Brutus was so confident that the plan would go exactly as planned that he fell apart when they encountered problems. If Brutus and the other conspirators had taken more time to think things through, they probably would have been more prepared for the situation that was handed to them.
The play Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, entails the rise and fall of Julius Caesar and Brutus, the man plotting against him. At the opening of the play Julius is being celebrated for his victory over Pompey. Later, he is offered kingship; but Caesar refuses the crown. On the ides of March Brutus and some other men come before Caesar to plead a case; except, their only motive is to kill Caesar. Antony, Caesar’s right hand man, pretends to side with the conspirators after Caesar is killed, while he gathers an army to defeat Brutus. Antony and Octavius’ army defeats Brutus’ troops; forcing Brutus and many others to commit suicide. The tragic character, Brutus, is usually the protagonist that has a tragic flaw and this causes his defeat. A tragic flaw is the cause of their downfall, usually an action or belief. Brutus’ tragic flaws are his nobility, trust and the inability to wrong people. Brutus is the tragic character in Julius Caesar because of his nobility and because he does all his deeds for the good of Rome.
Brutus also frequently demonstrated many acts of affection toward others. In Act 1, Scene 2, he is reluctant to join Cassius's conspiracy because he did not want to betray Caesar. He had to weigh his choices and in Act 3, Scene 2, Brutus kills Caesar only because he is afraid of what will happen to Rome if Caesar remains ruler. He knew the commoners’
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare depicts a tragic hero, or one who has high standing and causes his own downfall. The tragic hero is Brutus, and he makes multiple and ultimately fatal mistakes that lead to his enlightenment and then his death. Brutus’ death is the result of many misfortunes, including being herded into the conspiracy and thus aiding in the death of Caesar, hearing of the death of his loyal wife, and waging a war against Rome.
In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar written by William Shakespeare, Marcus Brutus is proven to be the most noble tragic hero there is. A tragic hero is someone who is born of noble birth and who suffers a catastrophe, which definitely defines Brutus. “Caesar you can rest now. I didn’t kill you half as willingly” (Shakespeare 5.5.56-57) is one of the most important quotes said by Brutus to end the tragedy of the play.