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Theme Of Arrogance In Julius Caesar

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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 …show more content…

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 …show more content…

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

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In Julius Caesar, both Brutus, and Caesar die because they suffer from a critical main character disease named ‘hubris’. Brutus thinks of himself as a savior of Rome because he killed Caesar. When the conspirators knock of his door, Brutus acknowledges his visitors and he asks them to consider how loyal they are, “Sham’st thou to show thy dangerous brow” (Shakespeare, 2.1.78). His placement in this scene shows his way to seem in a higher standing than others.

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Brutus uses rhetorical questions, faulty reasoning and hyperboles to create the tone of persuasion while convincing the Roman people to be on his side. To start off his funeral speech, he wants the citizens to trust and believe what he has to say about Caesar, Brutus announces; “Believe me for mine honor, and have respect for my honor, that you may believe me”(Shakespeare 42). In this case, faulty reasoning is shown because Brutus has done nothing to prove him honorable to the citizens. Given that, he has no evidence that he is trustworthy, Brutus still try’s to persuade the crowd to believe what he has to say about Caesar is true, which is

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By saying this he is saying that people will only remember the bad of Caesar, but not the good that he had in him. The people will begin to fear what will live on from Caesar's death. As the people are showing anger towards Brutus, Antony continues on with his speech saying, "When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept; Ambition should be made of sterner stuff. Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; and Brutus is an honorable man." He points out that Caesar constantly felt bad for those who were struggling in his country.

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Brutus also contains several other characteristics of a tragic hero. For example, Brutus possesses a hamartia. “Th’ abuse of greatness is when it disjoins/ Remorse from power; and, to speak truth of Caesar” (Shakespeare II.1.18-19). In this quote from the story, Brutus is saying that he believes Caesar would abuse the power of being crowned king.

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" This is telling everyone that if Caesar was to have gained that power that all of them would have probably been slaves because of the tyrant that Caesar would've been. It also lets everyone know what type of person Caesar really was. Brutus also stated "his glory not extenuated, where in he was worthy, nor his offences enforced, for which he suffered death." Which is stating how Brutus knew he had to kill Caesar and was at peace with it. Brutus's speech was seen by the crowd as really good and won some people over to his

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Julius Caesar Essay Words are more powerful than weapons. Throughout the play of Julius Caesar the idea of powerful words is a key theme. Through speeches lies and cunning plans the characters in this play are able to convince people to join conspiracies and move people to action. This play reflects on the need for excellent speaking skills and its importance in ancient Rome, Elizabethan, and modern times.

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Brutus has negatively affected the outlook of Rome and created more harm than good for the situation. Not only did it harm Rome, but it brought his own demise and hallucinations of Caesar’s ghost. Brutus’s speech to the plebeians after Caesar’s death, about his dilemma and his viewpoint towards Caesar, influenced the viewpoints of the plebeians and causes them to believe he is the best roman until Antony speaks to them. Brutus’s idealism led to his own death later on and brought him more misery than his idealism could

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Brutus, According to Shakespeare The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, a Shakespearean play and representation of the assassination of Caesar, is a well written and developed story in which the build up of the characters is very well done. As a matter of fact, the developing of Brutus, the tragic hero on the play, is one of the most important characters and therefore one of the better explained and exposed. Brutus is a character that is marked with three traits that allow him to be the one responsible for Caesar's assassination. Indeed, Brutus is naive, well-intended and hypocrite, as seen when the conspirators convince him to be part of it, and be one of the most important figures in it.

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Brutus tries to impress the crowd by saying that Caesar was going to become a dictator. “Had you rather Caesar were living and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all free men?” (ii. III.L 22-24). Brutus gives this reason to make the people think this murderous act was honorable.

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This example explicitly shows that Brutus’s nobility makes him an easy target for others to manipulate. Furthermore, Brutus’s nobility makes him naive. In Act 3, Scene 2, Brutus departs, fully trusting Mark Antony on his words to make a speech that does not blame the conspirators. This, however, is a huge mistake because Antony seeks this chance to successfully turn the crowd against the conspirators. Brutus, who is so noble, is too naive to understand that others may not act as righteously as he does.

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Brutus’ words emphasize his devotion to his country above Caesar. He is exceptionally passionate about his beloved Rome, trumping his love for Caesar. As another example of his allegiance, Brutus says, “Brutus had rather be a villager/ Than to repute himself a son of Rome/ Under these hard conditions as this time.” (1.2.181-183) In essence, this quote implies that the depths of Brutus’ loyalty for Rome is fathomless enough to make him utterly selfless and give up his power for the sake of Rome. His righteous philosophy has strengthened his loyalty to his country, developing his selflessness.

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