Name:_______________________
Setting a Purpose:
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar Study Guide, Act 2
Read to find out how Brutus decides to join the conspiracy against Caesar.
Did You Know? Shakespeare uses Roman customs and superstition to create spooky conditions to mirror the dangerous
plot being planned. The Romans believed that omens could reveal the future. These omens could take the form of
unusual weather, flights of birds, or other natural phenomena. Unusual astronomical and meteorological occurrences
were also seen as signs of future events. Solar eclipses were believed to foreshadow doom, as was lightning.
Vocabulary:

Rhetoric

Logos

Pathos

Ethos
Questions:
1.
We all look for principles to tell us what’s right and what’s wrong. What principles have governed the choices
Cassius and Brutus have made? Do you think their choices are wise?
2. What is the conspirators’ plan? What do they decide about Mark Antony? Why?
3. What happens between Caesar and Calphurnia? What does Calphurina ask? Why does Caesar change his mind?
4. Describe the characterization of Caesar. Is he portrayed as a monstrous tyrant or a sympathetic man? Explain.
5. How does Shakespeare create and build suspense during Scenes 3 and 4?
6. How would you describe the roles of Portia and Calphurnia in relation to their husbands? Use evidence from the text
in your response.
Characterization in Julius Caesar
Determine what each of the following details from the play tells you about Brutus.
1. Why won't Brutus swear an oath (Scene 1, lines 114-140)?
2.
Before the conspirators come, Brutus paces the floor during the night, saying, "Since Cassius first did whet me
against Caesar,/ I have not slept./ Between the acting of a dreadful thing/ And the first motion, all the interim is/
Like a phantasma, or a hideous dream." (Scene 1, lines 61-65)
3. Ligarius is feeling sick, yet when Brutus asks him to join the plot against Caesar, Ligarius comes to attention and asks,
"What's to do?"(Scene 1, line 326)
4.
Portia is so worried about Brutus's pacing and lack of sleep that she sends a servant to keep an eye on him (Scene 4,
lines 1-15),