Hero or Villain? The characters throughout the play of Julius Caesar are never truly identified as being a hero or a villain. By the end of the play Brutus is considered a tragic hero, however slaughtering and betraying his best friend does not strike someone as being a hero. Shakespeare shows how the characters are equivocal through traits such as, pride, power, manipulative, and nobility. By creating such ambiguous characters, Shakespeare shows that humanity is flawed and that no human being can be perfect. Caesar appears to be an innocent murder victim and possibly the protagonist of the play, but Shakespeare shows how his arrogance, pride, and power could have also made him a villain to Rome. Caesar says that he is not ashamed of his …show more content…
Brutus has done things that even though might be unforgivable, if people were to closely scrutinize his actions more carefully than Brutus is indeed the hero of the play and this can be proven. Brutus is a loving character that over the course of the play is well known by everybody and his love and caring personality is shown through the following quote: “O, he sits high in all the people’s hearts; / and that which would appear offence in us, / his countenance, like richest alchemy, / will change to virtue and to worthiness.” (JC. 1. 3. 157-160). In this scene, Casca wants Brutus to be apart of the conspiracy as he compliments him because Brutus was well known and definitely a great leader. Brutus also has a deep respect with his wife and didn’t put himself first before his wife. “Portia what mean you? Wherefore rise you now? / It is not for your health, thus to commit / your weak condition to the raw cold morning.” (JC. 2. 1. 234-236). Brutus is a loving character through this quote because normally, women weren’t well recognized as they are now but Brutus really cares and shows love for his wife. Shakespeare shows that Brutus could also be considered a tragic hero and not a villain. Through some of Brutus’ actions however, Shakespeare shows people that no one is spotless and everyone has
Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar is a tragic play, where the renowned Julius Caesar is on the brink of achieving total control and power by becoming emperor of the Roman Empire. Ironically enough, when he thinks he is one step away from pulling it off, his "friends" (most from the senate) decide to overthrow him, with Caesar's most trusted friend, Marcus Brutus, acting as leader of the conspirators. Though the fall of Caesar from the most powerful man in the world to a man who's been betrayed and stabbed 30 times is a great downfall, he is not the tragic hero. Shakespeare's main focus is Marcus Brutus, a noble man who brings upon himself a great misfortune by his own actions,
Brutus definitely does not show how he is a honorable and loyal person. He focused too much about what he thoughts best for Rome and less about the people. During the play, Brutus also betrayed his wife, Portia. Portia notices something is up with Brutus. When Portia brings it up to Brutus, he will not tell her his plans to murder Caesar. Portia states, “If this were true, then I should know this secret. I grant I am a woman, but withal A woman that Lord Brutus took to wife.” (2.1.290-293). Brutus betrayed Portia by refusing to tell her the secret she begged to hear. She eventually stabs herself, and
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar can be interpreted in multiple ways when it comes to who the characters are and if the name holds true. An immense amount of people would say that the conspirators are the antagonists while Mark Antony is the protagonist. Others may say it was only Cassius who was the antagonist. Many readers believe that the name of the play is completely wrong and William Shakespeare messed up. There are numerous amounts of evidence for each concept. As it does for many, my idea of who was who in the play varied as I continued to read on. Opinions may differ, but I believe the protagonist is Brutus while the antagonist is Mark Antony and the name holds true to the play.
Julius Caesar is a work of art by William Shakespeare in 1599. Within this play Julius Caesar is portrayed as a tragic hero. A tragic hero is defined as “the main character of a tragedy [who is] usually dignified, courageous, and high ranking” (novel study guide). Also vital to defining a tragic hero is that, “the hero’s downfall is caused by a tragic flaw” ( novel study guide). It is very evident that Julius Caesar in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is a tragic hero given that he is of noble stature, has a fatal flaw and comes to an unhappy end.
Shakespeare’s complex play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar contains several tragic heroes; a tragic hero holds high political or social esteem yet possesses an obvious character flaw. This discernible hubris undoubtedly causes the character’s demise or a severe forfeiture, which forces the character to undergo an unfeigned moment of enlightenment and shear reconciliation. Brutus, one of these tragic heroes, is a devout friend of the great Julius Caesar, that is, until he makes many execrable decisions he will soon regret; he becomes involved in a plot to kill the omniscient ruler of Rome during 44 B.C. After committing the crime, Mark Antony, an avid, passionate follower of Caesar, is left alive under Brutus’s orders to take his revenge on
Shakespeare’s tragedy, Julius Caesar, displays Brutus as a tragic hero, blinded loyalty and devotion. Brutus's heroic belief of honor and virtue was so powerful that it drove him to perform villainous actions and lead to his destruction.
A tragic hero in Shakespearean literature is understood as a noble and heroic character who makes a series of bad decisions based on his bad judgment that leads to his downfall and eventually death. In William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, the tragic hero is Marcus Brutus, a powerful Roman senator who joins a conspiracy to assassinate the Roman ruler, Julius Caesar. Marcus Brutus is a tragic hero because of his noble reputation, his moral personality, the cathartic experience that the audience feels from his life and his tragic flaw: idealism.
The play involves a highly respected senator, Brutus, who decides to join the conspiracy to kill Julius Caesar, in the effort to keep democracy intact. Brutus believes that if Julius Caesar is allowed to live, Caesar will take a kingship and turn the government into a monarchy. Brutus, Cassius, and the other conspirators kill Julius Caesar, yet they find Antony, a loyalist of Caesar, seeks revenge on them. Plato set out rules on the traits a tragic hero must possess. A tragic hero must neither be an evil villain nor a great hero,
Is Brutus a hero or a villain in the play of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare? in my eyes, Brutus is not a villain in this play, but in the eyes of a civilian he could be considered as a villain. Also i think that Brutus is an honorable man because even though he killed his best friend he did it for the good of Rome and because he’d rather let one person get killed than the country he loves and is devoted to get destroyed.
I put this quote in because its from when Brutus would’nt tell Portia, this shows he he cares about everyone, maybe more then himself.
In 1599 Shakespeare wrote the play Julius Caesar. The main character of the play Brutus as he represents a tragic hero. being a tragic hero means. He is above us but human And he falls from a high place, He struggles against his own fate, he is guilty of a fatal flaw (honor), he has an epiphany, and by the end of the play, he is dead
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is a tale not completely focused on Julius Caesar himself. But is instead focused more on the conspirators that surrounded him. Julius Caesar is unwilling to believe several warnings that could have saved his life, Julius Caesar ends up being murdered after ignoring all of the warnings, everyone has a different view of Julius Caesar. A tragic hero is a character of high standing in society that has a flaw that leads to their downfall and must feel enlightened in the end. Julius Caesar is a tragic hero.
In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar written by William Shakespeare, Marcus Brutus is proven to be the most noble tragic hero there is. A tragic hero is someone who is born of noble birth and who suffers a catastrophe, which definitely defines Brutus. “Caesar you can rest now. I didn’t kill you half as willingly” (Shakespeare 5.5.56-57) is one of the most important quotes said by Brutus to end the tragedy of the play.
Brutus possesses many ideals and mannerisms that make him the tragic hero in William Shakespeare’s tragedy. To begin with, Brutus has a deep sense of love for his city, and concerns himself with its well-being. His concern for Rome is actually what causes him to backstab Caesar. He worries that he is too arrogant to be an adequate leader, “I do fear the people/ Choose Caesar for their king.” (Shakespeare I.ii. 85-86). Secondly, Brutus has an undying moral compass that navigates him on his integrity driven choices. Brutus thinks long and hard before he joins the conspirators, and wonders whether or not it is the right choice and questions his choices, “Into what dangers would you lead me…/ That you would have me seek into myself/ For which is not in me?” (Shakespeare I.ii. 69-71). His strong beliefs are what ultimately convince him to join the conspirators, for the good of Rome. Also, Brutus believes in equality and respect. He gives a speech to the public because he feels they deserve to know the reason why Caesar dies, ‘And, waving our red weapons o’er our heads,/ Let’s all cry “Peace, freedom, and liberty!”’. (Shakespeare III.i. 121-122). This heroic quality is one of the things that drives him to be a good leader, and a good person as well. As much as these traits lead us to believe
Brutus a high-ranking, well-regarded Roman nobleman that killed Julius Caesar, went to the top of the ranks and was crowned king. Even though Brutus was able to become king, he was not going to get that title without killing Caesar. In the play Julius Caesar, Brutus agrees to kill Caesar and is one of the three murderers that stabbed Julius Caesar. In Act III scene i William Shakespeare writes “CASCA and the other conspirators stab CAESAR. BRUTUS stabs him last.” This is when Brutus’s fate begins because he starts listening to the wrong people such as, when Cassius uses his power and authority to convince Brutus that he loves Caesar but loves Rome more. This is quoted when Shakespeare writes in Act III scene ii, “ I say to him that my love for Caesar was no less than his. If, then, that friend demands to know why I rose up against Caesar, this is my answer: it’s not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” This shows Brutus’s major flaw and when he starts to believe things that other people tell him. Brutus shows that he is the Tragic Hero right when he agrees to kill Caesar because this is his tragic flaw that begins the downfall of himself.