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Research Paper On Julius Caesar Tragic Hero

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Tragic Hero
The play Julius Caesar was written by William Shakespeare around 1599. The play is about the actual events of the death of Julius Caesar and the conspiracy around it. The play revolves around the Caesar's death and the men who killed him. The main characters are Julius Caesar, Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony), Cassius, and Marcus Brutus. Although the play is titled Julius Caesar, it is really about the most honorable Brutus, who is the tragic hero. A tragic hero is a person that is honorable and is born of noble birth or has a noble upbringing. Like everyone, they have a flaw that makes them who they are, even though they are a hero. The flaw will tend to be the downfall of the hero, thus the tragedy part of his heroism. Brutus …show more content…

He thought Antony would not speak out against Brutus since Caesar is dead, so he lets him live. Brutus said Antony “ For Antony is but a limb of Caesar….for he can do no more than Caesar's arm when Caesar's head is off.” (2.1.165-182). He believed that they should only kill Caesar for justice and there would be no reason to kill Antony also. “He insisted in the first place that they should act only with strict justice.” (Simmons, 64). Brutus also made a massive mistake when he let Antony speak at Caesar's funeral. Brutus convinced all the plebeians that Caesar's assassination would benefit them and Rome, but he let Antony speak. Antony was able to convince them that Brutus and the conspirators were wrong and no more than low down bloody backstabbers. Brutus and the conspirators had to flee, because Antony was so effective at convincing the crowd they were evil. The third choice Brutus made that lead to his demise was his declaration of victory before the battle was won. His troops quit fighting and started to plunder and raid the countryside before the battle was really over. Also Cassius was losing his battle, but Brutus did not go help him. Brutus wanted to kill Caesar for the Republic. He believed if Caesar was assassinated Rome would not have to fall under the oppression of another tyrannical ruler and have to fight against him to restore order. He believed that the means of protecting Rome justified the cause. Brutus plan was overturned though by Antony's speech and the uprising of the people against Brutus. He was killed and the Republic

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