"How is Brutus portrayed as a tragic hero?"

English Essay "How is Brutus portrayed as a tragic hero?" Throughout the works of Shakespeare, tragedy has always been a vital foundation and a key to his immense successes. His fine mastery of the art became legendary amongst the audiences that watched his various plays. Romeo and Juliet is a prime example of the tragedy he could combine into a stage performance. An Irish poet named Oscar Wilde who was a novelist, dramatist and critic in the late eighteen hundreds once wrote, "There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it." This has an exact correlation to the play Julius Caesar where the tragedy lies in the greed of a man who wants too much. This particular play is based entirely upon dreadful choices leading to demise. The character Brutus in particular is a key personality to the structure of the play in his fall from honour. Being a man of utmost glory and loyalty becomes his biggest weakness. In Act 1 Scene 2 we are presented with the pressure that Cassius weighs upon Brutus' mind. In lines 79-80 the truth of Brutus' troubles become clear. In the heat of conversation he says "What means this shouting? I do fear the people choose Caesar for their king". This is the turning point in the play as the stepping stones begin to fall in place and Brutus reveals to the viewers his deep down uncertainty to the decision of

  • Word count: 1269
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

"The rise of Octavian owed more to luck, and the mistakes of his enemies, rather than his own political abilities. Discuss."

"The rise of Octavian owed more to luck, and the mistakes of his enemies, rather than his own political abilities. Discuss." Octavian's famous claim that he 'found Rome a brick and left it as marble1' is by no means unfounded. It is true that under his reign, Rome grew steadily towards peace and prosperity unlike ever before. But was his eventual ascension to leadership brought about by his own political abilities, or was it more to do with the mistakes of his enemies? Octavian has always maintained the mantle of being 'delicate in health2' to some affect and in his youth he was said to have 'scarcely recovered from a dangerous sickness3', and it has been rightfully said that he was not known for 'grand feats of arms4,' but it seems very hard to deny that he was, in his own right, a masterful statesman. Of course, when he inherited three-quarters his great uncle's estate, as well as his name, it is easy to forget that Octavian was not yet even 20 years of age. The explanation for this is because before Octavian reached that age, in very little time he seemed to achieve more than any other man did so in the Roman era. But to what can this be attributed to? It is true that Marc Antony certainly seemed to expect that Julius would nominate him as heir to his name and estate, for he was even spending Caesar's fortune before the will had been published. Antony himself was

  • Word count: 2459
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

What opinion of the character of Brutus have you formed from your reading of Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar?

*What opinion of the character of Brutus have you formed from your reading of Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar? Needless to say that Brutus' name has always been connected with honour. This is the most striking feature of his character. Brutus' nobility is well known to all characters. This is clear through Shakespeare's presentation of people's points of view. Cassius describes him as "Brutus, thou art noble". Cinna also refers to his name as the "noble Brutus". Its Brutus nobility that makes him win people's love and respect as Casca explains, "sits high in all the people's hearts" What is more, we hear the same description from Antony who considers Brutus "the noblest Roman of them all". It's this nobility that makes Cassius ask Brutus to join the conspirasy against Caesar. Brutus' name would make people consider caesar's assassination a noble action "I love the name of honour more than fear death" as he declares. Shakespeare meant to focus attention on Brutus' rank in Rome - He wins people's respect. He also has a great influence upon people's hearts and minds. No wonder that the conspirators follow Brutus as their leader. Casius Ligarius joins the conspiracy simply because it's under Brutus leadership. Words in Brutus description are so clear in the dialogues among the conspirators when they decide to kill Caesar as Brutus refuses to take an oath, "what other oath /

  • Word count: 1171
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Was Brutus right?

Was Brutus right? Brutus was considered as a noble man. Although he was Caesar's best friend he was forced to examine his conscience closely over the assassination of a man he loved and respected. Brutus believed in the Republic as the best form of government. Because of his love for Rome, he allowed himself to be drawn into the plot to kill Caesar, by Cassius. Brutus acted in what he thought were the best interests of Rome. The only way that Brutus could become leader was to kill Caesar. This was because in those days, the only way a leader could retire was either if they died, or someone killed them. In Roman times, the people were probably quite proud of their form of government and Caesar was not thought of too badly by the ordinary people. Therefore, his killing would have shocked them. As we see earlier in the play, the people of Rome were easily swayed; they followed anything that moved. This is shown when Caesar comes back after defeating Pompey in a war, and the crowd immediately accepted Caesar as they leader, as opposed to before Pompey's death, when they were all followers of Pompey. After knowing how the people reacted to Pompey's death, we can relate this to Caesar and Brutus. In this case, Caesar is just like Pompey and Brutus is just like Caesar, as they were also good friends. On the day of Caesar's funeral, Brutus delivered a speech to justify the

  • Word count: 549
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Julius Caesar; Examine in detail paying particular attention to how the passage introduces key elements of the play

Examine in detail paying particular attention to how the passage introduces key elements of the play The following passage is taken from the first scene of the play 'Julius Caesar' by William Shakespeare. This first scene is vital as it introduces the two classes of people in the Republic of Rome and the relationship between them. Caesar is introduced in this passage to the audience but is not actually seen, which creates a figurative podium increasing the tension around his arrival and suggesting he is of great importance and standing. In this passage key elements such as: the relationship between the commoners and the tribunes, the fickleness of the people and Caesar's influence. These elements create a tumultuous mood; the Tribunes' worry and concern is juxtaposed by the general public who are rejoicing at Caesars arrival. The relationship between the commoners and the Tribunes are introduced in this play. The Tribunes use imperatives when speaking to the commoners, Murellus states "Answer me directly" this shows that he considers himself of a higher class then the people who voted for him. The Cobbler replies by using the title "...sir..." this shows that the class system in Rome is accepted universally. The Cobbler is witty and of a high intelligence. When asked "...what trade..." by Flavius he replies using a pun which is "...a mender of bad soles...". The Cobbler is

  • Word count: 865
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Cassius' Persuasion Of Brutus

How does Cassius persuade Brutus to give him his attention and then begin to see things his way? Cassius first gets Brutus' attention through intuitive flattery as he says, "I have not from your eyes the gentleness and show of love as I was wont to have". This shows that Cassius is basing his persuasion on his friendship with Brutus because this almost gives him a level of trust, which he can use to make sure Brutus listens to him. He then suggests Brutus may be troubled in some way and Brutus says he does not know why he is in so much anguish. Cassius then says he will show Brutus himself as a mirror shows a reflection, "And since you know you cannot see yourself So well as by reflection, I, your glass, Will modestly discover to yourself That of yourself which you yet know not of." This is very clever as Cassius makes his offer sound as if he is not planting any new ideas in Brutus' head but merely exposing the thoughts already troubling Brutus. However, it is obvious that Cassius' intentions are to manipulate certain truths so that Brutus takes his point. Brutus then lets slip a crucial piece of information as he says, "I do fear the people Choose Caesar for their king". This is instantly pounced upon by Cassius who says, "Aye, do you fear it? Then I must think you would not have it so" as he sees this as a window through which he can pour his evil thoughts and work

  • Word count: 617
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

As previously said, Brutus was a close friend of Caesars; however he joined the conspirators in the assassination of Caesar to prevent his ambitions getting 'out of hand'

An analysis of Mark Antony and Brutus's speech after the assassination of Caesar. The play of 'Julius Caesar' was significant at the time because when Shakespeare wrote the play, the question of power was very sensitive. The reason that it was so sensitive was because Queen Elizabeth (the monarch at the time) had no descendants, therefore nobody really knew who was heir to the thrown. In the play 'Julius Caesar' the Roman emperor has large ambitions as he wanted to be the ultimate ruler or king. This is the point where twelve conspirators plot to put an end to these mighty ambitions; however, in amongst these conspirators one of his closest friends, Brutus. Brutus agreed with the eradication of Caesar completely, however they all feared Mark Antony, because they knew that he was a true friend of Caesar; therefore Mark feared for his life due to the conspirators. But if he tries to prevent the assassination of Caesar then he knew that he would also 'disappear'. When the assassination of Caesar had taken place, and Rome found out about this, the two closest to Caesar gave speeches to calm them down; (Mark Antony and Brutus). The play also has relevance to today's world, as in the Iraq war, this is because Saddam Hussein (monarch of Iraq) was getting too many ambitions( he did this by trying to take more land than what he had, therefore he resulted to cruelty to

  • Word count: 2050
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Comare and contrast the ways Brutus and Mark Antony use rhetoric to persuade the fickle plebeians of Rome

Ben Lander Compare the ways in which Brutus and Mark Antony make use of rhetoric to persuade the fickle masses Brutus and Mark Antony exemplify the use of in their manipulation of the fickle masses in Julius Caesar. After comparing and contrasting the way in which each speech causes the people of Rome to react, we can see that Mark Antony achieves the desired effect through his rhetoric, whereas Brutus is not able to manipulate the people. This is due to a number of factors, such as the fact that Brutus is noble man influenced by a malcontent in Cassius, leaving him out of touch with the people, whereas Antony, a physical specimen of masculinity and a great ally of Caesar, possesses the emotion to turn the people. Although Mark Antony’s use of rhetoric is more effective than that of Brutus, both men are able to influence the fickle masses. To start with, both Antony and Brutus use contrast, or antithesis to change the views of the amassed Romans. However, both men use this technique very differently; Brutus states that ‘not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more’ and this use of antithesis is done an attempt to convince the people of Rome that he did this not for his own sake but for the greater good of his country. After Brutus has left the Forum, Mark Antony states to the crowd, who’s opinion is swaying against Caesar ‘I come to bury Caesar, not

  • Word count: 800
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

How is Brutus portrayed as a tragic hero throughout the play?

English Essay How is Brutus portrayed as a tragic hero throughout the play? Shakespeare thoroughly uses the emotion of tragedy throughout many of his plays; it consorts his plays and brings forward the thoroughness of his true dramatisation, and the fearfulness in his creatively dark forbidden mind. Most of his plays carry a dark sense, even when the feeling is most absurdly joyous. Shakespeare seems to have enjoyed using the style in which negativity manages to overpower the positive and bright outgoings, and yet it still seems to be the better of the controllable style, in which he wrote and uses it in a great sense and ability. In Julius Caesar, he uses his Dark, negative story structure, using politics, conspiracies and literally backstabbing characters. The main portrayal in the plot of the theme is revoking against 'hard' politics and besieging traitors. The entire play is genuinely cast upon the wrong decisions frequently made throughout the play. The build up to emotion is leaded throughout the play and as a result in Act 1: Scene 2; lines 79-80, where Brutus already has his very first doubts. This, already, is the very first lead up, to all his very wrong decisions, and he has yet already admitted the negative downfall of his decisions. Brutus is the tragic hero of the play, because of his idealistic and pragmatic qualities. The mindset that Brutus possessed only

  • Word count: 1117
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

How Effective Are Brutus And Antony In Gaining The Support Of The Roman Citizens After Caesar's Assassination?

How Effective Are Brutus And Antony In Gaining The Support Of The Roman Citizens After Caesar's Assassination? Marcus Brutus is Caesar's best and most loyal friend. He joins the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar, after, Cassius, convinces him that the people of Rome do not like Caesar. Brutus' love for Rome is greater than his love for his friend; this therefore results in his turning against Caesar. Brutus is an idealist, and believes that other men have the same high principles as himself. He is the last one to stab Caesar. Caesar loved him dearly, but Brutus killed him not only physically but mentally: "Et tu, Brute? then fall Caesar" If his good friend Brutus, wanted to kill him then life was not worth living for Caesar. Both Brutus and Antony are good friends of Caesar, but unlike Brutus, Antony puts his friendship first. When he sees the dead Caesar on the ground, he asks for the conspirators to take his life also: "nor no instrument of half that worth as those your swords, made rich." Antony loved Caesar with all his heart. Brutus then takes control and gives his reasons for the assassination. That the Republicans, are appalled that Caesar has become so powerful. Brutus is very concerned for the good of Rome. Shakespeare's audience would have been very interested in this theme as they reflected on the successor of their very forceful ruler, Queen Elizabeth

  • Word count: 1423
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay