Ashby

Michelle Ashby
Miss Meyer
Honors 10 English
24 March 2015
Marcus Brutus: A Tragic Hero
Mason Cooley once said, The tragic hero prefers death to prudence. The
comedian prefers playing tricks to winning. Only the villain really plays to win. In
Shakespeares play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, the dictator, Caesar, is killed by not
only his people and friends, but by the man he considers a son. Thus leading Caesars
best friend, Marc Antony, rallying the people of Rome to rebel against the conspirators,
which eventually leads to their deaths in the form of suicide. As Mason Cooley said, the
tragic hero prefers death to prudence. Brutus, the man Caesar considered a son, is the
tragic hero because in the end he preferred death to prudence when he commits suicide.
The most tragic character in the play has to be Brutus as he fits the tragic character
guidelines far better than Caesar.
Throughout the story, Brutus fits all the character guidelines of a tragic hero
almost perfectly. According to Aristotles guidelines, there are many things that make up
a tragic hero. In Arthur Millers interpretation of Aristotles guidelines Aristotle says a
tragic hero must be one who is a person of noble birth with heroic or potentially heroic
qualities (Miller). Brutus is a warrior, nobleman, and son-like figure to a dictator.
Aristotle needed this person to be a noble and renowned man because the characters fall
from grace needs to be very significant to arouse pity and fear in order to make it a
tragedy. When Brutus falls from grace he goes from a person deemed noble to a
murderer, who commits suicide to get away from his problems. Throughout just a few

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pages, he goes from the plebeians yelling, Live, Brutus! Live, live! to one man roaring,
Well burn the house of Brutus! (Shakespeare 80-87). Even though Brutus fell from
grace he also meets Aristotles requirement by not cursing his fate or shaking his fists at
the gods. He stays humble and enlightened. However, these arent the only ways Brutus
meets Aristotles requirements.
One key characteristic necessary in a tragic hero that Brutus certainly portrays is a
tragic flaw or in Aristotles terminology, hamartia. According to Aristotles guidelines,
this tragic flaw should bring about the heros downfall when they are put through a trial
or hardship (Aristotle & the Elements of Tragedy). Brutuss tragic flaw is his ability to
be easily manipulated and his excessive pride and ego. Cassius, one of the main
conspirators, who was driven by jealousy and envy, faked and forged letters that talked of
how much the people of Rome were behind Brutus. Then he had these letters
anonymously sent to Brutuss house. Brutus, though he was somewhat willing at first,
was only really apart of the murder when he found out how much the people loved
him. Brutuss tragic flaw that led to his downfall is that he was easily manipulated and
only willing to help when he was praised and backed up by the people.
Lastly, there are some people who would say that, on the other hand, Caesar is the
best representative of the tragic hero in the play. Caesar could be considered the tragic
hero, as he is a nobleman, rich, and high in power as he was a dictator. It is agreeable that
Caesar has one of the most tragic stories in the play as he is killed by a man he
considered a son as well as his close friends and subjects. However, he is not the tragic
hero of the play. Just because he was killed doesnt automatically mean he had a fall from
grace. Caesar was killed because of others faults and flaws, such as envy, jealousy,
egoism, and the ability to be easily manipulated. Brutus not only exemplifies a better

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tragic hero than Caesar, but he also meets far more of the guidelines designated by
Aristotle (Miller).
Overall Brutus meets all the guidelines that Aristotle deems what a tragic hero is
and meets these requirements better than anyone else in the entire play. He is a highly
renowned nobleman who has a tragic flaw that ultimately leads to his demise. Overall he
is truly a good person who was manipulated into killing someone else and in the end
tragically killing himself. Although he killed Caesar, he was the only one of the
conspirators who truly believed he had a genuine and valid reason to commit the murder.
Brutus has a tragic flaw, meets most if not all of Aristotles guidelines, and meets them
more so than anyone else. Brutus truly is the tragic hero of The Tragedy of Julius
Caesar.

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Works Cited
"Aristotle & the Elements of Tragedy: English 250. Aristotle's Tragic Terms. N.p., n.d.
Web. 18 Mar. 2015.
Miller, Arthur. "Tragic Hero Classical Definition." Trag.hero.htm. N.p., n.d. Web. 10
Mar. 2015.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar: With Connections. Austin: Holt,
Rinehart and Winston, 1999. Print.