Did Brutus kill his beloved friend, Julius Caesar, in cold blood? Or was it justifiable homicide? These questions remain unanswered in the minds of many. However, upon further investigation, it is clear that there was no just cause for the murder of Julius Caesar. Is there ever really justification for murder, let alone the assassination of a brave, fearless, and selfless leader? What kind of person could murder a dear friend, regardless of said friend’s flaws? Even though there were others involved, Brutus was the key element in the assassination of Julius Caesar; he is guilty of premeditated, first-degree murder!
There are a copious number of ways to prove that Brutus is guilty of premeditated murder. However, there are three blatant signs that have become tremendously hard to ignore. The reasons the conspirators gave to justify the murder rang untrue. Brutus was Julius’s purported friend, but he killed him in cold blood. Being in on the conspiracy, Brutus could have warned Caesar of the impending attempt on his life.
Brutus and his fellow conspirators assassinated Julius Cae...
How was it possible that under the dictatorship and after the deification of Julius Caesar the Roman republic fell, when it had been structurally sound for four centuries before? When the republic was established around the end of the 6th century B.C.E., the Romans made clear that they wished to avoid all semblance of the monarchy that had ruled for two centuries before. (T.J. Cornell, The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC), London and New York: Routledge, 1995; p. 215) The rule of the Republic was to be split into powers of the senate and consuls, a system that worked for over four centuries. The republic would face problems with the rise of the first triumvirate in 60 B.C.E., involving Julius Caesar, Crassus and Pompey. The triumvirate gained power that was intended to be in the hands of the senate and Roman assembly. This paved way to a situation in which a single man could sweep up the political power that previously belonged to the entire senate. Julius Caesar would use this tactic, following his campaigns of Gaul and Britton, to take sole dictatorship over Rome. While there were previous cases which individuals had been appointed as dictator, usually by the senate to serve for six months in a time of war, Caesar was appointed dictator three separate times.. After declining his first dictatorship, Caesar was awarded two more reigns as dictator for one and ten years, respectively. At this point Caesar was praised by the Roman people for his various military victories and had been awarded several awards and honors by the senate. Having conquered much of the surrounding territories, spanning from northern Africa to Greece, and enacting several reforms, Caesar was in the pro...
Lastly, in source nine, the letter from Marcus Brutus to Gaius Cassius states, “I will meet him at his home on March 15th and bring him to the Senate. Here, this unthinkable but necessary crime shall take place.” In this letter Brutus clearly states that the crime (the assassination) will take place because Brutus lured Caesar there. In Source Eleven Marcus Brutus says, “I hate to betray Caesar but I love Rome even more,” Brutus says that he’s close friends with Caesar and would hate to ruin that, but he believes that Rome is in trouble since Julius is their ruler.
The Roman Republic can be explained as the period from 509 – 27 BCE, which the ancient Roman civilization exemplified a republican form of government; where the supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives. During the Roman Republic, the 2 most powerful, and main branches of government included the Consuls and the Senate. It was the Consuls who held supreme civil and military control over Rome; however the republic had precautions in place to avoid one of the consuls from exercising too much power, such as short one year terms, veto and the notion of 2 consuls to divide authority. The republic then also included the senate; where at first, senators were only chosen from the patrician class, but in time, plebeians joined their positions (Bradley, 1990). Throughout the history of the republic, the evolution of government was driven by the struggle between the aristocracy and the ordinary citizens. The demise of the republic resulted through a series of civil wars and powerful dominance of significant historical figures (Princeton.edu, 2014).
Brutus turned on his best friend and stabbed him in the back. In Julius Caesar’s final moments he noticed his best friend as a traitor. “Et tu, Brute! Then fall, Caesar”, these are Caesars last words as he is stabbed in the back by his friend. Since Brutus thought what he did was for Rome, he did not kill his best friend out of spite or hate he killed his best friend Julius Caesar so that Rome could live. Brutus was tricked into believing that Caesar would not be fit to be king, and would destroy the place Brutus loves, Brutus killed Caesar to protect Rome. Despite what Brutus did, he did only what he thought was the only thing he could do to save Rome. He thought not about his position he thought about the people. Yet he killed Caesar off
After the murderous confrontation, it was not too late to prevent the anger of Caesar’s allies and the citizens or, even, to avoid future civil war. But it was here that Brutus made his second and third mistakes. Marcus Brutus rose before the Roman populace and attempted to offer a justification of Caesar’s murder. His flawed judgment came when he deemed Antony trustworthy and allowed him to speak at Caesar’s funeral. Brutus naively let Antony draw the mob in his favor. No one could dare refute Antony’s impassioned pleas in behalf of Caesar.
Julius Caesar is remembered as one of the greatest military minds in history and credited with arranging the basis for the Roman Empire. Caesar’s military brilliance bought Rome more land and more power, which led into the increase of size and strength of Rome. Caesar’s dictatorship helped the strength in Rome. Julius Caesar was assassinated which lead to a monarchy that was ruled by Octavin. Caesar’s death caused an effect to the collapse of the Roman Empire. Many people today in the 21st century try and follow the greatness of Julius Caesar. The assassination of Julius Caesar was a tragedy with the contributions Caesar made to strengthen Rome’s success.
Brutus was a devious man, even though what he thought he was doing was right. Brutus told his fellow conspirators to kill Caesar “boldly, but not angerly.”(3.1.256-257) Brutus was one of Caesars right hand men, and yet Brutus kills his own friend. When Antony asks to speak at Caesars funeral, Cassius says no, but Brutus tell him that Antony will speak, but only what Brutus tells him to say. Brutus also embraces the fact that he just killed his friend, and also tells the senators who had just witnessed it to not be afraid, but to stay because ambition has paid its debt.
In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, I saw two main characters as tragic heroes. First, I saw Julius Caesar as a tragic hero because his will to gain power was so strong that he ended up losing his life for it. The fact that he could have been such a strong leader was destroyed when he was killed by conspirators. I saw Marcus Brutus as a second tragic hero in this play. Brutus was such a noble character that did not deserve to die. The main reason why he did die, however, was because he had led a conspiracy against Caesar and eventually killed him. These two characters were the tragic heroes of the play in my opinion.
William Shakespeare's play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, was mainly based on the assassination of Julius Caesar. The character who was the mastermind behind the assassination was, ironically, Marcus Brutus, a senator and close friend to Julius Caesar. But what would cause a person to kill a close friend? After I examined Brutus' relationship towards Caesar, his involvement in the conspiracy and his importance to the plot it all became clear. Brutus had one particular reason for killing Caesar and that was for the good of the people and the republic. Brutus had no personal reason for killing Caesar. Some of his most admirable traits were his morality and leadership skills.
Throughout most of the play Brutus is constantly internally conflicted. Does he do what he believes is best for Rome or stay loyal to his friend and leader? Should he assist in the murder of one person to benefit many? Although killing Caesar was in the end a bad choice, Brutus always tries to do what is best for Rome and for the people. However even though all of Brutus’ motives are good he still has the tragic flaw of pride, which ultimately leads to his downfall. The reason that Brutus gets caught up in the conspiracy is because Cassias appeals to his pride and flatters him with forged letters from the Roman people saying he is a greater leader then Caesar.
As a “speculative man of high motives and refined sensibility”(Catherine C. Dominic) Brutus does have his confusion of motives. Act I, scene ii, is the first we see his weakness, “his concern with reputation and appearance, his subtle vanity and pride”(Gayle Green). Yet the main bases of Brutus’s bewilderment of motives takes place in Act II, scene I, with his famous soliloquy beginning with “It must be by his death”. This speech may be the turning point in which Brutus feels better about the assassination of his once called friend.
Julius Caesar was a great leader, strategist, and thinker. On the 15th of March, 44 B.C., he was stabbed by members of the roman senate and bled to death. This gruesome homicide has been reviewed by many historians, but the most famous account is “Julius Caesar” by Shakespeare. Throughout reading this play, the audience must make the hard decision between whether or not they believe Brutus’ motives were justifiable, or if Caesar was the victim of a cruel, heinous crime. This opens up the question, is murder ever justifiable?
Tragedies most often refer back to the actions of men. The play Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, provides a good example to how the quote is shown to be accurate." The calamities of tragedy do not simply happen, nor are they sent [by the gods]: they proceed mainly from actions, and those actions of men." This statement is profoundly proven through the past and present actions of the conspirators throughout the play. From the beginning of the play, the reader can identify who will necessarily betray and plot to murder Caesar.
	In Julius Caesar William Shakespeare illustrated Caesar as a tragic hero by showing that he was a noble man of high rank, by showing that he was a historical figure with a tragic flaw which lead to his downfall, and by showing that Caesar accepted his fate of death & achieved honor and respect in his death. There is a contradiction between who the main tragic hero of Julius Caesar is. Can there possibly be 2 main tragic heroes in one book? If Julius Caesar wasn’t the main tragic hero of the book then why is the book named after him?
Throughout many of Shakespeare's plays, a tragic hero is identified; a heroic figure that possesses a character flaw that leads to his defeat. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, there has been controversies over who is actually the tragic hero. Many people agree that Marcus Brutus is the tragic hero. However, others argue and identify Julius Caesar as the tragic hero. After examining these two characters, a conclusion is easily drawn. Brutus is the tragic hero of this play because when a person who possesses such heroic qualities dies, it is a true tragedy.