The Tragedy of Julius Caesar - Tragic Hero Essay
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 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.
Caesar and Brutus were truly noble people. Caesar was a dignified and courageous man. He gained his power through hard work and courage. However, Caesar was marked by a weakness: he wanted too much power. This weakness proved to be fatal in the play. Brutus, on the other hand, was a strong leader throughout the whole play. People listened to him easily and he showed his nobility by always being open to others. Despite his good character, he did make one fatal mistake in judgment. He killed Caesar thinking he would gain too much power, yet it was truly his friend Cassius’s jealously of Caesar that truly snared him into the conspiracy.
Each of the two characters gained some kind of wisdom before they came to an unhappy end. Caesar found out that one of his best friends, Brutus, had betrayed him just seconds before he died from the daggers of the conspirators. Brutus also learns something before he dies. When he knows that Cassius had committed suicide, he too commits suicide. He knew that be doing that, Caesar’s ghost was truly avenged.
Brutus, a senator in William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, claims the life of Julius Caesar in order to preserve Rome, his country and home. He puts aside his love for his comrade; Caesar to do what he felt was best. Both of these characters, Creon and Brutus, clearly felt compelled to do what each felt was preeminent for their country.
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.
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).
... too late to do anything about it. So, he kills himself. He did this because he realized what he had done and felt he needed to take accountability. Before he died, he says “Caesar, now be still, I killed not thee with half so good a will.” He is now realizing that he really didn’t have as good a reason as he thought to kill Caesar.
In the play the Life and Death of Julius Caesar (just as in all of Shakespeare’s tragedies) there is much death, much tragedy, and of course, a tragic hero. However unlike most of Shakespeare’s plays this time the tragic hero is not particularly obvious. Throughout the play a few main characters present themselves as possibilities for being the tragic hero. But as being a tragic hero is not only having a tragic flaw but also entails much more, there really is only one person to fit the mold. The character Brutus is born into power and is higher/better then we are. He has a tragic flaw that causes his downfall and at the end he realizes his mistake (a trait none of the other characters can really claim).
Shortly before his death Caesar was given several warnings throughout ActsⅡand Ⅲ , however he still went to meet with the Senate due to the fact he thought he was needed. He had an alliance with his adopted sons and valued soldiers Octavius and Antony. The play is about the events that follow his death making him an important secondary character that also portrays a protagonist. Caesar faced many conflicts throughout his lifetime, some internal and some external. He fought a war against Pompey ,which lead to conspirators plotting his death, and he was troubled by the fact that his wife could not provide him with a child. He showcased this by publicly asking Antony to touch her as he passed her, hoping that this would bring healing to her barren womb. He also went through several character changes. When he returned from war, he returned believing that the people would be ecstatic to have him as an emperor. Nonetheless when the people of Rome did not respond the way he expected he knew he had to play on their emotions. He did this by refusing the crown three times and by offering to kill himself to prove his honesty and trustworthiness. This gave him the desired effect, so he returned to knowing that the crowd wanted him as a king. The driving force of the play was the unfortunate murder of Caesar or what happened afterwards. Throughout this play many of the characters go through many unique changes, although Julius Caesar experienced some very significant character changes. The theatrical work exhibits Julius Caesar’s actions, alliances, character developments, and internal and external conflicts which in turn showcase his various changes. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is a brilliant piece of work that thoroughly covers the story of Julius Caesar, a protagonistic secondary character. Julius Caesar was the unofficial emperor of Rome. He was a war General and he fought
Today, not many people realize how lucky we are, but not long ago African Americans and other minorities were not equal to whites. Martin Luther King Jr. wanted that to change. In August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King gave a speech that’s changed us today. The speech was about how all people are equal and his dreams for others equality. In the “I Have a Dream” speech by Martin Luther King Jr. it states “This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality”(King). This quote means that Martin Luther King
The fact that Brutus killed Caesar for his country meant that even though he murdered somebody, a friend, he still did it for something much bigger than himself. Like Brutus said, he killed Caesar because it was “not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more” (Julius Caesar Act 3 Scene 2 Shakespeare). I think that is very noble of him, because if it weren’t for the act of murder, he would most definitely be a hero. If it were not for him not giving Caesar a chance first, he would most definitely be a hero. If it weren’t for his morals being manipulated by another person, he would most definitely be a hero. There is a lot of controversy about the topic and what makes Brutus a hero or villain. The question about which one he really is makes you think. I feel that even though he was a good man, the small details made the “villain” side of him surface much more than the “hero”
The play ends in a tragic way, as most of the main characters are assassinated or chose to die themselves. In conclusion, Caesar is a man without fear, he believes in himself which leads to his arrogance, which is shown when he ignores the omens. Brutus realizes the faults of his actions and decides that death is the only way to put himself out of his misery. Both men made crucial mistakes which ultimately led to their downfall
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.
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.
Both Cassius and Brutus play major roles in the play Julius Caesar. Cassius and Brutus both plan Caesar’s death. Although they are working towards a common goal, Cassius and Brutus have very different motivations for doing this. On the one hand, Cassius sees it as a way to gain more power for himself while destroying the king and all his power. On the other hand, Brutus believes that in killing Caesar he is preserving peace for the Romans’ future years. Throughout the play, Shakespeare uses different techniques to create biased characterizations of the two men so that readers and viewers develop identical attitudes towards each of them. In Julius Caesar, Cassius is portrayed as a greedy villain while Brutus is depicted as an honorable hero.
	In Julius Caesar William Shakespeare illustrated Caesar as a tragic hero by showing that he was a noble man of high rank, by showing that he was a historical figure with a tragic flaw which lead to his downfall, and by showing that Caesar accepted his fate of death & achieved honor and respect in his death. There is a contradiction between who the main tragic hero of Julius Caesar is. Can there possibly be 2 main tragic heroes in one book? If Julius Caesar wasn’t the main tragic hero of the book then why is the book named after him?
After hundreds of years The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare has been studied, reviewed, taught, read, and immortalized in films. Why would a voluminous amount of resources be poured into this simple play? As with Shakespeare’s other works, this play has been a great tool for English majors, authors, and any interested to have an insight on human action and reason. The tragedy follows Cassius and Brutus, the protagonists, as they seek to overthrow Julius Caesar from monarchy in Rome. They plan to achieve this by killing him then taking the power for themselves. These two and six others succeed in killing Caesar but did not take power. Instead, three other men as triumvirs: Octavius, Antony, and Lepidus have decided to split the empire into three sections. The climax and resolution of this tragedy ends with the three triumvirs crushing the unsuccessful usurpers. One of these, Brutus, was, is, and will still be an interesting character for all to study in life. This was due to Shakespeare and history displaying him as a tragic hero, yet unsung in most historical records. To put it briefly, a tragic hero is a figure who has a high standing in society or a situation and causes his/her own downfall but is enlightened in the end. Brutus showed these qualities from beginning to end by giving numerous flaws in his mind and acting upon them, then by becoming completely enlightened; however, this enlightenment also includes his climatic death.
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.