Julius Caesar Brutus Character Traits

In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Marcus Junius Brutus, as the main character, develops extensively as a character throughout the play. From where he is first introduced to us until his last words, Brutus is shown consistently as a well-meaning individual who acts in what he believes is the best way possible. However, due to the role he plays in the assassination of Julius Caesar and the events surrounding it, Brutus is shown to have a changing personality although the core principles he is guided by remain sturdy. At the beginning of Julius Caesar, Brutus is framed as a loyal and honorable person, whose loyalty lies first and foremost to the citizens and city of Rome. As a consequence of this, Brutus is also

In particular, one of the defining traits that Brutus gains is his more open aggressiveness towards people he does not agree with during the closing acts of Julius Caesar compared to his portrayal at the beginning of the play as a very calm individual, which is shown by his uncharacteristically hostile when confronting Cassius during the events of act IV and while meeting with Marc Antony and Octavius at the beginning of act V, as shown by Brutus openly insulting Octavious, saying “ Good words are better than bad strokes, Octavius”(V.i.29). However, even in this, it is still shown that he believes his actions are just and is still guided by a moral compass, as evidenced by his confrontation with Cassius in act IV, where Brutus states “Remember March, the ides of March remember. Did not great Julius bleed for justice’ sake?”(IV.iii.18-19) when discussing the implications of Cassius accepting bribes in exchange for governmental positions as a powerful member of the new

Although his morals seem to remain constant throughout the play, his reactions to different characters varies quite frequently due to the things he has experienced. An interesting thing to note regarding the way Shakespeare characterizes his characters is that when showing the changes in character of characters such as Brutus, Shakespeare typically use actions the character does out of the public eye to demonstrate these. This is possibly for the intent of showing that people change, but most often wish to remain consistent in the eyes of the general