The Tragic Hero of Julius Caesar
Toby Le
Period 4
English
20 March 2013 Works of tragedy have been around since the earliest times of Greece, if not longer. In these tragedies, the downfall of the "tragic hero", or the main character destined to fall, is portrayed to the audience. In one of the most famous tragic plays ever written, Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare gives the downfall of many characters. Given the case, there have been many arguments about who the tragic hero really is. Despite the fact that the play is named after Julius Caesar, the tragic hero of Shakespeare's play is Marcus Brutus. As the tragic hero of the story, Brutus faces a tragic dilemma, a situation where every option will result in disaster for the character. These are common in tragic works, and usually help the reader establish who the tragic hero really is. In the events leading up to the assassination of Julius, Marcus Brutus was caught between two difficult choices, both of them with a disastrous result. One choice Brutus could have made was to take no action against Julius, leading to Caesar being crowned as a king (bringing a possible reign of tyranny). The other option was to kill Caesar, who, at the time, hasn't done any wrong yet. Brutus had decided to help kill Caesar, exclaiming to the other conspirators "Oh that we then could come by Caesar's spirit and not dismember Caesar!" (720). Brutus had wished that there was a way to settle this conflict without the death of his friend. This proves that Brutus was in a tragic dilemma, forcing him to be torn between either killing Caesar and his ambition, or to let him obtain the power of a king, a power possible of bringing the Romans to slaves. In the tragic story Julius Caesar, Marcus Brutus experiences a tragic dilemma, a problem where every outcome results in disaster for the tragic hero. Because Brutus is the character who has a tragic dilemma, as well as the many other elements of a tragic hero, Marcus Brutus is the tragic hero of Julius Caesar.
Period 4
English
20 March 2013 Works of tragedy have been around since the earliest times of Greece, if not longer. In these tragedies, the downfall of the "tragic hero", or the main character destined to fall, is portrayed to the audience. In one of the most famous tragic plays ever written, Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare gives the downfall of many characters. Given the case, there have been many arguments about who the tragic hero really is. Despite the fact that the play is named after Julius Caesar, the tragic hero of Shakespeare's play is Marcus Brutus. As the tragic hero of the story, Brutus faces a tragic dilemma, a situation where every option will result in disaster for the character. These are common in tragic works, and usually help the reader establish who the tragic hero really is. In the events leading up to the assassination of Julius, Marcus Brutus was caught between two difficult choices, both of them with a disastrous result. One choice Brutus could have made was to take no action against Julius, leading to Caesar being crowned as a king (bringing a possible reign of tyranny). The other option was to kill Caesar, who, at the time, hasn't done any wrong yet. Brutus had decided to help kill Caesar, exclaiming to the other conspirators "Oh that we then could come by Caesar's spirit and not dismember Caesar!" (720). Brutus had wished that there was a way to settle this conflict without the death of his friend. This proves that Brutus was in a tragic dilemma, forcing him to be torn between either killing Caesar and his ambition, or to let him obtain the power of a king, a power possible of bringing the Romans to slaves. In the tragic story Julius Caesar, Marcus Brutus experiences a tragic dilemma, a problem where every outcome results in disaster for the tragic hero. Because Brutus is the character who has a tragic dilemma, as well as the many other elements of a tragic hero, Marcus Brutus is the tragic hero of Julius Caesar.