There are plenty of debates as to whether the protagonist of julius caeser is caesar himself or brutus... cassius is not even considered for the part. Detaching the play from the time it was written in... or what shakespeare might or might not have intended... studying it in a purely objective fashion, what would be the arguments for and against the consideration of cassius as the main character? After all he is the brightest character of the play, he develops the most in the 5 acts, he is the most tactically astute amongst the conspirators, and yet brutus constantly overrules him... with fatal consequeces...

Hmmmmm, good (homework) question. What do YOU think?

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Originally Posted by Wondergirl

Hmmmmm, good (homework) question. What do YOU think?

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Not a homework question. We're doing julius caeser this term and all our teacher does is drone on and on about whether brutus or caeser is the protagonist. I just wanted to see if all people reading caeser thought this way.

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Originally Posted by starsdie

not a homework question. we're doing julius caeser this term and all our teacher does is drone on and on about whether brutus or caeser is the protagonist. i just wanted to see if all people reading caeser thought this way.

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protagonist = hero
Was Caesar the hero? Was Brutus the hero for killing him and to stop him from taking on more power?

I vote for Brutus as protagonist.

Not every story has to have a clear-cut protagonist.

There are clearly 3 main characters in Shakespeare's play - Caesar not being one of them. Mark Antony has the pivotal speech, but he doesn't seem to be the protagonist. Cassius is a bit of a weasel, but critical to the play. Brutus is a tragic figure and it is he whom the play revolves around.

Cassius certainly is a protagonist, but Brutus is the character we watch. We don't really care about Cassius.

If I had to pick, it is Brutus for me. He betrays his friend and this betrayal results in his ultimate downfall.

"Et tu, Brute" says it all.