Preview

Julio Caesar

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1908 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Julio Caesar
|

| | Yenisleidys Duarte Professor Reagan SmithHumanities – Greek and RomanOctober 20, 2012Essay #3 | | | 5. Who is the protagonist in the play? Is it Caesar, who dies well before the end but whose power and name continue on? Or is it Brutus, the noble man who falls because of his tragic flaws? | | |

Literary scholars have debated for centuries about the question of who exactly is the protagonist of the William Shakespeare’s play called “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.” The seemingly simple answer to this question would be Julius Caesar himself, after all, the play is named after him and all the events of the play relate to him. However, Caesar only appears in three scenes (four if the ghost is included), thus apparently making him an unlikely choice for the protagonist who is supposed to be the main character. Meanwhile, Marcus Brutus, who appears in the play much more often than Caesar (and actually lasts until the final scene), is not the title character of the play. Determining the protagonist is one of the many engaging issues presented in this one. But after examining Brutus' relationship to Caesar, his involvement in the conspiracy, and his importance to the plot, somehow, the truth is revealed.
"He who will not reason is a bigot; he who cannot is a fool; and he who dares not, is a slave." – Said Sir William Drumman, respectively. All men have the power to reason. Some men can reason better, and more thorough than others. Yet nonetheless, all men can reason. In order to reason, the mind must be clear, completely impartial, and understand the situation to the best of its ability. The play Julius Caesar is the story of a man trying very hard to make rational decisions. Marcus Brutus is this struggling character who evades constant pressure from all sides at any moment and dies at the end. Undoubtedly, Brutus is the main character and driving force of the play, despite the misleading title of Julius Caesar. The story did continue to



Bibliography: "Julius Caesar: Brutus Is The Protagonist." 123HelpMe.com. 22 Oct 2012 <http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=161713>. Roadrun A. "Who Is the Protagonist of the Play Julius Caesar?" Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo!, 2007. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. <http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070604081955AA4bSDa>. S, Gill N. "What Were Caesar 's Famous Last Words as He Prepared To Die?" About.com Ancient / Classical History. About.com Ancient History, 2012. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/caesar/f/020309ettu.htm>. -------------------------------------------- [ 1 ]. Roadrun A. "Who Is the Protagonist of the Play Julius Caesar?" Yahoo Answers. 2007. [ 2 ]. Anonymous. “Julius Caesar: Brutus Is The Protagonist.” 123helpme. October 2005 [ 3 ]. Roadrun A. "Who Is the Protagonist of the Play Julius Caesar?" Yahoo Answers! 2007. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. [ 4 ]. Gill N.S. Ancient/Classical History. Julius Caesar Assassination. What Were Caesar 's Famous Last Words as He Prepared to Die? About.com 2012

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    "Play ScriptJulius Caesar." Full Text / Script of the Play Julius Caesar Act I by William Shakespeare. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Jan. 2013.…

    • 2289 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Protagonists keep the plot of a story going, they are the ones we cling to and hope to see win in the end or die trying. In the outstanding play Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, many characters play a very important role while many others are there simply to die. But the question still remains. Who exactly is the main character? Julius Caesar or noble Brutus? Both show the great acts of a protagonist, along with being the main eye throughout the story which would prove them to be the best choice for the role. They both flow through the story like hot butter, but not all butter lands on toast.…

    • 237 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Jc Studyguide

    • 1543 Words
    • 7 Pages

    22. Who is the protagonist in the play? Are they a dynamic or a static character? Give reasons for your answer.…

    • 1543 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    It portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against the Roman dictator Julius Caesar, his assassination and the defeat of the conspirators. Although the title of the play is Julius Caesar, Caesar is not the central character in its action; he appears in only three scenes, and is killed at the beginning of the third act. The protagonist of the play is Marcus Brutus, and the central psychological drama is his struggle between the conflicting demands of honor, patriotism, and friendship.…

    • 987 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    There is a large amount of differences between the play interpretation of Julius Caesar and what really happened. For instance, Brutus in the play was extremely different than real life Brutus. In the play, he was best friends with Caesar-well, until he killed him. However, in real life, Brutus hated Caesar. He was never supportive of Caesar, and truthfully never loved him.(Musaj and Prezi Inc.) In Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, he uses Brutus’s strong love of Rome, his honor, and his willing to do anything for the good of Rome to show that Brutus is the tragic hero.…

    • 469 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Within The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, it is argumentative that Julius Caesar appears to fit the definition of a tragic hero, however it is also believed by a large sum of individuals that Marcus Brutus is found to be a more fitting character to the definition of a tragic hero. Written by William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is based upon a plot which revolves around the common theme of a tragedy, which can be perceived as a dramatic composition that often involves verses as well as a death of a high class individual, during the Elizabethan era.…

    • 680 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare is a play about honor, integrity, and political strife. Each character is faced with difficult decisions influenced either by ambition or honor. Marcus Brutus, one of the main characters of the play, although one of Caesar's best friends, is the head conspirator plotting for Caesar's death. Marcus Brutus is motivated by honor…

    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tragic Hero Archetype

    • 1105 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The tragic hero archetype has been played with for as long as literature has been created, but no one had quite a spin on it like William Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s tragic heroes were specifically designed to elicit pity and fear from the audience and to really feel their downfall. In Julius Caesar, the protagonist Brutus is a well-made example. But the character of which the play is named after is often not considered as one. Although the character of Julius Caesar does not follow all the requirements of the traditional Shakespearean tragic hero such as Brutus, the titular character still should be considered one.…

    • 1105 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Julius Caesar Flaws

    • 2477 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Written by Shakespeare more than one thousand five hundred years after Julius Caesar’s death, Julius Caesar, Shakespeare’s well-known tragedy, is unique in that it contains two tragic characters, the senator Brutus and emperor Caesar. A play in five acts, Julius Caesar attempts to portray the assassination of Caesar, at that time victorious over Pompey’s sons, and the civil war that follows, culminating in the establishment of the Second Triumvirate. Although Caesar meets his end comparatively early in the third act, both Brutus and Caesar are adequately portrayed as men of high repute who, through flawed actions and decisions, meet an untimely end. In short, both are tragic heroes.…

    • 2477 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Brutus was an honorable man, as many have said. High in power, he always spoke the truth to the people of Rome, saying he would kill himself for the good of it. He was Caesar's right-hand man and did what he thought was right. In this play he was tricked by He was tricked by Cassius and believed the only way to stop his rule was to kill him. In the play, Brutus was an honorable man, but trusted almost everyone. Still, Brutus killed himself believing his choice was right one. In Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare, Brutus was seen as the tragic hero of the play.…

    • 896 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    the mamba

    • 451 Words
    • 2 Pages

    “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight. This quote can be assimilated to Brutus in Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar. In a way he died as a hero but he did live long enough and saw himself becoming the villain. Throughout the play, Brutus had been consumed in a lot of drama and deaths. The readers can tell the internal arguments he has with himself about it too. In William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, there are many tragic deaths, drama, and heroes and villains. The question is, is Brutus the hero or is Brutus the villain.…

    • 451 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The exposition of Julius Caesar, Shakespeare immediately presents the ideals that underpin the differing views of Caesar’s rising power through his two protagonists, Brutus and Cassius. Both characters posses different interpretations on Caesar’s reign on Rome, one being loyal to Rome and a love and respect for Caesar “I love him well” but the other being a spiteful and vitriolic towards a “feeble old tyrant.” This highlights the notion of Cassius’s selfish prejudice towards his own contentment, which is only shown behind closed doors. Brutus on the other hand is victim to Cassius’ vitriol and becomes the pawn as he is manipulated “poor Brutus, with himself at war,” Brutus is troubled emotionally, torn by his patriotism and his respect for Caesar, above all he has an undying love for Rome, “Brutus had rather be a villager than to repute himself a son of Rome.” It is this love for Rome that causes such internal turmoil for Brutus, through Shakespeare’s use of juxtaposition of characters, he is able to highlight to the audience, the lengths that man will go to in order to…

    • 987 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Stoicism in Julius Caesar

    • 1178 Words
    • 5 Pages

    O 'Dair, Sharon. "Social Role and the Making of Identity in Julius Caesar." Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 33, No. 2 (1993). 14 Nov 2004 .…

    • 1178 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    "He who will not reason is a bigot; he who cannot is a fool; and he who dares…

    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Romeo and Juliet

    • 280 Words
    • 2 Pages

    7. If Romeo and Juliet are the protagonists of this play, who or what is the antagonist? Keep in mind that an antagonist can be a character, a group of characters, a set of circumstances, or even society as a whole. Use details from the play to support your answer.…

    • 280 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays