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The Tragedy Of Julius Caesar: A Tragic Hero

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Everyone knows that Julius Caesar was stabbed to death by his friends, so they naturally assume Caesar is a tragic hero. In digging deeper, the real tragic hero of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is revealed. To begin, William Shakespeare’s play is based on historical events that occurred in Rome around 44 B.C. Julius Caesar was born in 102 B.C. and died in 44 B.C. During this time, he became a power-hungry military leader. His rise to power was a result of such actions that made the Roman public love him. Although the Roman public loved him, many higher Romans believed that he was becoming dangerous. These feelings ultimately led to the murder of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C. when he was stabbed 35 times. This period of uncertainty lasted approximately …show more content…

Also, the main character had to be a high-ranking or dignified person with a tragic flaw that caused their downfall. Finally, the work had to end with the death of the main character. These elements are all clearly seen in Shakespeare’s play, but the elements that create a tragic hero are not as obvious. To be categorized as a tragic hero, the character must have been physically or spiritually wounded resulting in their death, be a king or a leader of men that resulted in their followers falling with them, must learn something from their mistake, be faced with a serious decision, and, oftentimes, have supernatural involvement. Based on these traits, there are multiple tragic heroes in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Although Julius Caesar is often thought of as the only tragic hero in the play, Brutus is the greatest tragic hero because of his physical and spiritual wounds, the decisions he had to make, and being a leader of men that fell with …show more content…

Originally, Brutus struggled with his feelings which caused spiritual wounds. These feelings led him to commit suicide because he felt he did Caesar wrong and could not live with himself as a result. By doing this, he experienced the greatest physical wound, death. The difficult decision that Brutus made was also a major factor in categorizing Brutus as a tragic hero. He had to decide whether or not to kill one of his best friends. The final main factor that makes Brutus a tragic hero was that he gained power in trust that caused everyone close to him to kill themselves after he fell apart. Clearly, after digging deeper into The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, it is revealed that Brutus is the real tragic hero of the

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A tragic hero is someone who is not innocent but also a brave and noble person. Brutus’s honor, nobleness, and self-rightness makes him a tragic hero. Caesar fits the requirements to be a tragic hero but he has a tragic flaw which is that he gets to arrogant at times in the play. That can hurt him when it comes to classifying him as a tragic hero. For example when he returned to rome to celebrate the honor of his of Pompey.

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This does not necessarily mean he cannot be a tragic hero. Only having one characteristic just means a character with more tragic hero qualities would be a greater bet. Based on Aristotle’s characteristics of a tragic hero, some would believe Brutus is the tragic hero. Brutus possesses over half of the tragic hero qualities rather than Caesar. “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar” teaches people to never make judgements until they have experienced the same situations that other people have.

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