Who Is The Tragic Hero In Julius Caesar

The Noble Brutus Marcus Brutus is the tragic hero in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by Julius Caesar. A tragic hero is defined as someone of noble birth with heroic characteristics. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Brutus faces a very difficult decision. He must choose between the good of the people in Rome, and the life of his best friend. His decision to kill Caesar leads to chaos in Rome which forces him to make even more difficult decisions. The fact that Brutus holds true to his beliefs, no matter the cost makes him the tragic hero in the play. Marcus Brutus was born into a very noble family, this is the first element of a tragic hero. His ancestor Junius Brutus created the Roman Republic by fighting the Tarquin Kings. This was incredibly …show more content…
Because of this writing style, Shakespeare shows the audience internal conflict in his characters. Marcus Brutus was a very hesitant character, he constantly second guessed his decisions and pondered whether they were the correct choice. In the article Brutus’ Personal Failure is the Central Tragedy, the author says, “Brutus is the only one of the conspiritors who is portrayed as inwardly debating the justification for commiting the ‘dreadful thing’”. Almost immediately after the brutal stabbing of Caesar, Brutus doubts his hasty decision. On one hand, the killing of Caesar stopped the tyrannical reign and would hopefully restore freedom to all of Rome. Brutus said “If then that friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer: Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” (III.ii.20-23). In the article Shakespeare’s Brutus: A man torn by conflicting values, the author said “If there were any noble attempt done in all this conspiracle, they refferre it wholly unto Brutus.” On the other hand, Caesar was Brutus’s close friend and did a lot of great things for the people of Rome. Brutus said, “If there be any in this assembly, any dear friend of Caesar’s, to him I say that Brutus’ love to Caesar was no less than his.” (III.ii.18-20). This is the first incident where Shakespeare shows the internal conflicts of Brutus. Throughout the play, this …show more content…
There are many great examples of this throughout the entirety of the play. Almost every decision Marcus Brutus makes during the play has an affect on him later on. For example, when he has the opportunity to kill Antony along with Caesar, he doesn’t seize it. Brutus said, “ For antony is but a lim of Caesar, let’s be sacrificers, but not butchers… and in the spirit of men there is no blood.” (II.i.165-168). He makes another choice that has a negative outcome, Brutus decides to let Antony speak at the funeral for Caesar. This turned out to be an awful decision, Antony would end up taking advantage of this opportunity to persuade the crown. Antony said in his speech to the crowd, “Did this in Caesar seem ambitious? When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept; Ambition should be made of sterner stuff.” (III.ii.91-93). The speech that Antony gave sparked a rage in the crowd and forced the conspirators to flee Rome. This leads to another bad decision that Brutus made. During the battle at the end of the play, Brutus thinks that victory was achieved when in reality, it was not. Titinius said, “ O Cassius, Brutus gave the word too early; Who having some advantage on Octavius, took it too eagerly: his soldiers fell to spoil” (V.iii.5-8). All of these events caused a large negative effect on Brutus, and directly affected the