Julius Caesar

Act 2 Scene 1
Workbook Notes
1. MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS (Answers)
1. (b) Because of his inner turmoil.
2. (c) He has a personal grudge against Caesar.
3. (a) They are true Romans fighting for a just cause.
4. (d) Cicero is irresolute.
5. (d) All of the above.
6. (a) By flattery.
7. (a) The signs and portents given by the storm
8. (c) He has been behaving unnaturally.
9. (c) Her father, Cato.
10. (a) Equal rights of wifehood.
11. (c) Darkness in Brutus’ mind.
12. (b) Soliloquy.
13. (c) Once crowned, Caesar would become uncontrollable.
14. (d) Serpent’s egg.
15. (b) spiritual and purifying.
16. (c) Accedes to the plan of brutally murdering Caesar.
17. (a) His sense of honour.
18. (a) His integrity and personal reputation in Rome.
19. (d) Irritable vanity.
20. (d) Both (a) and (b).

Extract I.
Lucius
I will, my lord.
[Exit Lucius.]
Brutus
It must be by his death; and, for my part,
I know no personal cause to spurn at him,
But for the general. He would be crowned —
How that might change his nature, there's the question.
It is the bright day that brings forth the adder,
And that craves wary walking.

i. Where does this scene take place? Who is Lucius? What has he been asked to do?
This scene takes place in Brutus's garden. Lucius is a servant of Brutus. Lucius has been asked to light a candle
in Brutus’s Study.

ii. In what mood is Brutus? What does 'it' refer to? Whose death is suggested?
Brutus is in a thoughtful and pensive mood.
'It' refers to the people of Rome.
The death of Julius Caesar is suggested in this extract.
iii. Who has convinced Brutus to take such a step? What is the motive of Brutus for taking such a decision as
expressed in this extract? What does it reveal about Brutus?
The entire task of convincing Brutus to take part in the killing of Julius Caesar was masterminded by Cassius.
The motive of Brutus in taking such a decision was to protect the people of Rome from the tyranny of Julius
Caesar. Brutus was convinced that once Julius Caesar became king he would enslave the people of Rome and
that the people of Rome would lose their freedom.
This decision also reveals that Brutus can take any decision, even if apparently incorrect, if he believes that it is
for the good of the people of Rome. This decision also reveals that Brutus was not personally greedy for power.
but he was patriotic and idealistic.

iv. What danger does Brutus foresee if the person is crowned as a king? How is this danger expressed by
referring to the " bright day" and the "adder".
The danger that Brutus foresees is that if Julius Caesar is crowned as king then Caesar would become a dictator
and would take away freedom from the people of Rome.
This danger is expressed by referring to the "bright day" and the "adder" because Brutus feels that just like the
snake comes out during bright sunshine to hunt for food, the crowning of Julius Caesar appears to be a bright
occasion but is actually going to lead to the loss of freedom of the people of Rome.

v. What are your feelings about Brutus at this juncture? Give a reason to justify your answer.
At this point I have sympathy for Brutus. His thoughts are at cross-roads at this point. On one hand, he does
not really want to kill Julius Caesar - he has nothing to gain from it personally. On the other hand he is eager to
ensure that the citizens of Rome are not subjected to dictatorship in case Caesar becomes a king.
OR
I feel angry at the justification Brutus gives to kill Caesar. His argument points to the fact that Caesar has to die,
not because of what he is at present, but at what he will become when he gets the crown. He also says that
once he is crowned king, there will be no one to check his to

Extract II.
Brutus
So Caesar may.
Then, lest he may, prevent. And since the quarrel
Will bear no color for the thing he is,
Fashion it thus: that what he is, augmented,
Would run to these and these extremities;
And therefore think him as a serpent's egg —
Which, hatched, would, as his kind, grow mischievous —
And kill him in the shell.

i. "So Caesar may" What may Caesar do? Your answer must refer to the metaphor of the ladder, used by
Brutus in his speech. How does Brutus intend to prevent Caesar from doing so?
"So Caesar may". This means that Caesar may become arrogant and a tyrant once he is crowned as the king of
Rome. Brutus says a person who is climbing a ladder stays humble while he is climbing it but becomes arrogant
when he reaches the top. He only looks up and forgets the ladder that helped him. Brutus believes that Julius
Caesar was humble only because he was not yet crowned the king of Rome. Once he was crowned the king -
he would become arrogant.
Brutus intends to prevent Julius Caesar from becoming a tyrant by killing him. Just like snakes are prevented
from being born by destroying their eggs, Julius Caesar must be prevented from being a tyrant by killing him
when he is not as powerful as he would be on becoming king.
ii. Give the meaning " And, since the quarrel/Will bear no colour for the thing he is/Fashion it thus".
‘And since our argument has nothing to do with who he is right now, I must think of it this way:’
According to Brutus, the behaviour of Julius Caesar has always been reasonable. Therefore, the killing of Julius
Caesar cannot be justified on the basis of his current behaviour. He therefore says that in order to justify the
killing of Julius Caesar one has to say that if Julius Caesar became king he would become arrogant and a tyrant
and in order to prevent him from becoming a tyrant, in future, he had to be killed.

iii. What is meant by "augmented"? How can Caesar be augmented? How had there already been an
attempt to augment him?
The word "augment" here means "more". That is, if Caesar became king his powers would get augmented
(increase). If his powers got augmented, he would become a tyrant and would enslave the people of Rome.
There was an attempt by Mark Anthony, earlier in the play, to augment him by offering him the crown.
However, at this point Julius Caesar had declined the crown.

iv. To whom is the serpent's egg compared? What does Brutus want to communicate by using a comparison
of a serpent's egg?
Julius Caesar is compared to a serpent's egg. By comparing Julius Caesar to a serpent's egg, Brutus wants to
communicate that at this point Julius Caesar was like a serpent's egg - that he was potentially dangerous. Also,
like a serpent's egg, it was relatively easier to destroy him now. Once he was crowned king, it would be very
difficult to kill him.

v. What price would Brutus pay later by preventing a "serpent's egg" from being hatched?
The price the Brutus would pay later by preventing a "serpents egg" from hatching would be a war with
Octavius and Mark Anthony in which hundreds were killed. The price that he would pay would be his own
deaths and the death of many of his co-conspirators. He would thus pay a heavy price for preventing a
"serpent's egg" from being hatched.

Extract III.
Brutus
'Tis good. Go to the gate; somebody knocks.
[Exit Lucius.]
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.
The genius and the mortal instruments
Are then in council, and the state of man,
As a little kingdom, suffers then
The nature of an insurrection.

i. To what does Brutus reply, 'Tis good’? Who is knocking at the gate? Why has he come?
Lucius had returned to inform Brutus, after checking the calendar, that the current day was the ides of march.
Cassius, the brother-in-law of Brutus, was knocking at the gate. He had come along with some of the other
conspirators (Trebonius, Decius Brutus, Casca, Cinna and Metellus Cimber) to confirm their plans to go ahead
with the conspiracy against Julius Caesar. His objective was also to introduce the other conspirators to Brutus.

ii. What is the impact of Cassius's earlier discussion on Brutus?

Cassius manages to convince Brutus to carry out the plan to execute Julius Caesar.
Brutus believes that the growing power of Caesar is a threat to Rome’s freedom and it his duty to relieve Rome
of Caesar’s tyranny.

iii. In what type of mental frame is Brutus? Why does he compare this mental condition to a nightmare or a
horrid dream?
Brutus is in a mental turmoil. He does not have a personal grudge against Caesar but believes Caesar's death is
good for Rome.
He compares his mental state with that of a horrid dream or a nightmare because just like a nightmare scares a
person and disturbs his state of mind - in the same way Brutus's state of mind is very disturbed. He is not able
to think clearly. He is not even able to sleep.

iv. Give the meaning of:

(a) All the interim is like a phantasma
everything in between is like a nightmare
(b) the genius and the mortal instruments / Are then in council.
Rational powers and passions of the body are engaged in arguement

v. In the last lines of the extract, the mental condition of Brutus is compared to a civil war. Explain how the
comparison is made.
The mental condition of Brutus is compared to that of a small kingdom. His rational powers (the genius) and
the passions of the body (mortal instruments) and in argument (in council).
His mental state is compared to that of a revolt in a kingdom. Just like an "insurrection" (revolt) causes turmoil
in a kingdom, the thought of killing Julius Caesar is causing a turmoil (insurrection) in Brutus's mind.

Extract IV.
Brutus
They are the faction. O conspiracy,
Sham'st thou to show thy dang'rous brow by night,
When evils are most free? 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;
For if thou path, thy native semblance on,
Not Erebus itself were dim enough
To hide thee from prevention.

i. Who comes after this extract? How are they dressed? Who informs Brutus of their arrival?
The conspirator (other than Cassius) comes after this extract.
They are Trebonius, Decius Brutus, Casca, Cinna and Metellus Cimber.
They are dressed to hide their faces. Their hats are pulled over their ears. Half their faces are hidden in their
cloaks. They are dressed so that they cannot be recognized. Lucius the assistant of Brutus informs Brutus of
their arrival.

ii. What is meant by the 'faction' and 'thy' dangerous brow?

'Faction' means people who are part of the conspiracy.
"Thy dangerous brow" refers to the face of the conspirators. The conspirators have covered their face so well
that even their eye-brows are not visible.

iii. How does the conspiracy disguise itself at night and during the day?
The conspirators are ashamed to show their face in the darkness of the night, when evil is most free.
During the day they cover their faces in the dark. The conspirators should hide themselves in smiles and
friendliness during the day.

iv. What is referred to as Erebus? If conspiracy were to appear with its 'native semblance on', what would
happen?
Darkness is referred to as Erebus. Erebus is a mythical region where it is always pitch dark. Brutus means that if
the conspirators did not disguise themselves (during the day or at night) not even the darkness of Erebus can
prevent them from being detected as planning a conspiracy.

v. Why is it necessary to disguise the conspiracy? Give two of the precautions taken by the conspirators to
hide the conspiracy.
It is necessary to disguise the conspiracy because if the conspiracy is known to others it is possible that their
plans to kill Julius Caesar may leak to people who are friendly to Julius Caesar. This will ruin their chance to kill
Julius Caesars. During the day the conspirators hide themselves in smiling and friendly faces. At night they hide
themselves in hats which cover their ears and cloaks which cover their faces.

Extract V.
Brutus
What need we any spur but our own cause,
To prick us to redress? What other bond
Than secret Romans, that have spoke the word,
And will not palter? And what other oath
Than honesty to honesty engaged,
That this shall be, or we will fall for it?

i. Who are referred to as the 'we'? What is 'our own cause'? State in your own words how the cause itself is
a spur?
The 'we' are the group of conspirators.
"Our own cause" refers to the plan hatched by the conspirators to kill Julius Caesar.
The cause itself is the spur (motivation) to kill Julius Caesar. The cause itself is the spur because the cause was
decided by the conspirators themselves. The cause was not imposed on them by somebody else. The
conspirators had themselves decided that Julius Caesar would become a tyrant if the was crowned
king.Therefore they had decided to kill Julius Caesar. Since they believed in the cause they were well motivated
to execute the plan to kill Julius Caesar.

ii. Who had suggested the idea of taking an oath? Why did Brutus dismiss that idea? Was Brutus's decision
wise? Why?
Cassius has suggested the idea of taking an oath.
Brutus dismissed the idea of taking an oath as Brutus felt that "the cause itself was the spur". He said they
should not have anything other than the understanding that they they honourable men who trust each other
to do the right thing or to die trying.
Brutus's decision was not wise. His decision was not wise because if they had taken the oath they would have
been bound much better. At the end he destroys everything he stood for.

iii. Explain what is meant by 'honesty to honesty engage'd? Why is honesty very important for Brutus and
his men?
"Honesty to honesty engaged" means one honest man committed to another honest man. That is, the
commitment of all the conspirators to one another for executing the plan to kill Julius Caesar.
Honesty is important for Brutus and his men because only if the conspirators are honest to one another will
they be able to execute their plans. Brutus feels that if each member of the conspirators is honest to the other
then they would not need to take an oath - which according to Brutus is only for Priests, cowards and
untrustworthy men.

iv. Give the meaning of "that this shall be, or we will fall for it".
We shall be successful or we will die trying.

v. According to Brutus, who normally takes an oath? How does Brutus convince this group to uphold Roman
nobility rather than depend on an oath.
According to Brutus, only priests, cowards and untrustworthy men take oaths. They need to take an oath since
these people do not trust each other.
Brutus tells the group that they are undertaking the task of killing Julius Caesar because they are convinced
that this is required to save the common people of Rome from the tyranny of Julius Caesar. He tells them that
when honest men set out to undertake an assignment they either complete it successfully or die while
completing the task. He tells them that as long as they are convinced about the task at hand and its
correctness and the benefits to the common people, the task will bind the group. This binding is much stronger
than an oath.

Extract VI.
Brutus
O, name him not. Let us not break with him,
For he will never follow anything
That other men begin.
Cassius
Then leave him out.
Casca
Indeed he is not fit.
Decius Brutus
Shall no man else be touched but only Caesar?

i. Who is 'him'. What did Brutus want to leave him out of? What reason had just been given in his favour?
The 'him' is a reference to Cicero.
Brutus wants to leave him out of the conspiracy to kill Julius Caesar.
Metellus was in the favour of including Cicero. He said that including Cicero would be beneficial as people
would think that the action of killing Julius Caesar has the blessings of a senior and elder person like Cicero.
This would make the killing and death of the people more acceptable to the people.

ii. Explain "let us not break with him" Why does Brutus say this?
"Let us not break with him" means that Brutus does not want to share the plot to kill Julius Caesar with Cicero.
Brutus does not want to share the plot with Cicero as Brutus feels that Cicero will not wholeheartedly
participate in a plan which was not initiated(started) by him.

iii. What is the meaning of 'touch'd’ here ? Who else, does Cassius now mention, should be touch'd? What is
his reason?
The meaning of being 'touch'd' is to be killed.
Cassius mentions that Mark Anthony should be killed along with Julius Caesar.
His reason for killing Mark Anthony is that he believes that Mark Anthony is a cunning plotter. He feels that
after the death of Caesar Mark Anthony has the ability to harm them.
iv. Brutus overrides Cassius. Why? What does it reveal about Brutus?
Brutus does not agree with Cassius that Mark Anthony too must be killed along with Julius Caesar.
This is because Brutus feels that their objective was to end the tyranny of Julius Caesar. Brutus says that they
must be 'sacrificers' (those who sacrificed Julius Caesar for the betterment of the people of Rome).
He does not want them to be considered as butchers who kill for no significant reason.
This shows that Brutus is honorable as he wishes to lessen the bloodshed and violence and keep it to only
those who he feels pose a potential danger to Rome. It shows that he is noble as he did not want to kill
someone he feels is innocent.

v. In his turn, Cassius does not agree with Brutus's ideas. State the objection put forth by Cassius and tell
how his objection was later justified.
The objection put forward by Cassius was that Brutus was not correct in deciding to kill Mark Anthony. Mark
Anthony had a deep rooted love for Julius Caesar. This deep rooted love for Caesar could cause them trouble
once Julius Caesar was killed. However, Brutus disregarded this advice by saying that Mark Anthony was too
fond of sports, merry making and friends to be of any serious threat to them.
We can say from the course of future events that Cassius was absolutely right. Because Mark Anthony was not
killed with Caesar he revolted against the conspirators. He instigated the people against them. He also teamed
up with Octavius Caesar to wage a war against the conspirators.

Extract VII.
Cassius
Yet I fear him,
For in the engrafted love he bears to Caesar —
Brutus
Alas, good Cassius, do not think of him:
If he love Caesar, all that he can do
Is to himself — take thought and die for Caesar.
And that were much he should, for he is given
To sports, to wildness, and much company.
Trebonius
There is no fear in him. Let him not die,
For he will live and laugh at this hereafter.

i. What is the occasion for the dialogue? What is meant by 'ingrafted' love? Name the person being talked
about in the dialogue.
The occasion for the dialogue is the discussion centered around the proposal by Cassius, to kill Mark Anthony
along with Julius Caesar. Cassius wants Mark Anthony to be killed along with Julius Caesar but Brutus is against
it. Brutus prevails.
Ingrafted love means deep love. According to Cassius, Mark Anthony had a deeply rooted love for Julius Caesar.
Mark Anthony is the person being talked about in the dialogue.

ii. How does Brutus dismiss Cassius' fear of that person?

Brutus dismisses Cassius's fear of Mark Anthony by saying that even if Mark Anthony has deep-rooted love for
Caesar then he would die of depression after hearing about the death of Julius Caesar. Brutus also felt that
Mark Anthony was too fond of sports, merry-making and friends to do anything to rebel against the
conspirators.

iii. Why does Trebonius say that there is no cause to fear that man?
Trebonius believed that Mark Antony would have no power after Caesar’s death. He thinks that once Antony
understands the reason they had killed Caesar, then even Mark Antony will laugh along with them.

iv. Give the meaning of: ‘For he will live, and laugh at this hereafter’
These words are spoken by Tribonius after Cassius suggestion of killing Mark Antony along with Caesar. But
Tribonius dismisses his fear by stating that they should allow him to live. For if he lives he will eventually realize
that the conspirators did the right thing and even laugh about it, holding no grudge against them.

v. Which of the three men prove to be right and in what way?

Of the three men (Cassius, Brutus and Trebonius) Cassius was right. He was right that Mark Anthony would
prove to be a thorn in their flesh. He was right that Mark Anthony had deep rooted love for Caesar. He was
correct in saying that unless Mark Anthony was killed along with Caesar he would revolt against the
conspirators. Brutus was completely wrong in not listening to the advice of Cassius.