Marcus Brutus: The Tragic Hero

Brutus aids the conspirators in the assassination of Julius Caesar because he believes it is for the good of Rome. In the end he realizes that the other conspirators had killed Caesar for a dishonorable reason and he has been tricked into killing one of his lifelong friends. The decision created a butterfly effect on Rome and ultimately Brutus’ life. This is Brutus’ catastrophe; Caesar’s death.

In Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, the title leads the mind to believe that Caesar is the tragic hero; however, this is not the case. The noble Brutus is a much more accurate fit for the role of tragic hero. A tragic hero is a character with a tragic flaw that goes from good fortune to complete misfortune in a fairly quick downfall. Although some may argue that Caesar fits this depiction, Brutus is a better choice. He goes from the top of the social standings to international scumbag when he joins the conspirators and murders Caesar, his friend. After allowing Antony to speak in Caesar’s funeral, the entire country turns against him and he is forced to flee Rome. His downfall is so incredibly terrible that he is

In 1599 Shakespeare wrote the play Julius caesar. The main character of the play Brutus as he represents a tragic hero. being a tragic hero means. He is above us but human And he falls from a high place, He struggles against his own fate, he is guilty of a fatal flaw (honor), he has an epiphany, and by the end of the play, he is dead

“Julius Caesar is a play about people who make mistakes-costly ones, for themselves and their country” (Julius Caesar, Introduction line 1). This quote is from the first line of the introduction to the play of “Julius Caesar” and I think that this line is the best way to start off this essay. If we took a look at each main character in this play, except for Antony, we can see how their mistakes usually would lead to their downfalls. For example, Caesar mistake of not listening to the warnings, the omens, or even his wife telling him to stay home because she had a nightmare about him, led to his death at the Senate. Another example would be Cassius. His mistake of listening to Brutus when it came to marching down to Philippi to face Antony and Octavius’s army led to the defeat of his army and Cassius committing suicide. Now we come to the main focus of this essay which is Brutus. Some people argue that Brutus is a tragic hero and a sympathetic figure. Others argue the opposite. I believe that Brutus noble qualities led to his ignoble downfall which included failure, loss, and shame. While we read through this play we can see many examples of Brutus failures. Different occasions where he was manipulated by people he called his friends, Brutus being too trusting of others, and his sense of honor blocking his common sense. It’s safe to say that he is simple minded and in a way a coward. In this essay I am going to first do an inspection of Brutus, a breakdown his

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.

Brutus used the respect others had for him to prevent Caesar from becoming a tyrant. To become important in Rome, Brutus strived to achieve the status of honorability. He believed if he killed Caesar that he could be important because he was saving Rome from complete destruction. The men in the play strive to be considered manly, honorable, and achieve world glory (Blits). Brutus saw this as a chance to become more important to the citizens of Rome, but did not account for people thinking he was untrustworthy because he killed someone who had faith in him.

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.

In conclusion, Brutus is the tragic hero in this play because of the mistakes that he makes, the fall that he takes, and the regrets that he feels after. Brutus will forever be labeled as a

The main reason that Marcus Brutus deserves the title of tragic hero is his noble personality. First of all, throughout the play, he never deceives anyone. Although he did murder Julius Caesar, it was for the good of Rome, not to deceive Caesar. Everything that he did was for the benefit of someone else. Even though he killed Antony's best friend, Antony still recognized Brutus as "the noblest Roman of them all." He does this in Act 5, Scene 5, after Brutus' death because Brutus the only conspirator that actually killed Caesar because he "loved Caesar less but loved Rome more." He cared more about others than he did himself. For instance, in the process of killing Caesar, he could have easily backed out because he knew he might have been punished, but he knew in the long run, that it would help the plebeians most. Another example of his selflessness is in Act 2, Scene 1. Brutus decides not to tell Portia his plans for the murder of Caesar. He feels she already has enough stress in her life and does not need to worry or deal with his plans.

In the beginning of the play, we meet Brutus, a highly respected, much loved, senator of Rome. He loved Rome as a republic and he has a good life until he is led astray by Cassius. When he becomes embroiled in the assassination of Caesar, he is very reluctant to do so. In the way he acted, you could tell he has sleepless nights over what he should do. He decided to kill Caesar for

A highly respected man, and admired by others that may of disliked him before it was Brutus’ end. “His life was gentle, and the elements/ So mixed in him that Nature might stand up/ And say to all the world, ‘This was a man!’” (5.5.73-75). Brutus is one with great leadership, and a loyal friend of Julius Caesar. He was easily convinced by Cassius and the conspirators that Julius Caesar was not fit for king of Rome. Before, Brutus was there and supported Caesar. Now, Cassius had talked to Brutus, and he changed his mind and thought it was best for Rome that Caesar was killed before he was crowned. Brutus then took control of the conspirators and became leader. Brutus made all the decisions with Cassius, then turned into Brutus making all the decisions by himself, regarding Cassius. Brutus’ decisions were not the best and that led him into his own death, when he ran himself into a sword. In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, written by, William Shakespeare, Brutus is a man that contains great leadership skills, and does what is right; but farther in, his decisions lead to a downfall of taking Cassius out of his place when he was a good leader already, and as well as killing himself.

In the play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare incorporates an unexpected tragic hero. Unlike what the name of the play suggests, it is not Julius Caesar, but the man who betrayed him, Marcus Brutu. Shakespeare fits him to be the perfect model of a tragic hero based on the traditional Greek definition of a tragic hero. The definition say that a tragic hero is a person, usually of noble birth, who suffers a catastrophe. Shakespeare shapes Brutus to fit this mold of a traditional definition of a tragic hero but adds his own elements to make it his own.

There are many characters in the play “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar” that have changed throughout. The characters all had something that impacted them enough to change their thoughts, but Brutus really had something different. Brutus was a main character in the play and was Caesar's right hand man at often times. Although Brutus admired Caesar, Cassius changed his thinking with his persuasive tongue. This led to the forming of a conspiracy with Brutus elected as leader. Brutus had good intentions for the killing of Caesar, but he made awful choices to act upon it. Not only did he make terrible choices, but when his choices were made, he would accept no criticism from any man. He was confident in his decision making which sadly, led to his downfall. In the play “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar” devised by William Shakespeare, Brutus was flawed throughout by letting his confidence get the better of him while making the wrong decisions in dire situations.

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

Have you ever had trouble thinking who the tragic hero of the Tragedy of Julius Caesar is? Well According to dictionary.com, a tragic hero is defined as a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat. In this book there are three main hero characters. They all have died leading people who thought they were an important enough. There is a lot of evidence in this play to pick any of them, however, Marcus Brutus deserves the name of tragic hero in this play because of his good leadership, nobility to Rome, and his legacy.