Julius Caesar Tragic Hero Essay

In order to be a hero, one must be able to recognize their weaknesses, making it applicable to both William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar and everyday society. Many characters in Julius Caesar lack the ability to be self-critical, which leads to their tragic downfall. Tragic heroes in Shakespearean writing are often a high-ranking, upright character who falls short of reaching his goals, frequently because of their own tragic flaws. A tragic flaw is a flaw in character that first makes a person seem well-known, but finally leads to their demise. In Julius Caesar, Brutus and Caesar show different traits of being a tragic hero through their actions and conflicts that develop throughout the play. At the start of the play, Caesar, who is

Antony even shares how much Caesar cared for Rome by mentioning in his soliloquy that 'when that the poor have cried, / Caesar hath wept' (3.2.100). Even after Brutus conveys that Caesar was overly ambitious, Antony reminds the Roman people of his kindness and leadership. Caesar also gets to experience (sort of) a tragic realization as he realizes that Brutus was involved in the assasination, which adds a sense of personal tragedy to his own downfall. Caesar was warned about the danger by the soothsayer, Calpurnia, etc, but he chose to disregard their warning due to his trust in Brutus because he viewed Brutus as a “ “. When he sees Brutus among the conspirators, he realizes that his trust has been misplaced, and his own judgement has led to his death. This realization helps highlight Caesar’s vulnerability and the tragic consequences of his overconfidence. Unfortunately, Caesar never gets the opportunity to experience being the “offical” tragic hero, as he recognizes his

Brutus is a respected noble whose love for Rome is presented as he shows his strong beliefs and morals regarding Rome. When Brutus tells Cassius, “For let the gods so speed me as I love / The name of honor more than I fear death,” (1.2.95-96) it shows that he values honor above anything else. Brutus's commitment to honor and his deep patriotism lead him to become involved in the conspiracy. Once he aligns himself with the conspirators, his tragic fate becomes unavoidable. Brutus joins the plot with the conviction that he is safeguarding Rome from Caesar's potential tyranny, driven by a loyalty to his country that surpasses his loyalty to Caesar. Moreover, he places trust in the motives of his fellow conspirators, believing that they are driven not by personal gain, but by a genuine urgency to serve the