Good Cinna, take this paper, and look you lay it in the praetor’s chair, where Brutus may but find it, and throw this in at his windom.” Cassius forged the letter and Brutus trust Cassius and believes that the people of Rome really want him to kill Caesar. Then, Brutus is over trusting of Mark Antony, he allows Antony to give a speech at Caesar’s funeral. He trusts Antony will not deceive him. Third tragic flaw is his idealism. Cassius states:“ Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that “Caesar”?
But Caesar really loved Rome that anything happened in Rome good or bad affected him. Like Antony said “When the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept Ambition should be made of sterner stuff. In other words Antony is just saying that Caesar really loved and cared about Rome no matter what. Lastly in Act 3 Scene 2 Mark Antony has now seen the assassination of his dear beloved Caesar and he wants to say a speech at his funeral. But in order to do this he must get in the good graces of the conspirators; therefore Rome can know what happen to their beloved Caesar.
The main conflict in the Julius Caesar play is between Brutus and Mark Anthony, although others are involved such as Octavius, Cassius amongst others they are not as significant. The conflict between these two men arises after the murder of Caesar. Although both men are close friends of Caesar their conflict is to do with different loyalties. Anthony’s loyal to Caesar even after his death as if Caesar is as eternal as Rome, whereas Brutus puts the interests of his countrymen above that of his friend and is a loyal son to Rome. Shakespeare portrays Brutus as a noble and honourable man, who is much loved by the people and senate.
Rhetorical Strategies in Julius Caesar In Julius Caesar, Antony and Brutus deliver two speeches, both of which are driven by three rhetorical devices; ethos, logos and pathos. Though both were able to use the rhetorical strategies effectively, Antony’s speech ended up above both. Antony and Brutus, Begin with establishing their credibility first. Brutus breaks into ethos by talking about his honor, he tells the plebeians to keep his honor in mind. He also lets everyone know that Caesar was “ambitious” and he had to “slew” him because of it.
This also reveals another side of Brutus. By the use of the word ‘must’ it shows that Cassius has influenced Brutus into thinking in a vile manner. His is no more portrayed as the peaceful and honourable man that only thinks of the people. Brutus wants the killing of Caesar to look like he is going to kill Caesar for the public. This is shown by the use of the words “I know no personal cause to spurn at him, but for the General.” Brutus says that he is joining the conspiracy only for the people when in fact; Brutus is using this as an excuse to kill Caesar.
Unlike the other conspirators, Brutus was not power hungry nor did he choose to kill Caesar for personal gain and selfish desires. When Caesar returns from to Rome after murdering Pompey, Brutus fears that he will become a tyrant and a great threat to the Republic. Caesar does not hesitate to do away with anyone who is the slightest bit against him. When Marullus and Flavius speak out agaisnt Caesar to disperse a crowd of Roman workers and go throughout the city taking off crowns and decorations from any of Caesar's statues, he has them both killed. Brutus may have been invloved in Caesar's murder but he does so unselfishly in order to protect Rome by
Thou art fled to brutish beasts, and men have lost their reason. Bear with me; my heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, and I must pause till it come back to me” (3.2.103-106). However, Brutus had a more difficult job as he had to convince the crowd to forgive him for the murder of the head of the Roman Empire. “Had you rather Caesar were living and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all free men” (3.2.20-21). One of the rhetorical appeals that Antony used in his speech was pathos.
Is Brutus the hero or villain of the play? To be precise, the question is not if Brutus was good or bad but rather is the place hero or villain better for him. It’s a mixed opinion but the majority of people will have to agree the Brutus is indeed the tragic hero of the play. Sure Mark Antony is the first obvious answer but Brutus has done things that even though might be unforgivable, if people were to closely examine his actions more carefully then indeed, Brutus is the hero of the play and this can be proven. Brutus is a loving character that over the play is well known by everybody and his love and caring trait is known through the following quote: “O, he sits high in all the people’s hearts; / and that which would appear offence in us, / his countenance, like richest alchemy, / will change to virtue and to worthiness.” (I, iii; 157-160) In this scene, Caska wants Brutus to be in the conspiracy as he complements him because Brutus was well known and definitely a great leader.
Brutus is entirely a victim of his high standards and principles. Cassius manipulates him by using certain persuasive techniques regarding his honour to get Brutus to join the conspiracy. Brutus’s personal opinions of the deed are displayed at the funeral to represent that he actually is a victim regarding his principles. Along with that, his nobility remains constant even if he is a part of the conspiracy. Cassius mocks Brutus’s honour in order to manipulate him to join the conspiracy.
He believes that for the good of Rome Caesar must die. He believes this because; he thinks that no man should have that much power. Another example of betrayal would be when Antony tells Brutus that he wants to join the conspirators, when really he wants to revenge Caesars death. This shows betrayal because Antony made a promise to Brutus that he did not keep. All of the examples I have listed in the paragraphs above portray betrayal, a common motif.