The play involves a highly respected senator, Brutus, who decides to join the conspiracy to kill Julius Caesar, in the effort to keep democracy intact. Brutus believes that if Julius Caesar is allowed to live, Caesar will take a kingship and turn the government into a monarchy. Brutus, Cassius, and the other conspirators kill Julius Caesar, yet they find Antony, a loyalist of Caesar, seeks revenge on them. Plato set out rules on the traits a tragic hero must possess. A tragic hero must neither be an evil villain nor a great hero, instead the tragic hero must be either a flawed hero or a villain with some good traits. Also, the tragic hero must not deserve what mighty punishment is dealt to him. Another key feature of a tragic hero is the fact that a tragic hero must be a high-standing individual in society. The tragic hero must not deserve his punishment for the play to be a tragedy. Also, a tragedy happening to someone in high authority, will affect not only the single person but also society as a whole. Another reason for the tragic h

Caesar looks to further himself and he has much pride. Julius Caesar shows that he may be dangerous with power and power is what Caesar is trying to acquire. Brutus is wary of Caesar getting power and possibly setting up a monarchy. The other conspirators are jealous of Caesar and his rise in power. They are senators also, yet see that they are losing their power and authority and that Caesar is grasping for more ruling. This occurrence, that Caesar is surpassing his peers and creating a monopoly, is a very dangerous and serious threat. Cassius expresses his opinion by his statement, "Cassius. ...but for my single self, I had lief not be as live to be in awe of such a thing as I myself. I was borne free as Caesar; so were you."(1,2,94-97) Cassius also shows that he sees that the Senate and senators are falling in power as Caesar is selfishly acquiring it.

Through these examples, Julius Caesar can be seen as having the traits of a tragic hero. Upon closer inspection, Brutus is the real tragic hero of the play. This displays how William Shakespeare is able to create realistic and multipurpose characters that inspire his works.

Caesar is very ambitious, for this is the reason he is murdered by Brutus.

Julius Caesar has much pride, a hamartia, which brings him to not be wary of the conspiracy. Caesar is given much warning on the threat of his life, yet due to his pride he thinks himself to be too great of a person to have such a downfall. Julius Caesar is warned by a soothsayer, "Soothsayer. Beware the ides of March."(1,

Some common words found in the essay are:
Julius Caesar, Caesar Antony, Julius Caesar's, Capitol Caesar, Cassius Caesar, Cassius Senate, Calpurnia22105-106 Caesar, Caesar Caesar, Mark Antony, Danger Caesar, julius caesar, tragic hero, forth capitol, caesar's pride, julius caesar's, caesar pride, traits tragic hero, traits tragic, caesar caesar forth, caesar caesar, caesar dangerous, hero julius caesar, downfall julius, kill julius caesar, tragic hero deserve,
Approximate Word count = 1037
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)