The Tragic Hero in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
William Shakespeare was born on 23rd April 1564, in
Stratford-upon-Avon. He had no university education. It is stated that
he became a country schoolmaster, but there is no record of his early
career. Shakespeare was established as a play-write by 1592, he
eventually wrote 37 plays. One of his famous plays is "Julius Caesar"
this is a fictional story set in Rome around the rule of Julius
Caesar. After a bloody civil war Caesar was appointed Dictator after
defeating the previous ruler of Rome, Pompey. Many Romans greeted
Caesar with open arms and were not concerned by the fact he had
recently vanquished their former leader. Although some thought Caesar
was weak and therefore not worthy to rule. One of these people is
Cassius. Cassius decides to form a conspiracy to over throw Caesar. To
start he needs to convince Brutus to join the conspiracy as Brutus is
a highly respected man in Rome. Eventually he agrees and joins the
conspiracy as he thinks it would be for the good of Rome. The murder
takes place just before Caesar is to be crowned emperor in front of
many citizens of Rome. Brutus convinces the manic plebeians that the
murder was for the good of Rome and that Caesar would have been its
downfall. Mark Anthony, Caesar's good friend also to the crowd and
undoes Brutus's clever wording and turns the Romans against the
conspirators. The play ends with Mark Anthony and his army winning a
civil war against Cassius and Brutus and their pitiful army of
conspirators. "Julius Caesar" is a cross between a Shakespearean
tragedy and history play. These types of plays usually include a
"tragic hero".
A Shakespearean tragic hero generally has these criteria: usually high
n society, normally men, generally a flaw in character, flaw causes
tragedy, usually die after great suffering, downfall arouses the
audiences sympathy, downfall involves conflict and twists of fate and
tragedy conveys a sense of forces greater than mortals.
One of the criteria of a Shakespearean tragic hero is 'being high in
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is the story about the men who conspired and followed through with the assassination of the great Julius Caesar. These men fear that Caesar will take the crown and become the next king of Rome. The roman people had a true averse feeling toward the idea of monarchy. So in order to prevent this they come up with a plan to end Caesars life, which is duly followed through on March 15, 44 B.C. Out of these conspirators there is one man that stands out to be a tragic hero, and that is a man by the name of Brutus. He was a great friend of Caesar who ultimately became one of Caesars worst adversaries. He betrayed Caesars trust and friendship when he agreed to be part of the assassination plot. A tragic hero is someone who is in a place of high standings or a place of power. This leads to a huge fall from greatness to death. A tragic hero must have many deep complex character flaws that are revealed throughout the course of the story. They then must ultimately accept responsibility for their mistakes; along with being humbled and enlightened. Brutus demonstrates all of the attributes of a tragic hero.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare portrays the 44 BC plot against the Roman dictator Caesar, his assassination and the downfall of the conspirators at the Battle of Philippi.
In the play the Life and Death of Julius Caesar (just as in all of Shakespeare’s tragedies) there is much death, much tragedy, and of course, a tragic hero. However unlike most of Shakespeare’s plays this time the tragic hero is not particularly obvious. Throughout the play a few main characters present themselves as possibilities for being the tragic hero. But as being a tragic hero is not only having a tragic flaw but also entails much more, there really is only one person to fit the mold. The character Brutus is born into power and is higher/better then we are. He has a tragic flaw that causes his downfall and at the end he realizes his mistake (a trait none of the other characters can really claim).
Was Julius Caesar a hero, or a villain? That question may be a tough decision for some to answer. He did some marvelous things, and he did some awful things, but overall Julius Caesar was a hero. Caesar was a great leader because he was a skilled general during battle, fed and provided for the poor, and governed Rome by himself. Caesar may have made some bad decisions in his life, but over all he helped Rome in copious amount of ways.
In the play "Julius Caesar" written by shakespeare shows very tragic irony throughout the course of the play. Julius Caesar was played as the heroic figure that everyone had charished and loved. Roman general and statesman Julius Caesar turned the Roman Republic into the powerful Roman Empire. Though he had some flaws that Cassius began to find out that was so called his friend. He still liked him and so did all people of Rome. As the historical figure they thought of him the same he changed Rome by showing everyone that he was a great leader, and warrior. He was also a hero and also had many flaws of his own. Although many years have passed people still think of Julius Caesar a leader and the face of Rome. Literally because he has statue's all over the place there.
Julius Caesar is a play written by William Shakespeare that takes place in the year 44 B.C. in Rome. This play is based on a true event-- the assassination of the ruler, Julius Caesar, by the traitorous conspirators that stood beside him at the capitol. This group of conspirators consisted of Marcus Brutus, Cassius, Casca, Trebonius, Ligarius, Decius Brutus, Metellus Cimber, and Cinna. This play is a tragedy, meaning that it is a work that brings the main character or characters extreme suffering, usually at the fault of one or several tragic flaws. The possession of one or more tragic flaws is what marks the difference between a hero and a tragic hero.
Imagine yourself listening to a political debate, undecided as to which leader you agree with. One candidate begins to speak about unjust societal issues, such as the horrifying amount of people in the world that do not have food on their table. The candidate also begins to touch upon the topic of taxes and how he will lower them if he is elected. You find yourself being persuaded in the direction of emotions and morals. The power of language used to appeal others is not only present in the modern world, but also in the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, written by famous English playwright William Shakespeare. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar portrayed a story of how an aspiring leader, Julius Caesar, is assassinated by a group of schemers, lead by Marcus Brutus, who disagreed with Caesar’s decrees and ways of governing. Over the course of the text, it demonstrated the use of two rhetorical charms: ethos and pathos. While ethos refers to the moral and ethical appeal and pathos invokes to the emotional aspect, each one was evidently shown in the funeral speech for Caesar given by his best friend, Mark Antony. Prior to Antony’s speech, Brutus had given the plebeians a synopsis of what had occurred. However, Mark Antony knew that what Brutus had told the plebeians was false. In such manner, he allured the plebeians onto his side of the tragedy by touching upon ethical and emotional appeals.
The William Shakespeare play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar tells the story of the assassination of Julius Caesar and the eight conspirators behind it. The play takes place in 44 B.C. in Rome. Marcus Brutus is the protagonist and face-man of the insidious conspiracy. He is also the tragic hero in this classic work of literature. Aristotle’s definition of the tragic hero is a character that has a character flaw, also known as hubris, and experiences a downfall from a high position in society due to this flaw. After this downfall, a tragic hero experiences an enlightenment. Brutus fits Aristotle’s description perfectly. Brutus has a severe character flaw and experiences a downfall from a high position in society. However, he is an honorable character that truly provokes sympathy from the audience.
William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is the illustration of the demise of many respectable men. Typical of a tragedy, one character of high social standing experiences numerous downfalls brought on by a character flaw. This character is eventually brought to his or her knees by the misery and sorrow brought upon by these mistakes. It is at this point that the character realizes their flaws and changes their outlook. In Shakespeare’s tragedy, the tragic hero is Julius Caesar. In the play, Shakespeare molds Caesar’s character into an ambiguous personality. While Caesar is depicted as an ignorant and deserving tragedy, he is an often-overlooked hero as well. The omnipotent ruler appears to be quite respectable socially in the play’s exposition. However, as the story unravels several of his imperfections are introduced. The blemishes of Caesar’s personality soon lead to his untimely death. At his fall, Caesar realizes his faults and wrongdoings. Thus Caesar is overall an effective and sympathetic tragic hero.
It is evident that Julius Caesar is William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is a tragic hero given that he is of noble stature, has a fatal flaw and comes to an unhappy end. . In Julius Caesar, Shakespeare brings Caesar to a tragic It is shown that Caesar is a tragic hero when he is wronged by the people nearest and dearest to his heart. One reason Caesar died an unhappy death is because of the way he was killed. For example, Octavius says, “Never, till Caesar’s three and thirty wounds/ be well aveng’d; or till another Caesar/ Have added slaughter to the sword of traitors” (V.i.53-55).
Manipulation influences decisions and changes others’ thoughts. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, manipulative language acts prominently between the characters. Brutus struggles to decide if the safety of the Roman Republic appears more important than his friendship with Julius Caesar. Cassius tries to persuade him to join the conspiracy that decides to kill Caesar. Envious of Julius Caesar’s power, the Senators believes that when Caesar becomes ruler, the change of government forever affects Rome. Brutus agrees that it seems for the best of Rome for Caesar never to become dictator, but he never wishes to change his opinion on his death. In a persuasive manner, Cassius sends anonymous letters to Brutus to convince him to join the conspiracy. The conspiracy consists of senators and aristocrats who gather to converse about the Julius Caesar’s assassination. Cassius nominates Brutus as the leader of the conspiracy in order to gain his vote. They decide to kill Caesar on “the Ides of March.” On the morning of March 15th, Caesar’s wife persuades him to stay home because of an eerie dream. Decius, a conspirator, convinces him that the dream retains good omens. In a rush to become king, Caesar goes to the Capitol where the conspirators murder him. Therefore, Antony begs to speak at his funeral where he convinces the plebeians that Caesar never means harm. At this point, Antony declares war on the Caesar’s killers. In the end, he defeats Brutus and Cassius, and the two conspirators kill themselves. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare declares that language expresses a powerful weapon, and in the hands of a skilled person, it manipulates others through the use of foreshadowing, imagery, and verbal irony.
	Shakespeare illustrated Caesar as a tragic hero by showing that he was a historical figure with a tragic flaw which lead to his death. Julius Caesar took over most of the Roman Empire and his events are very important to history. First, Julius Caesar is very historical because if he wasn’t then, we would not be talking about him today. As Cassius ironically said, "...How many ages hence /Shall this our lofty scene be acted over in states unborn..." (III,i,112-113). Secondly, Every tragic hero has a tragic flaw that leads them to their death and one of Julius Caesar’s flaw was arrogance. As Caesar himself said, "But I am constant as Northern Star.../There is no fellow in the firmament" (III,i,60-62). Finally, Caesar made a big mistake which lead him to his downfall when he didn’t take the soothsayer’s warning. Again this was the fact that Caesar was arrogant. The soothsayer said warning Caesar, "Beware of ides of March" (I,ii,23) then Caesar replied that the soothsayer was a fake, and to dismiss him.
From the absolute power of ancient kings and medieval monarchs to the tyrannical dictators of today, political corruption has been a persistent aspect of governed societies since their emergence early in human existence. In the quest for power, individuals create furtive conspiracies to overthrow governments and destroy policies. The presence of political corruption and conspiracy in Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is prominent, as Brutus and Mark Antony conduct opposing conspiracies in relation to corruption in the Roman government. Shakespeare depicts Antony’s emotional drive, ability to set aside honor, and capacity to use manipulative language as additive to the strength of his conspiracy. These qualities allow his conspiracy to undermine Brutus and, in doing so, emphasize Brutus’ flaws of uncertainty, excessive accentuation of honor, and naïveté.
His legacy studied for long after his death and the most well known ruler of Rome. An ambitious leader, some might say he was a hero or a villain. I fully believe that Julius Caesar was a villain because he was arrogant toward the Roman senate, he wanted glory at the cost of the republic, and he treated his defeated enemies with cruelty.
The conspirators, Brutus and Cassius being the most important, assassinate Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius, better known as Antony, and Octavius Caesar, Caesar's heir to the throne, revenge Caesar's death. Antony convinces the Roman populous to destroy the conspirators and eventually begins a war with Cassius and Brutus' armies. Both Cassius and Brutus commit suicide to save their honor, and Antony and Octavius win the war. The characterizations of Brutus and Cassius show a distinct contrast in their character traits and motives for the assassination of Julius Caesar. The play Julius Caesar depicts Brutus to be an extremely noble being who is well respected and honored by all Romans, even his enemies.