Show your reader how Brutus’s own words and actions bring about a catastrophe for Rome and his own downfall, giving rise to questions about his judgment and integrity. Find things that he says or does that reveal the quality of his leadership and the content of his character. Identify places in the play that reveal his guilty conscience, his faulty or self-serving reasoning, and his bad decision-making in everything from the personal to the political to the military. Then, most importantly, explain to your reader how and why these things you’ve identified lead to his downfall and a disaster for Rome. In other words, analyze the important decisions he makes as well as the reasons he gives for his actions, and discuss the consequences. (The page “Brutus Character Analysis Exercise” in this Module provides an excellent guide to help you write this paper.). Use examples from the play to back up your points, but keep quotations brief and concentrate on your explanations. To cite the text, place Act, Scene, and Line numbers in parentheses at the end of your quotation. Example: “Your quotation here” (1.3.5-7).
