A Tragic Hero In The Tragedy Of Julius Caesar

There are many ways to define a tragic hero. But the most commonly accepted definition is Aristotle’s. He stated that a tragic hero must have five specific qualities; they must be born into nobility, they must have a tragic flaw that leads to their ultimate demise, their flaw must then cause their downfall, they must have a tragic realization that they made a mistake, and the audience must feel empathy that this character died. In William Shakespeare 's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, all of these traits are attributed to one character, Brutus, he is born of noble birth, he has a hamartia, a peripeteia, an anagnorisis, and the audience feels catharsis when he reaches his demise. Marcus Brutus firstly fits the definition of a tragic hero because …show more content…
Throughout the play, Brutus makes it a point to not deceive anyone. Everything he does, he does for the benefit of someone else. Caesar was murdered by him with only the best intentions of Rome in his mind, he lied to Portia because he knew she was already stressed out, and he was reluctant to join the conspirators because he cared for Caesar. In his funeral speech to Caesar, he says “Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more” Brutus loves Rome enough to commit murder on a man that saved his life (III. ii. 21-22). Then, Brutus proves how trusting he is, which has a large hand in his ultimate demise, he believes that no one wants to trick him and that everyone loves Rome as much as he does. He honestly thinks that the conspirators want to kill Caesar for the good of Rome and not because they are jealous of his potential power. Furthermore, he believes Antony will respect that Brutus did not want Antony to blame the conspirators when he gives his funeral speech to Caesar. Brutus believes that his fellow countrymen have the same values. The hamartia that Brutus deals with can be considered good traits in some men, but in his case are only his downfalls they are that he has a noble personality and is very undoubting in his fellow countrymen’s …show more content…
He exhibits every single element of a tragic hero according to Aristotle. He was born itno noble blood, he has a tragic flaw that leads to his downfall, he falls from grace, he has atragic reconigition, and the audience feels empathy yet satisfaction when he reaches his end. Brutus fits the tragic hero definition better than anyone else in this play. He is an example for everyone as a hero but a warning because of his tragic