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Morgan Dang

Dadabhoy

English 2 Honors

18 December, 2015

Word Count: 1568

Brutus the Great

Julius Caesar ​by William Shakespeare is a tragedy lead by a tragic hero which inevitably

causes their own progressing self destruction. ​Although ​Julius Caesar ​was perceived as a tragic

hero and his character was primarily meant to be the main protagonist of the play, Brutus

conveyed himself as a tragic hero through his actions. A tragic hero is one who makes a

miscalculated judgement which eventually leads to their own destruction. Many critics believe

that ​Julius Caesar​ should be titled something other than ​Julius Caesar​ while others believe

otherwise. Brutus fits the role of a tragic hero in this play and he falls under the criteria of a

tragic hero most accurately. Throughout the play, Brutus’ character develops into a tragic hero

and this is conveyed through his high status, flaws, and his bravery in the face of his death.

Shakespeare’s ​Julius Caesar​ is a very misleading title because, although he was intended to be

the main protagonist or tragic hero of this play, Brutus showed more characteristics of being a

tragic hero after the assassination of Caesar.

Marcus Brutus is ranked at the top of the social class which fits the criteria of being a

tragic hero. ​He holds a high social status in Rome, for he is a senator and a popular one. Cassius

states that “many of the best respect in Rome […] have wished that noble Brutus had his eyes,”

(1.2.65-68). ​Numerous people look up to Brutus and wish that he would help them with their
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problems. He has enough wealth, riches, and social status to hire several servants.This is also a

characteristic common in a tragic hero.​ ​Portia, Brutus’ wife and the daughter of Cato (a highly

respected man), asks if Brutus thinks she is, “no stronger than [her] sex, being so fathered and so

husbanded,” (2.1.319-320). ​This suggests that Brutus is a man on a near distinction to that of her

father. Even after Brutus is chased out of Rome, he continues to keep his high status by

becoming general and one of the traits of being a tragic hero is high social status and Brutus fits

this criteria well.​ Brutus has a variety of tragic flaws and one of these flaws is that he is very

hypocritical. Brutus doesn’t like Cassius’ “rash cooler” and “testy humor.” He promises that

Cassius will “digest the venom of his spleen”, that he will get his retribution because of his

temper. The thing that Brutus fails to realize is that as he says this, he is ill-tempered too. ​And in

the same argument, he says that he had never wronged an enemy and that he should wrong a

brother, and yet Caesar was a close friend and a political enemy to him. Brutus’ flaws is what

leads him to his death, making him a tragic hero.

Brutus did not kill Caesar out of hatred, but out of love for the nation he deeply loved.

The content of Brutus’ speech is about love and national pride and his speech has an emotional

appeal to the audience. ​He fears that Rome would be under a tyrant’s control and that the

Romans would live their lives as slaves under Caesar’s rule, “...Not that I loved Caesar less, but

that I loved Rome more. Had you rather Caesar were living, and die all slaves, than Caesar were

dead, to live all freemen?” (3.2.23-25).​ ​His intentions were of righteousness, but it eventually

leads to his own destruction because Brutus tries to be a hero and save the nation from becoming

enslaved by Caesar whom he fears that would become a tyrant. This act he considers heroic

eventually leads to his own death as well as the term “tragic hero.”​ ​He assumes that he hasn’t
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offended anyone and declares that Caesar’s death is accounted for, “Then none have I offended. I

have done no more to Caesar than you shall do to Brutus,” (3.2.38-39).​ ​His emotional appeal

towards the audience was meant to justify and to move the people to his way of thinking. The

speech was primarily about the love of one’s nation and it implicates that when power is at stake,

relationships don’t matter. The desire of power will always win and this is implied towards

Brutus’ relationship with Caesar and his relationship with Cassius. ​Brutus declares that, “But this

same day must end that work the ides of March begun,” (5.1.123-124). ​The ghost of Caesar

foreshadows Brutus’ death and he dies an honorable death because he realized that he killed

Caesar for the wrong purpose. Brutus dies a brave warrior when he runs into the sword himself,

while Cassius dies as a coward relying on someone else to do the job for him.​ ​The play starts

with Brutus and ends with his suicide; it ends in a tragic event with a tragic hero.

Although some believe that Brutus should be the main protagonist in Julius Caesar and

that the title should be named other than Julius Caesar, others believe that Julius Caesar should

be the way it is and that Julius Caesar plays an important role of an ideal character of a tragic

hero.​ Caesar’s excessive pride sets him up to overlooking things and his one goal is to become

king and his desire to become the ruler of Rome clouds his judgement. His self indulged and

arrogant character is what gives him the characteristics of a tragic hero, as others may believe.

His immovability and his ignorance is what transpires his death and when he enters the senate he

speaks with the conspirators unaware of what’s about to happen, “But I am as constant as the

Northern Star, of whose true fixed and resting quality there is no fellow in the firmament,”

(3.1.66-68). ​Caesar portrays himself as a god and his persistence is what drives him to his tragic

death. He meets some of the criteria of a tragic hero and dies a tragic death because of his flaw of
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being overconfident and arrogant.​ ​His arrogance, dynastic ambition, and his disabilities presents

him as a tragic hero with tragic flaws, “I rather tell thee what is to be feared than what I fear; for

always I am Caesar. Come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf,” (1.2.221-223). ​Pride, ambition,

and arrogance are all traits that Caesar fall under and they’re all prominent defects that inevitably

lead to destruction. Caesar’s own flaws lead him to his own destruction and although it was the

conspirators who murdered Caesar, it was Caesar’s pride, ambition, and arrogance that lead him

to his own downfall. ​Caesar’s immoderate pride and arrogance contributes to his death, making

him a tragic hero.

Caesar’s excessive arrogance leads to him overlooking things and his desire clouds his

judgement which later leads him to his doom. He has one goal and that is obviously to become

king, but it’s ironic because the same men, who stood by his side and were considered Caesar’s

close friends whom he trusts, kill Caesar later in the play.​ ​He fails to acknowledge the warnings

and what drives him to the senate is how they played on Caesar’s arrogance and called him a

coward, “How foolish do your fears seem now, Calphurnia! I am ashamed I did yield to them.

Give me my robe, for I will go,” (2.2.110-112).​ ​Caesar’s self-indulged character is what leads to

his death. His annoyance of the word coward is what drives him to anger which leads him to the

senate. Caesar’s imprudent self-importance is a tragic flaw of Caesar which falls under the

criteria of a tragic hero. ​Brutus, Cassius, and the rest of the conspirators manipulate Caesar into

going to the senate in order for their plan to be successful in which they do succeed, “Speak,

hands, for me! [...] Et tu, Brute?--Then fall, Caesar,” (3.1.84-85)​. Brutus kills Caesar for the sake

of their nation and his love for Rome was far greater than his love for Caesar. He was afraid of

Caesar’s immovability and the possibility of Caesar becoming a tyrant in which he would’ve
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ruled their nation as a dictator. ​Caesar and Brutus were truly noble men. Caesar was a

distinguished and brave man and gained his power through hard work and bravery. However,

Caesar was struck with a weakness; he wanted too much power.

Brutus falls under all the qualities that meet the expectation of a tragic hero. He has a

high social status and many tragic flaws, including being over-trusting, hypocrisy, and over

confidence which eventually leads to his death, although he faces his death with significance and

honor. Marcus Brutus is the tragic hero in this play, but also seems to be similar to another tragic

hero, whose character traits were almost the same. Caesar was prone to over-trusting as well

because he trusted Brutus and considered him as his close friend, yet Brutus literally backstabbed

him and murdered his friend. When it came to superstition, Caesar was also hypocritical and he

thinks very highly of himself as well. Brutus became the man he killed, Caesar. If he had not

become the man he killed, then he wouldn’t have became the tragic hero of this play. Brutus’

numerous flaws set him on a path to his destruction and death, making him a tragic hero.