Learn about Decius Brutus in Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. Discover the character's role. Explore quotes and an analysis of Decius in Julius Caesar.
Decius Brutus in Julius Caesar | Overview & Analysis
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Decius in the play Julius Caesar?
Decius is a member of the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar. He is the one who convinces Caesar to go to the Senate on the Ides of Marsh by appealing to his ego.
Is Decius the same as Brutus?
Decius' full name is Decius Brutus, but he is a different character from the one commonly called Brutus. Brutus is the main tragic hero of the story. Decius, however, is a minor character.
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ShowWilliam Shakespeare's Julius Caesar is a play first produced between 1599 and 1600, but not published until 1623. The play is set in 44 BCE and covers the build-up to and the aftermath of the assassination of Julius Caesar.
In the play, a group of conspirators seeks to assassinate Caesar because they feel he will become king and destroy Rome. Two of the conspirators are Cassius and Marcus Brutus, long-time friends of Caesar. Brutus is deeply troubled by the question of whether killing Caesar is for the good of Rome. They worry as the people revere Caesar almost like a god and have offered him the crown several times.
Cassius shows Brutus falsified letters which finally convince Brutus to turn against Caesar. Cassius wants to also assassinate Mark Antony, but Brutus manages to sway the conspirators to only target Caesar. The next day, Caesar decides to go to the Senate despite several omens warning him of impending doom but changes his mind at the last minute. Decius Brutus, however, convinces Caesar to go to the Senate after all.
At the Senate, the conspirators stab Caesar to death. Marcus Brutus speaks at the forum and addresses the crowd, telling them that while he loved Caesar, he loves Rome more. When Antony speaks, however, he at first seems to praise Brutus but then accuses Brutus and the others of killing Caesar for their own ambition. He manages to turn the crowd against the conspirators and drive them out of Rome. Marcus forms an alliance with Octavius—Caesar's adopted son—and Lepidus. Cassius and Brutus, meanwhile, begin to raise an army. Brutus grows sick with grief, however.
A great battle occurs as the forces loyal to Caesar and the armies of the conspirators clash. Cassius and Brutus meet their ends in the conflict. In the aftermath, Antony acknowledges that Brutus really did what he felt was best for Rome.
Julius Caesar Characters
The play features dozens of characters both major and minor.
| Character | Description |
|---|---|
| Julius Caesar | Caesar is a general and senator. At the start of the play, he has returned from a great military victory, and his popularity makes some of the Senate fear he will rise to power and become king. |
| Mark Antony | One of Caesar's friends, Antony, at first pledges his loyalty to the conspirators after they kill Caesar. However, he quickly betrays them after he speaks at the forum and turns Rome against them. |
| Marcus Brutus | One of the key characters in the play, Brutus' internal struggle over whether to kill Caesar and his subsequent guilt at his actions form much of the play's drama. |
| Caius Cassius | Another general and friend to Caesar, Cassius is one of the initial leaders in the conspiracy. He pushes Brutus to join and uses forged letters to make his case. Unlike Brutus, Cassius is cold and brutal and looks out for only himself. |
| Calpurnia | Caesar's wife, Calpurnia famously tries to keep Caesar home by describing a dream she had and warning him of omens. |
| Portia | Brutus' wife, Portia, wants Brutus to confide in her, but he refuses to bring her into the conspiracy. |
| Decius Brutus | One of the minor members of the conspiracy, Decius Brutus is the one who leads Caesar to the Senate floor to be killed. |
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Julius Caesar has two characters named Brutus. One, Marcus Brutus, is the play's tragic hero. He is a long-time friend of Caesar who agonizes over his decision to betray Caesar. The second Brutus is Decius Brutus: a member of the conspiracy who is differentiated in the play by being referred to as ''Decius'' to avoid confusion.
The Role of Decius in Julius Caesar
Decius has a minor yet pivotal role in the play. He is the one who lures Caesar to his death.
When Cassius and the other conspirators fear they will not be able to get Caesar to the Senate floor to assassinate him, Decius is the one who tells them he will bring Caesar to the appointed place. The conspirators need to bring Caesar out of his home and to the Senate so they may all attack at once and show that they do so for Rome. On the day of the assassination, however, Calpurnia, Caesar's wife, tells her husband about a dream she had where his statue bled out of a hundred spouts, and people washed their hands in his blood.
At first, Calpurnia's dream and her reading of omens convince Caesar to stay home. However, when Decius arrives, he convinces Caesar to go to the Senate on the Ides of March. According to Decius, Calpurnia is mistaken in her interpretation of the dream, and the blood is really ''reviving blood'' as people seek recognition from Caesar.
Decius is an intelligent and cunning character. He also understands politics, which is why he insists that Antony should be killed along with Caesar. While Brutus eventually convinces the others to spare Antony so as not to seem power-hungry, Decius has a point since Antony ends up running the conspirators out of Rome and becomes the biggest challenge to them gaining power after Caesar is killed. He manages to provide a very quick counterargument to Calpurnia's interpretation of the dream while also appealing to Caesar's ego regarding the healing blood and reminding Caesar that the common people worship him. By comparing Caesar to a god, Decius preys on Caesar's ego and his want of power.
Quotes: Decius in Julius Caesar
Decius has few lines in the play, but they show his brilliant political mind and scheming nature.
| Quotes | Analysis |
|---|---|
| If he be so resolved, I can o'ersway him. For he loves to hear That unicorns may be betrayed with trees, And bears with glasses, elephants with holes, Lions with toils, and men with flatterers. |
At the meeting, Decius boasts that he can keep Caesar's attention with whatever fantasy he wishes since Caesar will listen to him. This is a foreshadowing of his quick thinking when he arrives at Caesar's home and must spin Calpurnia's dream to mean something different. |
| Your statue spouting blood in many pipes, In which so many smiling Romans bathed, Signifies that from you great Rome shall suck Reviving blood, and that great men shall press For tinctures, stains, relics, and cognizance. |
Decius very quickly offers a new explanation for Calpurnia's dream, one in which Caesar is a god-like figure who will save Rome. This appeals to Caesar's ego, yet it isn't quite enough for him to change his mind about not going. |
| If you shall send them word you will not come, Their minds may change. Besides, it were a mock Apt to be rendered, for someone to say "Break up the Senate till another time When Caesar's wife shall meet with better dreams." |
Finally, Decius makes Caesar go to the Senate by saying he will finally be offered a crown. He finishes by subtly mocking the image of Caesar refusing to go to the Senate simply because his wife had a bad dream. By Decius appealing to both his ego and his vanity, Caesar finally goes to the Senate. |
William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar is a play about the conspiracy to kill Caesar and the events afterward. One of the minor characters in the play is Decius Brutus, who is a different character from Marcus Brutus, the tragic hero of the story. Decius appears in a few scenes but has an integral part in the plot to kill Caesar. When meeting the other conspirators, he assures them he can convince Caesar to attend the Senate the day after their meeting so they may kill him.
Furthermore, he is able to convince Caesar to go to the Senate on the Ideas of March despite having received a prophecy to be wary of that day. When Calpurnia, Caesar's wife, shares a dream where Caesar was bleeding out from a hundred spouts and people were bathing in his blood, Decius spins the dream to have another meaning. He says that the blood in the dream is ''reviving blood'' because people are trying to obtain relics and recognition from Caesar. The flattery eventually works, and Caesar travels to the Senate, where he meets his end.
Video Transcript
Who Is Decius Brutus?
There are two characters named Brutus in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, a fact that can lead to some confusion. Shakespeare refers to Marcus Brutus simply as 'Brutus,' while Decius Brutus is a completely different character. Decius Brutus joins Cassius, Brutus, and others in the plot to assassinate Caesar.
Decius' Role in the Assassination
Decius joins the secret meeting with the other conspirators to plan the assassination of Caesar. He brings up the important question of whether others are to be killed as well. Cassius states his position. 'Let Antony and Caesar fall together,' he says. Brutus, however, believes that the citizens will turn against the conspirators if there is too much bloodshed. He's able to convince the others to kill only Caesar to thwart his political ambitions. Allowing Antony to live, of course, proves to be a grave error since Antony assembles an army to avenge Caesar's murder.
One of the other concerns at this secret meeting is that Caesar may not go to the Senate the following day. A soothsayer has issued a warning regarding danger on the Ides of March, which is the day after the conspirators' meeting. If Caesar heeds this warning, he'll stay at home. Cassius points out that Caesar has become suspicious lately. Decius declares that he can convince Caesar to come to the Senate.
Decius' Persuasive Skills
Antony is well known as a skilled orator in Julius Caesar, but this focus on Antony sometimes causes readers to overlook the considerable skills Decius displays in this area as well. In fact, Decius is confident that he can persuade Caesar to appear at the Senate; 'I can o'ersway him,' Decius says.
On the Ides of March, Decius comes to escort Caesar to the Senate. Calpurnia, Caesar's wife, has had a dream that has caused her to fear for Caesar's life. In her dream, Caesar's statue spews blood from a 'hundred spouts.' In addition, the violent weather the night before is a bad omen, Calpurnia says. She's been pleading with him not to go to the Senate as Decius arrives.
Decius claims that Calpurnia has misinterpreted the dream. The true meaning, Decius says, lies in a symbolic rather than literal interpretation of the dream. 'Your statue spouting blood in many pipes, In which so many smiling Romans bathed, Signifies that from you great Rome shall suck Reviving blood, and that great men shall press For tinctures, stains, relics and cognizance,' Decius explains.
Decius' words are designed to appeal to Caesar's ego. He implies that Caesar is so beloved that the people view him as saint-like and that Caesar's blood has healing qualities. He goes so far as to say that even 'great men' will seek recognition from Caesar. Decius' appeal to Caesar's ego works, and Caesar declares that he will go to the Senate after all.
The Assassination
Like a lamb to the slaughter, Caesar goes with Decius to the Senate. There, the assassins wait. Casca is the first to stab Caesar, but all the other conspirators draw their swords and participate as well. The scene that follows mirrors Calpurnia's dream, for the conspirators dip their hands in Caesar's blood after they kill him. Though Decius plays a crucial role in luring Caesar to his death, he doesn't appear again in the play after Caesar's assassination.
Lesson Summary
Decius Brutus participates in the plot to kill Caesar. Decius convinces Caesar to go to the Senate. He persuades Caesar that his wife Calpurnia's dream portends greatness rather than death. Once Caesar is persuaded, the plot falls into place. The conspirators kill Caesar and wash their hands in his blood, just as Calpurnia's dream had predicted.
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