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Brutus’ Character

Brutus is one of the main characters in the play ‘Julius Caesar’ by Shakespeare. Throughout the play, Brutus aims to uphold his loyalty to Rome over all else, including his friendship with Caesar and his love for Portia. His loyalty and honor are the most important qualities that Brutus possesses. For any human being, these would be desirable qualities, and the people of Rome respect Brutus for this. However, Brutus faces a challenge in balancing his private and public life because of conflicts between his love for his friends and loyalty to Rome, and this conflict ultimately becomes his greatest undoing.

Brutus agrees with Cassius that Caesar has become a threat to Rome; he has become too ambitious. Cassius lets Brutus in on a plan to assassinate Caesar and redeem Rome. Many people look up to Brutus for his honor and loyalty, and this convinces them to get behind the assassination plot. One of the most critical decisions that Brutus makes in the play is to support the assassination of Caesar. Brutus tells Cassius that although he loves Caesar like a brother, he is willing to put the good of Rome before his friendship with Caesar (1.2.84-91). Brutus says that he loved Rome more than he did Caesar, and that is why he decided to take part in the assassination (Wiseman). After an argument with Cassius, Brutus exclaims that he would never wrong his enemies, let alone harm a brother (4.2.39-40). However, this statement shows that Brutus in inconsistent in his words and actions; he took part in killing Caesar, although he loved him like a brother. Brutus’ inconsistency and idealism led him to make the wrong decisions in both his private and public life and led to his death (Peters). He committed suicide in the battle of Philippi when they faced defeat.

Works Cited

Peters, Cameron Luke, and Peter Anderson. “‘The Tragedy of Marcus Brutus?’: An Inquiry into the Intrigues of William Shakespeare’s adaptation of Plutarch’s Lives into Julius Caesar.” (2015).

Wiseman, Timothy Peter. Julius Caesar: Roman General. Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC, 2017.