Marcus Brutus As A Tragic Hero

The drama Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare takes place in ancient Rome. The city was once ruled by the remarkable Pompey who is now deceased. The city now hails Julius Caesar with all his power. Cassius, a friend of Marcus Brutus, does not believe Caesar should be in power. His goal is to kill Julius Caesar and have Marcus Brutus rule Rome. Although some believe that Julius Caesar is the tragic hero, an extensive reading of Julius Caesar displays that Marcus Brutus is the tragic hero of the drama. To start, it is noticeable that Brutus was of high rank in society. Moreover, Brutus seems to us as a worthwhile person. Finally, Brutus has a tragic flaw that leads to his downfall. In the beginning of the drama, it is clear that Marcus Brutus is of high rank society. In act I, Casca says “O, he sits high in all the people’s hearts” (1.3.162) with that, the conspirators wanted Brutus to help kill Caesar because if they have Brutus come along with them, their questionable acts will
His flaw is his trustworthiness. He says that he joined the conspirators because “ not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” (3.2.23-24). He joined the conspirators under the impression that he was preventing Caesar’s domination and saving Rome. Also, he trusts the intentions of the other conspirators. As he entered their group, he was also responsible for Caesar’s murder and their movement of their plot. Literary critic Anne Paolucci says, “ Brutus is misled into mistaking the potential Caesar for the actual Caesar.” Showing that Brutus was never able to see what the actual Caesar was like because he was told to focus on the potential Caesar had. Although it is true that Caesar had a tragic flaw that led to his downfall such as his arrogance, Brutus trustworthiness led to much larger issues. Shown this, it is clear that Brutus’s flaw of trustworthiness was caused by the conspirators and led to his