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Shergill

Rehmat Shergill

Mr. Tracy

ENG2D

December 13, 2019

Why Marcus Brutus is the tragic hero of William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar

To be a tragic here, there are characteristics you must have and in William Shakespeare’s play

Julius Caesar, Marcus Brutus is the true tragic hero. Marcus Brutus is the real tragic hero of the

play because he is of noble descendant and is meant to achieve greatness whereas Julius Caesar

is not from a noble family. He is the tragic hero of Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar because he

relies too much on being honourable and lets that quality become his tragic flaw. Finally, he is

the tragic hero of Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar because his death evokes a sense of pity and

seems pointless, leaving the audience in shock. There are a lot of characters in Shakespeare’s

play that could be considered “tragic heroes” but Marcus Brutus is the only true tragic hero of

the play Julius Caesar.

Brutus is the real tragic hero of this play because he is of noble descendant and is meant to

achieve greatness whereas Julius Caesar is not of noble descendant. Brutus is the descendant of

Lucius Brutus who freed Rome from tyranny once and for all until Caesar tried to come into

power. “ There was a Brutus once that would have brook’d/ Th’eternal devil to keep his state in

Rome/ As easily as a king” (I.ii.159-161). Cassius is trying to persuade Brutus to join the

conspirators and provokes Brutus by mentioning his family member who helped overthrow the

last king and set into place a new system where the people vote for their leader. Once Cassius

mentions Brutus’ family’s legacy, he is more drawn to the idea of conspiring against Caesar.

Brutus’ reaction to Cassius shows that being from a noble family is very important to him and he
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takes pride in it. He lets himself get caught in Cassius’ words and joins the conspiracy. Brutus’

noble status is important in the play because it evokes fear in people when Brutus has his

downfall. “ And say to all the world, “This was a man!’ ( V.v.75). Anthony is honouring Brutus

and he says that Brutus was an honourable and noble man. One of the greatest men to ever live in

Rome. This is important is Shakespeare’s tragedy because it shows the audience that even a man

as noble as Brutus can have such a gruesome death, this is scary to the audience because if it can

happen to a noble man, it can happen to the common people. This makes Brutus’ story scary to

the audience because they can relate to him as an honest man much like common people rather

as a politician and when he dies, the audience has an emotional reaction to it. Brutus’ name in

society is what makes him a trusted leader, the fact that he is from a noble family gives the

people of Rome a sense of security, they trust him because his family is already known for being

honourable whereas, Caesar does not have that kind of trust from the people of Rome. “That he

is grown so great? Age, thou art sham’d!/ Rome, thou hast lost the breed of noble bloods!”

(I.ii.150-151). Cassius is convincing Brutus to join the conspiracy and he tells him that he is the

one with noble blood so, he is more trusted by the people of Rome whereas, Caesar is just a

soldier. This makes Brutus the tragic hero because he is above Caesar in terms of name so, he

should not have died because he is noble and so, his death never should have happened. The

people of Rome look up to Brutus’ family for years so, when they see him fall, they lose faith

and it is tragic. Brutus’ noble stature makes him a tragic hero because he is meant to be above the

common people and should not die in such a wasteful way which is why when Brutus dies

everyone is upset but Caesar's death is not as important because he is only a common man who

rose to power and does not have it in his blood.

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Marcus Brutus is the tragic hero of Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar because he relies too

much on being honourable and lets that quality become his tragic flaw. Brutus prides himself in

his nobility and honour and it is the most important quality for him. “ By heaven, I had rather

coin my heart/ And drop my blood for drachmae than to wring/ From the hard hands of peasants

their vile trash.” (VI.iii.72-74) . Brutus is telling Cassius that he would never steal money from

the people of Rome because he is an honourable man. This solidifies Brutus’ character and

proves him to a man, who does not consider different perspectives of an issue. Although being

honourable is a great quality, Brutus relies on it too much, to the point where it becomes his

hamartia. At the beginning of the play, Brutus must decide whether he is going to revolt against

Caesar and to make that decision he relies solely on his honour and nobility. “Shall Rome stand

under one man’s awe?/ What Rome?/ My ancestors did from the streets of Rome.” (II.i.51-53).

Brutus is talking about letting Caesar become the king. He says that Caesar should not become

king because and his reason for that is because his ancestors once freed Rome from tyranny and

now as an honourable man, it is his job to do the same. This proves Brutus as the tragic hero

because although he is a good man with a good heart, he lets his honour and nobility cloud his

judgement and take away his ability to look at different perspectives of an issue. His honour and

nobility once his greatest trait become his hamartia. Brutus uses the idea of being honourable and

noble as an excuse for his decisions. “That every Roman bears, and nobly bears/ Is guilty of a

several bastardy” ( II.i.137-138). Brutus says that every Roman is noble and honourable and that

is why he must take down Caesar. This proves that Brutus made his decision to kill Caesar and

uses his honour as a Roman, as an excuse so, he has a reason to kill him. This shows us how

Brutus uses the idea of honour and manipulates it to fit his needs. By reading these quotes and

analyzing Brutus’ character it can be seen how deeply he relies on the idea of honour and
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nobility. He takes a great trait and manipulates it to a point where it is no longer a benefit to him

but rather his greatest flaw. Brutus’ obsession with honour ultimately leads him to his death.

Marcus Brutus is the tragic hero of Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar because his death

evokes a sense of pity and seems pointless, leaving the audience in shock. Brutus’ was an

innocent man who did not mean harm to anyone. In his mind, he made all of his decisions for the

good of Rome.” This was the noblest Roman of them all:/ All the conspirators, save only he,/

Did that they in envy of great Caesar./ He only, in a general honest thought” (V.v.68-71).

Anthony despite being Brutus’ enemy, is honouring him in front of his soldiers and grieving his

death. He says Brutus was a noble man who did not deserve to die. When Caesar was publicly

killed the people of Rome were not upset about his death because he was not an innocent man

who died because he made one mistake whereas when Brutus died even his enemies honoured

him and grieved his death. This proves Brutus as the true tragic hero because his death leaves an

impact on the characters and the audience. It leaves a sense of promise unfulfilled. It shows that

despite being a good man Brutus did not get his happy ending, which is what tragedies are about.

Brutus brings the tragedy in Shakespeare’s play. The people of Rome trust Brutus because of his

family and are closer to him than Caesar so, when he dies, they feel as if they have lost family. “

The noble Brutus is ascended, silence!” (III.ii.11). In this, the people of Rome are supporting

Brutus after he killed Caesar with the other conspirators. This shows that they trust Brutus and

have respect for him. So, when he dies, the audience feels catharsis because Brutus was trusted

by the common people so, as common people, we can relate to them and understand what they

must feel losing a politician as noble as Brutus. The fact that Brutus truly does everything for the

good of Rome makes him a very special politician especially in today’s time so, when he dies in

such a pointless way, it is sorrowful for the audience. “ According to his virtues let us use him,/
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With all respect and rites of burial.” (V.v. 76-77). Here, Octavius is honouring Brutus for his

truly pure intentions. This shows the audience that Brutus cared about Rome and did not mean

any harm. This creates Catharism because he was a pure man who should have lived and did not

deserve to die. Because of Brutus’ pure intentions, the audience feels Catharism for him,

especially because he dies because he only made one mistake.

Due to these reasons, Marcus Brutus is the tragic hero of the play, Julius Caesar. He is the

tragic hero because he is from a noble family and has the trust and love of the people of Rome

whereas Caesar does not. He is the tragic hero because of his obsession with being honourable,

his only flaw and causes his death. Finally, he is the tragic hero because is death is unnecessary

and is disappointing to the audience. Although Caesar's story is sad, he is not the true tragic hero

of this play, Marcus Brutus is.