Julius Caesar essay

Submitted By cherischeffel
Words: 544
Pages: 3

Brutus, the Tragic Hero Aristotle’s description of a tragic hero includes many things. It is someone who is noble according to birth. It is a man whose audience gets attached emotionally to the character and thus feels fear or triumph along with the character’s emotions. It is someone who, although noble and chivalrous, has tragic flaws that lead to his downfall. In the play Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, Brutus is the tragic yet noble hero. First of all, Brutus is the tragic hero because according to Aristotle, the tragic hero must be of noble birth. Brutus is noble of birth because in the play he is one of the “right hand men” of Caesar. Not only is he noble by birth, but he is noble in character. He is also proven noble in the play. Here, Cassius is talking about Caesar’s opinion of Brutus and himself: “Caesar doth bear me hard, but he loves / Brutus” (l.ii.17-18). Secondly, Brutus is the tragic hero of the Shakespearean play because he has tragic flaws in his character that lead to his downfall. According to Aristotle, the tragic hero of any play must have some sort of flaw that leads to the character’s failure. Brutus, as has already been discussed, is noble and compassionate, but he also has a large amount of pride in his heart. For example, he said to the crowd that “as he [Caesar] was ambitious, I slew him” (lll.ii.29), but he himself was also ambitious, so that statement really contradicts itself. Brutus’ ambition is to promote Rome and his role in leading his country to even more greatness in the world. As seen toward the end of the play, his flaws did indeed lead to his downfall. Finally, Brutus is the tragic hero of the play Julius Caesar because the audience gets attached to him emotionally as the play progresses. Aristotle’s description of the tragic hero states that the audience must be emotionally attached to the character. If one reads or sees a performance of this play, it is practically impossible