Polly Leung
Dr. Kowalcyzk
ENG2D7
June 4th, 2012
The Tragedy Which Is Julius Caesar
Tragedy has been defined as “a dramatic composition, dealing with a serious somber theme, typically that of a great person destined through a flaw of character of conflict with some overpowering force, as fate or society to downfall or destruction.” William Shakespeare establishes the play Julius Caesar as a tragedy through the establishment of the character of Brutus as the tragic hero through Brutus’ continuous internal struggle upon which he decides whether to dedicate his loyalty to Caesar or to Rome, the turn of events as Brutus and Cassius flee as Antony gets the public to turn against him after Brutus’ murder of Caesar, ending with Brutus realizing his fault in the past events and committing suicide due to it. In the following paragraphs, the series of events of the play will be further analyzed and explicated as a tragedy.
In the first two acts, the character of Brutus is constantly in self-doubt upon his decision of either murdering Caesar for the ‘good of Rome’ or to not murder Caesar as he is his friend. This ‘character of conflict’ can be seen throughout these two acts. “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars/ But in ourselves, that we are underlings./ Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that ‘Caesar’?/ Why should that name be sounded more than yours?” (Act 1 sci iii lines 140-144) These four lines were said by none other than Brutus’ right-hand man, Cassius. Cassius continually in this play implemented upon Brutus the idea that he, Brutus, should deserve the same amount of honour and power as Caesar was at the time receiving. He cleverly manipulated Brutus in believing that Brutus is hugely ambitious and would become a danger to the citizens of Rome, if he became a tyrant. The overpowering force in this play Brutus keeps facing is both Cassius as well as himself. Brutus is man of honour is lead to believe that the decisions he made to join Cassius’ plot to murder Caesar was in the better hope for the Roman society against tyranny. “Let’s be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius./ We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar,” (2.1.166-167.) These two lines really emphasize the strength of Cassius’ words, as these lines were said moments before they set out to kill Caesar. Brutus is already resolved in murdering Caesar, and this belief will become an apparent flaw that solidifies his fate of tragic death as seen later on in the play. Ultimately, his final decision to comply with the conspirators will become the catalyst of Caesar’s murder.
