In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, has a tragic hero. A play that has a tragic hero is called a tragedy. A tragic hero is a person who, as a result of some tragic flaw or shortcoming in his personality, makes a mistake(s) in judgment which brings about misery, loss of moral dignity, great sorrow, and suffering. The tragic hero in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is Marcus Brutus. The first trait of being a tragic hero is having a tragic flaw. Marcus Brutus is a tragic hero because of his sense of honor. A tragic flaw is a factor of ones personality which leads them to a tragic down fall. Brutus puts his honor above everything else. Brutus thinks very highly of himself. Anytime someone would suggest a solution to a problem, Brutus would always win because he would over look their suggestions and make the opponent think Brutus has a better idea. Having a tragic flaw also causing the tragic hero to make mistakes. In the beginning of the play, Brutus’s makes many mistakes on his poor judgment. Brutus’s mistake is he allows himself to be brought into the conspiracy. Cassius throws fake letters at Brutus’s window, signed by various names. Cassius mislead Brutus making him think there are more people in support of their actions than there really are. Second and …show more content…
As his army and Cassius march to Philippi, they end up getting defeated. Cassius loses to Antony and he kills himself with the same dagger he used on Caesar. Brutus kills himself shortly after because he is defeated and is going to be taken in as a prisoner. Another consequence is Brutus letting Mark Antony speak at Caesar’s funeral. Since Brutus makes his own decisions, and won’t listen to what other people have to say. He let Antony speak to the people while he left the crowd. When Brutus left, Antony turned the whole crowd against the conspirators. Now Brutus and Cassius left because of his
The tragic flaw in Marcus Brutus was his pride. Brutus was lulled into the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar with Cassius’ flattery and also flattery in the form of letters forged by Cassius to appear that various Romans had lauded Brutus. Brutus would best fit Aristotle’s description of the tragic hero because of his pride—that is, pride in his integrity and pride in his reputation. Brutus’ pride in his integrity is demonstrated when Cassius approaches him because Brutus has “wronged” Cassius (p. 103-105) In a time of battle, Brutus attacked Cassius for defending a man who took bribes from the Sardians (p. 103).
But this fault also caused Brutus’ demise. With him trying to do anything (and he did anything) to protect Rome, which caused Cassius to be killed, Brutus to bottle up emotions, and in the end, Brutus killing
Then as the play continues with Brutus’ soliloquies, we start to question if Brutus is actually loyal to Caesar, or if he is so gullible that people can make him do anything. We as an audience find out that Brutus gave the final blow to kill Caesar showing how gullible Brutus is. First, we believe that Brutus is loyal to Caesar and doesn’t have any thoughts of killing Caesar, until Cassius pulls Brutus aside and speaks with him. Throughout the conversation,
Antony successfully convinces the crowd that Caesar was wrong. The plebeians turn into a mob against the conspirators. Antony says “ I have come to bury Caesar, not praise him.” He’s trying not to make people want to kill him, he wants the people to be on his
In many pieces of literature and in life, there are examples of tragic heroes. Tragic heroes are characters or people that hold great, virtuous traits who eventually face a tragic demise. From our previous reading, we were introduced to a tragic hero by the name of Brutus, a man who killed his best friend for the presumed good of Rome. Brutus faced a downfall in the end of the story and suffered, losing his wife and his life, and knowing that his actions were all for nothing.
Proving a Tragic Hero A character who makes a judgement or error that inevitably leads to his or her own destruction, defines a tragic hero, according to Aristotle. In William Shakespeare’s writings, one character generally identifies as a tragic hero. Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, comes from the true events that took place in Rome during the time that Caesar rose and gained power as dictator. After Pompey’s death in Egypt; caused by each of their power-hungry desires, Caesar declared himself dictator of Rome.
Caesar most likely would have become one of the most prosperous leaders of Rome. If Antony was also killed like Cassius wanted I believe Cassius would have started a rise to power that would lead to everything he said he was trying to prevent. Overall Cassius did more bad then good he manipulated his friends, allies he killed someone he said he loved, he lied to get revenge, and he killed out of greed. Brutus said he asked for money from Cassius to pay for his troops when you are about to go to war you do not help pay for an allies troops when they need it. You also don’t lash out and say you are better than your ally when you should be planning for the pressing battle.
Brutus also contains several other characteristics of a tragic hero. For example, Brutus possesses a hamartia. “Th’ abuse of greatness is when it disjoins/ Remorse from power; and, to speak truth of Caesar” (Shakespeare II.1.18-19). In this quote from the story, Brutus is saying that he believes Caesar would abuse the power of being crowned king.
Brutus fled his country where he eventually killed himself. While Brutus experiences an impactful turning point, Cassius ' actions and personality remain fairly constant within the negative traits. He represents gloominess from the beginning of the play; he is jealous, manipulative and pessimistic. “O coward that I am, to live so long to see my best friend ta 'en before my face.” (V.III.34-35).
Tragic Hero Essay One can say that the actions of a hero do not go well with the actions of the misguided, but when the actions of the hero and the misguided come together, they form a tragic hero. In most of William Shakespeare's plays, there is a tragic hero; a person who possess a tragic flaw that eventually leads to his downfall. In the play, Julius Caesar, the tragic hero can easily be identified as Marcus Brutus. When analysing the play, one will find that Brutus is the only one who fits the characteristics of a tragic hero. These characteristics are his Noble Personality, his Tragic Flaw, and the pity we feel for his honourable death.
Cassius saves the life of Caesar, sees him beg for water, and witnesses his epileptic seizure. From these weaknesses, Cassius finds himself to be just as worthy of the crown as is Caesar. His reasons are emotionally tied to getting rid of Caesar, Brutus chooses to become a conspirator for the good of Rome. He does not know how Caesar will use his power.
Brutus and Cassius are two prominent conspirators in the play Julius Caesar; one of these two fits Aristotle's depiction of a tragic hero. The difference between a normal hero and a tragic hero is that the latter will have a tragic flaw that keeps them from succeeding. These characters are often sympathetic and will cleave to the reader's pity. Firstly, we shall discuss Cassius. He was a man of questionable character.
In the play the tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, is mainly based on the assassination of Julius Caesar. The main conspirator, ironically, Marcus Brutus, a close friend and ally to Caesar. The character Marcus Brutus fits the description of a tragic hero. Like other tragic heroes, he portrays idealistic and pragmatic qualities. Brutus appears to be the most complicated character.
Cassius plays other tricks too to influence Brutus towards their plan. Finally, Brutus comes together with Cassius and they assassinate Caeser. However, this had very negative after effects. It ruined the life of most of the main characters as well as affected the lives of the people of the Rome. It resulted in a cold war and messed everything up.
“A true hero isn’t measured by the size of his strength but by the strength of his heart.” –Unknown. With a tragic flaw and the realization of a mistake that is too far gone to fix Marcus Brutus show the amount of strength he has through his heart. Brutus is clearly the tragic hero.