A Tragic Hero in Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

638 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The character of brutus in julius caesar

"You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain", said by Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent) in the movie The Dark Knight, describes perfectly the theme of William Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar. Even more so, Harvey Dent's words show the characteristics of the tragic hero in the production, Marcus Brutus. Most would argue that his part in the assassination of Caesar would make him the antagonist, or villain, but throughout a series of events in the play, it is logical to conclude that Brutus was indeed the hero. He was a tragic hero who just happened to make a tragic mistake.
In the first two acts of Julius Caesar, the audience begins to learn about the type of person Brutus was. Brutus was shown to have been a respected leader when Ligarius said, “But it sufficeth / That Brutus leads me on” (2,1,344-345). With this quote, Shakespeare shows that Brutus is the type of man which others are enticed to follow. Cassius knew this fact and that is why he targeted Brutus to be one of the conspirators. With the noble Brutus plotting against Caesar, Cassius believed that the Roman citizens would accept Caesar’s murder easier; however, Brutus was wise. He said, “Into what dangers would you lead me, Cassius, / that you would have me seek into myself / For that which is not in me?” (1,2,65-67), as soon as he suspected that Cassius had alternative motives for speaking with him. The audience learns that Brutus is not quick to make decisions and seeks honor before anything. If he was a villain, why would he spend time contemplating the consequences of Caesar’s death? Would he not just act?
Even through-out Caesar’s murder and funeral, Brutus stayed noble. When the other conspirators began to yell “Liberty, freedom, and...

... middle of paper ...

...how that Marcus Brutus was tragic hero, then nothing will.
In conclusion, Brutus is shown to have stayed the the heroic state of mind throughout the play. All of his actions, including the taking of his own life, was for the betterment of the Roman Empire. No true villain would want to “better” something. Now, if Brutus acted out of greed or envy, then the argument would be different, but since he acted out of honor and patriotism then the argument is non-existent. Brutus is a hero. Just because he made a mistake doesn’t make him the wrongdoer. Everyone makes a big mistake at least once in their lives; however, in Brutus’ case his flaw happened to be irreversible. So why give him a label of nefarious or vile when we can simply say he was a tragic hero?

Works Cited

Crowther, John, ed. No Fear Julius Caesar. SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Web. 22 Mar. 2014.

Show More
Related

  • Julius Caesar Honor Quotes

    576 Words  | 2 Pages

    Brutus’ ignorance creates an expectation that develops a path which leads him awry. When Brutus mentions,“ I would not Cassius; yet I love him well” (1.2.81-88 ), he portrays his internal conflict. Brutus depicts the rendering struggle between Cassius’ acquisitions and Caesar’s actions. His oblivion toward the truth and goodwill concerning the greater health of Rome prompt him astray. He acts with the innocence of a child, deceive and swindle by Cassius, Brutus is an

    Read More

  • Quotes Of Manipulation In Julius Caesar

    531 Words  | 2 Pages

    Brutus thinks that killing Caesar is a noble act because it is for the good of Rome. However would Brutus have thought this if Cassius had not tricked him into believing it? It could be argued that Brutus manipulated himself into thinking what he did was honorable when really it was not and he was just following what Cassius wanted him to do. Brutus even says in the beginning of the play that he does not have it in him to kill Caesar. “Into what dangers would you lead me, Cassius/ That you would have me seek into myself/ For that which is not in me?” (1.2.60-71) It seems that Brutus’s thoughts on the subject change completely after assuring himself that it is for the good of Rome. Cassius does the same thing. He convinces himself that Caesar is corrupt when really he is just jealous of his power. Caesar is also guilty of this. For example, he is superstitious only when it is convenient for him. He does not believe the soothsayer when he tells him to “beware the ides of March,”(citation?) but he believes Decius when he says that Calpurnia’s dream means he will be a good ruler. Caesar does not want to accept that he could be in danger. He trains himself to only believe in good omens.

    Read More

  • Julius Caesar Quotes

    925 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cassius needed a reason to motivate Brutus to join the conspiracy so that the plan would develop. “Brutus, I do observe you now of late: I have not from your eyes that gentleness…” (1.2.34) Cassius is saying that Brutus hasn’t been as affectionate toward him as he typically is. Maybe he suspects something is wrong with Brutus and he thinks it has something to do with Caesar. But I think he didn’t really care about how Brutus was treating him, he was just “buttering him up” so to say. Brutus thinks that Cassius is just being his friend and trying to help, when in reality Cassius is manipulating him. This manipulation of friendship is what drives the rest of the play. Brutus has a hard time seeing through this manipulation of Cassius and it ends up driving him to assassinating his friend, Caesar. Cassius fabricated letters to make them seen like they were from the people of Rome saying that they wanted Brutus as their leader. These letters were really the controlling factor of the assassination because they gave Brutus another reason to assassinate Caesar. Cassius then realized how easy it was to manipulate Brutus. “Well, Brutus, thou art noble. Yet I see thy honorable mettle may be wrought from that it is disposed. Therefore it is meet that noble minds keep ever with their likes; for who so firm that cannot be seduced?” (1.2.320-324) Cassius is saying that even

    Read More

  • Julius Caesar Tragic Hero (Brutus)

    666 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout most of the play Brutus is constantly internally conflicted. Does he do what he believes is best for Rome or stay loyal to his friend and leader? Should he assist in the murder of one person to benefit many? Although killing Caesar was in the end a bad choice, Brutus always tries to do what is best for Rome and for the people. However even though all of Brutus’ motives are good he still has the tragic flaw of pride, which ultimately leads to his downfall. The reason that Brutus gets caught up in the conspiracy is because Cassias appeals to his pride and flatters him with forged letters from the Roman people saying he is a greater leader then Caesar.

    Read More

  • Brutus Tragic Hero Quotes

    685 Words  | 2 Pages

    He has two opposing desires that he has to choose between. These are killing Caesar to preserve democracy in Rome and to save Caesar, since he is a friend of Brutus. A quote from J.L. Simmons that summarizes this well is, “Certainly the material lends itself to a conflict between private and public affections” (Simmons 64). Brutus wants to kill Caesar for Rome because the citizens of Rome want to preserve democracy and Caesar is preventing that by being dictator for life. A quote that puts this in other words is, “The ultimate factor in persuading Brutus to join the conspiracy is his belief that his countrymen wish him to act on their behalf” (Shalvi 71). Killing Caesar would be a choice made for not himself, but the citizens of Rome while saving him would be for himself and to preserve his friendship with Caesar. Saving Caesar would be a deed for himself and would strengthen his relationship with Caesar. He could have warned Caesar of the conspirators’ plans and put a stop to them. Brutus ultimately makes the choice of following through and assassinating Caesar. His plan was for this to be a honorable action, but it ended up negative on his behalf. The majority of the citizens in Rome did not take this lightly and wanted revenge for his actions. This is the main mistake made by Brutus that lead to his own

    Read More

  • Reasons why Marcus Brutus is and is not a Tragic Hero

    533 Words  | 2 Pages

    The second reason why Brutus should not be a tragic hero is because he has a tragic flaw and this flaw leads to his ultimate downfall. The tragic Flaw for Brutus is his idealistic view of the world. He contracts this view about Caesar after Cassius persuades him by saying that Caesar will be a tyrant. Because of this, Brutus joins the conspirators and kills Caesar. This shows that Brutus, like other tragic heroes uses his tragic flaw and thus will cause his eventual defeat. Later in the play Brutus directs, as any ideological man would, to charge rather than wait for the enemy to attack. This is an excellent exemplar of the Brutus’s tragic flaw since Brutus did this so that he would not lose support in Rome.

    Read More

  • Brutus was a cautious, devious, and naive man

    453 Words  | 1 Pages

    Brutus is a very cautious man. “Into what dangers are you leading me, Cassius, that you would have me look into myself for things that are not there?”(1.2.68-70) This quote is referring to act 1 where Cassius brings Brutus into the room and starts to talk about Caesar. When Cassius suggests to kill Mark Antony alone with Caesar, Brutus says, “Our plan will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius. We cut off the head and then hack the limbs, seem to kill Caesar in anger and then vent malice on his friends, for Antony is only a branch of Caesar.”(2.1.169-172) Brutus doesn’t want to just kill everyone, and be know as a killer, he just wants to do what he thinks is right for the people of Rome. Brutus was cautious, even near the end of the play when he was in his tent talking to Cassius,he told Lucilius and Titinius to go guard the door, until he had finished he conference.

    Read More

  • A Comparison of Shakespeare’s Marcus Brutus to Other Tragic Heroes

    1388 Words  | 3 Pages

    I came to this conclusion due to the fact that Brutus shares many similarities with other tragic heroes in literature such as Oedipus, Hamlet, and Ralph from Lord of the Flies. All four characters share the two critical traits that are needed to be tragic heroes: a tragic flaw that eventually leads to a tragic downfall. The tragic hero was defined by Aristotle, yet the “invention” of the tragic hero goes to Sophocles. Sophocles’ tragedy, Oedipus, made the tragic hero. In the play, a prophecy comes along that says the namesake character Oedipus will kill his father and impregnate his mother.

    Read More

  • Honorable Betrayal

    1051 Words  | 3 Pages

    First of all, Marcus Brutus has the character flaw of poor judge of character. He cannot discern a person’s character or true motivation. He, however, acts on his judgments, regardless of whether they are true or not. Brutus feels that Caesar is too ambitious for power, and that he, along with the other eight men plotting the demise of Caesar, must prevent it, “And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg— / Which, hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous— / And kill him in the shell” (911). Brutus decides that Caesar must die because he ambitious. Ambition is not necessarily an evil and virulent thing. Ambition causes men and women to strive towards reaching an attainment. Brutus assumes that Caesar will turn his back on his supporters due to this ambition. One of the most famous lines in Julius Caesar is the dying words of Caesar: “Et tu, Bruté?—Then fall, Caesar” (938). If Caesar had truly turned h...

    Read More

  • Brutus: A True Tragic Hero

    978 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...tus truly defined the definition of being a tragic hero. He took a drastic fall from being high standing Roman senator to committing suicide on the battle field. He also had several fundamental character flaws that defined not only his future but it also defined history as we know it today. His illogical thinking allowed him to justify the killing of Caesar; and his kindness allows Mark Antony to live and become a mighty ruler of Rome. Brutus’ finally has a revelation and his eyes are opened once he is defeated on the battle field during The Battle Philippi. Brutus’ participation in the assassination of Caesar defined his life and the lives of those around him; it also affected the way we look at history today. Without his involvement in the conspiracy the Roman Empire would not have been the same. Brutus’ name will forever be affiliated with the death of Caesar.

    Read More

  • Julius Caesar - A Tragic Hero

    947 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Brutus the Tragic Hero

    1058 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ation and well being of a country, people, and republic. “‘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). Although a seemingly menacing traitor to his country at first, Brutus makes the journey to a sympathetic and noble tragic hero in the end.

    Read More

  • Julius Caesar - A Comparison of Brutus and Cassius

    1631 Words  | 4 Pages

    This (Brutus' body) was the noblest Roman of them all. All conspirators, save only he did that they did in en...

    Read More

  • Marcus Brutus as the Tragic Hero in Julius Caesar

    528 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Free Julius Caesar Essays: The Tragic Hero

    487 Words  | 1 Pages

    A tragic hero is the character whose actions deeply affect the other characters and who creates a series of events that eventually lead to the character’s downfall and the downfall of his loved ones. Such a hero possesses a flaw in character that influences his actions and thinking and especially his judgments. In logically determining who the hero in Julius Caesar is, one simply must find the one character who fits the above guidelines. Marcus Brutus is the only one, and, thus, he is the tragic hero.

    Read More

More about A Tragic Hero in Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

Open Document