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Brutus was a tragic hero
Brutus was a tragic hero
Brutus was a tragic hero
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Brutus – The Shakespearean Tragic Hero of “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar “
Who is the tragic hero in Shakespeare’s “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar”? To answer this question, we need to know what is a Shakespearean tragic hero. The Shakespearean tragic hero is a person of noble stature, who has a flaw (often fatal) and leaves a legacy. After we know what a Shakespearean tragic hero is, the next step in order to answer the question is finding out which character fits the description of Shakespearean tragic hero the best in the play. The character that best fits the description of the Shakespearean tragic hero is Brutus.
First of all, Brutus is of noble stature, which actually makes him more of a Shakespearean tragic hero. In the play, Cassius tells Brutus: " 'Brutus’ and 'Caesar.' What is so special about the name 'Caesar', yours sounds as good.” This quote shows that Brutus is held at the same esteem of nobility that Caesar is held. Most Shakespearean tragic heroes are prominent and recognizable figures and this makes the consequences more severe.
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Second of all, Brutus has a tragic flaw.
His tragic flaw is that he trusts people too much and is easily manipulated. The real reason for him joining the conspiracy was because he “loved Caesar but loved Rome more. Marcus Brutus joins the conspiracy because he thought that he is preventing Caesar’s tyranny. He also thinks that by joining the conspiracy he is saving the people of Rome. He also trusts . After entering the conspiracy, he became responsible for Caesar’s death, which led to a civil war, which led to Brutus’s death. Brutus’ downfall is caused by his tragic
flaw. And third of all, Brutus leaves a legacy and believe it or not, that legacy of Marcus Brutus has a very important lesson. As you may remember, if you read the play, Antony remembers Brutus as “the noblest roman of them all”. Despite all of the bad stuff that happened to Brutus (his death and his loss in war), he is still remembered as noble, showing the actual lesson of the play. Even though Brutus fails in almost every way possible, he remains an honest and moral person. By seeing the character of Brutus and all the qualities including his tragic flaw, we can see he is the real tragic hero of the play. In conclusion, Brutus is the character that best fits the description of the Shakespearean tragic hero in “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar”. He has the noble stature, the tragic flaw and left a legacy, making him the Shakespearean tragic hero of the play.
Brutus’s tragic flaw is that he is very easily manipulated and persuaded. He is very naïve and allows others to swindle him because he feels that no one would ever lie or deceive him since he didn’t do that to anyone. His first mistake is believing the forged letters from the conspirators. This was all ...
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.
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
A tragic hero is defined as a person of high social rank, who has a tragic flaw or flaws that lead to their downfall. These heroes’ downfalls are usually either complete ruin or death. Tragic heroes face their downfall with courage and dignity. While many characters in Julius Caesar could fit these conditions, the person who fits the role of a tragic hero the best is Marcus Brutus. Brutus develops into a tragic hero throughout the play, and this is shown though his qualifications of a tragic hero, his high status, his tragic flaws, and his courage in the face of his death.
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.
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.
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...
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.
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 over, even his enemies saw that he was the most respectable Roman of them all. This (Brutus' body) was the noblest Roman of them all. All conspirators, save only he did what they did in envy of great Caesar....
Brutus's fatal flaw is his trustworthy nature. He joins the conspiracy not because he "loved Caesar less but loved Rome more." ( ) Brutus joins the conspiracy under the impression that he is preventing Caesar's tyranny and saving the people of Rome. He also trusts the motives of the other conspirators. In entering the conspiracy he is also responsible for the death of Caesar and the movement of the plot. The civil war is a direct result of Caesar's assassination and eventually Brutus's own death. Brutus's fall is definitely caused by his trustworthy nature.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is the famously known play written by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare is the creator of the concept of a tragic hero. He has five traditional elements as part of his basis and in this play, he created Marcus Brutus in the shoes of a tragic hero. According to the title of this play, one would assume that Julius Caesar is the main character of the play but in reality, Brutus is recognized as the main protagonist. Marcus Brutus lived to be forty-three years old during the era of ancient Rome. He was an honorable man who ultimately became the leader of the conspirators and led himself to his own downfall. Marcus Brutus is not only the main character of the play but he is also the ideal example
Both men presented in the play become displayed as tragic hero’s, but which is the one who deserves the main role as tragic hero? Julius Caesar, a man who is truly not the best candidate for Rome’s number one leader, or Marcus Brutus, a man determined to save his city from corruption and unjust rulers? Both men wanting something, both set in their ways. Nevertheless, Julius Caesar is ambitious and arrogant, ready to claim the crown and rule over all of Rome. “Caesar shall forth. The things that threatened me ne'er looked but on my back. When they shall see the face of Caesar, they are vanished.” (DR-150) Although they are both strong characters it is difficult to determine which is the true tragic hero, but as Caesar is the cause of all things that have gone wrong it is he who must be the tragic hero. Provided he died quite early in the play, he is continuously problematic. Without his murder the entire play would be without cause, therefore his demise created by his own flaws sets forth the plot of the play. In conclusion to the presented evidence the tragic hero of the play must be Julius
Brutus’ tragic flaw was his perception that all men were identical to him in their motives. This factored allowed his decisions to be easily influenced by others whose motives were devious. Cassius was able to convince Brutus to join the conspiracy because Brutus thought the only reason behind the conspiracy was to prevent one man from becoming “Rex.” He allowed Antony’s speech to occur because he was sure that Antony was motivated by the same “honor” which motivated himself.
“Veni, vidi, vinci.” I know you are probably wondering what that quote even means, or who even said it. Julius Caesar, a fairly known historic figure, said these words of “I came, I saw, I conquered” (“Bio.Com”). When you hear his name the first thing that comes to your mind would be his character in William Shakespeare's plays and novels. He was much more than words on a page. Julius Caesar was one of the most determined, intelligent, and powerful men in ancient Roman history.
In the world today people consider a hero to be someone like Superman or Spider-Man. In the dictionary a hero is considered or defined as a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for their brave deeds and noble qualities. Though a hero is thought to be free of mistakes they all have tragic flaws like everyone else. A tragic flaw is explained by Aristotle’s definition, which says that: a tragic hero as a character of great reputation and prosperity whose misfortune is not due to depravity or vice, for the hero is a virtuous man or woman but to an error in judgment resulting from a tragic flaw. Sometimes this flaw is an excess of virtue. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare people are arguing over who is the perfect tragic hero Julius Caesar or Marcus Brutus. They both fit the criteria of a tragic hero, but Marcus Brutus proves to be the better and more fit of the two.