History Theatre / JuliusCaesar

* NotSoHarmless: Brutus dismisses Antony as Caesar's harmless little yes-man, which turns out to be one of the biggest mistakes of the play.

* DrivenToSuicide: Several characters after everything [[ItGotWorse gets worse]] following the assassination.

** Indeed, he shows no fear when he's killed not much later.

One of WilliamShakespeare's tragedies, the play is his take on the assassination of Julius Caesar in AncientRome and its bloody aftermath.

* DownerEnding: It's {{Shakespeare}}. [[CaptainObvious It's a tragedy.]] ''Duh''.

* TheSnarkKnight: Cassius.

* PortentOfDoom: Calpurnia urges Caesar not to go to the Senate because of the various omens she's either witnessed or heard about from reliable sources. Caesar poo-poos it and goes anyway.

* MurderSuicide: Arguably Brutus and Cassius, though the suicides happen well after the murder.

* FamilyUnfriendlyAesop: The play's 'message' can easily be read as "Democracy is bad because people are sheep," given all the scenes showing how quickly and easily the public's loyalties can change and be manipulated: Act I, Scene I, as well as their rapid switch of loyalties from Caesar to Brutus and back to avenging Caesar following the assassination. Of course, in Shakespeare's day [[ValuesDissonance this wouldn't have been a family unfriendly aesop]], as democracy didn't catch on for another few centuries.

* AmbitionIsEvil

In either case, Brutus is intended to be the most sympathetic character in a cast of villains. The title character? An [[AmbitionIsEvil Ambitious]] DecoyProtagonist. His other closest friend, Mark Antony? Uses his oratory skills to help woo the crowds to handing Caesar power, and when it comes to AvengingTheVillain he really gets nasty, all while acting the part of the FauxAffablyEvil VillainWithGoodPublicity. Octavian/Octavius/Augustus Caesar? Just as ambitious as his dear old uncle, but even smarter, smart enough in fact to maintain his [[VillainWithGoodPublicity good publicity]] throughout the events of the play so that it takes a knowledge of what actually happened afterwords historically (or in AntonyAndCleopatra) to realize his [[XanatosPlannedThisIndex villainy.]] Our actual protagonists other best friend, Cassius? TheResenter to Caesar's power who gets Brutus involved in the conspiracy in the first place by being a ManipulativeBastard, with plans to set himself up as TheManBehindTheMan where Brutus is [[PuppetKing The Man]] whether he wants the job or not, in fact the less Brutus actually want the job the easier he thinks it will be. The rest of the conspirators all have their own selfish motivations as well. Oh and the rest of Rome? Anyone who isn't just a victim of one of the villains, ends up in the mob formed due to Mark Antony's speech due to their [[PowderKegCrowd fickle nature]].

In either case, Brutus is intended to be the most sympathetic character in a cast of villains. The title character? An [[AmbitionIsEvil Ambitious]] DecoyProtagonist. His other closest friend, Mark Antony? Uses his oratory skills to help woo the crowds to handing Caesar power, and when it comes to AvengingTheVillain he really gets nasty, all while acting the part of the FauxAffablyEvil VillainWithGoodPublicity. Octavian/Octavius/Augustus Caesar? Just as ambitious as his dear old uncle, but even smarter, smart enough infact to maintain his [[VillainWithGoodPublicity good publicity]] throughout the events of the play so that it takes a knowledge of what actually happened afterwords historically (or in AntonyAndCleopatra) to realize his [[XanatosPlannedThisIndex villainy.]] Our actual protagonists other best friend, Cassius? TheResenter to Caesar's power who gets Brutus involved in the conspiracy in the first place by being a ManipulativeBastard, with plans to set himself up as TheManBehindTheMan where Brutus is [[PuppetKing The Man]] whether he wants the job or not, in fact the less Brutus actually want the job the easier he thinks it will be. The rest of the conspirators all have their own selfish motivations as well. Oh and the rest of Rome? Anyone who isn't just a victim of one of the villains, ends up in the mob formed due to Mark Antony's speech due to their [[PowderKegCrowd fickle nature]].

For the man himself, see GaiusJuliusCaesar.

* AntagonistInMourning: After Brutus dies, Antony calls him "the noblest Roman of them all" and says that the others conspired against Caesar out of jealousy, but Brutus did it because he thought it was the right thing. He and Octavian agree to give him [[DueToTheDead a respectful burial]].

-->I will this night,
-->In several hands, in at his windows throw,
-->As if they came from several citizens,
-->Writings all tending to the great opinion
-->That Rome holds of his name; wherein obscurely

** Mark Antony: "Cry HAVOC! And let slip the dogs of war!"

* EtTuBrute: As the assassins attack, Caesar defends himself... but when he sees Brutus, his best friend, among the assassins, he gives up and lets himself be murdered - he didn't care about a bunch of strangers armed with pointy things, but having his buddy stab him is another story entirely. The full quote is: "Et tu, Brute? Then fall, Caesar." Marc Antony during Caesar's funeral would say of Brutus's betrayal that his was "the most unkindest cut of all."

-->Weigh them, it is as heavy.

* PortentOfDoom: Calpurnia urges Caesar not to go to the Senate because of the various omens she's either witnessed or heard about from reliable sources. Caesar poo-poos it and goes anyway.

* SockPuppet: Cassius gets Brutus to join him by forging a bunch of petitions in various writing styles, all criticizing Caesar and praising Brutus.

* EtTuBrute: TropeNamer.

* PortentOfDoom: Portia urges Caesar not to go to the Senate because of the various omens she's either witnessed or heard about from reliable sources. Caesar poo-poos it and goes anyway.

-->'''CINNA.''' Truly, my name is Cinna.
-->'''FIRST CITIZEN.''' Tear him to pieces, he's a conspirator!
-->'''CINNA.''' I am Cinna the poet, I am Cinna the poet!
-->'''FOURTH CITIZEN.''' Tear him for his bad verses, tear him for his bad verses!

In either case, Brutus is intended to be the most sympathetic character in a cast of villains. The title character? An [[AmbitionIsEvil Ambitious]] DecoyProtagonist. His other closest freind, Mark Antony? Uses his oratory skills to help woo the crowds to handing Ceasar power, and when it comes to AvengingTheVillain he really gets nasty, all while acting the part of the FauxAffablyEvil VillainWithGoodPublicity. Octavian/Octavius/Augustus Caesar? Just as ambitious as his dear old uncle, but even smarter, smart enough infact to maintain his [[VillainWithGoodPublicity good publicity]] throughout the events of the play so that it takes a knowledge of what actually happened afterwords historically (or in AntonyAndCleopatra) to realize his [[XanatosPlannedThisIndex villainy.]] Our actual protagonists other best freind, Cassius? TheResenter to Caesar's power who gets Brutus involved in the conspiracy in the first place by being a ManipulativeBastard, with plans to set himself up as TheManBehindTheMan where Brutus is [[PuppetKing The Man]] whether he wants the job or not, in fact the less Brutus actually want the job the easier he thinks it will be. The rest of the conspirators all have their own selfish motivations as well. Oh and the rest of Rome? Anyone who isn't just a victim of one of the villains, ends up in the mob formed due to Mark Antony's speech due to their [[PowderKegCrowd fickle nature]].

* HoYay: Tons of it, especially between Brutus and Cassius. Also, Brutus tells the plebes at the forum that he has killed "my best lover". After Cassius commits suicide, one of his generals also kills himself because of how much he loves his commander (Cassius's likability is something of an InformedAbility).
** Let's not forget act 4 scene 1: "I cannot drink too much of Brutus' love" indeed.
** Though this stems largely from HaveAGayOldTime, that and immature high school students who find Shakespear rather dry, boring, and difficult to understand, and though this is rather TroperTales-y, I must remind readers that the ''instrument'' Brutus's servant mentions as being ''in my tent'' is '''a musical instrument''' one of the '''''stringed''''' variety in fact, as is specifically mentioned if you are actually paying attention, probably a lyre given the setting. Furthermore, Shakespearian England was so uptight and stuffy about that sort of think that even the tamest of plays got a nasty reputation, which would have meant that he would have never gotten away with as raunchy a scene as I have had the displeasure of hearing that particular passage be read.
*** To be fair, sexual relationships between men were not out of the ordinary in ancient Rome.

* ManipulativeBastard: Depending on portrayal, Cassius can easily be this. It is left ambigous whether Cassius is mearly jealous of Caesar's new found power even though both Brutus and himself are just as honourable, and has contracted the world's most traitorous form of tall poppy syndrome:

** Or whether he genuinely fears that Caesar will be crowned king and therefore be a threat to the very anti-monarchy Roman ideaology:

* ProtagonistTitleFallacy

* OneSteveLimit: Averted with Cinna... unfortunately for the other Steve.

Or whether he genuinely fears that Caesar will be crowned king and therefore be a threat to the very anti-monarchy Roman ideaology:

-->'''FIRST CITIZEN.''' Tear him to pieces, he's a conspirator.
-->'''CINNA.''' I am Cinna the poet, I am Cinna the poet.
-->'''FOURTH CITIZEN.''' Tear him for his bad verses, tear him for his bad verses.