Julius Caesar essay

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William Shakespeare is one of the greatest playwrights of all time. He has written over 30 plays that include comedies, histories, and tragedies. One of his greatest tragedies is the story of Julius Caesar. A tragedy is about the downfall of a tragic hero. The tragic hero’s downfall is caused because of this tragic flaw. Honor and loyalty are the two tragic flaws that Brutus obtains. His loyalty to the city of Rome is the strongest out of all the characters in the play. However, his honor can be somewhat controlling and he is a perfect example of a person believing something he wants to hear. Brutus joins the conspiracy because he thinks killing Caesar is best for the good of Rome, for he says, “I know no personal cause to spurn at him, but for the general (II, i, 11-12).” This is showing that Brutus is willing to kill his best friend to save Rome because he “thinks” he is becoming a tyrant. Cassius is the main reason as to why Brutus believes this and that is because Cassius tricked him into joining the conspiracy. By saying, “Give me your hands all over (II, i, 112),” Brutus joins the conspiracy thinking everyone wants to kill Caesar for the good of Rome, when they are really doing it for power. This is a prime example of Brutus’s loyalty being taken advantage of. Having been tricked, his wife dying, and his death, Brutus had the biggest downfall of all the characters in the play. Antony, Caesar’s right hand man, pursues his main objective of keeping his loyalty to Caesar. He truly saw Caesar for what he was, a noble Roman. Antony uses reverse psychology when speaking to the crowd by continuously saying, “And Brutus is an honorable man (III, ii, 70-104).” This shows that Antony kept the people of Rome against the conspiracy in... ... middle of paper ... ...ced was his death. One problem he had was when the people of Rome shouted with joy after he turned the crown down three times (I, ii, 220-250). After that, he became so overwhelmed by the people’s reaction that he fainted in front of everybody, showing that he was weak and not as omniscient as he thought he was. During the storm, his wife Calpurnia told him not to go to the capital because he will die; then, Decius comes and flatters him into going anyway (II, ii, 8-107). This is an example of dramatic irony because at the beginning of the play, Caesar says he hates flattery. A short time later Caesar is killed by his “best friend” because of his hubris and high self-esteem. Caesars mix of emotions between his public self and his inner self leads to his death, since he mistakenly believes that his god-like abilities to the public will somehow save his mortal body.

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