BRUTUS as tragic protagonist Tuesday September 21 2021

BRUTUS as tragic protagonist Tuesday, September 21, 2021

What is tragedy? �Shakespeare was influenced by the 1 st century writer Seneca. �He was a Roman, writing plays which were influenced by the great Greek tragedies of 4 centuries earlier. �Let’s look at the features of SENECAN tragedy:

Senecan tragedy: �Obsessed with “crime” �Preoccupation with mutilation and torture �Witchcraft and the supernatural – think of Macbeth! �“vaulting ambition” �Ghosts calling for revenge �Use of “stichomythia” in dialogue – passages where characters speak in alternate lines.

Is this BRUTUS? �Can Brutus be said to be obsessed by crime? Consider the evidence of 2. 1 �Mutilation and torture? �The Supernatural? �Ambition? �Revenge? �Ghosts?

Doing well… now consider this: �Classical tragedy, as explained by Aristotle, a 4 th Century BC Greek, is based around these elements: �The fall from grace of a good person �A tragic flaw leading to the fall

There’s more: � These plays have a set structure: 1. 2. 3. The “exposition” or the part where the protagonist makes the mistake that will lead to his fall. The “reversal” when the character realises his error. The “catastrophe” - when the inevitable happens.

IS this Brutus? �We are left in little doubt that Brutus is good �Brutus acts out of a misguided idealism. Is this flaw? �The outcome is inevitable once Caesar is dead, BUT more than that, if Brutus is seen as contributing to his own fate is he more tragic still?

SO… �Brutus seems to fit into the tragic scheme. �Shakespeare did not know the Greek dramas, so was this intentional? �Why is the play not called “Brutus” do you think?