Marcus Brutus as Tragic Hero in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar Essays

In tragedy plays, there is always a tragic hero who has a tragic flaw in his personality may it be excessive pride, poor judgement, or both which eventually leads to the hero’s downfall where the hero can perform no action to prevent it. In Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Marcus Brutus is the tragic hero of the play due to his tragic flaw which is his naïve and over-trusting personality, which he eventually realizes too late and performs an action to prevent his loss of dignity.

Brutus in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar In 'Julius Caesar', Shakespeare intended us to see Brutus as 'noble'. I wish to review his actions, and the motivating factors behind those actions. I intend to prove that Brutus had a strong and well-grounded character. He had good intentions, however, he made one fatal mistake and that was his downfall. When learn that Brutus is dedicated to the public, when Brutus decides Caesar must die, because he fears his ambition, this comes as a big shock to the Shakespearian audience as well as the modern day audience.

As noble and great as Brutus might be, all tragic heroes have some tragic flaws and make some errors of judgment, which leads them to their downfall. In this case Brutus's great flaw is that he is too honorable, and he's too naïve when he is dealing with people. An example of an error of judgment is when Brutus underestimates Antony, and thinks him incapable of being dangerous after Caesar's death, "For Antony is but a limb of Caesar...he can do no more than Caesar's arm When Caesar's head is off."  This turns out not to be the case. One example of Brutus's excessive honor being damaging to him, is when he decides that only Caesar should die and no one else even if they seem to threaten his cause, as Cassius warns repeatedly that Antony does.

In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, an honorable man, Brutus, is planning to overthrow the soon to be king, Julius Caesar. Brutus is persuaded by Cassius that Caesar is a liar, too ambitious, weak, and not fit to be Rome’s king. Brutus soon believed Cassius, and they and the conspirators made a plan to kill Caesar. After Caesar’s death, Brutus planned to justify his actions of killing Caesar at his funeral in his speech to the people. After Brutus’s speech, the citizens of Rome were all in agreement that Brutus did the right thing for Rome. Brutus then decides to allow Caesar’s best friend, Antony, to speak in honor of Caesar. Antony speaks, and he convinces the citizens that Brutus’s actions were unjust and turned the people against Brutus.

Brutus was a man of noble birth. He had multiple servants and was often referred to as “Lord”, which indicates a certain level of respect for him. He was a very highly thought of

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.

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

 Brutus was admired throughout Rome for his honorable reputation which was the reason he was an essential member needed for the conspiracy. Yet his heroic virtues that brought him on a glorious, honorable, and joyful platform ended up pushing him into a bottomless pit. A tragic hero has many outstanding qualities, creating the illusion of a knight in shining armor. However, Julius Caesar's Brutus, the knight in shining armor, was converted to the wrong side. The reader is moved for they can

During the assassination of Caesar, Caesar took all the knife wounds caused by the other conspirators, but, when he saw Brutus with a knife in his hand he cried out “Et tu, Brute? (Even you, Brutus?)- Then fall Caesar!” This shows that he was very shocked at the best friend betraying him, because he was normally very loyal. After the assassination, Brutus speaks to the crowd, who were demanding an explanation. He was a good orator and when he justifies his reasons to kill Caesar he says "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." This shows that he was truly noble as it proves he did it for all the right reasons. He also allowed Anthony to speak at Caesars funeral. While it was a dangerous decision, it was also a brave decision. However Anthony swings the crowd over to his side and he partners with Octavius to get revenge on the conspirators. Meanwhile, Brutus and Cassius are having an argument. Brutus is accusing Cassius of taking bribes, and therefore undoing the goodness that Brutus thought that killing Caesar had done. He accuses Cassius of having “an itchy palm.” This shows that he was righteous and he loved by high standards. At the end Brutus kills himself, by running on a sword, rather than being captured and then paraded as a disgrace. In roman times, killing yourself would be the noble thing to do.

Marcus Brutus does qualify as the tragic hero in Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. A tragic hero is a good or even great man and thus wins our sympathy causing catharsis. A tragic hero displays hamartia— the hero makes a mistake causing the downfall of his fortune. A tragic hero usually brings suffering and death to other characters, even a whole country. Finally, a tragic hero goes into a situation in which there is no getting out of because of the decisions he has made. Marcus Brutus has many characteristics of a tragic hero thus making him the tragic hero in Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.

He wishes that he had never fallen for Cassius’s insidious plan to assassinate Caesar, “Caesar, now be still; / I killed not thee with half so good a will”(997). He regrets, that through these actions, he destroys his name and his stature. Brutus, scrutinizing all of his mistakes, and wishing that he had done things differently verifies that he is the main tragic hero in this classic work. Through these final moments of Brutus’s life, the audience of the play can truly see that Brutus is not lying about his love of Caesar, but that he honestly regrets participating, and is sympathetic about the last years of his life. Brutus, even though he has made many mistakes throughout his life, he makes one final one with his last action. Unfortunately, the audience does not know whether or not he regrets committing suicide. Had he not done so, Antony most likely would have restored some of his stature in Rome, and granted him his life, “This was the noblest Roman of them all. / All the conspirators save only he / Did that they did in envy of great Caesar; / He, only in a general honest thought / And common good to all, made one of them”(998). It is clear that Antony is saddened by the loss of Brutus, because he realizes the true meaning of Brutus’s actions.

“According to Aristotle, the function of tragedy is to arouse pity and fear in audience so that we may be purged or cleansed, of these unsettling emotions” (“What is” 739). Tragedy is a driving aspect throughout William Shakespeare’s work The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, even the title informs the audience of the theme of the play. Although Aristotle also states, “tragedy can arouse these twin emotions of pity and fear only if it presents a certain type of hero or heroine who is neither completely good nor completely bad” (“What is” 739) which presents the idea of a tragic hero who drives these feelings. A tragic hero must be “high renown and prosperous,” have a tragic flaw, learn a lesson and suffer greatly. Therefore in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Marcus Brutus is the tragic hero because he is an honorable man, easily

After Caesars death, Brutus is struck with the guilt of killing his best friend leaving the audience to give him empathy. Brutus' biggest tragic mistake was that he trusted a little amount of people very much. Though Caesar was his friend, he honestly believed that he needs to kill him to save the Rome from dictatorial people. Brutus also believes in Antony but, Antony doesn’t keep up the trust with Brutus. Antony was the start of the trouble Brutus was having. Brutus also trusts Cassius because when Brutus is asked to join the conspiracy Brutus joins to get closer to

The play of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare can be considered as a tragedy play and a tragic hero or even tragic heroes are present and the most complex character and perfect fit for this title is Brutus, he possess all the definition of a tragic hero, like any other tragic heroes Brutus possess many great traits like his strength, abilities, and his integrity and he also has great intentions for his city and was considered the most noble man in Rome, but his tragic flaws like his poor judgment would lead to his downfall and even his death.

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.