Brutus is the true villain of the play. How far do you agree?
Although he is loyal to Caesar and has the best interests of Rome at heart at the beginning of the play, Brutus seems to be more of a villain as the play progresses. In act 2, Brutus becomes more of a villain when he decides to think of Caesar “as a serpent's egg/ Which, hatch'd, would, as his kind, grow mischievous/ And kill him in the shell”, as this is evidence of him villainously turning against Caesar. Describing his close friend, Caesar, as a “serpent” is slanderous, as this concrete noun has connotations to evil and being underhand. Additionally, through comparing Caesar to a “serpent’s egg”, Brutus is further conveyed as a villain. Brutus, in this simile, is suggesting to kill Caesar before his is “hatch’d”, before Brutus’ suspicions that Caesar will become a tyrant have even been confirmed. One could argue that not having faith in his closest friend’s abilities to rule Rome is a villainous character trait. In terms of structural features, Brutus uses the imperative sentence “kill him in the shell” when he makes his mind up to murder Caesar. This act of betrayal, almost as though he is convincing himself to murder Caesar, marks him as the play’s villain, as if he had not joined the conspiracy, the conspirators would not have been able to claim that the murder was for the good of Rome; Brutus’ honourable reputation makes the conspiracy seem necessary, rather than a cold-hearted assassination.