Julius Caesar is a Tragic Hero
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. Julius Caesar is unwilling to believe several warnings that could have saved his life. Julius Caesar was warned many times by many different people and yet
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That is until Decius tells Caesar that he shouldn’t be coerced by his wife’s dreams and Caesar decides to go with him to the Senate House. In the streets on the way to the Senate House is Caesar’s last warning. Artemidorus has written him a letter telling him the names of all the conspirators. On the way to the Senate house Artemidorus tells Caesar to read this scroll immediately and Caesar replies “What, urge you your petitions in the street? Come to the Capitol” (935). Then Caesar walks off with the rest of them just following behind.
Caesar ends up being murdered after ignoring all of the warnings. Caesar ignores all of the warnings about not coming to the Senate House on March 15th. It ends up being the day he gets brutally murdered. Stabbed to death by people he thought to be his friends. The conspirators are Brutus, Cassius, Casca, Trebonius, Ligarius, Decius, Metellus, and Cinna. Julius Caesar sits in his chair like usual and is approached by none other than one of the conspirators Metellus and he says “Is there no voice more worthy than my own, To sound more sweetly in great Caesar’s ear For the repealing of my banished brother?” (937). While Metellus is asking this all of the other conspirators are getting closer surrounding Caesar and joining in, in the asking for Publius Cimber to return. The conspirators know that this is an outrageous thing to ask of Caesar and are just using it as a guise to get closer to Caesar
He compares Caesar to a serpent in an egg which he must kill before it hatches. Brutus knows that Caesar is gaining too much power too quickly and it must come to an end. He shows his belief in a republic government by saying, “We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar / And in the spirit of men there is no blood" (II.i. 180-181). Cassius is a character who is jealous of Caesar’s power and also wants it to end. He forms a group of conspirators who are against Julius Caesar. He persuades Brutus to help him and the other conspirators to kill Caesar during the ides of March. Brutus joins but only due to his love for Rome and its people. He proves this by saying "Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius." (II.i. 179). This also proves his love for Caesar because he wants to kill him with some sort of honor. Brutus wants the citizens to look at him not as a murderer but for someone who cares for his country. He expresses his ideas toward the stabbing by saying , “If then that friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer-not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more" (III, ii, 17-19).
Then, Caesar was brought with his second warning from his wife Calpurnia. His wife Calpurnia had the same dream three times that Caesar was being killed. To please his wife, Caesar did not leave that day to go to the Senate. Finally, the last warning of Caesar’s death was brought through a letter. In the letter, it basically was warning Caesar that the conspirators were going to do something towards Caesar. Caesar did not look at the letter and his fate ends up coming towards him. In similarity, Jesus was brought with 3 predictions of his Passion. Jesus first predictions of his Passion was that he will “Suffer, be rejected, killed, and will rise after three days ( 8:31).” Jesus’s disciples did not comprehend. Second, Jesus had another prediction, but this time he predicted that he will be “delivered, killed, and will rise in three days (9:30-31).” Third, Jesus once again had a final prediction that he would be “delivered, condemned, mocked, flogged, killed, and will rise after three days (10:33-34).” In the play, Julius Caesar had an abominate conspiracy group towards him. Julius was betrayed by a close
In the play Julius Caesar, there is one tragic hero. Many people question who is the actual tragic hero. Know that a tragic hero is a hero with many good qualities but one tragic flaw that leads to their inevitable doom. People question whether Brutus is the tragic hero or if Caesar is the tragic hero. To end all arguments, the tragic hero of the play Julius Caesar is Caesar. He gave money to roman citizens in his will, but and his tragic flaw of being too ambitious that leads to his death of being stabbed 33 times.
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.
The Senator’s of Rome murdered Julius Caesar by stabbing him with daggers. They felt they had to kill him to prevent him from ruling and to save Rome. Caesar’s pride, carelessness, and arrogance led to his demise, and he blindly drove others to this end with his own actions. Caesar’s pride contributed to his downfall. He saw himself as the fearless General who could not be defeated, and as the perfect ruler who was never wrong.
	Julius Caesar vacillates, or changes, his mind throughout the play and this downfall is shown to be one of Caesar’s hamartias. On the day Caesar is to go to the Capitol, he changes his decisions frequently. Caesar defies the warnings of Calpurnia and the priests and Caesar says that she, Caesar, shall go forth to the Capitol this day. "Caesar. Caesar shall forth. The things that threatened me Ne’er looked but on my back. When they shall see The face of Caesar, they are vanished." Through this quotation, it seems Caesar has made his mind to go forth to the Capitol. Calpurnia, though, is able to persuade him to stay home and send word that he is sick. Caesar replies, "Caesar. Mark Antony shall say I am not well, And for thy humour I will stay at home."(2,2,55-56) Decius then flatters Caesar and is able to persuade him that Calpurnia’s nightmare is misinterpreted and that he
Caesar acknowledges that certain happenings lie beyond the control of our free-will, but instead of cowering in fear, to transgress valiantly. “It seems to me most strange that men should fear, seeing that death, a necessary end, will come when it will come.” (II.ii.35-37) Caesars fate was abundantly evident, Caesar uses free-will to ignore fate, for example a soothsayer says," beware the ides of March" (I.i.23). Caesar chooses to ignore the soothsayer and later, during the ides of March, Caesar once again sees the soothsayer and says, "The ides of March have come" (III.I.1). Caesar was poised there was no entail to stress over the ides of March. “Thrice hath Calpurnia in her sleep cried out, ‘Help, ho! They murder Caesar!'”(II.ii.3-4) When Calpurnia descries Caesar in her ominous dream being assassinated, Caesar, being full of pride disregards Calpurnia’s plea when he is presented with an alternate
He should have paid more attention to his instincts. This example shows us that Caesar was excellent at what he did; however, he had a big problem, which held him back.
William Shakespeare’s tragedy Julius Caesar highlights how weak leaders affect society’s condition. Shakespeare displays this through the actions of multiple characters, one of whom is Julius Caesar, a Roman general and senator greatly favored by the people. Caesar enters the play by ignoring a soothsayer’s omen to beware the ides of March, an action that is indicative of his belief in his personal invulnerability. Caesar’s continuous disregard of warnings of his death manifests into his ultimate demise. Shakespeare extrapolates Caesar’s arrogance, physical weakness, and unfortunate fate to elucidate how rulers with similar traits would eventually fail and foment disarray between their people.
Caesar says that cowards die many times before their death and death will come when it will come. Then Caesar asked a servant what the augurers say about the subject and they say they found no heart within the beast. This is a simple act of showing how superstitious Caesar is sends him in to a rage and he decides he will go to the capitol. Then Calpurnia (the voice of reason) says “your wisdom is consumed in confidence” and tells him to tell them it is her fear and not his own that keeps him from the capitol. And Caesar grudgingly agrees. Then Decius Brutus comes in and ruins the whole thing by telling Caesar that her dream was telling how great he is and Decius manages to flatter Caesar enough that he decides to go to the capitol and he tells Calpurnia how foolish her dreams seem now and he leaves. Calpurnia, as we know was right the whole time and Caesar gets assassinated at the capitol. This scene was important in foreshadowing Caesar’s death and showing how overconfident Caesar is, and although Calpurnia’s warning was only one of many she seems to be the only warning with real impact, that is until Decius Brutus comes in to play.
Caesar’s boundless power was not agreeable to all of the Senate. Sixty members of the Senate, led by Marcus Brutus, secretly plotted to assassinate Caesar and restore power to the Senate and Republic. Marcus philosophically tested members of the Senate to determine who would support the cause, least he be discovered before the deed could be carried out. Cassius, Labeo, Brutus surnamed Albinus, Tillius Cimber and Casca were among the sixty senate members willing to support Marcus. The conspirators determined the best opportunity to carry out the deed non-conspicuously was during a Senate meeting in which Caesar
Caesar manipulated the actions of others and the situations of the play in order to avenge his assassination. Antony describes the spirit of Caesar, “…ranging for revenge,/With Ate by his side come hot from hell…/Cry ‘Havoc!’ and let slip the dogs of war” (3.1.296-299). The spirit of Caesar causes havoc in the battle scene where Cassius assumes Titinius is captured. This misunderstanding comes from the spirit of Caesar in order to lead to Cassius’ suicide. Later in the battle scene, Brutus and Cassius both commit suicide in order to escape capture and both of their last words are of Caesar. Caesar or the spirit of Caesar has invaded their thoughts until the end. Brutus’ death turns out to be his own downfall because now Rome is left with a corrupt Triumvirate, including Antony and Octavius, which leaves Rome in ruins of its former glory during Caesar’s reign. Antony and Octavius will not act for Caesar now that the conspirators are dead but will use their power to gain even more. Caesar’s wishes in his will and for Rome will be destroyed by Antony and Octavius causing his inevitable downfall.
Caesar then to stay and not go to the senate. However Caesar’s other flaw kicks in vanity. Despite all signs of true danger Caesar was convinced to go the senate. Decius sees this flaw and took advantage.
The definition of a tragic hero is the protagonist of a tragic story in which he or she is destined for
Noticing this, Brutus, one of the conspirators whom Caesar trusted, convinced him to ignore pleads of others by stating “Come, good sir, pay no attention to the babblings of these men, and do not postpone what Caesar and his mighty power has seen fit to arrange. Make your own courage your favorable omen.” ("The Assassination of Julius Caesar, 44 BC,"). Caesar entered the Senate not knowing that amongst those showing him respect by standing up were the ones conspiring against his life. Those that were afraid to meet in public while planning the attack had the audacity to put their plan in motion confident that none of the other fifty other