Discuss the tragic element of the play julius caesar
Answers
Anagnorisis- In Act 4, Scene 2, Brutus recognizes that assassinating Caesar may not have been the best thing to at the time, in his lines “Hath given me some worthy cause to wish things done, undone”. It can be inferred that the things Brutus wishes undone is the conspiracy surrounding and leading to Caesar’s death
Peripitea- Brutus’s success in the assassination is almost instantly reversed in the series of bad decisions he makes immediately after Caesar’s death. Foremost, letting Antony live was Brutus’s biggest mistake, as well as allowing Antony, to speak after him during Caesar’s funeral oration. This set up Antony for the perfect appeal to emotion speech with which to win the crowd after Brutus’s ill-planned logical speech. Brutus’s fortune then is later on completely reversed at the time of his death/suicide.
Hamartia- Brutus’s main tragic flaw is the concept that he holds his honor much higher than his life. His grasp on Roman honor has deeply influenced many of his decisions throughout the play. For one, he is too trusting with those he collaborates with. Cassius for example, smooth-talks Brutus into killing his good friend Caesar, making him believe it is for the good of Rome. Brutus’s honor is also what compelled him not to kill Antony which proves to be a fatal error in judgement.
Catharsis- To the audience, it would seem that Brutus’s fortune was reversed because he was too trusting to the point where he was quite naïve. Near the end of Act 5, for example, Brutus says that he believes that no man has ever lied to him, which is a ridiculous idea tragically structured on Brutus’s honor.