Theme Of Arrogance In Julius Caesar

Consequences of Imperfections

Many of the greatest leaders in the history of the world have been overthrown or usurped by anyone they had power over. These leaders were filled with arrogance, trusted the ones that killed them too much, or had another of many weaknesses that all people have. This is the case with many of the powerful characters in William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Julius Caesar. One of the main players, Marcus Brutus, has several flaws that can be seen as the reason for Brutus eventual death. Shakespeare exploits Brutus’s imperfections to highlight the fatal flaws in humanity, which helps the reader see how it can lead to the downfall of any great leader or person in power.

Brutus was flawed like all people, and one of these major

Brutus’s overconfidence in himself helps contribute to the chaos after Caesar’s death, for his speech about himself provokes the crowd into wanting to give him the crown. During this speech, Brutus says” hear me for my / cause, and be silent, that you may hear: believe me / for mine honour, and have respect to mine honour,”(JC. 3. 2. 17-19). Avoiding anything about Caesar at this point, Brutus asks them to listen to them only because he is honorable Brutus. He thinks highly enough of himself to tell commoners that they should listen to himself for no reason other than he is who he is. The theme of arrogance and its problems is displayed throughout Julius Caesar. Shakespeare does this mainly to show that being confident is good and virtuous, but that arrogance causes many problems and is best if just left alone. Arrogance is not the only cause of Caesar’s death, but it is Brutus’s justification. Cassius is arrogant and that is part of the whole plot to kill Caesar in the first place. These are just some of the examples of this motif in the

This goes along with Brutus's arrogance because he's too confident in his decisions. Shakespeare give us many opportunities to see this in Brutus. One of the greatest examples of this can be shown when Brutus calls Antony "a limb of Caesar:"(JC. 2. 1. 185). This means he will be nothing with Caesar dead and could not stop them afterwards. He is obviously wrong, for Antony becomes one of the most powerful men in Rome and heads the army that defeated Brutus and Cassius. There are multiple times in which this displays itself as a major issue in humanity. Shakespeare does this to make the reader think about the decisions he or she makes before they lead to his or her decline or downfall in