Brutus Flaws

In all Shakespearian tragedies, a tragic hero is a literary character who has great promise, ability, and integrity of character. However, a tragic hero is identified by his tragic flaw. In Shakespeare’s tragedy Julius Caesar, Brutus’ naïve idealism and poor judgement make up his one tragic flaw – his trusting nature. In many instances, Shakespeare shows that Brutus’ tragic flaw lead to his downfall at the end of the play; he fell for Cassius’ sweet words and flattery, he truly believed that Caesar had to be killed in order to prevent a tyranny in Rome, and he wholeheartedly trusted that Antony had no motive to harm him and spared his life.
Firstly, Brutus is convinced by Cassius that Caesar’s death will bring only good to the people of Rome. Impulsive and unscrupulous, Cassius had always disliked that Caesar was becoming godlike in the eyes of the Romans. He slyly leads Brutus into believing that Caesar had become too powerful and was starting to turn his back on the Romans. Brutus, being in conflict with his feeling of responsibility to Rome and …show more content…
After Caesar’s death, Cassius felt that Antony might want revenge on the conspirators and felt it unwise to keep him alive. However, Brutus trusted Antony enough to keep him alive, as he believed that powerless Antony could cause no harm to the conspirators or to his plan. After Antony’s pleading request to deliver Caesar’s funeral speech, Brutus trusts him to proceed with it. He underestimates how dangerous Antony actually is because without Caesar, he believes that Antony is worthless. In addition, Brutus believes that killing Caesar was a noble thing to do and he fears that killing Antony as well would only prove that he and the others are only murderers. Even after Cassius’ warning, he is confident that if he speaks first at the funeral, there is no reason to worry, assuring him