Tragic Hero Essay
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
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of a tragic hero. A traditional element to the creation of a tragic hero is that he/she must have an important ancestor and a tragic flaw. In this case, Brutus’s important ancestor is Junius Brutus, his father. Junius lived during the time when Rome had a monarchical government and was under the rule of the Tarquin kings. After a serious event where the son of the Tarquin king raped the wife of a distant relative, Lucius, Brutus himself decided they needed to strip the kings of their power. He did just that and Marcus Brutus became popular for stripping the Tarquin kings of their power. After removing the monarchy a new government had to be set in place. Junius Brutus set up a democracy and along with Lucius Collatinus, they became the first two counsels. Junius achievements continued to be admired throughout the play and Marcus Brutus got some recognition for them. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Cassius made an allusion to the great Junius Brutus with the following words “There was a Brutus once that would have brooked Th' eternal devil to keep his state in Rome, As easily as a king.” (Shakespeare 1.2.159-161).
In this quote, Cassius is dialoguing with Brutus and telling him how Junius Brutus did and would do everything he could in order to keep Rome as a democracy and away from kings. All tragic heroes suffer a catastrophe and in this case, Brutus suffered the calamity of being the only “conspirator” who killed Caesar with a noble and honorable reason. As time passed he started to notice that the other conspirators were corrupt at the time of their doing and they killed Caesar for non-honorable reasons. During act four, Brutus had a serious conversation with Cassius and he pointed out how all of the corrupt conspirators stabbed Caesar for reasons, other than justice. “Remember March, the ides of March remember. Did not great Julius bleed for justice' sake? What villain touched his body, that did stab, And not for justice?” (Shakespeare 4.3.18-28). In the plight of Marcus Brutus, his tragic flaw was being gullible and very stubborn. Alice Shalvi, the author of Brutus’s Personal Failure Is the Central Tragedy, pointed out that “The ultimate factor in persuading Brutus to join the conspiracy is his belief that his countrymen wish him to act on their behalf, a belief based in the letters” (Shelvi 71). Based on what Shalvi said one can tell that Brutus was easy to persuade with a couple tricks such as the “pleas” and fake letters of the countrymen. Marcus Brutus was gullible and was easily …show more content…
persuaded because of his very stubborn view on keeping Rome under a democracy. “I have moved already some certain of the noblest-minded Romans to undergo with me an enterprise of honorable- dangerous consequence.” (Shakespeare 1.3.123-125). Cassius, in the quote above, showed very little struggle with recruiting “noble” men to be part of his conspiracy, simply because they were easy to influence, like Brutus. As a tragic hero, Brutus had to have some opposing desires and moments of hesitation. According to the article Brutus, the Pivotal Character, “ Brutus is usually acknowledged as the central character… mainly because of Brutus's moral dilemma about whether or not to turn on his friend” ( Simmons 61). Brutus hesitated and had internal conflict when it came to turning on Julius Caesar. In his head, he struggled to decide on whether to turn on Caesar and kill him for the good of Rome or to not turn on his beloved friend and to talk to him and try to contain his power. On one hand, Brutus compares Caesar to a venomous serpent that would hatch from its egg and gain an immense amount of power almost immediately. “Think him as a serpent’s egg - which, hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous- and kill him in the shell” (Shakespeare 2.1.33-34). But, on the other hand, Brutus did not want to turn on his friend. He wanted to be able to try and contain his power before making a big decision. Brutus himself mentioned that he had nothing personal held against Caesar, everything he was doing was simply for the best of Rome. “ I know no personal cause to spurn at him” (Shakespeare 2.1.11). The day right before the “Ides of March” Brutus expressed his inner turmoil through a soliloquy in his own orchard. He enunciated his plan, doubts, worries, and his opposing views, where his final decision was that he simply loved Rome more than he did Caesar. William Shakespeare focuses on the little choices with bad outcomes that one as a tragic hero makes.
Marcus Brutus makes many minor decisions that lead to major unfavorable outcomes. For example, Brutus decided to let Antony speak at Caesar’s funeral with a few conditions that would show that the conspirators had all the power there. Although, letting Antony speak was a bad decision because he used a lot of verbal ironies and emotional appeal in such a way that the crowd was easily moved and turned into a raging mob which would go as far as to kill Cassius and Brutus. Cassius, through an aside, had spoken to Brutus and said: “ Know you how much the people may be moved by that which he will utter” (Shakespeare 2.1. 247-248). This bad decision was all on Brutus for Cassius had given a different point of view. Marcus’s second incorrect choice was to march to Philippi. Once again, Cassius had an opposing view to that of Brutus’s and he had said that staying in Sardinia could give their troops an advantage of preparedness and rest. Brutus disagreed and followed his leader instinct and led them in a march to Philippi. On his way there, he encountered the ghost of Caesar twice and it put him in scenarios where both he and Cassius were very close to defeat. Brutus’s final accommodation ways to celebrate victory too soon and to send his troops on a looting spree. It caused a misunderstanding with Cassius, Titinius, and Pindarus. This misunderstanding resulted in Cassius
concluding that it was time for his death to come. There was no help on the way because Brutus had sent them off, he had loved a full circle, and he sent a dear friend, Titinius, into his own death. All three of the choices above were made by Brutus and had unfavorable outcomes. All of the decisions Brutus had made were based on his idea of wanting to keep a strong democracy in Rome. He became the leader of the conspirators because he sincerely thought that the letters he had received were pleas of his fellow countrymen asking him for help. He was simply following in the footsteps of Junius and made all his decision with the idea of a democratic government in his head. Brutus was too stubborn and concerned with the same fight all the time that he developed a stoic personality. All his problems came because of his “dedication” to trying to stay away from a monarchy in Rome. He had many bad outcomes and in the end, his overall problems have a snowball effect. They became too big to handle and fix and by the end, Brutus had failed at the one thing he worked so hard for. As an outcome of his decisions, he lost Portia, Cassius suicided, Brutus himself committed an assisted form of suicide, and the democracy itself died along with him. After his death, Augustus, went back to a monarchy. He rued for a long time and brought Rome into Pax Romana just to end the Roman Empire entirely after Pax Romana ended. Marcus Brutus, the main protagonist of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, was also the tragic hero of the play. Shakespeare used all of the traditional elements of a tragic hero in order to shape Brutus into the ideal one. Marcus Brutus was the main protagonist due to the five traditional elements represented in his personality.
In the beginning of the Book Cassius uses anecdotes of Caesar’s weakness and faults, argumentum ad antiquatum, and ethos on Brutus to persuade him to join the conspiracy to kill Caesar, this works on Brutus and shows that anyone, even people as stoic as Brutus, can be persuaded by appealing to their motivations. Cassius, a very suspicious character thru ought the play tells Brutus to “be not jealous on me” (827), in the quote he tells Brutus to not be suspicious of him because he is just a friend who genuinely cares. Cassius does this to put himself on Brutus’ side and not seem like a distant person, this allows him to criticize Caesar and suggest that he is a bad influence on Rome which appeals to Brutus’ desire to keeping Rome safe. After setting himself up as a friend to Brutus, Cassius uses harsh anecdotes on the weakness of Caesar to show that he isn’t fit to rule Rome. Cassius recollects on a time when he and Caesar went swimming in the river Tiber and Caesar screamed “Help me, Cassius or I sink” (828) to de...
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.
In Shakespeare’s play, the conspirators are not justified because of their selfish motives. During the beginning of the play, Cassius is depicted as covetous when he tries to convince Casca to join the conspirators by speaking poorly of Caesar. “What trash is Rome, what rubbish and what offal, when it serves for the base matter to illuminate so vile a thing as Caesar” (I.II.108-110). Using a disgusted pattern of diction, Shakespeare helps to convey a bitter tone when Cassius states, “trash”, “rubbish” and “offal” to express his belief that Rome will become a terrible place when Caesar rules. Also, the fact that Cassius says, “a thing”, to describe Caesar shows how disrespectful he is, portraying his revolting attitude as a bad motive. This language characterizes Cassius as jealous and greedy of Caesar’s power,
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
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.
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
shakespeare was one of the most famous writer in the western literary world. his works shine like the morning stars in the sky. julius caesar is one of his masterpiece. it is a script described julius caesar’s assassination and people around him. in julius caesar shakespeare exposes the disadvantages of leadership through the actions, conflicts and failure of brutus. there are many place in the play show that brutus is not a good leader. brutus is a tragic hero in this play, he is a noble man, he want to kill caesar not for himself but for rome. under his leading, the people who followed him to kill caesar going to fail step by step.
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.
Brutus was a devious man, even though what he thought he was doing was right. Brutus told his fellow conspirators to kill Caesar “boldly, but not angerly.”(3.1.256-257) Brutus was one of Caesars right hand men, and yet Brutus kills his own friend. When Antony asks to speak at Caesars funeral, Cassius says no, but Brutus tell him that Antony will speak, but only what Brutus tells him to say. Brutus also embraces the fact that he just killed his friend, and also tells the senators who had just witnessed it to not be afraid, but to stay because ambition has paid its debt.
Both Caesar and Brutus were main characters in this play. Two sides formed during the play, and these two characters were the leaders of each side, respectively. Also, each character held a high rank in the Roman society. Caesar was the ruler of the Roman Empire, and could basically do whatever he wanted due to his outstanding power. Brutus was a general for the Empire and he was respected and was seen as a noble man and true “Roman” by many.
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...
In the play Julius Caesar, written and preformed by William Shakespeare, there are many characters, but two, Brutus and Cassius, stood out. The play begins in Rome where a celebration of Julius Caesar's victory over the former ruler of Rome, Pompeii. The victory leads to Caesar's betrayal by his jealous companions. Senators and other high status figures are jealous of Caesar's new and growing power, while others, like Brutus, fear the tyrannical rule Caesar could enforce. The conspirators, Brutus and Cassius being the most important, assassinate Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius, better known as Antony, and Octavius Caesar, Caesar's heir to the thrown, revenge Caesar's death. Antony convinces the Roman populous to destroy the conspirators and eventually begins a war with Cassius and Brutus' armies. Both Cassius and Brutus commit suicide to save their honor and Antony and Octavius win the war. The characterizations of Brutus and Cassius show a distinct contrast in their character traits and motives for the assassination of Julius Caesar.
After the murderous confrontation, it was not too late to prevent the anger of Caesar’s allies and the citizens or, even, to avoid future civil war. But it was here that Brutus made his second and third mistakes. Marcus Brutus rose before the Roman populace and attempted to offer a justification of Caesar’s murder. His flawed judgment came when he deemed Antony trustworthy and allowed him to speak at Caesar’s funeral. Brutus naively let Antony draw the mob in his favor. No one could dare refute Antony’s impassioned pleas in behalf of Caesar.
Brutus commits three costly mistakes during the play. The first mistake that he makes is that he participates in the assassination of Julius Caesar. “People, and senators, be not affrighted. /Fly not; stand still; ambition’s debt is paid”(938). In doing this, Brutus does just the opposite of what he set out to do which is to protect Rome from the ambition of humans. This action also perpetually gives him the name of a traitor. The second and most important mistake that Brutus makes is that he allows Antony to speak at Caesar’s funeral. “And you shall speak in the same pulpit whereto I am going /After my speech is ended”(945). Not only does Brutus allow Mark Antony to speak after Cassius tells him not to let him have such a right, but he gives him the better time to do it as well. Speaking second is more strategic than first because of the fact that the man or woman that speaks second is delivering the speech that the audience will remember. The citizens most likely will not remember Brutus’s meager speech that is soon disregarded after Antony begins to speak. This act of arrogance is actually the backbone to the downfall of Brutus. The third mistake that Brutus makes is tha...
Julius Caesar is a play written by William Shakespeare. The play tells the tragedy of Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar was one of the greatest leader of Roman history. Caesar had many victorious moments in history and continued to grow more and more powerful. When he had started to govern Rome hatred by some people had grew. He had liberally gave many a spot to hold an important position. Even though he helped the nobility, they had betrayed him. They secretly were planning a way to cause Caesar’s death. Then plan was portrayed by Cassius and he had convinced Brutus to join along with his plan also. On March 15th they had circled around Caesar and stabbed him numerous of times thus, Caesar had fallen to the ground by his last stab by Brutus. Throughout the entire play Caesar and Brutus are notably different. Caesar is very egoistic, while Brutus is very considerate and is mannerly to others. Caesar is an extrovert, while Brutus is an introvert. Caesar is ambitious and Brutus is not ambitious.