The Character Of Brutus 'Tragic Hero In Julius Ceasar'

The play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is a tragic story of the downfall of the almighty, powerful ruler of Rome, Julius Caesar. A tragic hero is a character that makes a judgement error that leads to their own destruction. There are many other factors that determine whether a character is a tragic hero or not. Factors including: being of higher class, dying by the end of the literary work, and/or possessing a fatal flaw. The character Brutus is considered the tragic hero because he possesses a fatal flaw, he makes a judgement error that leads to his own destruction, and he experiences peripeteia.
First, Brutus possesses the fatal flaw of being easily manipulated/tricked. This ultimately is Brutus’s downfall as he is easily controlled by his peers. In the beginning of play, Brutus is seen upset and “at war” with himself. Cassius attempts to boost his mood, by telling him how well-respected he is. At this time, Cassius is also trying to persuade Brutus to join the conspirators in killing Caesar. Aware that Brutus would never kill Caesar, Cassius convinces him that he would be a better ruler for Rome than Caesar. Cassius says “ ‘Tis just/And it is very much lamented, Brutus/ That you have no such mirrors as will …show more content…
His intentions were never bad and his downfall was a result of his own actions. His fatal flaw of being easily manipulated, stimulated the idea that Caesar shall be killed, and a change in fortune/fate (peripeteia) was produced from this. In contrast, he dies instead of becoming ruler of rome. The tragedy is that Brutus was trying to be a nobleman and make decisions that would benefit Rome, but people did not see the nobility in his actions. He later regrets the choice that he made. All in all, Brutus is the tragic hero because possesses a fatal flaw, he makes a judgement error that leads to his own destruction, and he experiences