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to explain his rationale for participating in the assassination plot against Caesar
to reveal his thoughts
to reveal his values
to show his relationship with his wife, Portia
PORTIA:
Is Caesar yet gone to the Capitol?
Soothsayer:
Madam, not yet. I go to take my stand
To see him pass on to the Capitol.
PORTIA:
Thou hast some suit to Caesar, hast thou not?
Soothsayer:
That I have, lady. If it will please Caesar
To be so good to Caesar as to hear me,
I shall beseech him to befriend himself.
PORTIA:
Why? Know’st thou any harm’s intended towards him?
Soothsayer:
None that I know will be; much that I fear may chance. . . .
I’ll get me to a place more void, and there
Speak to great Caesar as he comes along. . . .
PORTIA:
O Brutus,
The heavens speed thee in thine enterprise!
What does this interaction reveal about each character’s motives?
In this character interaction, the two characters have warring motivations. The soothsayer wants to warn Caesar again; this is evidenced by his statements, “I shall beseech him to befriend himself,” meaning to protect himself. When he says, “I’ll get me to a place more void and there/Speak to great Caesar as he comes along,” we find that the soothsayer wants to get Caesar alone, probably because he doesn’t know who around him can be trusted. Conversely, Portia wants Brutus to succeed in his assassination of Caesar. When the soothsayer tells her he is going to warn Caesar to protect himself she replies, “Why? Know’st thou any harm’s intended towards him?” in an effort to find out what he knows. By her lines “O Brutus,/The heavens speed thee in thine enterprise!” we see that she wants him to hurry and commit the act before Caesar can be warned.
CASSIUS:
Let Antony and Caesar fall together. . . .
BRUTUS:
Our course will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius . . . .
Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius.
What does this interaction between Cassius and Brutus reveal about Brutus’ motivations?
Brutus is motivated by fear: he disagrees with the assassination plot.
Brutus is motivated by his friendship with both Caesar and Mark Antony to protect them from the assassination plot.
Brutus believes the assassination is a noble act: a necessary sacrifice for the good of Rome.
Brutus believes he should be emperor of Rome.
BRUTUS:
O then by day
Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough
To mask thy monstrous visage? Seek none, conspiracy.
Hide it in smiles and affability.
Identify the figurative language used in this example.
personification: “mask thy monstrous visage”
apostrophe: “then by day”
metaphor: “Seek none, conspiracy.”
simile: “a cavern dark enough”
CAESAR:
What can be avoided
Whose end is purposed by the mighty gods?
Yet Caesar shall go forth, for these predictions
Are to the world in general as to Caesar.
What does this excerpt reveal about Caesar’s attitude regarding the forewarnings of his death?
Caesar feels intense fear about his fate and the predictions.
Caesar does not believe in predictions or the gods.
Caesar thinks that the world should be afraid of these predictions.
Caesar ignores the forewarnings of his death because if it is his fate, he can’t defeat the gods.
BRUTUS:
And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg
Which, hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous,
And kill him in the shell.
Based on the bolded simile, what is Brutus’ reason for assassinating Caesar?
By comparing Caesar to “a serpent’s egg,” he suggests the characteristics of a serpent are part of Caesar’s personality. Uncertain of the reaction Caesar would have to increased power, Brutus suggests that it would do more harm than good. Because a serpent can not only poison any enemies but also swallow its prey whole, the metaphor suggests that Brutus wants to prevent such a beast from ever being hatched: “kill him in his shell.”
external conflict
moral dilemma
situational irony
personification
a direct comparison between two things; saying one thing is the other
giving human qualities to an idea or an inanimate object
a comparison between two unlike things using like or as
a direct address to an inanimate object or deceased person as if it could respond
a direct comparison between two things; saying one thing is the other
a comparison between two unlike things using like or as
a direct address to an inanimate object or deceased person as if it could respond
giving human qualities to an idea or an inanimate object
BRUTUS:
We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar,
And in the spirit of men there is no blood.
Oh, that we then could come by Caesar’s spirit
And not dismember Caesar.
Explain the irony in Brutus’ wish to kill Caesar’s spirit as indicated in the passage above.
Irony occurs when what occurs and what is expected to occur are different. Brutus desires to kill his spirit “and not dismember Caesar” physically. Caesar’s spirit, however, lives on even after his physical body is killed by the conspirators. Even today, he remains a pivotal historical figure.
They intend to take an oath but forget to do so.
Brutus thinks they are dishonest men and knows an oath will not mean anything to them.
In ancient Rome, the law stated that they could only take an oath if their fathers were present.
Brutus thinks that honest men will follow through on their intentions; therefore, they do not need to swear an oath.
BRUTUS:
O then by day
Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough
To mask thy monstrous visage? Seek none, conspiracy.
Hide it in smiles and affability.
Which form of figurative language is used in the bold lines of the above example?
personification
simile
plot
character
CAESAR:
Calpurnia here, my wife, stays me home.
She dreamt a dream tonight she saw my statue,
Which, like a fountain with an hundred spouts,
Did run pure blood; and many lusty Romans
Came smiling and did bathe their hands in it.
What does Calpurnia’s dream foreshadow?
Caesar’s victory over the conspirators
Caesar’s brutal assassination
Caesar’s last military victory
Caesar’s feelings about Rome
He does not trust his wife.
He wants his wife to join the conspirators.
He thinks his wife is funny.
His naivete and idealism prevent him from seeing when he’s being manipulated.
ARTEMIDORUS:
“Caesar, beware of Brutus. Take heed of Cassius.
Come not near Casca. Have an eye to Cinna. . . .
There is but one mind in all these men, and it is
bent against Caesar. If thou beest not immortal,
look about you. Security gives way to conspiracy. The
mighty gods defend thee! Thy lover, Artemidorus.”
What does this excerpt reveal about Artemidorus’ motivations regarding the assassination plot against Julius Caesar?
Artemidorus wants to take part in Caesar’s assassination.
Artemidorus wants to warn Caesar about the conspiracy against him.
Artemidorus wants to become Caesar’s body guard.
Artemidorus wants to trick Caesar.
CAESAR:
Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste of death but once.
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,
It seems to me most strange that men should fear,
Seeing that death, a necessary end,
Will come when it will come.
What does this excerpt reveal about Caesar’s attitude toward death?
Caesar thinks that the valiant bravely face death, which should not be prevented or feared.
Caesar thinks that men should run and hide from death to avoid it.
Caesar thinks that only cowards face death with acceptance and joy.
Caesar cannot accept his death.
Caesar will not become a tyrant because Brutus has never seen Caesar behave as a tyrant.
Caesar will become a tyrant because Caesar has the hallmarks of a tyrant and power will allow him to behave as a tyrant.
Caesar will not become a tyrant because Caesar is a nice guy without any tyrannical tendencies.
Caesar will definitely become a tyrant because Caesars’ gentle personality will allow him to be corrupted.
Caesar will become a tyrant because Caesar has the hallmarks of a tyrant and power will allow him to behave as a tyrant.
Cassius is considered the protagonist because he orchestrates the conspiracy, which restores honor to Rome.
Cassius is considered both the protagonist and the antagonist because he kills Caesar, a tyrannical leader, to save Rome, but he also murders Rome’s leader.
Brutus is considered both the protagonist and the antagonist because he kills Caesar, a tyrannical leader, to save Rome, but also because he murders Rome’s leader.
Brutus and Cassius are considered the antagonists because they assassinate Caesar, the popular leader of Rome, in cold blood simply to gain for themselves the power Caesar and Antony had.
Lucius tells Brutus that it is the ides of March.
The anonymous letters sent by “Rome” ask for his help.
Portia talks him into it.
Cassius is Brutus’ brother-in-law, and Brutus will do anything he asks.
BRUTUS:
We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar,
And in the spirit of men there is no blood.
Oh, that we then could come by Caesar’s spirit
And not dismember Caesar.
Which reason explains the irony in Brutus’ speech best?
The conspirators’ plot involves killing Caesar’s body, but not his spirit.
The conspirator’s plot involves killing Caesar’s spirit, but not his body.
Caesar’s spirit will save Caesar’s body from the conspirators’ plot.
Caesar’s spirit is not killed with his body.
loyalty
stoicism
tyranny
honor
