Who Is Julius Caesar Tragic Hero
Many scholars often debate whether Julius Caesar or Brutus was the tragic hero of Shakespeare's famous play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Both characters were prominent people who had a tragic flaw that ended with their downfall. While both men could have easily been the tragic hero Brutus fits that role better.
Marcus Brutus could be considered the tragic hero of this play for many reasons. Brutus is evidently a very prominent figure in Rome who has always had its best intentions in heart. Despite all of this Brutus like all tragic heroes had one major flaw. Brutus was far too trusting of others. This flaw has caused him to be deceived by others like the conspirators. An example of this deception is in 1.3 where Cassius writes letters in the hand writings of different romans to persuade Brutus to join the conspiracy. These letters work as
Brutus joins the conspirators soon after. Another example of this is when he asked Antony to speak at Caesar's funeral believing it would end peacefully. Antony being the skilled orator he was used that chance as an advantage …show more content…
and led the people to rebel against the conspirators ultimately leading to his downfall. Near the end of the play Brutus started to suffer much more than he should have such as in 4.3 where he says “ impatient of my absence, / And grief that young Octavius with Mark Antony / Have made themselves so strong—for with her death / That tidings came—with this she fell distract / And, her attendants absent, swallow'd fire.” Which means portia his wife is dead and he’s been having a hard time dealing with it. This is much more punishment than is needed for the death of one man. All of these reasons clearly shows that Brutus is the tragic hero of the story.
It is not hard to see why many believe that Caesar and not Brutus is the tragic figure in the story.
Caesar like Brutus is a prominent figure in Rome with a tragic flaw that led to his downfall and suffering he did not deserve. So why isn’t Julius Caesar the tragic hero? There are a couple of reasons for this. First Caesar unlike tragic heroes never realizes his mistake. Brutus at the end of the play realizes he should never have killed Caesar and that he should not have been so trusting of others like Antony and makes amends for it by killing himself with his own sword. Second, Julius isn’t presented in the play as a noble man like Brutus and more of an ambitious man as stated by Casca in 1.2 when he says that Caesar refused a crown three times but looked as if he would have loved to have it. With all things considered as close as Caesar is to being a tragic hero he doesn't fit the role of
one.
In conclusion, Brutus is the tragic hero of The tragedy of Julius Caesar. Marcus Brutus fits the role better than any other character including Caesar. Marcus Brutus is a noble prominent figure with a tragic flaw that leads to his downfall who suffers for his mistakes in a way that’s worse than he deserves. While Caesar does fit some of the criteria for a tragic hero he doesn’t fit it as well as Brutus. This proves that Brutus was the tragic hero of the story.
Marcus Brutus could be considered the tragic hero of this play for many reasons. Brutus is evidently a very prominent figure in Rome who has always had its best intentions in heart. Despite all of this Brutus like all tragic heroes had one major flaw. Brutus was far too trusting of others. This flaw has caused him to be deceived by others like the conspirators. An example of this deception is in 1.3 where Cassius writes letters in the hand writings of different romans to persuade Brutus to join the conspiracy. These letters work as
Brutus joins the conspirators soon after. Another example of this is when he asked Antony to speak at Caesar's funeral believing it would end peacefully. Antony being the skilled orator he was used that chance as an advantage …show more content…
and led the people to rebel against the conspirators ultimately leading to his downfall. Near the end of the play Brutus started to suffer much more than he should have such as in 4.3 where he says “ impatient of my absence, / And grief that young Octavius with Mark Antony / Have made themselves so strong—for with her death / That tidings came—with this she fell distract / And, her attendants absent, swallow'd fire.” Which means portia his wife is dead and he’s been having a hard time dealing with it. This is much more punishment than is needed for the death of one man. All of these reasons clearly shows that Brutus is the tragic hero of the story.
It is not hard to see why many believe that Caesar and not Brutus is the tragic figure in the story.
Caesar like Brutus is a prominent figure in Rome with a tragic flaw that led to his downfall and suffering he did not deserve. So why isn’t Julius Caesar the tragic hero? There are a couple of reasons for this. First Caesar unlike tragic heroes never realizes his mistake. Brutus at the end of the play realizes he should never have killed Caesar and that he should not have been so trusting of others like Antony and makes amends for it by killing himself with his own sword. Second, Julius isn’t presented in the play as a noble man like Brutus and more of an ambitious man as stated by Casca in 1.2 when he says that Caesar refused a crown three times but looked as if he would have loved to have it. With all things considered as close as Caesar is to being a tragic hero he doesn't fit the role of
one.
In conclusion, Brutus is the tragic hero of The tragedy of Julius Caesar. Marcus Brutus fits the role better than any other character including Caesar. Marcus Brutus is a noble prominent figure with a tragic flaw that leads to his downfall who suffers for his mistakes in a way that’s worse than he deserves. While Caesar does fit some of the criteria for a tragic hero he doesn’t fit it as well as Brutus. This proves that Brutus was the tragic hero of the story.