Julius Caesar Brutus Character Traits

In the NT Production of Julius Caesar, the director, Nicholas Hytner depicts Brutus (Ben Whishaw) a bookish character. While Brutus is an archetypical intellect, he is still filled with a strong sense of honor, similar to Shakespeare's depiction of Brutus. In Shakespeare’s play, Brutus is proud of his and his family’s reputation of standing up for the true Rome, but he is not always practical. The NT Production helped me visualize Brutus’ view of honor more clearly. Specifically, Cassius tells Brutus that he is an honorable man, just as noble and as powerful as Caesar in order to motivate him to fight for justice, and to kill Caesar. This reveals that Brutus’ flaw is his obsession with honor, as it eventually drives him to murder. Cassius

As Brutus reads one of the letters at his desk, he speaks out loud that he will do what it takes to save the people. He makes a promise to the Romans, ensuring that they will not become enslaved under Caesar’s reign. In addition, the assertive and convincing Cassius plays on Brutus’ honor as she introduces the conspirators to him. She states, “no one here but honors you”, making him feel like he is powerful. Brutus assumes automatically assumes leadership, which makes sense because he is revered across Rome. However, it was blatantly obvious in this production that he has a whatever-I-say-goes type of mentality as he cuts some of the conspirators off and shouts loudly if he does not agree with their opinions. Brutus seems egotistical in this production, more than any other version I have watched. Wishaw autographs books, held up by audience members. His honor also keeps him from forcing the conspirators to say an oath, as Cassius suggested. He believes that their honor will keep them honest and

They are willing to change their minds for him. In addition, Brutus also insists that they are not “butchers” and that they will not kill “roughly”, portraying that he still cares about honor, even during such a horrific and unlawful act. This is ironic as Brutus commands the conspirators to bathe in Caesar’s blood in a bloodthirsty, and savage manner. Furthemore, this may seem a bit far-fetched, but Hytner purposefully decides to show Portia’s cut wrists, a sure sign of her mental decay and blatant suicidal thoughts. However, Brutus brushes Portia off and chooses to preoccupy himself with killing Caesar, instead of caring for his wife. His honor prevents him from taking care of her. This shows that his sense of honor has gone overboard: he is willing to risk his relationships, his marriage, and eventually his life in the name of honor. Moreover, Brutus becomes Caesar-like, mirroring the very-person he kills. Caesar states, “Caesar never does wrong…”, which is similar to Brutus’ actions and words, as he ignores Cassius’ plan to let the opposition come to