Julius Caesar
Introductory Lecture
Julius Caesar, one of Shakespeare’s best-known tragedies, is based on the assassination of Julius Caesar,
the historical event occurring on the ides of March (March 15) in 44 BCE. While the plot of the play centers on the assassination and its aftermath, the story focuses on Brutus, a Roman senator and Caesar’s
friend who joins the conspiracy to kill Caesar only after much deliberation. Brutus’s feelings about murdering Caesar serve as the central conflict in the play; a man of honor, Brutus weighs his love of freedom
and of Rome itself against his personal loyalty to a friend. In Shakespeare’s drama, Brutus ultimately
is manipulated into joining the conspiracy and participates in stabbing Caesar to death on the floor of
the Roman Senate. Julius Caesar, however, does not end with the assassination. In the wake of Caesar’s
shocking and brutal murder, events unfold quickly in Rome, and later on the plains of Greece, as leaders
and armies fight for political power and Brutus faces the tragic consequences of his actions.
Likely written in 1599 to open the new Globe Theatre, Julius Caesar reflects a political concern of the
time: Queen Elizabeth I was an aging monarch with no heir to the throne. Shakespeare’s play about a
leader who died without an heir and whose death prompted a civil war reflects the concern in England
that civil war would break out when Queen Elizabeth died without a direct successor. Moreover, since
Shakespeare staged his productions at the pleasure of the Queen, his plays’ political themes are far
from controversial in the context of his era, and this, too is reflected in Julius Caesar. As Caesar’s assassination results directly in political turmoil, suffering, and bloodshed, the play can be interpreted as a
cautionary tale about the perils of usurping political power, a theme sure to have been embraced by an
English sovereign.
Julius Caesar is drama, not history, but specific events in Roman history serve as antecedent action in the
play, and Shakespeare alludes to some of them in establishing his characters’ motivations for assassinating Caesar. Under Julius Caesar, Roman armies conquered much of France and Belgium and crossed
the English Channel to lay claim to Britain, as well. Called home, Caesar famously crossed the Rubicon
River in Italy with his army, despite the fact that to come this close to Rome with an army was illegal.
Caesar knew his action would lead to civil war, with the Roman Senate, and more importantly, with the
great Roman general Pompey allied against him. Caesar defeated Pompey’s forces, assumed control of
Roman affairs, and was named dictator, an appointment made in times of emergency. The title and the
political power conferred with it were meant to be temporary, but Caesar’s ambitions to retain both became increasingly clear. In 44 BCE, Caesar was appointed dictator for life. This alienated many senators,
some of whom, led by Cassius and Brutus—both in life and in the play—killed Caesar soon after, on the
ides of March that same year. In Julius Caesar, various references to Pompey’s fall and to Caesar’s having
“grown so great” are allusions to actual events.
Because Brutus is both Caesar’s friend and colleague, the play develops themes of friendship vs. civic
duty, public vs. private identity, and loyalty vs. betrayal. The meaning of honor is explored as Brutus
struggles to define it in his own character and to determine its role in making the critical decision that
will profoundly affect the future freedom of Rome and his countrymen. Political intrigue, scheming, and
rhetorical speech (the art of persuasion) dominate the drama, too, and are as relevant to politics today
as they were in both Caesar’s and Shakespeare’s time. In its characters, deeply human and often flawed,
and in its conflicts and themes, Julius Caesar continues to appeal to a universal audience.
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Objectives
By the end of the unit the student will be able to:
1. Explain the definitions of antagonist and protagonist and discuss Shakespeare’s development of
these roles in Julius Caesar.
2. Identify the primary conflicts and themes in Julius Caesar.
3. Identify symbols found in Julius Caesar and discuss their interpretations.
4. Explain notions of democracy vs. tyranny and allegiance vs. rivalry and duplicity and describe how
these are developed thematically in the play.
5. Identify and understand the various allusions to death and violence throughout Julius Caesar.
6. Identify and discuss examples of fate, fortune, and the supernatural in the play.
7. Identify examples of motifs found in Julius Caesar and discuss their significance.
8. Identify and discuss the literary devices and language techniques employed by Shakespeare.
9. Determine what makes Julius Caesar a timeless and popular work and relate events in the play to
contemporary world events.
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Instructional Focus - Teaching the Literary Elements
Before students read through the play, explain that themes are universal ideas developed in literature.
Point out that these themes will be developed in the play; discuss them with students as they read
and/or after they finish reading:
Freedom vs. tyranny
Fate and fortune vs. free will
Friendship vs. civic duty (ambivalence)
Duplicity vs. truth, honor, loyalty in political speech and actions
Antagonist vs. protagonist
Death
The power of rhetoric (emotion vs. logic as means of persuasion)
Public vs. private identity
Talk with your students about how a motif is a recurring pattern or repeated action, element, or idea
in a work of literature. As they read, have them pay attention to the following motifs:
Darkness and shadows vs. light
The supernatural (omens, dreams, premonitions, superstition)
Letters
Blood
The influence of women
A symbol is a concrete object or place that has significance in a literary work because it communicates an idea. Have students discuss how the author develops the following symbols and what ideas
the symbols could suggest. Have them look for other symbols on their own.
Caesar’s ghost
Rome
Swords
Lion/lioness
Iambic Pentameter is a pattern of rhythm; a line of poetry written in iambic pentameter is composed
of five iambs or “feet”; each iamb is made up of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.
Dramatic irony is created in a specific scene on stage, when the audience knows something one (or
more) of the characters doesn’t know as the scene plays out.
A soliloquy is a speech in which a character alone on the stage expresses his or her thoughts aloud.
Dramatic Structure
Students’ understanding of the play can be enhanced by discussion of its dramatic structure (i.e.,
exposition, rising action, climax or turning point, falling action, and conclusion).
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Instructional Focus - Teaching the Literary Elements
Exposition:
Introduction to the situation and the characters when the play opens
We learn that Julius Caesar is returning to Rome after a successful battle. The common citizens (plebeians) are excited, but not everyone in Rome approves of Caesar’s great popularity;
some of the Roman senators resent Caesar’s growing power. Brutus, Caesar’s good friend and
a well-respected Roman senator, is torn between his loyalty to Caesar and his loyalty to Rome,
which he believes should remain a republic. Caesar’s power and his ego are a threat to Brutus’s ideal. Cassius, another senator, plans to manipulate Brutus’s personal quandaries to get
him to join a conspiracy to assassinate Caesar.
Rising action:
the “tangling” of the plot; development of conflicts and complications
A group of conspirators visit Brutus before dawn. Despite his moral dilemma about killing
Caesar, Brutus joins the conspiracy, now believing Caesar must be assassinated to save freedom in Rome; unlike Brutus, his co-conspirators are motivated only by envy of Caesar. They
want to kill Antony also in order to ensure there will be no repercussions for their actions, but
Brutus argues that Antony will see their way of thinking because he is a good and honorable
man. Caesar’s and Brutus’s wives, Calpurnia and Portia respectively, provide a dramatic note
of apprehension by begging their husbands not to go to the senate, or to act without thinking
carefully, even though their warnings and premonitions go unheeded. Despite warnings and ill
omens, Caesar goes to the senate on the ides of March.
Climax:
the turning point between the rising action and the falling action
Brutus and his fellow conspirators assassinate Caesar and then “bathe” in his blood in order
to go through the streets of Rome and herald what they have done. It is decided that Brutus
will give a speech to the citizenry to explain why Caesar was assassinated. Initially, Antony is
receptive to the conspirators’ reasons but balks at the sight of Caesar in death, his body mutilated. He wants to speak to the citizenry also. Cassius advises Brutus not to let Antony speak
to the citizens, but Brutus trusts that Antony will not betray them; however, he seeks, and
receives, Antony’s assurances on this. Brutus makes a speech to the citizens of Rome explaining his actions; they cheer him, call him a hero, and are glad for Caesar’s death. Then Antony
makes a speech, cleverly turning Brutus from an “honorable man” into a villain and persuading the crowd to agree that Brutus and other treasonous senators should be killed.
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Instructional Focus - Teaching the Literary Elements
Falling action:
the unwinding of the plot toward its conclusion
Caesar’s heir, Octavius Caesar, is seven leagues from Rome, so Antony goes to meet him and
to join forces with him in defeating the conspirators. Having been driven out of Rome, the
conspirators take their army to Greece, and Antony and Octavius pursue them. Being pursued, Brutus and Cassius argue as to whether they should march to confront Antony/Octavius
or wait for them to arrive. Brutus and Cassius also argue violently when Brutus condemns
Cassius, correctly, for being corrupt. Then Brutus learns his wife Portia has committed suicide
in Rome and that evening, Brutus sees the ghost of Caesar in his tent.
Conclusion:
the catastrophe or ending; the final scenes in which major characters die and order and
stability are finally restored
As the opposing armies clash, Brutus and Cassius fight on separate parts of the battlefield,
and confusion ensues. Losing the battle against Antony and believing erroneously that Brutus
and his army have been defeated by Octavius, Cassius commands Pindarus to kill him with
the sword Cassius used to stab Caesar. Antony and his army then pursue Brutus. Like Cassius,
Brutus chooses to die rather than be captured; Brutus runs on his own sword as Strato holds
it. In victory, Antony calls Brutus “the noblest Roman of them all,” because Brutus acted out
of conscience, as opposed to having been motivated by envy; Octavius concurs, saying that
Brutus will be buried with respect and honor as befitting a soldier.
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Study Guide - Teacher Edition
Act One, Scenes One and Two
Vocabulary
accout’red (accoutered): outfitted and equipped
Aeneas: Roman mythology a Trojan hero
aught: archaic anything
awl: a small tool used for making holes, especially in leather; in context, a pun, meaning “all”
bade: archaic told, ordered
barren: sterile, fruitless
chafing: rubbing against and causing irritation
chanced: to do something by accident, without design
cogitations: considerations, meditations
countenance: noun the face
dost: archaic does
doublet: archaic a shirt
durst: archaic past tense of dare
fawn: to display servile flattery or affection
gamesome: playful, frolicsome
hence: archaic from this place, away from here
ides of March: March 15 in the Roman calendar
knave: archaic a tricky and deceitful fellow
lief: as readily, as willingly
loath: reluctant
Lupercal (the feast of): a feast to promote fertility and to ward off evil spirits
mettle: spirit, boldness
Pompey: a well-known military leader in ancient Rome whom Caesar had defeated
rabblement: archaic a crowd of common people, rabble
rogues: dishonest, unprincipled persons; scoundrels
rout: the disorderly retreat of defeated troops
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saucy: impudent, flippant
soothsayer: a person who foretells the future
swounded: archaic swooned
throng: a crowd
Tiber: a river in Italy
vexed: aggravated, tormented
vulgar: crass, crude
wenches: archaic young women or girls
wherefore: archaic why
wherein: archaic in which
yoke: archaic to tie up, to hold
yond: archaic yonder
1. Why do Flavius and Marullus drive the commoners from the streets of Rome?
The tribunes, Flavius and Marullus, drive the common citizens from the streets of Rome out of disgust
and belligerence; Flavius calls commoners “idle creatures” and states that he will “drive away the vulgar from the streets.” The tribunes are angry that the people cheer Caesar and have forgotten Pompey,
the great Roman general whom Caesar has defeated and whose sons he has killed:
O you hard hearts, you cruel men of Rome,
Knew you not Pompey? Many a time and oft
Have you climb’d up to walls and battlements,
To towers and windows, yea, to chimney-tops,
Your infants in your arms, and there have sat
The livelong day, with patient expectation,
To see great Pompey pass the streets of Rome.
2. What do you believe is the purpose of Act One, Scene One? Which details suggest why the play
begins with this scene?
The scene establishes the setting of the play, both time and place, and also establishes that the political situation in Rome is unstable. A crowd of commoners cheers Caesar, but the tribunes regard him
with resentment and suspicion. They disperse the crowd and agree to continue to clear the streets and
to take down all the decorations, even though it is the feast of Lupercal: “Let no images be hung with
Caesar’s trophies,” says Flavius. He thinks that Caesar is becoming too powerful and threatens to keep
all Romans in “servile fearfulness.” Flavius and Marullus’s feelings about Caesar suggest that others in
Rome oppose him, also.
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3. Why does Caesar ask Antony to touch his wife Calpurnia as he runs the race during the feast of
Lupercal? Why would Shakespeare include this bit of dialogue?
Caesar tells Antony, “Forget not, in your speed, Antonius, / To touch Calpurnia; for our elders say, /
The barren, touched in this holy chase, / Shake off their sterile curse.” It is likely that Shakespeare
included the passage to emphasize that Caesar did not, historically, have a direct heir and to indicate,
for dramatic purposes, that he is concerned about being childless; for Caesar to be thinking in terms of
having an heir suggests that he already sees himself as a sovereign, not the leader of a republic. Having this conversation with Antony also establishes the closeness of their relationship.
[Note: Dramatic purposes aside, the passage would have held special meaning for Shakespeare’s Elizabethan audiences since there was no heir to the throne of aging Queen Elizabeth I, a major topic of
conversation in Shakespeare’s time; it was commonly feared that England would be plunged into civil
war upon Elizabeth’s death.]
4. What does the soothsayer tell Caesar? How does Caesar respond? What literary device is employed
in their exchange?
The soothsayer warns Caesar to “beware the ides of March.” Caesar disregards the warning and seeks
to learn nothing more from the soothsayer: “He is a dreamer. Let us leave him—pass.” The soothsayer’s warning is an example of foreshadowing, a portent of disaster to come.
5. How does Cassius manipulate Brutus to join the conspirators and kill Caesar?
Brutus admits that he is “vexed” with “passions of some difference” and that he is “with himself at
war.” Cassius flatters him excessively in order to establish Brutus’s trust. When Brutus says of the
shouting crowds outside, “What means this shouting? I do fear, the people choose Caesar for their
king,” Cassius seizes the moment; he plays on Brutus’s sense of honor and love of country by expressing the opinion that it is not right that Rome has one leader. This appeals to Brutus’s belief that one
leader, and Caesar specifically, will become corrupt and oppress the Roman people. Later, Cassius
devises a plan to forge several letters to Brutus in different handwriting, letters supposedly written by
Roman citizens. The letters will express “the great opinion / That Rome holds of [Brutus’s] name,”—a
reference not only to Brutus but also to his famous ancestor, also named Brutus, who freed Rome from
a king and established the Roman Republic; the letters also will speak subtly of Caesar’s being ambitious for political power. Cassius intends, through the letters, to make Brutus believe that the people
of Rome fear for their liberty under Caesar and that Brutus, like his ancestor, must act to protect their
freedom.
6. Caesar says this about Cassius:
Let me have men about me that are fat;
Sleek-headed men and such as sleep o’ nights:
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look;
He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.
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Why does Caesar dislike Cassius? How is Caesar’s observation about Cassius insightful?
Caesar’s observation, also meant to reflect a bit of humor and wit, by him as well as by Shakespeare,
is astute because Cassius does think too much and is, in fact, dangerous to Caesar.
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Act One, Scene Three
Vocabulary
alchemy: a medieval forerunner of chemistry focused on the transmutation of base metals into gold
and discovering a path to immortality
bestow: to confer or present (such as an honor)
conjointly: in the manner of being combined or united
factious: relating or inclined to a state of internal dissention
gait: a manner of walking
ghastly: hideous, horrible
infused: instilled
menace: a threat, a danger
offal: waste parts; refuse, rubbish
perilous: dangerous
portentous: ominous, foreboding
prodigies: persons endowed with extraordinary qualities
prodigious: abnormal (in context)
redress: remedy or compensation for a grievance
rived: broken into pieces, torn apart
strife: a bitter sometimes violent conflict
surly: bad tempered, unfriendly
tempest: a violent storm; furious agitation, commotion, or tumult; an uproar
woe: sorrow, distress
1. Which theme is found in Casca’s remarks to Cassius and Cicero? What specifically does he say he
has seen this night? How do Cicero and Cassius respond to Casca?
The theme of the supernatural, omens, fate, and fortune are found in Casca’s speeches. Casca speaks
of numerous strange occurrences he has seen.
A common slave—you know him well by sight—
Held up his left hand, which did flame and burn
Like twenty torches join’d, and yet his hand,
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Not sensible of fire, remain’d unscorch’d.
Besides—I ha’ not since put up my sword—
Against the Capitol I met a lion,
Who glared upon me, and went surly by,
Without annoying me: and there were drawn
Upon a heap a hundred ghastly women,
Transformed with their fear; who swore they saw
Men all in fire walk up and down the streets.
And yesterday the bird of night did sit
Even at noon-day upon the market-place,
Hooting and shrieking. . . .
Cicero attempts to reassure the shaken Casca: he tells Casca that strange sights can be interpreted in
different ways; sometimes in ways that are opposite of their real meanings. Cassius brags that instead
of fearing the night’s terrible storm, he deliberately exposed himself to the dangerous elements; he
chastises Casca for lacking, or choosing not to demonstrate, the fearlessness of a Roman. Cassius relates the terrible night to Caesar himself. Caesar, Cassius says, is a man “most like this dreadful night /
That thunders, lightens, opens graves, and roars / As doth the lion in the Capitol.”
2. What is meant by and what is the context for, “It was Greek to me”?
Casca is gossiping to Brutus and Cassius about Caesar’s playing to the crowds, just as an actor might,
when a coronet is offered to him three times by Antony. Casca says that after Caesar left, Cicero had
something to say about the events that had transpired, but he “spoke Greek.” Others understood what
Cicero was saying, but Casca did not: “For mine own part, it was Greek to me.” The expression has
become part of our modern vernacular to indicate a lack of understanding.
3. In speaking of Caesar’s growing power, Cassius states to Casca, “Cassius from bondage will deliver
Cassius.” What prompts him to say it, and what does he mean?
Casca tells Cassius that the Roman Senate intends the next day to make Caesar a king; in replying
that he will deliver himself from “bondage,” Casca means he plans to kill Caesar.
4. Why, and how, does Cassius deliver the forged letter to Brutus?
Cassius and the conspirators want Brutus involved with the conspiracy against Caesar because it will
lend them credibility. If Brutus believes that the Romans want Caesar out of power, then he will join
their conspiracy, so Cassius forges a letter supposedly from a common Roman. Cinna says to Cassius
on the night of the storm,
O Cassius, if you could
But win the noble Brutus to our party—
To which Cassius hands him the forged letters and replies:
Be you content: good Cinna, take this paper,
And look you lay it in the praetor’s chair,
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Where Brutus may but find it; and throw this
In at his window; set this up with wax
Upon old Brutus’ statue: all this done,
Repair to Pompey’s porch, where you shall find us.
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Act Two, Scene One
Vocabulary
affability: friendliness
appertain: to relate to, to concern
augerers: fortunetellers, soothsayers
augmented: made greater
betimes: archaic soon, early
carrions: archaic decaying flesh; decaying corpses
cautelous: cunning, sly
dank: moist, wet, and clammy
disjoins: separates
entreated: asked for something earnestly
exhalations: the sound of the crowds speaking in awe (in context)
faction: a small group part of a larger whole
hark: to listen
hew: to shape
ingrafted: pulled together from different plants, breeds
instigations: incendiary actions that arouse rebellion
palter: sense; to be deliberately unclear in order to mislead
phantasma: a ghostly apparition
purgers: those that cleanse; the conspirators against Caesar (in context)
rheumy: characterized by a watery discharge from mucous membranes
ruddy: having a reddish color
semblance: look, appearance
spurn: to reject
taper: a slender candle
Tarquin: the last king of Rome, driven out of Rome in favor of a republic
toil: to work
unto: archaic see to
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visage: countenance, face, expression
vouchsafe: to grant, often with courtesy, a privilege or special favor
wafture: the act of waving one’s hand
wary: cautious, careful
wrath: intense anger
1. At the beginning of the act we are immediately alerted to Brutus’s quandary regarding Caesar.
What is it?
Brutus believes that power corrupts. He considers his options and the discussion with Cassius earlier that day. Brutus decides that even as he loves Caesar, he loves Rome more, and that it is only a
matter of time before Caesar’s great power corrupts him and he becomes a blight on Rome, defining
the “abuse of greatness” as “when it disjoins / Remorse from power.” Therefore, Brutus has no other
choice but to stop Caesar and must “therefore think him as a serpent’s egg / Which, hatch’d, would, as
his kind, grow mischievous,” the only answer being to “kill him in the shell.” However, Brutus is torn
because he is Caesar’s friend and does not have a personal reason to kill him, only the “general” one to
do so. This is the primary conflict and theme in the play: friendship vs. civic duty and allegiance to an
ideal.
2. In what form does a message arrive for Brutus? What purpose does it serve, and what literary
device does it represent?
Brutus’s servant finds a letter at the window for Brutus. Forged by Cassius to look as though it is an
anonymous note from a concerned citizen of Rome, it pleads with Brutus to “speak, strike, redress!”
and asks, “Shall Rome stand under one man’s awe?” Because Brutus is motivated to kill Caesar for the
sake of the Roman Republic, this message persuades him to become one of the conspirators against
Caesar, just as Cassius knew that it would. Letters function as a motif in the play.
3. Why do the conspirators, led by Cassius, visit Brutus before dawn?
In planning to kill Caesar, the conspirators are undertaking a very dangerous venture and do not want
to be discovered; with dark thoughts and plans, they hide their faces under the cover of the dark night.
Brutus remarks, “O, then by day / Where wilt thou find a cavern dark / Enough to mask thy monstrous visage?” Portia notes to Brutus later in the same scene that the men who visited him hid their
faces “even from darkness.”
4. How do the citizenry of Rome unwittingly affect the actions in this scene?
The forged letter to Brutus, supposedly written by a concerned citizen of Rome, prompts Brutus to
move from the thought of killing Caesar to actually conspiring to kill him; it reinforces Brutus’s belief
that Caesar’s death will be good for the people of Rome. Brutus notes, “Between the acting of a dreadful thing / And the first motion, all the interim is / Like a phantasma, or a hideous dream.”
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5. What rhetorical strategies does Cassius employ in the forged letter?
Cassius sets the stage for Brutus to join the conspirators by flattering him that every citizen in Rome
holds him in high esteem and trusts his opinion.
6. How does the forged letter encourage Brutus?
Since Brutus believes from the letter that one citizen can see that killing Caesar is a just action, he
now imagines that other Roman citizens can be made to see that Caesar’s assassination is for the
common good.
7. After it is decided that Caesar will be killed the next day, Cassius wants to swear their resolution.
Why does Brutus refuse?
Brutus says that it is not necessary, that the act itself, not an oath, is transparent and sufficient: “No,
not an oath: if not the face of men, / The sufferance of our souls.” Brutus sees their planned murder of
Caesar as an honorable act to preserve freedom in Rome; to swear an oath to kill Caesar would cast it
in a different light. He wrongly assumes the others possess motives for killing Caesar that are as honorable as his own.
8. What does this scene tell us about Brutus’s character?
Brutus is an intelligent man of excellent character who does not act rashly. During the scene, the gravity of the decision he must make in regard to joining the conspiracy makes sleeping impossible for him.
He struggles with questions of honor and responsibility, weighing his friendship for Caesar against the
good of Rome, and he understands the dangers involved in assassinating Caesar, evident by his wariness when the conspirators visit him during the night under the cover of darkness. Later in the scene,
when he does not want to swear an oath with the conspirators, he declares, “What other oath than /
Honesty to honesty engaged, / That this shall be, or we will fall for it.” In essence, Brutus understands
what he is about to do in murdering Caesar, and he knows there is a possibility of failure. Having decided where his honor and responsibility lie, he moves forward, willing to accept the consequences.
9. Why does Brutus defend Antony and persuade the other conspirators not to kill him?
Brutus thinks that murdering Antony will look bad to the Roman public. Brutus does not believe that
Antony is a threat once Caesar is gone, “For he can do no more than Caesar’s arm / When Caesar’s
head is off.” Once again, he acts according to his code of honor. He does not want to be considered
unnecessarily violent or power hungry.
10. Cassius worries that being superstitious “of late” will cause Caesar not to go to the Senate on the
ides of March. How does Decius Brutus propose to get him there on that day?
Decius Brutus brags that he can manipulate Caesar through artful flattery:
I can o’ersway him; for he loves to hear
That unicorns may be betray’d with trees,
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And bears with glasses, elephants with holes,
Lions with toils and men with flatterers;
But when I tell him he hates flatterers,
He says he does, being then most flattered.
Let me work;
For I can give his humour the true bent,
And I will bring him to the Capitol.
11. Brutus claims that illness is the reason he has been out of good spirits recently. What is Portia’s
response?
She does not believe him because he is reasonable enough not to add to his illness by being outside in
“the rheumy and unpurged air.” She rightly declares that his sickness is in his mind.
12. Is Portia able to exert any influence on Brutus?
Portia is not able to discover Brutus’s plot to kill Caesar the next day, even as he promises that he will
tell her what is troubling him.
13. What does Portia say in defense of being a woman?
She tells Brutus that even though she is a woman, she is strong. She refers, here, to her “constancy,”
strength and loyalty, which she has proved by stabbing herself:
I grant I am a woman; but withal
A woman that Lord Brutus took to wife:
I grant I am a woman; but withal
A woman well-reputed, Cato’s daughter.
Think you I am no stronger than my sex,
Being so father’d and so husbanded?
Tell me your counsels, I will not disclose ‘em:
I have made strong proof of my constancy . . .
14. How does Portia staunchly defend her role as a wife to Brutus?
Portia says that if she is only with him to keep him company at meals, comfort his bed, and talk to
him intermittently, then she is a “harlot” and not his wife. She says that as a wife, she is meant to be
his other half and his helpmate.
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Act Two, Scenes Two and Three
Vocabulary
amiss: not quite right; inappropriate or out of place
conquest: victory; subjugation of one’s enemies
emulation: imitation, simulation
expounded: explained, commented on
lest: archaic in case
liable: likely, susceptible, prone
relics: items that remain from a past era; remnants
revel: to celebrate, to take part in festivities
statua: archaic statue, image
take heed: to pay attention to
tinctures: paints, colors
whelped: given birth (used in reference to animals)
1. A motif in Julius Caesar is the supernatural. What signs, omens, and premonitions are evident in
Scene Two? What function do they serve in the play?
Calpurnia dreamed blood flowed from Caesar’s statue and the citizens of Rome bathed their hands
in it. She notes that “a lioness hath whelped in the streets,” graves opened up to release the dead,
and “fiery warriors” fought among the clouds, sending blood down upon the Capitol; she says strange
sounds pervaded the night air, such as horses neighing, dying men groaning, and ghosts shrieking
through the streets. These supernatural events and Calpurnia’s dream give credence to the soothsayer’s warning to “beware the ides of March.”
2. How does Caesar respond at first to Calpurnia’s fear of evil omens? How does he respond later?
At the beginning of the scene, because Caesar has heard Calpurnia cry out three times in her sleep,
“Help, ho! They murder Caesar!” he orders that the priests immediately make a sacrifice to learn the
future. After Calpurnia tells him of all that has transpired during the night in Rome and expresses
great fear for his safety, he allays her fears by agreeing not to go to the Capitol. Later, when the conspirators arrive and interpret the omens in a different way, one that flatters Caesar, he dismisses Calpurnia’s fears. He says all the portents regard everyone, not just him, “for these predictions are to the
world in general as to Caesar.” He says that death is inevitable, and he will face it bravely: “Cowards
die many times before their death; / The valiant never taste of death but once.” Caesar says he and
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danger are “two lions litter’d in one day,” boasting that of the two, Caesar is the “elder and more
terrible,” meaning that he is the stronger: “Danger knows full well / That Caesar is more dangerous
than he.”
3. Why does Caesar reverse his earlier decision and decide to go to the Capitol?
Decius arrives; using rhetoric and his natural duplicity, he contradicts Calpurnia’s interpretation of the
dream. Romans bathing their hands in the blood flowing from Caesar’s statue, he says, “signifies that
from you great Rome shall / Suck reviving blood. . . .” Also, the senate plans to offer Caesar a crown
and people might mock Caesar for staying home because his wife had a bad dream.
4. What is the dramatic irony in Scene Two?
The dramatic irony is that we know there is a conspiracy to kill Caesar and he will die on the ides of
March, whereas he does not know what is planned for him and what is going to happen. Unlike Caesar, we also know that the Decius is skillfully manipulating him to convince him to leave his home so
that the conspirators can kill him.
5. How is the theme of friendship vs. civic duty evident in Scene Two?
Caesar believes he is surrounded by friends, and he is happy in their company. When the other conspirators arrive, followed by Antony, Caesar greets everyone with enthusiasm. He is pleased all have come
to escort him to the senate. When Caesar tells Trebonius, “Be near me” in the Senate, Trebonius says
in an aside, “And so near will I be / That your best friends shall wish I had been further.” Out of duty,
Brutus will participate in the assassination that is now at hand, but hearing Trebonius’s words causes
him grief, as it is Caesar, his friend, who is about to die.
6. Scene Three is very brief. What is likely the purpose?
In Scene Three, Artemidorus, a teacher of rhetoric, has written a note to Caesar telling him about the
conspiracy. He stands on the street hoping to give the note to Caesar when he passes en route to the
senate with his entourage: “If thou read this, O Caesar, thou mayst live; / If not, the Fates with traitors
do contrive.” Because Shakespeare wrote his plays to be acted, rather than read, the purpose of this
very short scene is likely to have allowed for a costume and/or set change.
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Act Two, Scene Four and Act Three, Scene One
Vocabulary
beseech: to ask, to beg
besmear: archaic to rub onto, to smear with
confounded: confused, surprised
cur: a mongrel dog
discourse: discussion
enfranchisement: the state of possessing certain rights and liberties
enterprise: an endeavor, an undertaking
fare you well: archaic take care, best wishes
fell deeds: archaic negative actions
firmament: the heavens, the skies
fray: a quarrel, a skirmish, a fight
leagues: units of distance approximately three miles in length
lofty: heady, high
praetors: judges in ancient Rome
pre-ordinance: a decree, a determination
prithee: archaic please
prostate: still
puissant: strong, mighty
repealing: revoking, cancelling
reverence: respect, awe
slay/slain: to kill in a violent manner/to have been killed in a violent manner
thine: archaic yours
unassailable: unable to be rebuked or argued against
void: empty
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1. Portia declares, “I have a man’s mind but a woman’s might.” What does she mean?
Portia is discerning enough to intuit that something is amiss and that Brutus will not fare well on this
day, but as a woman of the time, she has no power to influence men and events. Her lament, “Ay, me,
how weak a thing / The heart of woman is!” typifies women as sensitive and unable to bear the harshness of politics.
2. What passes between Portia and the soothsayer?
Portia is standing outside of her house on the ides of March, ordering her servant to go and check
on Brutus when the soothsayer comes by and she asks him the time. He mentions that he is going to
try to tell Caesar when he passes to “befriend himself,” to which Portia asks, “Why, know’st thou any
harm’s intended towards him?” The soothsayer responds, “None that I know will be, much that I fear
may chance.”
3. What does Caesar say to the soothsayer?
Caesar makes a point of saying to the soothsayer that the ides of March have come and yet he is still
alive, illustrating Caesar’s great sense of himself and his faith in his destiny as a great leader.
4. What does Metellus Cimber’s appeal on behalf of his brother’s banishment reveal about Caesar,
and in what way is Caesar’s response ironic?
Cimber’s appealing to Caesar’s ego in an attempt to secure his brother’s return to Rome suggests that
Caesar is arrogant and self-centered; he enjoys exercising power and having others subservient to him.
However, Caesar says he will not be moved by Cimber’s fawning. This is ironic because it was by appealing to Caesar’s ego that Decius manipulated him to go to the senate on the ides of March.
5. What is Caesar’s response to Cassius begging on behalf of Metellus Cimber’s brother?
Caesar refers to the gods when discussing changing his own mind, “hence! Wilt thou lift up Olympus?”
He, like the mountain that the gods live on, cannot be moved. Caesar is presented as haughty and
unsympathetic, here.
6. Cassius says, “Why, he that cuts off twenty years of life / Cuts off so many years of fearing death.”
Caesar, however, says earlier that “cowards die many times before their deaths; / The valiant never
taste of death but once.” Considering both views of death, what do Cassius’s words reveal about
him?
Cassius’s observation suggests he assumes that all men fear death constantly, an assumption likely
based on his own feelings. The contrast between what Caesar says and what Cassius says implies that
Cassius is the kind of coward Caesar spoke of, one who is afraid to die.
7. Why does Caesar say “Et tu, Brute? Then fall, Caesar!”? What theme does it develop?
Caesar has just been stabbed by several of the conspirators, including Brutus. “Et tu, Brute?” reflects
Caesar’s surprise that his friend Brutus would kill him, and in saying “Then fall, Caesar!” he indicates
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that he does not want to live, having been so deeply betrayed. The theme evident here is friendship vs.
civic duty. Brutus considers Caesar to be a friend, as well, but it is Brutus’s strong sense of duty to the
Roman people that led to his shocking betrayal of Caesar.
8. How are the symbols of blood and swords, and the motifs of the citizenry and the supernatural,
reflected in these scenes?
Just as in Calpurnia’s dream in which Caesar’s statue is dripping blood, a premonition of the ides of
March, Brutus entreats his co-conspirators and fellow Romans to bathe their hands and daggers in
blood and to herald their act through the streets of Rome for all of the citizens to see:
. . . . Stoop, Romans, stoop,
And let us bathe our hands in Caesar’s blood
Up to the elbows, and besmear our swords:
Then walk we forth, even to the market-place,
And, waving our red weapons o’er our heads,
Let’s all cry ‘Peace, freedom and liberty!’
Blood and swords both symbolize violent death.
9. After Caesar’s death, what personal motives for killing him does Cassius reveal?
Cassius reveals openly that he was motivated to slay Caesar for his own selfish, egotistical reasons—for
envy, power, glory, and a place in Roman history. Cassius remarks while elbow deep in blood, “How
many ages hence / Shall this lofty scene be acted over in states unborn and accents yet unknown!”
10. How does Antony react to the news that Caesar is dead? What does his initial reaction imply
about him?
Initially, Antony flees the scene and then sends his servant to Brutus to find out the intentions of the
“noble, wise, valiant, and honest” Brutus towards Antony. This suggests Antony is realistic in assessing
the situation; he is reasonable to assume he may not be safe. Even though Caesar has been Antony’s
close friend and mentor, Antony is not impulsive in reacting to his murder; instead of immediately
confronting Brutus himself, Antony sends a servant to find out how Brutus feels toward him.
11. When Antony meets Brutus and the other conspirators, how does he behave toward them? Why?
When Antony arrives, he seems receptive to joining the conspirators if they killed Caesar for logical
reasons. However, he is greatly moved by the sight of Caesar’s dead body: “O mighty Caesar! dost thou
lie so low? / Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils, / Shrunk to this little measure?” Antony
beseeches the conspirators to kill him at Caesar’s hour of death if they plan to kill him at all. He acknowledges that he seems disloyal to Caesar by shaking their hands and therefore cannot be trusted
by them. Antony claims he means well but is greatly moved by the sight of Caesar looking like a
“shrunken deer.”
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12. How does Antony respond to the sight of Caesar’s body when he is alone with it? What does this
reaction reveal?
Even as Brutus assures Antony that their motives for killing Caesar are honorable, once left alone with
the body, Antony curses each of the conspirators and apologizes to Caesar for shaking hands with
them in a famous soliloquy, “Oh pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth.” This reaction suggests that
Antony is not moved to the conspirators’ cause and will avenge Caesar’s murder.
13. Against Cassius’s better judgment, Brutus grants Antony the right to speak at Caesar’s funeral. In
a soliloquy, what does Antony prophesy? What does Antony’s message to Octavius suggest about his
future plans?
Antony says that he will rebel against this death, and war will break out resulting in terrible suffering
and destruction throughout Italy, with “Caesar’s spirit ranging for revenge,” the goddess of vengeance
and strife by his side, to “let slip the dogs of war.” He then sends word to Caesar’s appointed heir, Octavius, to tell him that Rome is not safe for him: “Here is a mourning Rome, a dangerous Rome, / No
Rome of safety for Octavius just yet.” Antony’s message to Octavius suggests that he envisions through
Octavius a continuance of Caesar’s rule, which includes Antony at his side.
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Act Three, Scenes Two and Three
Vocabulary
bondman: a slave
censure: to condemn, to rebuke
clamours: shouts noisily in demand
commonwealth: part of a territory; surrounding lands
drachmas: archaic silver coins
dwell: to stay, to live
grievous: injurious, most serious
heir: one who inherits the property or position of another
interred: buried
mantle: a sleeveless cape or cloak
marr’d (marred): damaged, spoiled
parchment: paper made of goatskin
rendered: represented, depicted
testament: proof, evidence
treason: an act of rebellion against a government or a ruler
1. What themes are immediately presented in these scenes?
The power of persuasive speech and the power and gullibility of the mob are illustrated throughout
these scenes. The symbol of Rome as a republic, the center of civilization, is also evident. We see here,
too, that the citizenry play both judge and jury in the circumstances of Caesar’s death.
2. How does Brutus approach the crowd? How does he attempt to persuade them that Caesar’s
murder was just?
Brutus tells the crowd that he loved Caesar but that he loves Rome more, and Caesar was no longer
good for Rome because his ambition and power would corrupt him and make all Romans slaves:
. . . . If then that friend demand
why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer:
—Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved
Rome more. Had you rather Caesar were living and
die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live
all free men? As Caesar loved me, I weep for him;
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as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was
valiant, I honour him: but, as he was ambitious,
I slew him.
He addresses them as fellow citizens and lovers of the state, reminding them of their shared responsibility in the Republic. He repeats “honor” and “love” and their variants. He uses the imperative
mode. He employs formal rhetoric, establishing ethos in the exordium and logos (logic and examples).
He does not rely on pathos (emotions). In short, Brutus reasons with the crowd, appealing to their
intellect.
3. What is Antony’s motivation to speak to the citizens of Rome?
Antony speaks to the crowd in order to convince them that Caesar should not have been killed. He
wants to turn Rome against the conspirators and foment civil war to avenge Caesar’s death and to
seize power for himself.
4. What does Antony say to the citizens of Rome in his speech? How does he employ the rhetorical
tools of confirmatio (logical proofs), refutatio (counterarguments), and pathos, or an emotional appeal,
in his speech?
With clever rhetoric, Antony persuades the crowd to avenge Caesar and to turn against the conspirators. At the same time he repeatedly refers to Brutus as an “honourable man,” he provides arguments
against Brutus’s assertion that Caesar was too ambitious. His repetition of “honourable” is a good
example of verbal irony, where he transforms the meaning of honor into its opposite. He employs confirmatio, providing logical proofs of Caesar’s good leadership. He points out that Caesar paid ransoms
for captives held abroad in order to bring them home to Rome. He uses refutatio, answering counter
arguments by reminding them that he, Antony, offered Caesar the crown three times and Caesar
refused it. Once Antony has manipulated the crowd to his side, he goes for full dramatic effect and
openly calls the conspirators traitors, showing them the bloody coat that Caesar had worn at his death
and pointing out each of the conspirators’ dagger wounds. In his conclusion, Antony employs pathos
by claiming that he has Caesar’s will and that Caesar has left his gardens to the people of Rome and
money for each Roman citizen.
5. How does Shakespeare portray the citizenry in regard to Brutus’s and Antony’s speeches?
Shakespeare depicts the crowds listening to the speeches as fickle and easily persuaded. After being
persuaded by Brutus’s speech that Caesar’s death was good and needed, they want to leave and not
bother to listen to Antony. Ironically, it is only after Brutus asks them to stay and listen to him that
they do. Then, after listening to Antony, they are completely convinced that Caesar’s death was unwarranted, and they want to kill all the conspirators and avenge Caesar.
6. Scene Three is a very short scene. What is the likely reason for its inclusion in the play?
Shakespeare was renowned for writing his plays for the stage, not to be read. In fact, this play’s
first published edition had many stage directions in it, so it is likely that this scene is to allow for a
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costume change for the actors. The scene illustrates how thoroughly Antony has turned the crowd
against Brutus and the conspirators; the Roman citizens have become a mindless mob. They attack
Cinna, believing he is one of the conspirators; when they find out he is Cinna the poet, not a conspirator, his innocence makes no difference to them: “It is no matter, his name’s Cinna.” They cry, “Tear
him! Tear him!” Besides attacking people in the street, the mob intends to burn the homes of all the
conspirators.
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Act Four, Scenes One, Two, and Three
Vocabulary
abject: hopeless
by and by: as things go
corporal: physical, tangible
covert: hidden
covetous: greedy, envious
crests: part of a coat of arms
fashion: a trend
gallant: courteous, brave
hither: archaic here
itching palm: archaic someone who takes bribes
legions: troops
levying: imposing a tax, fee or fine; gathering troops and waging war
niggard: stingy, miser
omitted: kept out
orts: archaic scraps, leftovers
provender: a store of hay or grain for animals
rash choler: hot temper
selfsame tenor: same voice and tone
slanderous: false and harmful
slighted: disregarded
spur: noun a sharp device used to goad a horse along; verb to inspire, to motivate
testy: peevish, irritable
unmeritable: without value or worthiness
vaunting: boasting or praising excessively
waspish: sharp tongued
wrangle: to argue
wring: to take from
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1. What does Antony’s conversation with Octavius indicate about Antony’s character?
Seated at a table with Octavius and Lepidus, Antony consents to having the banished Publius killed,
despite his being Antony’s sister’s son. As soon as Lepidus leaves on orders from Antony, Antony tells
Octavius that Lepidus is stupid and only meant for errands, an “unmeritable man, meet to be sent on
errands.” When Octavius defends Lupidus as a “tried and valiant soldier,” Antony replies, “So is my
horse.” This indicates that Antony seeks greater power and continues to scheme, just as he schemed to
turn the crowd with his speech at Caesar’s funeral.
2. In Scene Two, the conspirators and their armies are readying for Antony and Octavius’s armies,
when Lucilius tells Brutus that Cassius seems to be “cooling” towards their cause—he is cordial, but
not familiar; what is Brutus’s response? What themes are present?
Brutus remarks that the relationship is, indeed, cooling, given the behavior of the ally, and discusses
how the theme of duplicity is rife in this moment as friends pretend to be friends yet do not help in
time of need:
Thou hast described
A hot friend cooling: ever note, Lucilius,
When love begins to sicken and decay,
It useth an enforced ceremony.
There are no tricks in plain and simple faith;
But hollow men, like horses hot at hand,
Make gallant show and promise of their mettle;
But when they should endure the bloody spur,
They fall their crests, and, like deceitful jades,
Sink in the trial. Comes his army on?
Even so, the theme of friendship versus duty, or allegiance versus rivalry, are evident because it is Cassius’s army that is most important here in the battle against Octavius and Antony, and “the greater
part, the horse in general, are come with Cassius,” so all is well.
3. In Scene Three, why do Brutus and Cassius argue on the eve of battle? What does their argument
reveal about each of them?
Cassius comes to Brutus’s camp with his army and confronts Brutus, telling him “you have done me
wrong.” He is upset with Brutus for condemning a man that took bribes, even though Cassius wrote a
letter in his defense. Brutus criticizes Cassius for writing the letter; Cassius argues that during war, not
every minor offense requires punishment. To Cassius, accepting bribes is a minor matter. Brutus clearly
disagrees; angry, he accuses Cassius of also having an “itching palm,” for accepting bribes himself.
Brutus’s sense of honor is outraged by Cassius’s behavior, “to sell and mart your offices for gold / To
undeservers.” He reminds Cassius of the ides of March and asks if great Caesar was slain so that bribes
could be collected by those who killed him. “I had rather be a dog and bay the moon / Than such a
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Roman,” Brutus exclaims. The argument shows that Brutus remains a man of honor and integrity;
having power has not changed him. Cassius has not changed, either, since Caesar’s assassination; he is
still a man without principles.
4. How does Cassius behave during his argument with Brutus? What do you infer about their
relationship?
At the beginning of their argument, Cassius is angry, haughty, and threatening. He warns Brutus, “Bay
not me, / I’ll not endure it. You forget yourself, / To hedge me in. I am a soldier, I, / Older in practise,
abler than yourself / To make conditions.” When Brutus refuses to be intimidated, dismisses Cassius’s
rash temper, and then condemns him for refusing to send money so that Brutus can pay his soldiers,
Cassius backs down. He lapses into self-pity, saying that Brutus has abused him by pointing out all his
faults and claiming that Brutus felt more friendship for Caesar, even as he stabbed him, than he ever
felt for Cassius. At the end of the argument, Cassius proclaims to Brutus, “Never come such division
‘tween our souls! / Let it not, Brutus.” Their relationship is necessary under the circumstances, but it is
volatile.
5. What is the purpose of the letters in these scenes?
The letters serve to bring news from Rome. Antony and Octavius have organized a mighty army and
are “bending their expedition” toward the conspirators and their camp; Octavius, Antony and Lepidus
have put to death a hundred senators, and Portia has killed herself.
6. According to Brutus, why did Portia commit suicide? How did she kill herself?
Portia was “impatient” of his absence; she was also filled with grief that Antony and Octavius “have
made themselves so strong,” suggesting that Portia understood the grave danger they represented to
her husband. Brutus says these factors drove Portia to madness, and when she was alone, without her
attendants, she “swallowed fire.”
7. What is Cassius’s advice to Brutus regarding the battle with Octavius and Antony?
Cassius does not think that they should go to meet Octavius and Antony’s armies; he thinks they
should wait and let Octavius and Antony come to them:
‘Tis better that the enemy seek us:
So shall he waste his means, weary his soldiers,
Doing himself offence; whilst we, lying still,
Are full of rest, defense, and nimbleness.
8. What is Brutus’s argument against waiting? Which argument prevails? Why is this significant?
He argues that the people between Philippi and their camp do not support them and will join Antony
and Octavius as they pass through Greece, making the forces against them that much larger. He also
tells Cassius that their own legions are “brimful” and “our cause is ripe.” If they wait, their strength
will only decline. Cassius agrees to accept Brutus’s strategy. This is the third time that Brutus has not
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listened to Cassius at a crucial moment and that Cassius has relented. Against Cassius’s advice, Brutus refused to kill Antony when Caesar was assassinated, and he allowed Antony to speak at Caesar’s
funeral. Each decision led to disaster. Cassius may lack honor, but he is a superior strategist.
9. Why do you think Brutus does not listen to Cassius? Should he have?
In the first instance, Brutus believed he was behaving honorably by allowing Antony to speak to the
citizens of Rome because he believed that the conspirators’ cause was justified and, therefore, could
not be met with anger. In the second instance, Brutus is likely questioning his having participated in
the killing of Caesar, given his vehement reaction to Cassius’s pleading with him on a briber’s behalf.
The fact that Antony and Octavius have mounted an army against Brutus and the other conspirators,
and that Portia has committed suicide, makes everything look very bleak. Worth noting is that while
Cassius laid the foundation to involve Brutus with the conspirators via rhetoric and flattery, Brutus did
not join the conspiracy until he received the supposed letter from a citizen of Rome, which had been
forged by Cassius.
10. A supernatural being visits Brutus in his tent; what is it and what does it say?
The ghost of Caesar appears in Brutus’s tent. Caesar’s ghost says he will see Brutus at Philippi, where
Antony and Octavius’s armies will meet the conspirators’ armies.
11. Why do you think Caesar’s ghost visits Brutus?
It is possible that Caesar’s ghost is an apparition that Brutus imagines due to feelings of guilt. This
idea is endorsed by the fact that Brutus does not trust his own eyes to have seen the apparition, as
seen through his subtle way of asking Lucius, Varro, and Claudius (who are sleeping in his tent) if they
have seen anything strange in the night.
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Act Five, Scenes One and Two
Vocabulary
consorted (with): associated with, spent time with
ensign: a lower military rank
Epicurus: an ancient Greek philosopher
exigent: urgent, pressing
parley: to speak together
steads: places or positions occupied by a person or thing
1. How does Antony explain the conspirators’ meeting him and Octavius at Philippi before the battle
begins?
Octavius teases Antony because Antony did not believe that the conspirators had the courage to meet
him and Octavius at Philippi, yet there they are. Antony says that it is mock courage and posturing:
“With fearful bravery, thinking by this face / To fasten in our thoughts that they have courage.”
2. Antony says to Brutus, “In your bad strokes, Brutus, you give good words: / Witness the hole you
made in Caesar’s heart, / Crying ‘Long live! hail, Caesar!’” What does this mean?
Antony accuses Brutus of justifying his bad choices and actions through rhetoric—having a way with
words. He also accuses Brutus of being a hypocrite because he seemed to believe in Caesar and then
killed him.
3. What does Cassius forewarn?
Cassius believes that the conspirators’ army will lose because ill omens have indicated this to him. Two
eagles have fallen from the sky and have been replaced by “ravens, crows and kites” that look upon the
army like prey. Cassius says “their shadows seem / A canopy most fatal,” under which their army lies,
“ready to give up the ghost.” Cassius means that the scavenger birds are hovering overhead waiting for
their army to die so that the birds can feed upon their dead bodies.
4. Brutus declares to Cassius that he would like to start the battle. Why?
Brutus wants to fight in order to have a clear conclusion, rather than to live in uncertainty: “O, that a
man might know / The end of this day’s business ere it come! / But it sufficeth that the day will end, /
And then the end is known.” Brutus seeks resolution of all that began on the ides of March.
5. What happens in Scene Two?
Scene Two is very brief. In it, Brutus sends Messala to give orders, “bills,” to their forces on the other
side of the field, commanding them to advance immediately with a sudden attack as he believes the
surprise would overthrow them.
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Act Five, Scenes Three, Four, and Five
Vocabulary
apt: appropriate
behold: to observe
bondage: slavery
disconsolate: dejected, without hope
entrails: intestines
envenomed: filled with hate, poison
misconstrued: misunderstood
office: a place (in context)
rites: ceremonial acts or procedures
smatch: a taste, a tincture
tarrying: delaying, lingering
vessel: a container, a receptacle
1. Why does Pindarus kill Cassius with Cassius’s own sword?
When Pindarus was Cassius’s prisoner in Parthia, Cassius made him swear that he would do whatever
Cassius said. Cassius now tells him that Pindarus should kill him and he will be free of his promise
to Cassius: “Come now, keep thine oath. / Now be a free man, and with this good sword / That ran
through Caesar’s bowels, search this bosom.”
2. On whom does Brutus blame the deaths of Portia and Cassius?
Brutus swears that Caesar’s ghost is causing all of the suicides, that he is “mighty yet.”
3. Why does Brutus kill himself?
Brutus believes it is better to kill himself than be taken prisoner and killed by the enemy: “It is more
worthy to leap in ourselves, / Than tarry till they push us.”
4. Compare and contrast the circumstances of various characters’ deaths in these scenes.
Cassius portends his own death: “Time is come round, / And where I did begin, there shall I end; / My
life is run his compass.” Then he has Pindarus kill him with his own sword, the very one that stabbed
Caesar. Titinius and Messala mourn Cassius’s death because he was the “mother” of the conspirators’
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rebellion and it all seems pointless after he dies. Then Titinius stabs himself with Cassius’s sword. Brutus blames the ghost of Caesar for the suicides, “O Julius Caesar, thou art mighty yet! Thy spirit walks
abroad and turns our swords in our own proper entrails.” Brutus also notes that suicide is a “deed in
fashion,” and that his time is up: “I know my hour is come.” Brutus wants death, has “but labour’d to
attain this hour,” and he runs upon his sword held by another at his request.
5. Is suicide an honorable way out?
A strong motif throughout Julius Caesar is death. This play is a Shakespearean tragedy, which, loosely
defined, means that most of the characters die by the end. Arguably, however, some honor is awarded
those who die before being taken prisoner or executed for their criminal acts. In the case of Brutus,
given his killing of a friend, Caesar, even for the good of Rome, the loss of his wife, and the encroachment of an army gathered to take him, a traitor, prisoner, death is the honorable way out. Brutus says
in Act One, Scene Two, that he does not fear death because honor is more important to him. In these
last scenes, Lucilius corroborates this when he says to Antony: “I dare assure thee that no enemy /
Shall ever take alive the noble Brutus: / The gods defend him from so great a shame!” And, in the end,
death redeems Brutus and he is buried as an honorable soldier.
6. Why does Antony call Brutus “the noblest Roman of them all”?
Antony notes that Brutus was the only conspirator who believed that Caesar’s death was in the best
interest of Romans, whereas the rest of the conspirators killed Caesar for ignoble reasons, such as envy.
As a result, Octavius decrees that they will bury Brutus as an honorable soldier.
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