La mort de l'aristocratie Blood drains from the body, lying limply on the coarse rock constituting the streets of Rome. Brutus stands over the body, viscera caked on his sharp dagger. He pants heavily as he lowers his head, tears slowly surge from his closed eyes. Caesar is dead. Julius Caesar, considered by scholars to be one of William Shakespeare’s most brilliant tragedies, purveys the infamous tale of Julius Caesar’s death. Set in Rome at the height of its empire, the novella epitomizes aristocratic decadence in a time of excess and dissent, displaying an infinitely enigmatic tale of nobility and honor. Even though Julius Caesar is acknowledged by Shakespeare as Julius Caesar’s eponymous character, Marcus Brutus’s intimate relationship …show more content…
He portrays himself as idealistically dedicated to Rome and yet, his continual caprices indicate a more mysterious figure behind the guise of honor and nationalism. In a critical scene of internal dialogue, Brutus questions why, if not for Rome, he would dare consider murder his beloved leader. He says candidly, “I know no personal cause to spurn at him, But for the general. He would be/ Crowned: How that might change his nature, there’s the question” (II. i. 11-14). Early in the play, Brutus finds himself torn between the love he feels for Julius and the necessity to kill him. He is clearly made up of a compendium of emotions varying from guilt and confusion to pride and honor. Following the death of Caesar, Brutus, in a bloodthirsty stupor, aggressively commands his compatriots to “Let us bathe our hands in Caesar’s blood/ Up to the elbows and besmear our swords”(III. i. 118-119). After Brutus impales Caesar, the sentiments he displays stand directly antithetical to those he expressed earlier in the play. Over the course of less than an act, Brutus morphs from a concerned Roman, vehemently opposed to excessive violence, to a barabarous proponent of murder on a biblical scale. In the final act of the play, upon the completion of his quest for revenge, Antony reacts to the discovery of the treacherous Brutus’s body by claiming, “All the conspirators save only he did that they did in envy of great Caesar”(V. v. 75-76). Antony speaks these words with a great amount of respect for Brutus. This open display of esteem for a criminal emphasizes Brutus’s love for Rome. Every other conspirator killed to fulfill personal gain, but not Brutus. In summary, Brutus continually illustrates his passion and idealism as well as his flexibility and neuroticism, the traits that qualify him for the position of the main