Julius Ceasar: Brutus Is the Tragic Hero

Category: Brutus, Tragedy, Tragic Hero

Last Updated: 26 Jan 2021

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In the play Julius Ceasar by William Shakespeare, Marcus Brutus is the tragic hero. Brutus is a tragic hero because he has Tragic Flaws. Brutus’s first tragic flaw is that he is naive; he is not a shrewd judge of people. As Caius Cassius states, “Well, Brutus, thou art noble. Yet I see thy honorable mental may be wrought …Therefore it is meet. That noble minds keep ever with their likes. For who so firm that cannot be seduced? ”. This shows how naive Brutus is because he does not see that Cassius is trying to manipulate him. Brutus’s second tragic flaw is that he has rigid ethics; he thinks he is unmovable. Brutus states himself that “ armed so strong in honesty, that they pass by as the idle wind”. Brutus thinks he is unmovable because he is so honest that nothing can break him down, and because he has these tragic flaws he is a tragic hero. Many tragic heroes are characterized by good and evil, and Brutus has good and evil characteristics. Brutus’s good character is that he is caring. After Brutus allows his servant Lucius to sleep he calls, “Boy! Lucius! Fast asleep? It is no matter.

Enjoy the honey-heavy dew of slumber. Therefore thou sleeps t so sound”. Brutus is letting Lucius sleep and this shows his good character, that he is caring. Brutus is also characterized by evil. He is characterized by evil because he betrayed his good friend, Julius Ceasar. When Brutus stabs Ceasar, Ceasar’s words to Brutus were “Et Tu, Brute? Then fall, Ceasar”. In this scene, Ceasar is surprised that Brutus is with the conspirators who murder him because Brutus was a great friend to Ceasar. Brutus betrays their friendship by stabbing Ceasar. Brutus’ bad and evil characteristics make him a tragic hero. Brutus faced a downfall, which is an event that tragic hero’s face. The hubris, or the person or thing that causes Brutus’s downfall was Mark Antony and the speech he made at Caesar’s funeral. Caius Cassius knew or had a feeling to not let Antony's speech, “You know not what you do, do not consent. That Antony speaks at the funeral. Know you how much the people may be moved. By that which he will utter? I know not what may fall.

I like it not”. Cassius stated that he does not have a good feeling about letting Mark Antony speak because he had a feeling that something bad will occur because of what Antony will say. What Cassius said was true, because shortly after Antony’s speech Brutus and Cassius ran away and the Plebeians went into a rage due to Antony’s speech. This led to the downfall of Brutus. The downfall or the death of Brutus makes him a tragic hero because before he commits suicide, he sees justification glory in his fall. Brutus says himself “my heart doth joy, that yet all my life. I found no man, but he was true to me. I shall have glory by this losing day. More than Octavius and Mark Antony”. He sees glory in his death because he realizes that his life wasn’t bad because he had true friends and that he sees more glory in his suicide than Octavius Ceasar and Mark Antony will see glory in their victory. Brutus had many characteristics and events - in the play Julius Ceasar by William Shakespeare – that tragic heroes face, Marcus Brutus is ta tragic hero.

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