Essay: Uncovering Shakespeare’s Reasons for Making Brutus the Protagonist in Julius Caesar

Brutus: the protagonist of Shakespeare���s Julius Caesar
From the beginning of the play, it becomes quite clear that not Julius Caesar but Brutus is the protagonist even though the title of the play is Julius Caesar. This is not difficult to prove because we can see, know and understand Brutus��� motives and the way he thinks. The remaining issue is therefore: why is Brutus the protagonist? What was it that Shakespeare wanted to tell us through Brutus? What does Brutus represent?
To understand Shakespeare���s reasons, you first have to understand in which time the play was written. Shakespeare wrote Julius Caesar in 1599 and during that time Queen Elizabeth reigned England. The Queen had not yet named a successor which lead to worries in the entire country. These same worries are felt through the whole play.
Brutus plays a major role in this part. In the first place because his ancestors founded the Roman Republic as it was, and that motivated him to be worried about what would happen if Caesar accepted the crown and had all the power. The English people also were worried about the successor of the Queen, there was even a question if England would become a republic. In the play this was of course the complete opposite but the worries were the same. Brutus��� worries made the audience themselves think about what they would do in that situation and therefore think about their own country���s problems.
Next to that, Brutus was chosen to be the protagonist in this play because his flaws were a great influence for the storyline. This is one of the characteristics of a Shakespearean protagonist. Brutus��� major flaw was his insecurity because of which he was doubting himself and not sure if he made the right decision when he decided to join the conspiracy against Caesar. Yet, Brutus was ���weak��� enough to be persuaded by Cassius who touched his weak spot: his family���s establishment of the Roman Republic. This made Brutus tend towards Cassius��� side and join the conspiracy. Here, Brutus represents that even the most powerful people can be vulnerable and influenced by others.
Brutus���s vulnerability and tendency to think things through thoroughly make him a likeable protagonist. Brutus acts out of his belief that killing Caesar is for the people of Rome���s own good. He genuinely thinks that killing Caesar will prevent Rome from a disaster, whereas Cassius partly acts out of personally disliking Caesar and therefore wanting to kill him. This is the reason why Brutus is not considered as the ���bad guy��� even though he joins a conspiracy to kill the most powerful man of that time. Brutus was influenced by Cassius, who wanted to kill Caesar mainly because he disliked him. Brutus himself was already doubting Caesar���s power, and when Cassius came to emphasize why it would be unacceptable to have Caesar as a leading power, Brutus was convinced for the most part to join the conspiracy.
Other flaws of Brutus are his feelings for nobility and honourability. This makes him na��ve, for example when he receives the letter. Brutus is unable to see that the letter was sent by Cassius; if he had been more observant, he would have seen that it was a fake. Another example of this flaw is when he underestimates Antony after killing Caesar. Brutus is convinced that when he finishes his speech, the people will understand why they killed Caesar and that Antony will not stand a chance. However, Brutus was wrong. Whereas he only moved the crowd emotionally, Antony convinced them to disapprove of what the conspirators had done.
Brutus was continually at war with himself when he decided to kill Caesar. He expresses many contradictory attitudes towards the assassination. Brutus tries to ���purify��� the conspiracy by making it look like a ritual out of faith. He cannot kill Caesar out of pure dislike because Brutus loves him very dearly. Brutus tries to make the assassination a ritual to put an end to his mental torture. This way, Shakespeare wants to show how hard it is whether to follow your heart or your mind.
Another large theme in the play is power, especially Brutus���s power is important in the play. Shakespeare wanted to show that power is not always something positive. Power is a very important subject in this play. Caesar���s power and arrogance for example makes it possible for him to think that he is immortal, which eventually gets him killed. Cassius���s power influences and convinces Brutus to join the conspiracy, yet Brutus���s power influences the conspiracy as a whole. Brutus is a respected, honourable Roman with great power. He uses his power to make Cassius reconsider killing Antony. Next to that Brutus convinces the other conspirators to not swear an oath to make the assassination less ���formal��� and to make Brutus feel more secure about his decision.
Brutus���s tragic fate is very characteristic for a Shakespearean protagonist. This fate makes him susceptible to failure. The omens which are revealed throughout the play were not believed by the protagonists, and this is why they had to face so many difficulties. If, for instance, Caesar would have listened to his wife, he would not have been killed that day. Other omens were the heavy storm, with thunder, lightning and rain, the Ides of March, and the fact that a lot was spoken about illnesses (Caesar���s falling sickness, also known as epilepsy, Brutus���s and Portia���s sicknesses, and Ligarius���s sickness because of which the conspiracy is made very difficult) which all indicate nothing but negativity. However, all these omens are disregarded by Caesar, Brutus and Cassius. This is because they want to make things happen for their own good.
Their ambition and inability to listen to their inner voice is the reason it ends badly for all of them. Caesar���s case is mentioned above. In Cassius���s case it was so that he wanted to kill Caesar so badly that he had not considered what would happen to Rome if Caesar was finally killed, this resulted in a war with no winners. In Brutus���s case it is also very clear that his fate was predetermined. However, the big difference between Cassius and Caesar is that Brutus acted out of the goodness of his heart and because he truly wanted the best for the people of Rome, and not because of his own arrogance or pride. This makes Brutus���s fate even more tragic than the others���.
As a conclusion I can say that has become clear that Shakespeare made the right choice to make Brutus the protagonist of his play because it is a deep and wide character who can tell you, as the audience, so much about the time of writing but also about influence because of power, nobility and fate. Next to that, Shakespeare has chosen Brutus as a protagonist because it is a very likeable and you can easily identify with him. Brutus also shows that even the most powerful men can doubt their decisions,