The Tragedy of Marcus Brutus, In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar William Shakespeare, famed English poet and author of the widely recognized play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Within his work, Shakespeare reveals the fascinating internal-workings of human nature, as he unfolds the actual events that took place in Roman history. As factual as Shakespeare might seem, it would not be wrong to suggest that his choice of a title is fairly misleading. The reader is led to believe that the tragic hero is Julius Caesar, not to say that being stabbed by one’s own friend is not devastating enough, but the character that suffers the real catastrophe is Marcus Brutus. Brutus, is the dagger-wielding, back-stabber of a friend, but he is honorable, and he only …show more content…
In order to fit this said mold of a tragic hero, there are several essential elements needed of said character. Traditionally, the character must be of noble birth. This can clearly be said of Marcus Brutus, who descended from the honorable Junius Brutus, who according to Marcus Brutus’s letter in 2.1, “...did from the streets of Rome/ The Tarquin drive, when he was called a king” (Shakespeare 2.1.52-54). Junius Brutus was the valiant Roman known for his extraordinary role in overthrowing the Tarquin King, ending the 200 year old monarchy that ruled Rome since its founding. Along with removing the monarchy, Junius Brutus began the Roman Republic, promising democracy and freedom to all of his ever so grateful citizens. It is this ancestor that seems to shape the Marcus Brutus in Shakespeare’s play. Brutus, just as his ancestor, feels that it is his duty to protect democracy within Rome. As the reader knows, this selfless notion leads kind Brutus to suffer from his own catastrophe. An internal battle, in which Brutus becomes so devastated that he is led to kill himself. Though like a flame, catastrophe needs a spark. Brutus is not perfect, his suicide was the product of his own personal errors. …show more content…
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
Honor and loyalty are the most important personal traits of a person, but it can also be the opposite depending how it is expressed. Honor means you keep your word , no matter what. It also means you do what is best for yourself and others around you. When somebody is honorable to you, you respect them , and trust them. Honorable people are also normally known as responsible and likable. In some cases, people think they are doing what is honorable, but really they are not.
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
Monday The least honorable character in Julius Caesar is Cassius. Cassius tries and destroy the life of Julius Caesar. He wants Brutus to think the people from Rome are concerned about Caesar's power. It's not honorable to dislike someone but cassius dislike Caesar and he also deeply resents being subservient to a tyrant, and there are indications that he would fight for his personal freedom under any tyrant. Cassius wants to remove Caesar from power. Cassius resorts to using his keen insight into human nature to deceive Brutus by means of a long and passionate argument. Cassius has some of his negative aspects. He has jealousy towards Caesar and that's probably why he dislikes him.
The least honorable character of Julius Caesar is Cassius. He killed Caesar out of jealousy, convincing others to join him. Cassius was jealous of him because Caesar is worshiped by many. Cassius is not only jealous of Caesar, but he also hates him. The people bow down to him as if he is a god when he’s not. Cassius claims that he saw him shake when he was struck with a fever, yet he acts high and mighty like it never happened. Cassius felt that he needed to kill him for “the sake of Rome.”
The least honorable character of Julius Caesar is Cassius because he was a conspirator. He killed Caesar because he didn’t like him. He didn’t like Caesar because Caesar didn’t like him. People actually didn’t like him. When Caesar was killed Brutus gave a speech. People thought that Brutus was the hero, but not Cassius. This why Cassius is the least honorable person in the play.
The famous play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, written by the esteemed playwright William Shakespeare, details the plight of Marcus Brutus and the other Roman conspirators against the dictator Julius Caesar. There are several tragic heroes in this play who suffer extreme downfalls. A tragic hero is a character who was once in high regard or standing but encounters a series of terrible events that contribute to a giant downfall from that position. The character of Brutus fits this description by all means. He, along with the other conspirators, plan to murder Caesar and eventually do. Afterward, Brutus sees the errors of his ways in a moment of enlightenment in his final day on the earth.
Brandon James Grayson ENG II/4th Block October 27, 2015 ESSAY William Shakespeare’s play, “The tragedy of Julius Caesar,” is a chronicle of amity and treachery. This correlation will result in the demise and decease of Brutus, whom some suppose is truly the tragic hero. As established by Aristotle’s definition of tragic hero, Brutus epitomizes what a tragic hero truly is. Brutus, after the happening, comprehends that the reversal of his fortune is brought about by himself when he realizes how fallacious he was in partaking in the assassination of Caesar.
“I do fear the people/Choose Caesar for their king” (I.ii.79-80). Brutus, Caesar’s noble friend, was a marvelous, lowly, and gentle person. He was a very respected and honest man. Brutus joined the conspiracy to assassinate Julius Caesar because of his love for Rome. Brutus saw Caesar’s growing power as repressive. The love Brutus had for Rome and the sense of duty to protect it ultimately forces him to choose between a man he greatly admired or to serve the greater good. In his mind, Brutus was doing what was “noble’ and morally right. In this manner the assassination of Caesar had moral and political justification.
In “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar”, the meaning of an honorable man is defined in multiple ways. In more ways than one, it is used sarcastically. After the death of Julius Caesar, the definition of an honorable man is questioned. What are the characteristics of one? Is killing your future leader being honorable? In the speeches of Brutus and Mark Antony, they express their thoughts on the issue in a way that you wouldn't expect.
Brutus had many flaws and kinks but his most tragic flaw Is his drive for nobility. When Brutus is fighting to become the leader of rome after Caesar’s death he pushes to become leader too hard. In the play Julius Caesar written by Shakespeare Brutus kills his best friend to try and gain the control of rome. In the process of trying to gain power, he begins to become naive.
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.
Do you believe that brutus was just a backstabbing friend, or really a tragic hero? Marcus Brutus from William Shakespeare’s, Julius Caesar, was a tragic hero in my opinion. I am going to try and convince you that he was and why he was a tragic hero in this essay. Brutus meets all of the criteria of a tragic hero. He is arguably the protagonist of the play; he has a fatal flaw that leads to his downfall, which he cannot recover from. He had good qualities like patriotism, and he was honorable. His tragic flaw was also one of his good qualities, he was honorable. He killed someone he loved for the good of his country. Brutus also killed himself for honor. In the following paragraphs I will be explaining all of this.
A hero leaving the world in a fiery blaze and in all of his glory to which his enemies honored him after his valiant battle. Marcus Junius Brutus (June 85 BC - October 23, 42 BC) is the infamous, tragic hero in ancient Rome and in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Brutus was infatuated with Rome, made hazardous decisions, and then his expiration; not only was Brutus the best tragic hero in his time in the Roman era, but rather the best of all time. Brutus was loyal to Rome. Fortunately for him, he made a very respiting decision by killing his beloved, omnipotent best friend, Julius Caesar, which was quite a convenience to Rome.
Friends turn on each other all the time, but not like Brutus and Caesar. William Shakespeare’s play, “Julius Caesar” revolves around Caesar’s assassination and the outcomes surrounding it. Brutus is one of Caesar’s closest friends but is convinced to help murder him. The murder takes place before Caesar gains controls of Rome, as a measure of preemptive action. Brutus’s precautionary action against Caesar is not justified because he does not have proof, Caesar is a good man, and it makes things worse for Rome.
Throughout many of Shakespeare 's plays, a tragic hero is present. A courageous character that has a tragic flaw, which leads to his downfall. Brutus is indeed the tragic hero of this play because when a person who possesses such heroic qualities dies, it is a true tragedy. A tragic hero has to start with everything and then end with near to nothing. This character often begins well liked and then starts to become less popular. At the beginning of the play, Brutus is a much different man than he turns out to be. He does not want to take part in the conspiracy, but Cassius is very persuasive and convinces him that it is what needs to be done. Brutus become too confident that their plan will work perfectly and that nothing will go wrong. This leads to his downfall. In order to be the tragic hero the person must contain at least one tragic flaw, and Brutus contains many, but three of them stick out distinctively. In William Shakespeare 's Julius Caesar Brutus’s impatience, his nobility, and lastly his idealistic thoughts cause him to be a tragic hero.