In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar Marcus Brutus is the most complex character to analyze, but he is also the tragic hero. Although Brutus was greatly involved in Caesar's murder, it doesn't make him a villain. In his soliloquies, the audience learns of the motives which drove Brutus to action. He is a powerful leader, a compassionate husband, and also a true and trusting friend. He does not kill Caesar because of envy, greed or for the good of himself, but he explains that he assassinated him "not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more" ( III.ii.21-22). With these words Marc Antony and the public realize he acted from civic duty to Rome and for its future. In Brutus' mind his actions were the right choice to make. This makes Brutus the tragic hero in the play.

Brutus' idealism and goodness in the play constitute...