Tragic hero by Shakespear

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Julius Caesar True Hero
In many plays by Shakespeare, a true hero or a tragic hero is identified. This type of hero has a
weakness in his character which leads to his demise. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is surrounded
by a lot of controversies as who really is the tragic hero. The bone of contention is who between
Marcus Brutus and Julius Caesar is the tragic hero. An examination of characters will be made to
determine who the true hero is.
From the play, Marcus Brutus has a noble personality. It is evident that all his actions are
for the benefit of another party. More to this, Marcus never deceives anyone throughout the play.
Marcus killed Antony’s best friend; Julius Caesar. But still Antony thought of Marcus as the
noblest man of all men (Schanzer, 2013). This recognition by Antony came after Marcus died.
He realized that Marcus did not kill Caesar for his own good but for the good of Rome. He
realized that Marcus cared more about other people than he cared for himself. Marcus new that a
great punishment would follow for killing Caesar and he still went ahead with it. This is because
he knew that this action would help the Plebeians in the long term. More to his selfless acts,
Marcus hides his murder plan from Portia because he thought that she already had enough on her
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plate (Schanzer, 2013). Marcus did not want to worry her with his plans as this would add to the
stress she already had.
Marcus many times portrayed acts of love towards other people. This can be
demonstrated in (Schanzer, 2013) where he refuses to join the conspiracy by Cassius. He did this
since he wanted no to betray Caesar. Later on, Marcus weighs his options and he is afraid of
what might happen to Rome under Caesar’s rule. The commoners would live a difficult life
under Caesar’s rule. He therefore decided to kill Caesar to save Rome (Schanzer, 2013). Marcus
also shows honor in Caesars funeral. Despite Cassius refusing Antony to speak at his best
friend’s funeral, Marcus allowed him. Marcus wanted Caesar to have a proper burial ceremony
and allowing Caesar’s best friend to speak would serve the goal. More to being a man honor,
Marcus almost killed himself when his best friend Cassius died. This was an act of endearment
(Lever, 2001).
All tragic heroes display a weakness in their character that leads to their fall. Marcus’
weakness is that he was naïve. He believed that every man was honorable and that everything on
earth was good. He believed that people always told him the truth and that they would never lie
to him. He believed that the world would never betray him just because he has never done that to
anyone. During the play, everyone who he trusted betrayed him. He let other people like Antony
and Cassius betray him. He is a very trusting person who never sees people’s hidden intentions
and capabilities. This tragic weakness leads to the fall of the character. This trait leads to the
dearth of Marcus.
On the other hand Caesar has been portrayed by Shakespeare as being unfit for power.
His wife was barren and he suffered from epilepsy. In spite of being seen as heavenly curses,
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these instances are indicators of him being unfit to rule. In the play, Caesar is seen as a humble
man. Antony offered Caesar the crown three times and in all the three times, Caesar refused. He
did not want the physical signs of power.
Caesar’s relationship with Marcus tells more about his character. The play’s background
shows the fact that Marcus is Caesar’s son. In the play, there are no actions by Caesar that show
he deserves to die. The only proof that he deserved death is Marcus’ fear of the future. Caesar
does not see Marcus betraying him even though he sees some signs from Cassius. Caesar also
deserves some sympathy since we see Decius manipulating and mocking him.
Despite being too prideful, his worst enemy, and vain, Caesar has very few people he can
count on and those around him are the ones who betray him.
At the end, our views of these characters are balanced. In this case, Marcus murders his
own father, Marcus is mocked by Casca, Lepidus is smeared by Antony, and family members of
the imperial faction are killed by the imperial faction. It is evident that there is neither better nor
worse side.
From the play, Shakespeare seems to think that the masses were idiotic. But he still
thinks that the difference between Plebs and Patricians was not true. This is because the behavior
of the two is indifferent. For instance, Caesar was not only manipulated by his wife but also by
Decius, Marcus is manipulated by Cassius to murder his father. The conspirators never thought
through the plan; like what would happen after Caesar was killed.
From the discussion, it is crystal clear who the true hero is. The tragic hero is Rome. The
Republic of Rome dies since Civil War starts as a result of Caesar’s death. It is not just the main
characters of this play who suffer, their deeds lead to civil war in Rome where Romans suffer.
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Works Cited
Schanzer, Ernest. The problem plays of Shakespeare: a study of Julius Caesar, Measure for
measure, Antony and Cleopatra. Routledge, 2013.
Lever, Julius Walter. "Tragedy and State." Revenge Tragedy. Palgrave, London, 2001. 24-40.

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