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The tragic hero of Julius Caesar
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In literature, a tragic hero is often a character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that causes the character to fall. The flaw of the tragic hero cannot be ameliorated; they will have to live with that flaw for the rest of their lives. In the play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Marcus Brutus is the unique tragic hero. Considering his positive attributes, like being honorable and a leader, flaws as being easily persuaded and quixotic, and role in the play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, as a conspirator and fallen hero, Brutus is a tragic hero.
To commence, Brutus’ positive attributes are being an honorable man and a leader. An honorable man, like Brutus, is honest, righteous, and principled. While speaking to Cassius, Brutus makes it known that he “[loves] the name of honor more than [he fears] death” (I.ii.88-89). He is not afraid to announce that he is an honorable man, and does things “[for] the general good” of Rome (I.ii.85). Brutus loves Rome, Caesar, and the people, but he cares more for Rome and its people. As a leader, he and others plan to kill Caesar. Brutus believes that “it must be by [Caesar’s] death”, for he is not killing Caesar for himself “but for the general” good of the people (II.i.10; II.i.12). Others, like Cassius, are killing Brutus for themselves. Brutus initiates a plan to kill Brutus; he is delegating and guiding the others. When the group wants to kill Mark Antony, he is able to persuade them not to. Brutus wants them to “be sacrificers, [not] butchers”, because killing Mark Antony is unnecessary (II.i.167). Brutus is also able to lead his men into battle. Nothing gets in his way, not even his wife’s or Cassius’ death. Brutus’ attributes break him, instead of making him. His character...
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...imself knowing he is not an honorable man. Brutus’ attributes, flaws, and role in the play, made him a tragic hero.
Works Cited
Bloom, Harold. “Julius Caesar in the Twentieth Century”. Julius Caesar: Bloom’s Shakespeare Through the Ages. New York: Chelsea House, 2007. Bloom’s Literary eBook Collection. Web. 28 April 2014.
Leetcher, Brian. “Julius Caesar in the Twentieth Century”. Julius Caesar: Bloom’s Shakespeare Through the Ages. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 2007. Bloom’s Literary eBook Collection. Web. 28 April 2014.
Padel, Ruth. “Diseases of Heroes”. Greek Drama Bloom’s Period Studies. Ed. Harold Bloom. Chelsea House, 2004. Bloom’s Literary eBook Collection. Web. 29 April 2014.
Shakespeare, William. “The Tragedy Of Julius Caesar”. Literature Texas Treasure. Eds. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. et al. Vol. 5. Columbus: The McGraw-Hill, 2011. 693-787. Print.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is the story about the men who conspired and followed through with the assassination of the great Julius Caesar. These men fear that Caesar will take the crown and become the next king of Rome. The roman people had a true averse feeling toward the idea of monarchy. So in order to prevent this they come up with a plan to end Caesars life, which is duly followed through on March 15, 44 B.C. Out of these conspirators there is one man that stands out to be a tragic hero, and that is a man by the name of Brutus. He was a great friend of Caesar who ultimately became one of Caesars worst adversaries. He betrayed Caesars trust and friendship when he agreed to be part of the assassination plot. A tragic hero is someone who is in a place of high standings or a place of power. This leads to a huge fall from greatness to death. A tragic hero must have many deep complex character flaws that are revealed throughout the course of the story. They then must ultimately accept responsibility for their mistakes; along with being humbled and enlightened. Brutus demonstrates all of the attributes of a tragic hero.
Shakespeare’s complex play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar contains several tragic heroes; a tragic hero holds high political or social esteem yet possesses an obvious character flaw. This discernible hubris undoubtedly causes the character’s demise or a severe forfeiture, which forces the character to undergo an unfeigned moment of enlightenment and shear reconciliation. Brutus, one of these tragic heroes, is a devout friend of the great Julius Caesar, that is, until he makes many execrable decisions he will soon regret; he becomes involved in a plot to kill the omniscient ruler of Rome during 44 B.C. After committing the crime, Mark Antony, an avid, passionate follower of Caesar, is left alive under Brutus’s orders to take his revenge on the villains who killed his beloved Caesar. After Antony turns a rioting Rome on him and wages war against him and the conspirators, Brutus falls by his own hand, turning the very sword he slaughtered Caesar with against himself. Brutus is unquestionably the tragic hero in this play because he has an innumerable amount of character flaws, he falls because of these flaws, and then comes to grips with them as he bleeds on the planes of Philippi.
The play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare showcases many characters and events that go through many significant changes. One particular character that went through unique changes was Julius Caesar. The 16th century work is a lengthy tragedy about the antagonists Brutus and Cassius fighting with the protagonists Octavius, Antony, and Lepidus over the murder of Julius Caesar. Although the play’s main pushing conflict was the murder of Julius Caesar, he is considered a secondary character, but a protagonist. Throughout the theatrical work Julius Caesar’s actions, alliances, character developments, and internal and external conflicts display his diverse changes.
The Web. The Web. 25 Nov. 2013. http://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/273442>. The "Julius Caesar."
The defenition of a tragic hero a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy. This defenition is perpetuated most clearly by one of the major characters. This character is the noble roman Brutus. Brutus is the tragic hero because of the fact that he fulfills the requirements of a tragic hero. He is a person of noble bith. He does have a tragic flaw, he does come to some understanding, and he does finally meet his end due to his tragic flaw. The tragic flaw of Brutus is his idealistic view, which ultimately leads him directly and indirectly into his death.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. N.d. Print.
Shakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.” Elements of Literature: Kylene Beers. Austin: Holt, 2009. 842-963. Print.
Brutus’ tragic flaws are part of what makes him a tragic hero. In Julius Caesar, Brutus is a great example of a tragic hero. His tragic flaws are honor, poor judgement, and idealism (Bedell). In Shakespeare’s plays, the tragic hero and his flaws cause the downfall of the play (Tragic Flaws).
Bloom, Harold. William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Chelsea House Publisher; Connecticut, New York, & Pennsylvania. 1988, Pg. #33 - 36
Brutus recognizes that the “enemies have beat [Brutus and the conspirators].. to a pit” and believes it is honorable “to leap in” themselves “than tarry till” the enemies force them (5.5.23-25). Hence, Brutus requests his servant to assist him in committing suicide and finally utters “Caesar, now be still / I kill’d not thee with half so good a will” (5.5.50-51). Brutus’s action exhibits his understanding of the killing of Caesar, and now views it as irreparable. Furthermore, Brutus takes notice of the fights and unending deaths around him all due to his naivety and failure to judge people’s evil side. As a result, Brutus views suicide as the most appropriate “method” to retain his honor and dignity; otherwise, he would have to encounter the Roman citizens’ criticization and would be humiliated for his actions. In addition, Brutus requests Caesar to be done with his vengeance and to forgive him as he acts solely for the best of Rome, displaying Brutus to be a tragic hero who failed doing his best for good. Furthermore, the play ends with Antony’s summary of Brutus’s character leaving the audience to characterize Brutus to be the one who suffered the most and died in a tragic way. Antony describes Brutus to be “the noblest Roman of them all…/ [and have acted] only in a general
There is no such thing as the perfect person. We may dream of such a person, but sadly, everyone has flaws. These flaws are what make us human. Something else that makes us human is our need for heroes. We attribute 'perfect' qualities to our heroes. In reality even our heroes are flawed. The closest thing to the idealized person, or hero, is the Shakespearean tragic hero. The tragic hero is someone of high standing, good character, and a flaw. While it may be only one flaw, it is often fatal. An example of a tragic hero can be best seen in William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar. Marcus Brutus is a prominent leader and noble citizen of Rome who leads in the assassination of Julius Caesar. We see that Brutus plays the role of the tragic hero through his noble standing, fatal flaw, and legacy.
The play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, has two main tragic heroes. Set in Rome and spanning from forty- four to forty-two B.C., the play tells of Brutus and Caesar whom both fall from the highest positions to the lowest of misfortune and then are enlightened on their mistakes. Brutus is the stronger example of a tragic hero in this story. Throughout this play, Brutus commits many faults, falls more drastically than all other characters, and regrets his previous actions by the end of the play.
Allen, Janet. "Julius Caesar." Holt McDougal Literature. Orlando, FL: Holt McDougal/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012. N. pag. Print.
Brutus also frequently demonstrated many acts of affection toward others. In Act 1, Scene 2, he is reluctant to join Cassius's conspiracy because he did not want to betray Caesar. He had to weigh his choices and in Act 3, Scene 2, Brutus kills Caesar only because he is afraid of what will happen to Rome if Caesar remains ruler. He knew the commoners life would be difficult with the ruling of Caesar. He realizes what a honorable man Caesar was. This is shown again in the same Act and Scene when Brutus allows Mark Antony to speak at Caesar's funeral even though Cassius highly disagreed. Brutus realized Caesar deserved an proper ceremony, and that the best way to do that would be to let Caesar's best friend speak.
Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. Elements of Literature. Ed. Edwina McMahon et al. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1997.