SH+2014-15+P6+Marcus+Junius+Brutus

Aim: Alex Shakespeare’s aim by using Brutus in Julius Caesar is to that when one is very powerful, they cannot trust their closest friends, because their intentions may not be aligned with the leader’s well being. According to Shamekia Thomas, Caesar trusted Brutus as his personal servant and close friend (Shamekia 1). As a powerful person and a military man, Caesar should have been more on edge. Even though Caesar was the most important man in Rome and arguably the ancient world, he did not take enough precautions to protect his life. Shakespeare depict Brutus as a philosophical and honorable. By doing this, Shakespeare makes it seem logical for Caesar to trust him and that it is not Caesars fault that he was killed. Shakespeare also takes away blame from Brutus as he shapes him to be a manipulatable character. Brutus killed Caesar not out of greed and jealousy like the rest of the conspirators, but out of pride for his country. In this way, Shakespeare shifts the blame from both Brutus and Caesar for what happened to Caesar and onto the other conspirators. Brutus is used as a way to show that powerful people cannot trust their friends regardless of their noble intentions. Works Cited Thomas, Shamekia. //Education Portal.// //n.p., n.d.// Web. 20 Oct. 2014. Badian, E. "Marcus Junius Brutus (Roman Politician)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2014. Audience:Cassie

Shakespeare wrote Brutus as a kind and noble character. While Brutus did assassinate Julius Caesar, he was a scholarly and philosophic person who was much admired in his relations with other people. As Henry Hudson put it, “And yet the character of Brutus is full of beauty and sweetness.[...]Being such a man, of course he could only do what he did under some sort of delusion. And so indeed it is”(1). Additionally, Brutus was made more of a main character than Caesar himself. This is because Caesar was seen as a great Roman leader, and his murderers are seen as evil and despicable. This is what Shakespeare must of assumed of his audience when he wrote the play; he most likely knew that his audience villainized and thought of Brutus as purely evil, when in fact Brutus was a generous and thoughtful person. Shakespeare wrote Brutus’s character contrary to the popular opinion about his intentions, but in reality, “Because Caesar's enemies know about Brutus' sense of honor for his country, they are able to manipulate him into going along with their plan to kill Caesar. Brutus agrees to kill Caesar because he believes it will be best for the country, while the other men want to kill Caesar because of envy and jealousy”(Thomas 1). Shakespeare takes advantage of this assumption that his audience thinks poorly of Brutus by giving him an amiable and honorable personality, which adds an interesting insight into his rationale behind murdering Caesar.

Works Cited Hudson, Henry N. //Shakespeare-Online//. //n.p.,// 20 Aug 2009. Web. 20 Oct. 2014. Thomas, Shamekia. //Education Portal.// //n.p., n.d//. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.

Historical: Hunter Marcus Junius Brutus The Younger was born on 85 BC, in the Roman Republic. He is more commonly just known as Brutus. He was a “politician of the lat [|e] Roman Republic” and he is “best known in modern times for taking a leading role in the assassination of Julius Caesar” (“Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger” 1). During his career as a politician, he had some changes of faith between Pompey and Caesar. According to Britannica, “In the 50s he opposed Pompey’s increasing power, but, upon Caesar’s invasion of Italy in 49, Brutus was reconciled with Pompey and served under him in [|Greece] ” (“Marcus Junius Brutus” 1). Later, as Caesar began to rise in power, “Brutus joined Cassius and other leading senators in the plot that led to the [| assassination] of Caesar on March 15, 44 bc. Driven from Rome by popular outrage, Brutus and Cassius stayed in Italy until [| Mark Antony] forced them to leave” (“Marcus Junius Brutus” 1). He was then an outcast from Rome, since he had assassinated a very popular world leader.

Works Cited Badian, E. "Marcus Junius Brutus (Roman Politician)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2014. “Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 6 October 2014. Web. 20 Oct 2014.

Cultural(Margo): Marcus Junius Brutus’ quotes and his betrayal has appeared throughout fiction and has created a legacy of its own. He was one of the main figures aiding with the assassination of Ceasar. He stated, “Sic semper tyrannis!” (thus, ever to tyrants) spoken at Caesar's assassination and was then quoted by John Wilkes Booth, who spoke it after killing Abraham Lincoln. Throughout fiction, he appears in Dante’s Inferno as one of the three who were seen such traitors that they were put into satan's mouth to be chewed upon for all eternity. He also appears in Shakespeare’s Julius Ceasar and is quoted as, “the noblest Roman of them all.” He again appears in the Masters of Rome and The Ides of March, both having to deal with the before, and leading to the assassination of Julius Ceasar. Many more works have shown Brutus’s story and point of view of the assassination, such as the Asterix comics, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood and even a silent film called Brutus produced in 1911. Brutus’ influence and story is and continues to be an influential part of fictional and nonfictional works.

Works Cited “Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 6 October 2014. Web. 20 Oct 2014. Thomas, Shamekia. // Education Portal. // //n.p., n.d.// Web. 20 Oct. 2014.