The Portrayal of Brutus as a Tragic Hero in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
Throughout the works of Shakespeare, tragedy has always been a vital
foundation and a key to his immense successes. His fine mastery of the
art became legendary amongst the audiences that watched his various
plays. Romeo and Juliet is a prime example of the tragedy he could
combine into a stage performance. An Irish poet named Oscar Wilde who
was a novelist, dramatist and critic in the late eighteen hundreds
once wrote, "There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting
what one wants, and the other is getting it." This has an exact
correlation to the play Julius Caesar where the tragedy lies in the
greed of a man who wants too much.
This particular play is based entirely upon dreadful choices leading
to demise. The character Brutus in particular is a key personality to
the structure of the play in his fall from honour. Being a man of
utmost glory and loyalty becomes his biggest weakness. In Act 1 Scene
2 we are presented with the pressure that Cassius weighs upon Brutus’
mind. In lines 79-80 the truth of Brutus’ troubles become clear. In
the heat of conversation he says “What means this shouting? I do fear
the people choose Caesar for their king”. This is the turning point in
the play as the stepping stones begin to fall in place and Brutus
reveals to the viewers his deep down uncertainty to the decision of
Caesar being crowned emperor.
Cassius is a very influential force in the corruption of Brutus. The
real change of heart for Brutus arrives in Act 2 Scene 1 when he
receives the letter (lines 46-47). The play begins to see him question
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understanding of sympathy and personal familiarities wasn’t shown
through the play then the audience would not feel the same emotions
and therefore would not have experienced the sorrows or have
empathized with Brutus’ predicaments that he got himself into.
Shakespeare plays on the audience’s personal tragedies and faults by
adding a character mislead by treachery and blinded with the pursuit
of an honour that was false from the start. If the audience was not
moved by the play, then the character would become wooden and the
effect would be obsolete. Brutus’ human faults of being vulnerable to
deceit and cunning are what make this character so lifelike. The
tragedy of this deluded character killing himself at the end of a
series of bad consequences brought forth by deception is what makes
him such a ‘tragic hero’.