Marcus Brutus as a Tragic Hero Essay - 1002 Words

A tragic hero in Shakespearean literature is understood as a noble and heroic character who makes a series of bad decisions based on his bad judgment that leads to his downfall and eventually death. In William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, the tragic hero is Marcus Brutus, a powerful Roman senator who joins a conspiracy to assassinate the Roman ruler, Julius Caesar. Marcus Brutus is a tragic hero because of his noble reputation, his moral personality, the cathartic experience that the audience feels from his life and his tragic flaw: idealism. Brutus is a tragic hero because he is well-respected in Roman society. This is displayed when Cassius, Casca and Cinna are speaking about the conspiracy after the marathon on the feast of†¦show more content†¦This displays that Brutus has no personal resentment towards Caesar, but is doing what is best for the Roman people. Therefore, Marcus Brutus’s moral integrity shows in his decisions, which makes him a tragic hero. Moreover, Marcus Brutus displays qualities of a tragic hero because of his tragic flaw: idealism. Brutus shows his tragic flaw when he speaks to the conspirators after they assassinate Caesar, and he says, Stoop, Romans, stoop, And let us bathe our hands in Caesar’s blood Up to the elbows, and besmear our swords: Then walk we forth, even to the market-place, And waving our red weapons o’er our heads, Let’s all cry, ‘Peace, freedom, and liberty!’ (3.1.105–10). This shows that he wants the Romans to know that he killed Caesar for them. Also that by walking in public showing Caes ars blood on their hands openly he wants to display that theres no shame in what he did because he truly believes it was done with the best intentions at heart. Also, when Brutus meets with theShow MoreRelatedMarcus Brutus : A Tragic Hero2084 Words   |  9 Pagesto their naivety. In any case the incapability to reason turns out to be a flaw, and in the instance of Marcus Brutus, a tragic flaw. Reasoning is not characteristically present in Marcus Brutus. Brutus cannot look past his philosophical view of the world and consequently his reasoning is meddled with. This flaw he exhibits will eventually lead to his death. According to Aristotle, a tragic hero must be of noble stature and embody nobility, they cannot be perfect, their downfall must partially beRead MoreThe Tragic Hero Of Marcus Junius Brutus Minor Essay1418 Words   |  6 Pagesblock October 27, 2015 Tragic hero Marcus Junius Brutus Minor was the son of Marcus Junius Brutus Maior and Servilia Caepionis. His father was killed by Pompey the Great in dubious circumstances after he had taken part in the rebellion of Lepidus; his mother was the half-sister of Cato the Younger, and later Julius Caesar s mistress. Some sources refer to the possibility of Caesar being his real father,despite Caesar s being only 15 years old when Brutus was born. Brutus uncle, Quintus ServiliusRead MoreMarcus Brutus: The Tragic Hero Of Julius Ceasar972 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall.†(Aristotle). It should be noted that the Heroes downfall is his own fault as a result of his own free will, At times his death is seen as a waste of human potential. His death usually is not a pure loss, because it results in greater knowledge and awareness. In Julius Ceasar, William Shakespeare develops Marcus Brutus as the Tragic Hero whose ambition and naive ty in his blind confidence in the nobility of man sparked guidanceRead More Marcus Brutus as a Tragic Hero in Shakespeares Julius Caesar1441 Words   |  6 PagesMarcus Brutus as a Tragic Hero in Shakespeares Julius Caesar In the play Julius Caesar, the tragedy of the play was directed mainly at one specific character, Marcus Brutus. Brutus was the tragic hero of the play, because of his idealistic and pragmatic qualities. The mindset that Brutus possessed only allowed him to see the world and its people from one point of view. This point of view allowed him to make judgments that assumed only the best of people. This tragic weakness resulted in manyRead MoreEssay about Marcus Brutus: Praetor, Senator, and Tragic Hero858 Words   |  4 PagesMarcus Brutus: Praetor, Senator, and Tragic Hero The famous play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, written by the esteemed playwright William Shakespeare, details the plight of Marcus Brutus and the other Roman conspirators against the dictator Julius Caesar. There are several tragic heroes in this play who suffer extreme downfalls. A tragic hero is a character who was once in high regard or standing but encounters a series of terrible events that contribute to a giant downfall from that position.Read More Marcus Brutus as Tragic Hero in Shakespeares Julius Caesar Essays735 Words   |  3 PagesMarcus Brutus as Tragic Hero in Shakespeares Julius Caesar      Ã‚   In many stories there is a tragic hero. The hero finds out about himself and the people around him in the story. In Shakespeares play, Julius Caesar, Marcus Brutus is the tragic hero. The play Julius Caesar is about politics and betrayal in ancient Rome. Brutus is part of the senate, which is below Caesar, who is soon to be crowned. The senate wants to overthrow Caesar to save Rome. To do this the senate has to get BrutusRead MoreMarcus Brutus: Shakespeares Tragic Hero in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar1238 Words   |  5 PagesWilliam Shakespeare illustrates Marcus Brutus as a tragic hero in the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Shakespeare defines tragic hero as a flawed character who has good fortune, and then loses all he has prized, leading to his misfortune, but a tragic hero must have that moment of enlightenment, that moment where a character can see that he caused his own downfall and receives the blame for his own tragedy. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is ba sed on an historical event- the assassination of JuliusRead MoreMarcus Brutus: The True Tragic Hero in Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare576 Words   |  2 Pagesthe conspiracy, tries to recruit Marcus Brutus into the group because he believes it will make them look less like murderers and more like heroes. He agrees and helps carry out the assassination. The story continues after Caesar’s death with a series of disagreements between characters and ultimately a civil war involving Brutus and Cassius and their armies, and Mark Antony’s army. Even though the play is called Julius Caesar, Marcus Brutus is the real tragic hero because he is very well respectedRead MoreMarcus Brutus as the Tragic Hero in Shakespeares Julius Caesar1267 Words   |  6 PagesBrutus as the Tragic Hero in Shakespeares Julius Caesar Because of Shakespeares popularity among scholars and literary critics, his plays have been studied time after time. In the four hundred or so years since they were written, Shakespeares plays and other literary masterpieces have been categorized. Many of them, including Shakespeares portrayal of Julius Caesars murder and the resulting events for Rome and for Caesars conspirators, have been put into the tragedies category. AccordingRead MoreMarcus Brutus: The Tragic Hero in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar1069 Words   |  5 PagesShakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, the title leads the mind to believe that Caesar is the tragic hero; however, this is not the case. The noble Brutus is a much more accurate fit for the role of tragic hero. A tragic hero is a character with a tragic flaw that goes from good fortune to complete misfortune in a fairly quick downfall. Although some may argue that Caesar fits this depiction, Brutus is a better choice. He goes from the top of the social standings to international scumbag when