The Death Of Brutus In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

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PHILIPPI, Macedonia - Marcus Junius Brutus, a close friend of Julius Caesar and one of the main conspirators in his assassination commits suicide. Immediately after his defeat at the second battle of Philippi, Brutus decides to take his life by impaling himself on his sword after numerous signs foreshadowing his death. When Brutus’ army loses against the triumvirate’s at the second battle of Philippi, Brutus knows doom is imminent. He is hesitant to declare his wish to die out loud since he would be contradicting his stoic personality. He finally asks his men to hold his sword pointing towards him so he can stab himself; however, no one agrees to do so. Shortly after, the ghost of Julius Caesar appears to Brutus and claims that it is his time to die. All of Brutus’ men flee, except for Strato, the only one he was able to convince to help Brutus end his life. Brutus impales himself on the sword and states that Caesar’s death is avenged. Brutus accepts his inevitable death and says: “Caesar, now be still. / I killed not thee with half so good a will.” -(5.5.50-51) It seems that Brutus was only at ease after killing himself. This is not only because of the defeat by Antony’s forces, but also the fact that the ghost of Caesar had made Brutus realize that as Caesar’s best …show more content…
Upon seeing Brutus’ corpse, Antony says: “This was the noblest Roman of them all. / All the conspirators save only he / Did that they did in envy of great Caesar. / He only in a general honest thought / And common good to all, made one of them. / His life was gentle, and the elements / So mixed in him that / Nature might stand up / And say to all the world, “This was a man.” (5.5.73 - 80) Antony’s eulogy describes that Brutus truly joined the conspiracy to kill Caesar for the good of Rome, unlike the other conspirators who did it out of

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“For let the gods so speed me, as I love / the name of honor more than I fear death” (Shakespeare 1.2.900). These are the wise words of Marcus Brutus. In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar; written by William Shakespeare, Marcus Brutus is the main character, despite the title of the play. Shakespeare is known for incorporating tragic heroes into his writings. A traditional tragic hero is defined as a person; usually of noble birth, who suffers some type of catastrophe that leads to their downfall…

Words 1529 - Pages 7