The Complexity Of Brutus In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

In the play Julius Caesar there are many characters that have roles in the play. Some of these characters have traits could be evil such as the men that killed Caesar. But some of these men can be portrayed as a hero or just a villain. The character that I will be discussing about is Brutus to see if he is either a hero or a villain because of his complexity as a character in the story. To begin we see that Brutus is loved by the people of Rome before the murder of Julius Caesar. This is shown in the play when Brutus is being described by Mark Antony after Brutus’s suicide, “This was the noblest Roman of them all. All the conspirators save only he. Did that they did in envy of great Caesar. He only in a general honest thought And common good to all, made one of them. His life was gentle, and

So mixed in him that nature might stand up. And say to all the world, “This was a man”’ (Act 5 Scene 5 Lines 73-80). This shows what was Brutus’s life before the murder of Julius Caesar. In the quote we see that Brutus’s characterization as a wise man which could be a hero. Also when Mark Antony talks about his enemy, Brutus, it seems that he forgave him for what he had done. In the character Brutus is seen as honest and good, but was pressured into killing Caesar and not do it in jealousy as the other men that murdered Caesar. Another way in which Brutus is seen as a hero was when he was speaking with Cassius and describing himself, “O Cassius, you are yokèd with a lamb. That carries anger as the flint bears fire, who, much enforcèd, shows a hasty spark and straight is cold again” (Act 4 Scene 3 Lines 114-117). This just shows that Brutus is not angered forever like the other men that killed Caesar. This shows more of Brutus of being a hero he does not use anger and