Corruption In Brutus

Superior Essays
“Speak, Strike, and Redress”: The Rise and Fall of Brutus’ Moral Compass
Julius Caesar Act II, Scene I, lines 10-236

In Act III of William Shakespeare’s play ‘Julius Caesar’, Julius Caesar, Emperor of Rome, is murdered. Prefacing this, in Act II, Brutus contemplates the necessity of this end to Caesar’s life and sovereignty. It has been suggested that power or the quest for it causes Caesar’s death, however it is in fact the opposite. Brutus does not seek power, in fact he fears for his friend’s (Caesar’s) integrity in the face of power. The query regarding this issue is one of corruption: did Brutus himself achieve corruption during his quest to end the prospect of a venal reign by Caesar? Power has many prospects — it can lead to an ascendancy
…show more content…
Brutus holds deep admiration and love for Caesar. Brutus knows and admits to himself that he has never witnessed Caesar ambitious before: “to speak truth of Caesar, I have not known when his affections swayed more than his reason” (II.i.20). Ironically, Brutus determines to murder Caesar for this very reason. He likens Caesar to that of a serpents egg — “which, hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous”, and grow into a deceitful and corrupted leader …show more content…
The letter itself asks Brutus to “awake, and see [himself]”, to “speak, strike, and redress”, for Rome is crumbling whilst he sleeps. Brutus interprets this as a cry against Caesar and uses it as fuel for his decision to murder. Although Brutus kills Caesar for the supposed good of the people and for the benefit go Caesar himself, Brutus is not innocent. Although he commits suicide in order to avenge the death he brought upon Caesar, Brutus is not fully honorable. These actions, despite Brutus’ noble reasoning for each, are corrupt. Brutus not only creates an issue in his head that is not there, based on historical occurrences and personal assumptions about power, but he carries out the perverse solution he has been influenced to believe is necessary in confronting the imagined issue. His statements that claim recognition of the corruption of which he is victim and toward which he is headed are brief and quickly abandoned. He recognizes that “since Cassius first did whet [him] against Caesar, [he] ha[s] not slept” (II.i.64), a recognition of unconscious unsettlement, and then immediately exonerates himself with the following: “The genius and the mortal instruments are then in council, and the state of man, like to a little kingdom, suffers then the nature of an insurrection” (II.i.69). Brutus illustrates the trial of his decision to kill

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    Introduction “Cowards die many times before their death; the valiant never taste of death but once.” At the point when Caesar said this, he knew he would kick the bucket and on account of Brutus. Brutus cherished Rome and would not have liked to see Rome devastated on account of Julius Caesar. Cassius inquired as to why was Caesar to be the lord when Brutus was pretty much as honorable and awesome as Caesar.it turns out Brutus was both a loyalist of Rome and a double crosser of Julius Caesar. He is a nationalist for cherishing Rome enough to protect it, however he is a trickster in light of the fact that he slaughtered Caesar.…

    • 367 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The distinction over the characterization of Brutus as a patriot or a betrayer is a hot topic for debate in the literary world, and as such, there are many points to be made for the depiction of Brutus as a betrayer. However, these claims are inherently based on little truth and fundamentally wrong as they are not backed by as much evidence and lack an understanding of who Brutus is as a character. Those that define Brutus as a betrayer claim that Brutus works only based off of assumptions and what other people tell him to do. In other words, he doesn’t bother to do his own research. On the contrary, this idea is flawed as Brutus deeply trusted his fellow senators and had no reason to doubt what they said.…

    • 1314 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He wanted what was best for Rome to be successful, but he also didn’t want to murder Caesar. Brutus, however, saw through Caesar into the parts that no one else could see. Brutus was saying that he never knew Caesar to let his emotions affect his reasoning. But, when Caesar gets to the top, he scorns the ones who helped him get there.…

    • 1037 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    () Brutus’s intellect tells him that this was the only way to save Rome. He aligns his feelings by being isolated from everyone. As Lucius goes to the gate to see who it is Brutus ponders, “ Since Cassius first did whet me against Caesar, I have not slept. Between the acting of a dreadful thing and the first motion, all the interim is like a phantasma, or a hideous dream: The Genius and the mortal instruments are then in council; and the state of man, like to a little kingdom, suffers then the nature of an insurrection.” The confusion consumed Brutus for a long period of time, but eventually he comes to the conclusion.…

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Brutus Hero Quotes

    • 1031 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Brutus Essay I think Brutus is a hero because he didn’t do wrong for himself , he thought about others before he even hesitated of thinking of himself. Brutus was Caesar 's best friend and was loyal to him. Caesar was becoming too powerful and Brutus had to side with someone.…

    • 1031 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Brutus As A Villain Essay

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Alike John Wilkes Booth, who killed Abraham Lincoln, Brutus was also under the assumption that he was doing good on behalf of the people. Brutus, while under the influence of others opinions, thought that Caesar would not be a good leader and his rule would not benefit Rome or it’s people. One way he was under the influence of others is the quote where Cassius states, “I will this night, In several hands in at his windows throw, As if they came from several citizens, Writings, all tending to the great opinion That Rome holds of his name”(Shakespeare 1. 2.). Cassius plants fake letters from the “citizens” because he knows he can not change Brutus’s mind about joining the conspiracy but he knows the citizens can.…

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Brutus: A Tragic Hero

    • 1287 Words
    • 6 Pages

    One tragic recognition Brutus has is that he acts rashly about killing Caesar. Brutus thinks the conspirators act rashly when they kill Caesar because they do not know how Caesar would act if he would become king because he never because king. They just act out of pure impulsive and do not think through their actions and this is the part that troubles Brutus no taking a step back and instead just going for it. A second tragic recognition Brutus has is he realizes that his great friendship with Cassius is gone.…

    • 1287 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, “Julius Caesar,” Brutus and Antony portrayed two antagonizing reactions after Caesar’s regicide. This scene not only lays the framework for the rest of the play, but also exemplifies the personality traits of Brutus and Antony. Their persuasion throughout their monologues helps to rally the plebeians in support of their causes. In response, this scene marks a turning point in the play and subsequently foreshadows Brutus’ murder. It shows how Brutus’ actions and words eventually lead to his decimation, especially with the help of Antony’s coaxing of the plebeians.…

    • 890 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When Brutus recites a speech in the market place after Caesar’s death the speeches exemplify parallelism, verbal irony, and witty use of rhetoric. With the Roman public watching on eager to see a reprisal for the death of Caesar, Brutus uses the undetected technique of coercion on the Romans taking advantage of their easily susceptible minds. In his speech he proclaims his love for Caesar passionately stating “If there be any in this assembly, any dear friend of Caesar’s, to him I say that Brutus’ love to Caesar was no less than his”. With the public making up their minds, Brutus plays his pathos card, showing he really did care for Caesar but claims, “Have you rather Caesar were living and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all free men?” .Here…

    • 1114 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    By this, Brutus means that once Caesar attained too much power and recognition, he forgot about those less fortunate than him and began to view himself as a god rather than a servant to his people. Because of this, despite his reservations, Brutus comes to the conclusion that Caesar’s coronation would be disastrous to Rome and that he must be stopped. Since Caesar 's rise to power seemed inevitable at that point, the only way to avoid it was through his death. This motive shows that the conspirators sought to sacrifice Caesar in the name of Rome’s well-being, rather than brutally butcher him in an act of…

    • 1194 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    And to this there is two arguments that can be made in Brutus’s defense. Brutus does not agree to the plan to kill Caesar until he sees “proof” that the citizens of truly want Caesar to be removed. Secondly by this point Caesar was loved amongst the masses in Rome. So peacefully…

    • 384 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Because of this writing style, Shakespeare shows the audience internal conflict in his characters. Marcus Brutus was a very hesitant character, he constantly second guessed his decisions and pondered whether they were the correct choice. In the article Brutus’ Personal Failure is the Central Tragedy, the author says, “Brutus is the only one of the conspiritors who is portrayed as inwardly debating the justification for commiting the ‘dreadful thing’”. Almost immediately after the brutal stabbing of Caesar, Brutus doubts his hasty decision. On one hand, the killing of Caesar stopped the tyrannical reign and would hopefully restore freedom to all of Rome.…

    • 1235 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Towards the end of the story Brutus decides to kill himself because he believes that “it is more worthy to leap in ourselves Than tarry till they push us.” (V.v.28-29) Brutus is honorable even in his death because he kills himself contrasting to Cassius’ death as he dies with his eyes closed when his slave stabs him. He was already close to dying because he was slowly losing his allies and the battle. Just before he dies, Brutus tells Caesar that he “...killed not thee with half so good a will.”…

    • 827 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is a tragic story of the downfall of the almighty, powerful ruler of Rome, Julius Caesar. A tragic hero is a character that makes a judgement error that leads to their own destruction. There are many other factors that determine whether a character is a tragic hero or not. Factors including: being of higher class, dying by the end of the literary work, and/or possessing a fatal flaw. The character Brutus is considered the tragic hero because he possesses a fatal flaw, he makes a judgement error that leads to his own destruction, and he experiences peripeteia.…

    • 1105 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The acclaimed play written by William Shakespeare,The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, should go by another name, The Tragedy of Brutus. Brutus is the main character and hidden protagonist, he is a senate member scarred by Ceaser rising so quickly to kingdom. After being mislead by many friends he decides to assist in the murder of Julius Caesar. The noble Brutus is truly the only protagonist in the play, he should be the center of the play in the stead of the short lived and arrogant Julius Caesar.…

    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays