A tragic hero in Shakespearean literature is understood as a noble and heroic character who makes a series of bad decisions based on his bad judgment that lead to his downfall and ultimately death. In William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, the tragic hero is Marcus Brutus, a powerful Roman senator who joins a conspiracy to assassinate the Roman ruler, Julius Caesar. Marcus Brutus is a tragic hero because of his noble reputation, his moral personality, the cathartic experience the audience gets from his life, and his tragic flaw: idealism. Brutus is a tragic hero because he is highly respected in Roman society. This is displayed when Cassius, Casca, and Cinna talk about the conspiracy after the marathon in the festival of Lupercal, and talk about how they must involve Brutus in the conspiracy. Casca says, “Oh, he sits high in the hearts of all people” (1.3.157). This shows that Brutus is honorable and noble in the eyes of the public. Furthermore, in Brutus' orchard, after the conspirators have left, Ligarius says to Brutus: “And with a new heart I follow you, / To do I know not what; but enough/Let Brutus guide me.”(2.1.332–35). This shows that Brutus is so dignified that even if people don't know what he is doing or why, they will follow him because he is Marcus Brutus. Therefore, Brutus' honor and nobility grant him the power to act, which classifies him as a tragic hero. Furthermore, Brutus's ethical intuition defines him as a tragic hero. Brutus' morals are demonstrated when he meets the other conspirators in his orchard regarding Caesar's assassination and says, "Let us kill him with courage, but not with wrath; / Let us cut him as a dish fit for the gods, / Let us not cut him as a carcass." fi...... middle of paper ......orally like most everyday people, his ideals are what ultimately destroys him and evokes pity and fear in the audience which leads him to catharsis . The lesson everyone can take from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar is that we should try not to see people only at face value. We also shouldn't let our ideals blind our decisions, but try to think that our ideals are not the same as everyone else's. Ultimately, our fear and pity are released, so we pity Brutus and his catastrophic end but no longer feel pity or fear; instead, we learn from his experiences that it is catharsis. In conclusion, we learn from Brutus' personality and decisions in how we feel, as we learn his story, in the fact that he is a tragic hero. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1985. Print.