Julius Caesar

Brutus is a patrician Roman senator who is notable for his rigid honor and sense of virtue. Brutus is the most famous conspirator in Shakespeare’s version of Caesar’s assassination. Brutus and Caesar shared a close friendship, making Brutus’s betrayal more significant than that of the other senators. Brutus can be considered the tragic hero of the play. His tragic flaw is his adherence to his sense of justice, which puts him at odds with Mark Antony after Caesar’s death and ultimately leads to his suicide. Antony praises Brutus after his death, saying, “This was the noblest Roman of all” because he turned against Caesar for the good of the republic, rather than personal gain (5.5.67).

The conflict Brutus faces stems from the fact that he logically knows that Caesar presents an existential threat to Rome, yet he does not wish to turn against a friend. Cassius convinces Brutus that Caesar’s death is for the greater good. Brutus gets the other conspirators to agree not to kill Mark Antony, even though he presents a danger to them due to his loyalty to Caesar. Following the assassination, Brutus takes on a leadership role, addressing the mob of plebeians alone to convince them that Caesar needed to be killed for the good of the Republic.