Brutus's Tragic Flaw Essay
Brutus: Nobility Marred by a Tragic Flaw
After reading The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, some readers interpret Julius Caesar as the tragic hero of the play. However, Brutus is the real tragic hero. A tragic hero is a character that is virtuous, but makes crucial errors in judgment or possesses a tragic flaw that leads to their downfall. The tragic flaw that mars Brutus is his rigid sense of moral and political principles. Unlike Caesar, Brutus was able to separate his public life from his private life, but this hinders him when making major decisions. His character held clear distinctions between honor, friendships and his devotion to Rome. Throughout the play, Brutus places too much trust within the conspirators, especially in Mark Antony, which is a crucial error in judgment. Brutus is the tragic hero in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar because of his stern belief in moral and political principles and his inflexible sense of honor and nobility.
First off, Brutus’s inflexible sense of honor made it easy for the conspirators to manipulate him. Brutus was very loyal to his close friends; however, when the future of Rome was taken into …show more content…
He misjudged Antony’s loyalty to Caesar and to Rome, calling him “but a limb of Caesar,” (Act II. Sc. I). Because of his altered perception in judgment, Brutus thought that every leader in Rome was as noble as him, acting for the good of the republic, which wasn’t entirely the case. Brutus was easily convinced that Mark Antony had joined the conspirators’ side after the death of Caesar and was unable to see through his false promises. Brutus never thought that the death of Caesar would provoke such a reaction from Antony because he assumed that every politician in Rome held clear distinctions between their private and public lives, concerning their duties in
After reading The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, some readers interpret Julius Caesar as the tragic hero of the play. However, Brutus is the real tragic hero. A tragic hero is a character that is virtuous, but makes crucial errors in judgment or possesses a tragic flaw that leads to their downfall. The tragic flaw that mars Brutus is his rigid sense of moral and political principles. Unlike Caesar, Brutus was able to separate his public life from his private life, but this hinders him when making major decisions. His character held clear distinctions between honor, friendships and his devotion to Rome. Throughout the play, Brutus places too much trust within the conspirators, especially in Mark Antony, which is a crucial error in judgment. Brutus is the tragic hero in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar because of his stern belief in moral and political principles and his inflexible sense of honor and nobility.
First off, Brutus’s inflexible sense of honor made it easy for the conspirators to manipulate him. Brutus was very loyal to his close friends; however, when the future of Rome was taken into …show more content…
He misjudged Antony’s loyalty to Caesar and to Rome, calling him “but a limb of Caesar,” (Act II. Sc. I). Because of his altered perception in judgment, Brutus thought that every leader in Rome was as noble as him, acting for the good of the republic, which wasn’t entirely the case. Brutus was easily convinced that Mark Antony had joined the conspirators’ side after the death of Caesar and was unable to see through his false promises. Brutus never thought that the death of Caesar would provoke such a reaction from Antony because he assumed that every politician in Rome held clear distinctions between their private and public lives, concerning their duties in