Essay: Tragic Hero: Marcus Brutus in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar Fails Due to Fatal Flaws

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
In Shakespeare’s tragedy of Julius Caesar, Marcus Brutus qualifies to be a tragic hero more than any other character in the play. Ideally, almost every story has a tragic hero. From a Shakespearean tragic hero perspective, following the model established by Aristotle, tragic heroes are upstanding figures, well-spoken by everyone, but who fall ultimately because of one major flaw. The character Brutus explicitly fits this description and can be attributed to as a tragic hero because he is consistently depicted as a noble, upright and honorable man, who is however led into a tragedy of betraying a friend. As a result, he suffers both internal and external conflict which ultimately leads to his downfall. Brutus’s major flaw is his idealism and trustworthy nature which leads him to make major mistakes that ultimately results in his downfall. Brutus’s character as a tragic hero is demonstrated through his noble standing, fatal flaw and continuous mistakes which make a toxic mixture that leads to his ultimate downfall.
Brutus’s position as a noble standing man contributes to his appeal as a tragic hero. In the play, Brutus appears to be a man of noble birth. He has several servants who often refer to him as “Lord”, which demonstrates some degree of respect for him. Also, to reinforce on his nobility, Brutus was a very highly thought of a person in Rome such that even when he killed his friend Caesar claiming that his action was for the benefit of everyone and to better Rome, this immoral act is not condemned. Instead, he is regarded noble because he had good motives and this is justified by Antony’s statement, “This was the noblest Roman of them all:/ All the conspirators, save only he, / Did that they did in envy of great Caesar;/He, only in a general honest thought/ And common good to all, made one of them” (Shakespeare 5.5.68-72). This declaration implies that, since Brutus act of killing Caesar was for the good of Rome and its people, irrespective of the immorality of the act, Brutus remains of noble standing character just as that of a tragic hero. Brutus association with a prominent social figure and his high-minded principles qualifies him as a man of noble status which is a characteristic of a tragic hero.
Marcus Brutus’s fatal flaw is his trustworthy and idealistic nature that makes him easily convinced and manipulated by others thus accountable for the actions which begin his downfall. Brutus is very idealistic or rather naïve and allows everyone around him to deceive him because he believes that no one will ever lie to him since he does not lie. Cassius and the other senators are aware that they will lose their powers if Caesar gets crowned the King and for this reason, they build up accusations against Caesar to lure Brutus into their dirty work. Cassius manages to build Brutus’s confidence by making him think that killing Caesar is the right thing to do. Brutus’s overly trusting nature leads to a fatal naivety to an extent that he thinks his political idealism can neutralize all personal concerns in turning against Caesar, his best friend. This mentality is vivid when he states, “It must be his death; and for my part, / I know no personal cause to spurn at him, / But for the general. -He would be crowned. / How that might change his nature, there’s the question” (Shakespeare 2.1.10-13). This declaration suggests Brutus’s attempt to justify Caesar’s assassination solely on theoretical grounds; that he may yet become one because he knows that Caesar is not truly an oppressive tyrant as he is inclined to think. Brutus joins Cassius and the other conspirators into killing Caesar and this decision provokes a civil war in Rome. Brutus’s overly trusting nature and his idea of success for him and that of Rome tainted his sense of reality and initiated his downfall just like any tragic hero.
In addition to his first fatal mistake of joining the conspirators, Brutus continues to commit further major mistakes which fasten his ultimate downfall. After Caesar’s assassination, Brutus allows Antony to speak on his behalf at the funeral with the assumption that he and the other conspirator would look fewer criminals and better people. As a result, Brutus ends up having less control over Antony’s speech even with the guidelines he had provided him. Antony instead cleverly uses the opportunity to turn the crowd against Brutus and the conspirators by stating, “When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept:/ Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:/ Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;/ And Brutus is an honorable man” (Shakespeare 3.2. 91-94). In this declaration, Antony dispute’s Brutus’s initial claim that Caesar was over-ambitious, convincing the crowd that Caesar cried upon the demise of the underprivileged. In another instance in Caesar’s will, Antony reads that money and property for the common people was part of his intentions and as a result, the people begin to rebel against Brutus as he nears his downfall. A conflict ensues between Brutus and Antony as they compete to lead the Republican forces to destiny and Brutus continues to make fatal tactical errors including matching to Philippi even after being advised differently by Cassius. It is at this point that Brutus once again encounters Caesar’s ghost and ultimately commits suicide. Altogether, Brutus constant wrong decisions was a recipe for disaster.
In conclusion, Brutus’s character as a tragic hero is demonstrated through his noble standing, fatal flaw and continuous mistakes which make a toxic mixture that leads to his ultimate downfall. His fatal flaw depicted in his trustworthy nature and idealism is seen all through the play that leads him to make major mistakes starting from his decision to join the conspirators which marks the beginning of his downfall. Even though he died an honorable man, his flaws led to his downfall as a tragic hero.