The Tragedy of Julius Caesar Essay Topics
1. Brutus is often considered a tragic hero. Considering his positive attributes, his flaws, and his role in the
play, do you agree or disagree with this sentiment? Why/why not? You may also consider discussing
why another character may be the tragic hero.
2. Is Brutus a villain or a hero? Is he a dishonorable man, or a mistaken one? Why/why not? If you think he
is a villain, consider discussing his villainous aspects and how they contribute to the play.
3. Discuss the role/function/power, or lack thereof, of omens/supernatural events and fate in the play (such
as discussing what the various responses to these phenomena show about the struggle between fate and
free will in the play and whether or not the play’s tragedies be attributed to the characters’ failure to
read the omens properly, or if the omens merely presage the inevitable).
4. Discuss the role of women in the play, comparing and contrasting Portia and Calpurnia and/or
comparing and contrasting their marriages to Brutus and Caesar, respectively.
5. Does a single hero or villain exist in the play? If so, who, and why? Or why not? (Or discuss who is the
most admirable/sympathetic and/or the most despicable character and why.)
6. Who is the protagonist in this play? Is it Caesar, who dies well before the end but whose power and
name continue on? Or is it Brutus, the noble man who falls because of his tragic flaws? Should the title
name Brutus, or is it fitting that it names Caesar, or should it name both of them? Why?
7. Discuss the power of language/speech/the written word in the play.
8. Discuss the power of deception/manipulation in the play.
9. In all the chaos of the play, is there a single voice of reason? If so, who? How/why?
10.
Compare and contrast the private and public sides of Brutus and/or Caesar (such as discussing if
Caesar continues to wield power over events even after he is dead, whether or not the conspirators
succeed in their goals by killing him or Caesar’s influence too powerful to be contained even by his
death, whether or not the spirit of Caesar is greater than Caesar the man, what the effects of his death
are, etc.). Consider discussing them as public men who define themselves by their social roles and
reputations.
11.
How is loyalty portrayed in the play? Discussing Antony, Brutus, and/or Cassius in relation to
Caesar.
12.
Agree or disagree with the idea that idealism often leads to downfall. Consider discussing whether or
not Brutus is a defeated idealist.
13.
Discuss Brutus’ actions. Is he right to join the conspiracy against Caesar? What are his reasons?
Does he choose to join the conspiracy, or is he tricked by Cassius? How do Cassius’s motivations
compare to those of Brutus? Are they more noble or less noble? Why?
14.
As Caesar’s appointed successor, how does Octavius carry on the great general’s legacy? Consider
his use of language and commands, as well as the ways in which the other characters regard him and
refer to him.
15.
What roles do the plebeians, or common people, play? Are they as fickle as Flavius and Marullus
claim in the opening scene? How important is their support to the successes of the various military
leaders and the outcome of the play? The play depicts Rome at a time of transition between republic
and empire—a time in which, theoretically, the Roman people are losing their power. What role do the
people themselves play in this transition?
16.
What role does tradition (such as what it means to be a “true Roman”) play?
17.
What does the play show about politics? Based on the play, what choice is a citizen to make between
his personal loyalty and his social conscience, between acquiescence in tyranny and a rebellion which
involves murder? Is the resort to force and violence ever justifiable and/or successful? Consider
connecting the politics of the play to those of Elizabethan England and the modern United States.
18.
Trace the movement from disorder to order throughout the play and analyze the pacing of its
development. Consider discussing how the people Shakespeare's Elizabethan England valued order
preeminently and how personal, political, and heavenly order played crucial roles in the way and
analyze the ways in which characters (such as Brutus, Cassius, Antony, and/or Caesar) act in violation
of order on any of those three levels, and explain how each violation leads to the tragic end of the play.
19.
Discuss friendship in the play. Consider Caesar and Brutus, Caesar and Antony, Brutus and Cassius
(and how their friendship changes), Antony and Octavius, and/or any other pairings. Are these true
friendships or merely political alliances forged for the sake of convenience and self-preservation? How
do they compare with the heterosexual relationships in the play—the relations between husbands and
wives? Are they more profound or less profound, more revealing or less revealing of their participants’
characters?
20.
Discuss inflexibility in this play, focusing on Caesar and Brutus. How is each man inflexible? Is this
rigidity an admirable trait or a flaw? Do the rewards of this rigidity outweigh the consequences, or vice
versa? How/why? You may also consider discussing other human flaws that Caesar and Brutus possess
and whether or not they cause the play’s tragic events.
21.
22.
23.
Is Lucilius the only “pure” character in the play? Why/why not?
Discuss whether or not Caesar has any real impact on the events of the play, both before his death
and after it.
How does the play define honor and/or nobility?
24.
Choose a character and trace how he/she changes in the play, such as Antony in his relationship with
Brutus.
25.
Discuss any of the other themes of the play (such as ambition, greed, power, betrayal, aspiration,
etc.).
26.
Compare and contrast any characters from the play.
27.
Analyze the use and function of irony in the play.
28.
Discuss the role of hubris (excessive pride) in the play (such as that which Caesar exhibits).
29.
Brutus is a Stoic; Cassius is an Epicurean. Compare and contrast these two schools of philosophy
and discuss how they influence each man's beliefs, actions, and goals.
30.
Write an essay discussing the qualities of good and bad leaders, using Caesar, Brutus, Cassius,
and/or Antony. Consider discussing how their styles and how they are effective/ineffective.
31.
How is the play ambiguous? How does it divide the audience’s sympathies?
32.
Discuss the use and function of symbolism in the play.
33.
Choose a character and discuss his/her self-discovery (such as recognizing his/her flaw) and how it
affects him/her and other characters/events in the play.
34.
Choose a character from the play and do a close character analysis, discussing his/her function,
morality, internal and external conflicts, actions, motivations, influences, and whether or not they are
justified. Consider discussing Brutus (is he dishonorable or mistaken? self-righteous? egotistical?
opinionated? humorless? intellectually limited/mediocre? big-minded? rash? decent? kind?), Caesar (is
Caesar egocentric? dangerous? noble? deserving of death?).
35.
How does Shakespeare establish the themes, conflicts, and moods of the play?