The Portrayal of Brutus as a Tragic Hero in William...

The Portrayal of Brutus as a Tragic Hero in William Shakespeares Julius Caesar 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†¦show more content†¦Though the letter is simple and only two lines, it sparks the questions needed to be raised in order to get beneath the unwavering loyalties that he is shown to carry. In the lines that read, â€Å"Brutus, thou sleep’st: awake’. Such instigations have often been dropp’d where I have took them up† (lines 48-49), and, â€Å"Shall Rome stand under one man’s awe? What Rome?† (line 52), it is apparent that the few words the letter carried have created doubt in Brutus’ mind. The fact that Brutus is so appealing to the audience is a mixture of emotions stirred within each person watching the play. It is comprehendible and probable that Shakespeare’s ambition was to connect this character to the everyday temptations and conscientious objecting that every person goes through. Although this has been extremely dramatised, people can familiarise with Brutus’ predicament as they have at least once in their lives faced a temptation for which they have most probably given in to. In Act 1 Scene 2, lines 82-89 it provides the loose fibre in the strength of Brutus’ loyalty, but also shows the torment inside of this character facing the brutal reality of his own thoughts and feelings, a classic example being, â€Å"I would not, Cassius; yet I love him well†. It presents the fractured reasoning of the human mind; the inability to come to a threatening conclusion against all