The definition of a tragic hero is perceived as on who is neither wicked nor purely innocent, one who “is brave and noble but guilty of the tragic flaw of assuming that honorable ends justify dishonorable means”. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Brutus takes the role of the tragic hero. Brutus’s honor, nobility, and self-righteousness makes him “a tragic figure, if not the hero” (Catherine C. Dominic).
As the play opens, Brutus is known as a Roman nobleman and a member of one of the most illustrious families in Rome. He is first seen in Act I, scene ii, as one of Caesar’s “close friends” who is part of his entourage. But while alone with Cassius he is persuaded into taking a part in the assassination of Caesar. He is weary at first, and it seems as though it took Cassius some time to talk him into agreeing, yet Brutus looked at Caesar as some type of threat as well.
As a “speculative man of high motives and refined sensibility”(Catherine C. Dominic) Brutus does have his confusion of motives. Act I, scene ii, is the first we see his weakness, “his concern with reputation and appearance, his subtle vanity and pride”(Gayle Green). Yet the main bases of Brutus’s bewilderment of motives takes place in Act II, scene I, with his famous soliloquy beginning with “It must be by his death”. This speech may be the turning point in which Brutus feels better about the assassination of his once called friend.
Further in the play, Brutus is found in the orchard (Act II, scene I ) where the rest of the conspirators join in. This is where Cassius announces that Mark Antony should also be killed along with Caesar. At this point, Brutus objects, saying “Our Course will seem to bloody. Let us
Berju 2 be sacrifices, but not butchers”(The Tragedy of Julius Caesar). Brutus shows forth his self-righteousness as he makes the murder to be a ritual sacrifice. This attitude continues over to Act III, scene I , after they kill Caesar. Brutus is the one to call everyone to bathe their hands in Caesar’s blood. This is a symbol of righteousness.
At the funeral oration Brutus gives Mark Antony permission to speak, in doing so the crowd turns on Brutus, in favor to what Antony has to say about Caesar. As Mark Antony gives his clever speech, the crowd turns on Brutus and is in favor of Antony.
Moreover, Brutus is considered a tragic hero first because of his numerous character flaws or hubrises. An example is Brutus’s flawed logic. By even deciding to kill Caesar for what he is ‘going’ to do, yet not by what he has done, Brutus sets himself up for failure. “‘And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg which hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous, and kill him in shell’”(911). Brutus’s reasoning for murdering Caesar in such cold blood is because he is afraid of what he could do or what he could become. However, this is clearly faulty logic, fo...
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
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.
title of Tragic hero comes a weakness, a tragic flaw in the characters personality. One of these tragic flaws includes Brutus’ ambition. Like for instance, when he joined the conspirators he
Since Brutus was a part of the conspirators that does not make him a bad person. He did it because he cares for the people and nit just himself. In the story Brutus says,” Let us be sacrificers but not butchers, Caius.” He said this to Caius because he wanted them to know Caesar was killed for a reason. He also did not want the people of Rome to think the conspirators were murders.
The significance of the passage I chose to analyze is often overlooked. It is a monologue from Portia, Brutus’s wife, taking place in Rome, at Brutus’s Orchard during the first scene of act II. Brutus is convincing himself that the plot against Caesar is a righteous decision, by speculating that Caesar´s nature would change upon being crowned, resulting in a tyrant. He then receives the false letters Cassius wrote, intended to deceive him into thinking they are the words of anonymous citizens testifying Caesar’s alleged inappropriate ambition, he is partially convinced to proceed with the conspiracy. Shortly after, the conspirators enter the scene and discuss the terms: Who will be involved and how the murder will be carried out.
The tragic hero is one of literatures most used (and sometimes abused) characters. The classical definition of a tragic hero is, “a person with heroic or potentially heroic qualities. The person is doomed by the Gods or some other supernatural force to destruction or suffering. The hero struggles against the fate, but due to a personal flaw, ultimately fails in the battle against fate. It is my personal opinion that Brutus,as he is portrayed in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, is a tragic hero by this definition. 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.
In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, I saw two main characters as tragic heroes. First, I saw Julius Caesar as a tragic hero because his will to gain power was so strong that he ended up losing his life for it. The fact that he could have been such a strong leader was destroyed when he was killed by conspirators. I saw Marcus Brutus as a second tragic hero in this play. Brutus was such a noble character that did not deserve to die. The main reason why he did die, however, was because he had led a conspiracy against Caesar and eventually killed him. These two characters were the tragic heroes of the play in my opinion.
Both Brutus and Caesar are thought to be tragic heroes; however, Brutus is the driving force of the plot whose death marks the end of the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, and is therefore the real tragic hero. A hero, by definition, is someone who is respected for outstanding morals and honor. But a tragic hero also has a tragic flaw, a fault that causes his or her downfall. Brutus’ tragic flaw is his tendency to trust the wrong people, and this is what causes a lot of the conflicts in the play. Brutus is also in all five acts with a peak in the third, another mark of a tragic hero. Lastly, Brutus fits the description of being of noble birth and of having a strong moral compass.
In Act 1 sc. 2, Cassius and Brutus discuss their concerns with Caesar’s ruling. Cassius prods Brutus with the question, “Ay, do you fear it? Then must I think you would not have it so.” Brutus responded with “I would not, Cassius, yet I love him well” (19). Brutus is at war with himself because he views Caesar as his friend, but believes his actions to be a danger to the Roman people however, he does not acknowledge the possibility of overthrowing him yet. Only when presented with the concerns of the anonymous citizens does he contemplate any bloodshed. When the other conspirators want to clean house and annihilate everyone in power, Brutus states, “For Antony is but a limb of Caesar: Let’s be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius” (61). He makes this statement to ensure the common eyes view their actions as a noble act because Brutus is involved solely for the interest of the Roman people. Sadly, the forged letters deceived Brutus and the people rioted against their deed. In the midst of the civil war, Brutus kills himself due to grief. When Antony and Octavius discover his corpse, Antony says, “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” (209). Caesar’s right-hand man Antony recognized Brutus
In tragedy plays, there is a character who suffers from a tragic flaw in his or her personality may it be excessive pride, poor judgement, or both which eventually leads to the hero’s downfall and makes the character the tragic hero. 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 but still aims to prevent his loss of dignity.
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.
Brutus’ leadership and compassion for others make him a popular figure amongst the Roman people, and it is his reputation that establishes him as an influential individual. For example, despite the fact that Brutus loves Caesar like a brother, he warily joins the conspiracy to assassinate him. He does this because he believes that Caesar’s ambition would become tyranny and that Caesar’s death is a necessary evil in order to preserve the liberties of the Roman people. In his own words Brutus claims, “It must be by his death; and for my part, I know no personal cause to spurn at him, but for the general.”(Act 2, Scene 1, Page 1116). In addition, Brutus takes the reins of authority from Cassius and becomes the leader of the conspiracy. He gains this prerogative because of his convincing tongue and powerful influence. His leadership is evidenced when he begins to challenge Cassius’ ideas. When Cassius asks the conspirators to “swear our resolution”(Act 2...
Throughout many of Shakespeare's plays, a tragic hero is identified; a heroic figure that possesses a character flaw that leads to his defeat. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, there has been controversies over who is actually the tragic hero. Many people agree that Marcus Brutus is the tragic hero. However, others argue and identify Julius Caesar as the tragic hero. After examining these two characters, a conclusion is easily drawn. Brutus is the tragic hero of this play because when a person who possesses such heroic qualities dies, it is a true tragedy.
The play Julius Caesar depicts Brutus to be an extremely noble being who is well respected and honored by all Romans, even his enemies. Brutus was a loving friend of Julius Caesar and wished anything but death on his comrade, but his love and dedication to the majestic city of Rome would force him to commit anything. He fights a war to defend Rome from a king or emperor's tyrannical rule. When the war was finished, even his enemies saw that he was the most respectable Roman of them all.