William Shakespeare's work is undoubtedly one of the most famous body's of work in the world of literature. Shakespeare's work ranges from a romantic love story, Romeo and Juliet, to the dramatic play Hamlet. However, one piece of work in Shakespeare's collection that seems to stick out above the rest is The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. The main person behind Caesar's assassination is Marcus Brutus. Marcus Brutus, who is a servant and close friend to Julius Caesar, sets out to kill Julius Caesar. What would cause a person to kill a close friend? Questions like this seem to arise in numerous works by William Shakespeare. By dissecting The Tragedy of Julius Ceasar, examining Brutus' relationship to Caesar, seeing Brutus involvment in the conspiracy, one can see the true tragedy that made The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.
Obvioulsy, Shakespeare portrayed Brutus as an extremely loyal person. Brutus was loyal to his dear friend Caesar, but he was undoubtedly more loyal to his country, Rome. Brutus also loves Caesar but he also feared his power. "... I do fear the people do choose Caesar for their king...yet I love him well." (act 1, scene 2, 11. 85-89) No matter what, Brutus would not allow Caesar to "climber-upward...He then unto the ladder turns his back..." (act 2, scene 1, 11. 24,26) Brutus would not allow Caesar to rise to power and then turn his back onto the people of Rome. On the Ides of March, as Caesar was assassinated, Caesar's last line is "Et tu, Brute? -- Then fall, Caesar." (act 3, scene 1, 1.85) This proves that Caesar realizes that there must be a noble reason for this assassination. Caesar respects Brutus just as much as Brutus respects Caesar, but in a different way.
Marcus Brutus also had a very important role in the conspiracy against Caesar. He truly was the "back bone" of the plan. With Brutus in the plan, Cassius believes Rome will have their back because of Brutus' loyalty to Caesar. "Brutus shall lead the way, and we wil grace grace his heels with the most boldest and best hearts of Rome." (act 3, scene 1, 11. 135-136) Brutus certainly took part in this conspiracy to save Rome. "If then that friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer: not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more." (act 3, scene 2, 11. 21-24)
Marcus Brutus was a very close friend and servant to Julius Caesar. However, Brutus deffintely had moral values dealing with Rome. Brutus joined ranks with Cassius solely because he didn't want Julius Caesar to turn his back on Rome. Obviously, Julius Caesar's death was a tragedy. However, the true tragedy was Brutus's choice between the two things he loved the most. Without Brutus, there would actually be no "Tragedy" in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.