Julius Caesar Essay: Brutus As A Tragic Hero

A character who makes a judgement or error that inevitably leads to his or her own destruction, defines a tragic hero, according to Aristotle. In William Shakespeare’s writings, one character generally identifies as a tragic hero. Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, comes from the true events that took place in Rome during the time that Caesar rose and gained power as dictator. After Pompey’s death in Egypt, caused by each of their power-hungry desires, Caesar declared himself dictator of Rome. Although, with Pompey’s death, many remained loyal to him as opposed to Caesar, that then led to the plot of Caesar’s assassination. In the play few characters share traits of a tragic hero. Certain characteristics, such as a spiritual

Brutus’ emotional wound ultimately deals with his internal conflict of the decision to kill Caesar in order to better Rome. In addition, he deals with such difficulty over the decision because his reason to kill Caesar does not come out of hatred or jealousy, but due to his fear of life under Caesar’s rule. In Act I, scene ii, lines 39-40, Brutus says, “Merely upon myself. Vexéd I am / Of late passions of some difference” (Shakespeare 848). This quote, from Brutus, means that his own thoughts and conflicts overwhelm him. In addition, his thoughts and conflicts refer to his idea that if Caesar becomes king, that he will end up harming or endangering Rome. Brutus believes killing Caesar, results to the only solution to help and protect Rome, which relates back to his conflict. Overall, Brutus’ internal conflict involves deciding to kill Caesar, or not, because he does not necessarily want to kill Caesar, but sees it as the only way to protect Rome and its people. His love for Rome and the Roman people proves greater than his love for Caesar, who he somewhat looks to as a friend. This one trait that describes Brutus as a tragic hero also adds into another characteristic about