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Characteristics of Shakespeare's historical plays
Features of tragic hero
Characteristics of tragic hero
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Shakespeare’s complex play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar contains several tragic heroes; a tragic hero holds high political or social esteem yet possesses an obvious character flaw. This discernible hubris undoubtedly causes the character’s demise or a severe forfeiture, which forces the character to undergo an unfeigned moment of enlightenment and shear reconciliation. Brutus, one of these tragic heroes, is a devout friend of the great Julius Caesar, that is, until he makes many execrable decisions he will soon regret; he becomes involved in a plot to kill the omniscient ruler of Rome during 44 B.C. After committing the crime, Mark Antony, an avid, passionate follower of Caesar, is left alive under Brutus’s orders to take his revenge on the villains who killed his beloved Caesar. After Antony turns a rioting Rome on him and wages war against him and the conspirators, Brutus falls by his own hand, turning the very sword he slaughtered Caesar with against himself. Brutus is unquestionably the tragic hero in this play because he has an innumerable amount of character flaws, he falls because of these flaws, and then comes to grips with them as he bleeds on the planes of Philippi.
Moreover, Brutus is considered a tragic hero first because of his numerous character flaws or hubrises. An example is Brutus’s flawed logic. By even deciding to kill Caesar for what he is ‘going’ to do, yet not by what he has done, Brutus sets himself up for failure. “‘And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg which hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous, and kill him in shell’”(911). Brutus’s reasoning for murdering Caesar in such cold blood is because he is afraid of what he could do or what he could become. However, this is clearly faulty logic, fo...
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...ation and well being of a country, people, and republic. “‘This was the noblest Roman of them all. All the conspirators save only he did that they did in envy of great Caesar; he, only in a general honest thought and common good to all, made one of them’”(998). Although a seemingly menacing traitor to his country at first, Brutus makes the journey to a sympathetic and noble tragic hero in the end.
In conclusion, Brutus is a tragic hero in this awe-inspiring play because he is burdened with countless character flaws that engender his inevitable awakening, enlightenment, and death. They also lead to his dramatic change from a despicable fiend, to a loved companion of Rome. Through massive loses, and profound change in character, Brutus is transformed into a kingly tragic hero.
Works Cited
Elements of Literature. Orlando: Holt, Winston, Rinehart, 2007
...tus truly defined the definition of being a tragic hero. He took a drastic fall from being high standing Roman senator to committing suicide on the battle field. He also had several fundamental character flaws that defined not only his future but it also defined history as we know it today. His illogical thinking allowed him to justify the killing of Caesar; and his kindness allows Mark Antony to live and become a mighty ruler of Rome. Brutus’ finally has a revelation and his eyes are opened once he is defeated on the battle field during The Battle Philippi. Brutus’ participation in the assassination of Caesar defined his life and the lives of those around him; it also affected the way we look at history today. Without his involvement in the conspiracy the Roman Empire would not have been the same. Brutus’ name will forever be affiliated with the death of Caesar.
A hero is defined by their actions in the real world. One may be a hero to a whole population of people or just one. No matter what, each of these heroes earn their titles through their actions. In the play, Julius Caesar, by Shakespeare, the main characters embodies the question of who the tragic hero is. On one end, the story consists of the military leader Caesar, who is going to become ruler, but is assassinated through waging fear that he is going to rule as a tyrant. On the other end, the story consists of the character Brutus who backstabbed his best friend, Caesar, to preserve Rome as a republic. To decide who the tragic hero is, one must look at the traits that help identify what makes up one. The definition of a tragic hero, consists of the traits of reputation, prosperity, virtue, and a tragic flaw. Both characters embody these traits, but Brutus is the clearer choice for being tragic hero.
The second reason why Brutus should not be a tragic hero is because he has a tragic flaw and this flaw leads to his ultimate downfall. The tragic Flaw for Brutus is his idealistic view of the world. He contracts this view about Caesar after Cassius persuades him by saying that Caesar will be a tyrant. Because of this, Brutus joins the conspirators and kills Caesar. This shows that Brutus, like other tragic heroes uses his tragic flaw and thus will cause his eventual defeat. Later in the play Brutus directs, as any ideological man would, to charge rather than wait for the enemy to attack. This is an excellent exemplar of the Brutus’s tragic flaw since Brutus did this so that he would not lose support in Rome.
The tragic hero is one of literatures most used (and sometimes abused) characters. The classical definition of a tragic hero is, “a person with heroic or potentially heroic qualities. The person is doomed by the Gods or some other supernatural force to destruction or suffering. The hero struggles against the fate, but due to a personal flaw, ultimately fails in the battle against fate. It is my personal opinion that Brutus,as he is portrayed in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, is a tragic hero by this definition. I came to this conclusion due to the fact that Brutus shares many similarities with other tragic heroes in literature such as Oedipus, Hamlet, and Ralph from Lord of the Flies. All four characters share the two critical traits that are needed to be tragic heroes: a tragic flaw that eventually leads to a tragic downfall. The tragic hero was defined by Aristotle, yet the “invention” of the tragic hero goes to Sophocles.
Brutus, in the novel Julius Caesar, went through three simple steps which are necessary in becoming a tragic hero. First he brought down Caesar thinking he had good intentions. Then he realized he had done wrong and knew that there would be consequences. Finally he went through a downfall, but even after death he was still honorable. Good intentions, realization, and an unfortunate but honorable downfall are the qualities that make Brutus a tragic hero and not a villain.
A few of the characteristics of a tragic hero that Brutus fits are that he is of noble birth, he has suffered a catastrophe, and he has a tragic flaw. Brutus is a descendant of Lucius Junius Brutus who is a founder of the Roman republic and with that had expelled the monarchy in Rome. A quote from Cassius that reveals this is, “There was a Brutus once that would have brooked Th’ eternal devil
Brutus’ tragic flaws are part of what makes him a tragic hero. In Julius Caesar, Brutus is a great example of a tragic hero. His tragic flaws are honor, poor judgement, and idealism (Bedell). In Shakespeare’s plays, the tragic hero and his flaws cause the downfall of the play (Tragic Flaws).
Displaying all aspects so far of a tragic hero, the final example is the end of the character himself due to his flaw. After both the killing of Caesar and also the speech by Mark Antony, both events perpetrated and influenced by Brutus, Rome goes into a bloody civil war as the people uprise with anger. Both Brutus and Cassius go into hiding at the end of Scene IV but when faced with the decision to go to war with Mark Antony they do. But in the end when his troops are defeated, and after seeing the Ghost of Caesar in his sleep, Brutus decided to kill himself saying, “The ghost of Caesar hath appear’d to me...I know my hour is come...Even for that our love of old I prithee, Hold thou my sword-hilts, whilst I run on it” (Act V. Scene V. Page 79.). Filled with personal guilt for sending Rome into civil war, Brutus’s fatal flaws lead to the killing of himself, and provide the final evidence of Marcus Brutus being the tragic hero of the
In tragedy plays, there is a character who suffers from a tragic flaw in his or her personality may it be excessive pride, poor judgement, or both which eventually leads to the hero’s downfall and makes the character the tragic hero. In Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Marcus Brutus is the tragic hero of the play due to his tragic flaw which is his naïve and over-trusting personality, which he eventually realizes too late but still aims to prevent his loss of dignity.
Through his legacy Brutus leaves the world an important lesson. Marc Antony remembers Brutus as "the noblest Roman of them all."( ) Despite his death and loss in the war, Brutus is still remembered as noble, in this he represents the moral of the play.
Greed, ambition, and the possibility of self-gain are always constant in their efforts to influence people’s actions. In Julius Caesar, Marcus Brutus, a venerable politician, becomes a victim of the perpetual conflict between power-hungry politicians and ignorant commoners. He is a man of honor and good intentions who sacrifices his own happiness for the benefit of others. Unfortunately, his honor is strung into a fine balance between oblivion and belief and it is ultimately the cause of his downfall. His apparent obliviousness leads him to his grave as his merciful sparing of Mark Antony’s life, much like Julius Caesar’s ghost, comes back to haunt him. Overall, Brutus is an honest, sincere man who holds the lives of others in high regard while he himself acts as a servant to Rome.
In conclusion, Brutus is the tragic hero in this play because of the mistakes that he makes, the fall that he takes, and the regrets that he feels after. Brutus will forever be labeled as a traitor, but in the end he is truly sorry for the mistakes that he makes. Because of this, Brutus is the tragic hero.
A tragic flaw is a person's shortcoming, such as pride, that influences a hero’s choices leading them to their catastrophe. Brutus’ tragic flaw is being credulous. Credulous means to be willing to believe or trust without having to be convinced, especially without proper or adequate evidence. Caius Cassius along with some of the other conspirators, wrote Brutus letters pretending that they were townspeople and saying that they are afraid that Caesar is getting too much power and it is getting to his head. These letters also asked Brutus if he could do something about Caesar so he would not change Rome. Brutus believed what these letters were saying, even though they were phony letters given to him just so he would join the conspiracy. In “Brutus’ Personal Failure Is the Central Tragedy”, Alice Shalvi says, “These letters we, however, know to come from wily Cassius, who realizes that there is no other way to win over an honorable man to commit an act of violence and evil than by making him believe the act to be honorable” (Shalvi 70) Brutus, not really knowing what he was getting into, joined the conspiracy to kill
Brutus was a loving friend of Julius Caesar and wished anything but death on his comrade, but his love and dedication to the majestic city of Rome would force him to commit anything. He fights a war to defend Rome from a king or emperor's tyrannical rule. When the war was over, even his enemies saw that he was the most respectable Roman of them all. This (Brutus' body) was the noblest Roman of them all. All conspirators, save only he did what they did in envy of great Caesar....
A tragic hero is the antithesis for the common protagonist. Most protagonists show how they overcome great obstacles however, the tragic hero shows a more humane character, that stumbles and falls. The tragic hero usually exhibits three specific traits that lead to his or her downfall. In the play, Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, the characters of Brutus and Caesar both exhibit the three attributes of a tragic character. The first trait of any tragic hero is a high rank and potential for greatness. Both Brutus and Caesar hold his trait, as they are beloved high ranking Romans. The second characteristic a tragic hero must possess; is a fatal flaw that dominates their personality, and Brutus’ sense of justice and Caesar’s ego, fulfill this