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Marcus Brutus In Shakespeare's Julius Ceasar

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Your most trusted friend may be your biggest enemy. The drama, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, is a great example of that. Julius Caesar has become the leader of Rome and everyone loves him; well not everyone. Caesar was told to beware the Ides of March by a soothsayer and was later warned by his wife Calphurnia. Caesar did not listen and later he was stabbed to death by a group of men, one man being his friend Marcus Brutus. Marcus Brutus is ultimately the man to blame for the death of Julius Caesar. Marcus Brutus betrayed his friend Caesar, by playing a huge part in his death. Most people might think that Cassius is the one to blame, considering that it was his idea to kill Caesar and convince Brutus that it was the …show more content…

His wife Portia notices that something is bothering him. Portia states, “Y' have ungently, Brutus, Stole from my bed. And yesternight, at supper, You suddenly arose and walked about, Musing and sighing, with your arms across, And when I asked you what the matter was, You stared upon me with ungentle looks. I urged you further, then you scratched your head And too impatiently stamped with your foot. Yet I insisted; yet you answered not, But with an angry wafture of your hand Gave sign for me to leave you” (2.1.237-247). Portia has clearly noticed that something is wrong with Brutus and is concerned. Brutus states, “As dear to me as are the ruddy drops that visit my sad heart” (2.1.289-290). Brutus admits to his wife that he is sad and something is wrong with him. Brutus also states, “And by and by thy bosom shall partake The secrets of my heart. All my engagements I will construe to thee, All the charactery of my sad brows. Leave me with haste” (2.1. 305-309). He tells Portia that he will tell her what has been bothering him soon, but she needs to leave for now. The thought of killing Caesar has been bothering Brutus and he just dismisses all of his doubts and then goes along with his

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(II.i.283-287). Portia questions Brutus already aware of the fact that he is not sick and he is hiding something from her. She knows that a person who is actually sick would not be walking around outside during the middle of the night, risking becoming more sick.

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Throughout the whole fourth act of Julius Caesar, Brutus suffers through a lot of events that drastically affect him. One of them is when his wife Portia dies from swallowing burning coals. Brutus struggles with this due to the fact that he practices stoicism so he does not allow himself to show his true emotion. Due to all of his emotions building up inside of him, he slips up and lets some spill out at his best friend Cassius. The whole point of the conspirators is to prevent corrupt people and leaders.

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Act II, scene I, line 313. Pronouncing he himself is not worthy enough for her. Brutus truly loved portia as an equal, and not that of a possession.

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Portia was a loyal wife, and very patience and trustworthy. She had been ‘asleep,’ throughout most the play, although she had known there was something going on that Brutus is not telling her. Portia begged Brutus to tell her his intentions, and upon refusing, she reveals a stab, in which she had done herself, to prove her patience, a keeper of secrets, and to convince Brutus. She is well-aware of how to prove her honor, which was to inflict harm on herself. Portia exclaims, “Portia is Brutus' harlot, not his wife,” (2.1.310) this is her saying that if she, Portia, can not learn of her husband’s aim, she is not a wife, but another prostitute.

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After the conspiracy he is considered a murderer and flees his own country, eventually committing suicide. “I would not Cassius, yet I love him well.” (I.II.83), “I killed not thee with half so good a will.” Dies (V.V.51). These two quotes strongly highlight Brutus ' change throughout the play.

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In Act 2, Brutus prepares to join the conspirators in order to assassinate Caesar. After the conspirators leave the senate, Portia sends a messenger to observe Brutus and Caesar. Portia briefly talks to Soothsayer in Act 1, and he says something bad may happen. Brutus must make a sacrifice by assassinating his close friend Caesar for the benefit of the Roman population. Furthermore, the conservative conspirators that had encouraged Caesar's assassination fell shortly after Brutus' suicide in 42 BCE, and Portia too had committed suicide, allegedly by inhaling hot coals.

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It escalates quickly and Portia says and does everything she can so that he would tell him. Shakespeare expresses this as “ Id know your secret…im the woman Lord brutus took as his wife… im still a woman from an honorable family—Im Cato’s daughter” (Shakespeare 73). In her argument she expressed all the reasons that she is to be respected and trusted making it notable for her honorable heritage. With her strategic use of enlistment of her titles and respected heritage she is able to manipulate and disburse a sense of entitlement and respect to Brutus. By doing so, she is able to convince Brutus of why she deserves to be trusted

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Brutus eventually tells Portia his plans. It is evident here, how women’s role started changing in that

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(II, i, 53-55) which allows to say that he wants Rome to be just and do whatever it takes to maintain it away from any threat. Indeed, Brutus states this very clearly when he says, “If it’s for the good of all Romans, I’d do it even if it meant my death. Let the gods give me good luck only as long as I love honor more than I fear death.” (I, ii, 86-88), he explicitly says that the good of the majority is over any feeling or personal benefit which in this case is the love of Caesar for him and viceversa, and the throne. To conclude, Brutus is a complex character that is characterized by three recurrent traits: his well-intention, his hypocrisy, and his naivet.

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(III, I, 90-91). This is Brutus trying to comfort the people and get them to listen to what they had to say about murdering him. The conspirators feared tyranny and they were willing to do anything to be free of it. But, they wouldn’t know how the people would react so they were giving them a reason to a

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Brutus loves Caesar but knows he has to kill him for the good of rome. He says, “I know

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In Portia and Brutus ' conversation, we see a strong connection between the couple. Portia deeply cares for her husband and his well-being, and accordingly Brutus has a reverence for her that is superior to that of Caesar to his wife. In the scene, Portia confronts Brutus saying she has detected a change in his behavior. "You suddenly arose, and walked about. Musing and sighing arms across."

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This is seen when Portia asks Brutus, “Is Brutus sick…” and, “Make me acquainted with your cause of grief…” Another time is when Calpurnia orders Caesar to stay home for his own good. Nevertheless, the differences in marriage traits between these two couples are more numerous than these similarities. In Brutus and Portia’s marriage, there is mutual respect and selflessness. Portia kneels before Brutus and calls him, “my lord” as a sign of respect and he addresses her as “Good Portia” in turn.

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She cared about her husband. Portia wants Brutus’ health to be good and she doesn 't think it is very good. Portia says “ which sometime hath his hour with every man. It will not let you eat, not talk, nor sleep, and , could it work so much upon your shape as it hath much prevailed on your condition, i should not know you, Brutus. Dear my lord, make me acquainted with your cause of grief.

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The attitude which Brutus has to her is to remain within the household and to not worry about the roles of men, keeping her separate from what is occurring. This particular tension creates separation between Portia and also displays the attitude and emotions of Brutus. For Portia, this creates an internal struggle. At the same time, it also displays Brutus struggle with power that he has towards Cesar and others that he seems close

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