The Cleverness of Marcus Brutus

In Roman history, some elite men held certain values that they felt strong enough to take their life in order to defend it. In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, there are certain characters portrayed to show how a person’s values or ideas can change their behavior and influence some significant decisions. The protagonist of the play, Marcus Brutus, supports this thought by having an idealistic view on the world and by showing his patriotism toward Rome. In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Shakespeare uses Brutus as an honorable, idealistic man in order to show the depth that a high-class Roman man will go through in order to defend his honor.

Brutus is a good man who is easily turned evil by men filled with abhorrence and jealousy. In the play, Julius Caesar, Brutus is a Roman who is easily manipulated, decisive, and proud. These contradicting traits of Brutus show us why the reader does not want to believe that Brutus is an antagonist in the story.

He had many positive qualities. I wish to bring these to a light and explore how they affected the plot. Brutus believes that his role in

Brutus was very naive and got influenced by Cassius very easily. Cassius was very smart and manipulated Brutus to make him agree with him. Cassius said, “If I were Brutus now, and he were Cassius, He should not humour me.” (Shakespeare, p.13). Brutus believed that his friend, Caesar had a negative impact on Rome decided to join the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar. Even though Caesar was his friend, Brutus always showed loyalty towards Rome. Brutus' tragic flaw is that he is not good at figuring out other’s intentions, and trusted Cassius. If Brutus never listened to Cassius in the first place, he would not have joined the conspiracy, and might not have had a tragic end.

I stand before you all today to speak on my assassination, without resentment or bitterness. Although what has occurred is so tragic, the reasoning behind these bold actions are valid. I, like many of you, am so appalled by what has happened, and it deeply saddens me to know the men that I once called my dearest friends have deceived me. They rushed me to the Capitol to be crowned, just to watch my wounds pour out blood. I feel betrayed. I feel hurt. I feel powerless.

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.

Ethos: “Romans, countrymen, and lovers, hear me for my/ cause, and be silent that you may hear.” (III, ii, 13-14)

Tricking him into doing “what's good for the people” . The next way they try to manipulate Brutus is by flattering him. In the play Brutus is a very self conscious character. He might be the same as Caesar but he doesn't see this. “I have heard Where many of the best respect in Rome, Except Immortal Caesar speaking of Brutus and groaning underneath his age’s yoke Have wish'd that noble Brutus had his eyes” (I.ii.60). Cassius is convincing Brutus into believing he really is a brave and noble man. By doing this Brutus will be more offended by Caesar's remarks and want to join the conspiracy. To wrap up, Brutus is in fact manipulated into killing Caesar.

Cassius flatters Brutus by saying that “[he] know[s] that virtue to be in ... Brutus,/ As well as [he does] know [his] outward favor”(Act.I.ii.97-98). Brutus is so immensely honorable that you can literally see it. Cassius lays down this foundation knowing that Brutus would want to cling to this fact. Subconsciously, he won’t go against what he was praised for since it had a positive effect on him and accentuated his feelings about his honor and pride. This pours into guilt, showing that if Brutus doesn’t join this Conspiracy, then he will lose his dignity and

I believe that Marcus Brutus was the noblest of Romans. Out of the conspirators, Brutus was the only one who was actually acting in the best favor of Rome. Brutus was the only conspirator who had good intentions for his people. The other conspirators wanted nothing but to see Caesar fall. Brutus on the other hand saw Caesar rising to power as a threat and wanted to remove him, possibly without the use of deadly force. He thought he should be the one to take Caesar’s place.

The strength Brutus had in the play is that he is idealistic and devoted to the main principle of republicanism. Also he is a noble man and a tragic

Starting off the paper, Brutus begins by saying how, in times of conflict, when a decision is being made that will affect, “generations yet unborn,” that as a community as a whole we should be interested in the result. Brutus then begins the first paragraphs a quote I really like when he calls the Constitution,

Admittedly, Brutus’ relationships with his former acquaintances are destroyed due to politics however, One might say that Brutus’ relationship with Cassius has strengthened due to politics. Brutus’ relationship with Cassius is actually non-existent because their relationship is solely based on politics, common beliefs, and opinions. Brutus’ most severed relationship would be the one with Mark Antony, since he sees Brutus as an enemy of the autocratic Roman Empire do to the backstabbing of Caesar. Mark Antony expresses his sorrows through one of his speeches to the Plebeians,” But were I Brutus, And Brutus Antony, there were an Antony Would ruffle up your spirits and put a tongue In every wound of Caesar that should move The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny” (III.ii.239-243). The speech Mark Antony gives exemplifies the anger and the sense of betrayal Mark Antony has for Brutus. After Brutus and his conspirators kill Caesar Mark Antony immediately despises Brutus due to his actions with the politics of Rome. In conclusion Brutus used to be a good acquaintance with Mark Antony but after unfortunate events Brutus’ relationship with Mark Antony is completely severed.

Unlike Brutus, Cassius is a far-sighted man. He is aware of the capability of Antony and his solid friendship with Caesar. An important item in his plan is to get rid of Mark Antony as well, along with Caesar since he concludes that he is a potential danger to their cause. But this is over-ruled by Brutus on the premise that it will foul their good intention. Brutus’ reaction to the suggestion is:

In this critical analysis on the character of Brutus from the play “Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare I would like to draw emphasis on the kind of character Brutus was. Brutus was or seemed to be the closest comrade of Julius Caesar who later backstabbed Caesar. The character of Brutus emerges to be the most complex of them all that is why I would like to present my analysis on this particular character of Brutus. This character analysis of Brutus particularly pays emphasis on the question if Brutus was double-faced because from his outer and social appearance he didn’t seem like a person who could or would betray someone or if in the worst case assassinate or murder someone. If he wasn’t double-faced? Was it for the greater