Julius Caesar – A. J. Drake's Shakespeare Site

Questions on
Shakespeare’s Tragedies

Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. (The Norton Shakespeare: Tragedies, 3rd ed. 288-343.)

ACT 1

1. In Act 1, Scene 1, a cobbler parries wits with the tribunes Murellus and Flavius. What is the subject of their conversation? What atmosphere surrounds them as they talk in the streets of Rome—what is the occasion for the large gathering of common people (i.e. plebeians) like the cobbler?

2. In Act 1, Scene 1, what accusations does the Tribune Murellus make against the commoners with whom he argues over their support for Julius Caesar, and what is his own attitude toward the increasingly powerful dictator? After the common people leave, what symbolic act of protest do Murellus and his fellow Tribune Flavius commit?

3. In Act 1, Scene 2, we are introduced to Caesar. What is the “great man” like? For example, what do you infer from Caesar’s reference to his wife Calphurnia’s sterility, or the way he handles the Soothsayer’s urgent cry about the Ides of March, or his concern about the “lean and hungry” Cassius? Is Caesar a still heroic-seeming character, or does he seem a diminished figure, a mere politician? Explain why you view him as you do.

4. In Act 1, Scene 2, Cassius sounds out Brutus on the issue of Caesar’s increasing power. Consider his statements as persuasive acts (i.e., as rhetoric): what specific images, insinuations, and arguments does he set before Brutus to win him over? What seems to motivate Cassius to oppose Caesar? What assumptions does Cassius make about Brutus that lead him to take the rhetorical approach that he does?

5. In Act 1, Scene 2, how does Brutus process and respond to Cassius’ attempt to enlist him in a conspiracy against Caesar? What qualities does Brutus show that set him apart from Cassius? Still, is there anything disturbing or revealing about his responses? If so, what is it?

6. In Act 1, Scene 3, Cassius goes to work on Casca (with whom he had spoken earlier as well, in Scene 2). Taking into account Casca’s words in Scenes 2 and 3, characterize this conspirator: what recent experiences has he had, what sights has he seen, that move him to accept the proposition that Cassius makes to him? What does he understand to be the point of eliminating Caesar, and of drawing Brutus into the plan?

ACT 2

7. In Act 2, Scene 1, what feelings and thoughts occur to the solitary Brutus as he considers what to do? What reasoning process does he employ to convince himself that Caesar, his friend and benefactor, must die? What reflections does he make regarding the more general subject of “conspiracy”—what seems to be his attitude toward conspiracy in general? Does his reasoning seem sound or specious? Explain.

8. In Act 2, Scene 1, Brutus is introduced by Cassius to the other conspirators: Casca, Decius, Cinna, Metellus Cimber, and Trebonius (Caius Ligarius enters later). What problem does Brutus find with the others’ desire to swear an oath? How does he handle the conspirators’ call to kill Mark Antony along with Caesar, and how does he describe to them the violence that must be done to Caesar? Is his description realistic? Explain.

9. In Act 2, Scene 1, after speaking with the conspirators and before convincing Caius Ligarius to join the cause, Brutus returns home and faces his wife Portia’s concerns. What has she been observing of late about her husband? What appeal does she make to get him to confide in her? What image or impression of this famous Roman couple, Brutus and Portia, does this brief scene provide?

10. In Act 2, Scene 1, Brutus speaks briefly to Caius Ligarius and has no trouble convincing him to participate in the conspiracy. The language they employ is drawn from medicine: they speak of sickness and health. At what other points do those terms appear in the play? What is the significance of such medical or health-based terms in relation to the play’s larger political concerns?

11. In Act 2, Scene 2, what seems to be Caesar’s frame of mind when he hears of Calphurnia’s nightmare and gets bad news from his augurers? How genuine do you find his bravery in the face of these tidings? How does Decius change Caesar’s mind and convince him to go to the Capitol? On the whole, what image of Caesar prevails in these brief moments before he goes to his death and leaves room for Brutus to become the play’s tragic protagonist?

12. In Act 2, Scenes 3-4, Artemidorus (a rhetorician), alone, reads a letter of warning he intends to hand Caesar, and Portia briefly meets the Soothsayer whom Caesar had earlier called a “dreamer.” How do the rhetorician’s concern and Portia’s dialog heighten the suspense in advance of the next scene, in which Caesar is assassinated? Do these scenes help to shape your perspective on the murder to come? If so, how?

ACT 3

13. In Act 3, Scene 1, Caesar is cut down by the daggers of Brutus and his fellow conspirators. What stratagem do the killers employ to isolate and transfix their target? How well does Caesar live up to his star billing in this world-historical event—how well or nobly, that is, does he die? In responding, consider Caesar’s words and bearing as he confronts the men who first present themselves as petitioners and then as murderers.

14. In Act 3, Scene 1, what do Brutus and Cassius respectively say and do just after the murder and before Mark Antony’s servant enters—how do they cast their bloody deed in terms of morality, political impact, and long-term historical significance? Why might it be significant or illuminating that both Cassius and Brutus cast what they have done in terms of its impact as theater? With that question in mind, if you were a film director or playwright, how would you stage this most famous of political murders, and why?

15. In Act 3, Scene 1, Antony sends word by a servant that he wants to talk with Brutus and understand why he has killed Caesar. Why is it a smart rhetorical move for Antony—through his servant—to begin with a civil request that the conspirators should justify to him what they have done? What additional (and very practical) request does Antony make of Brutus—how does he take advantage of Brutus’s honorable character in the face-to-face conversation that follows regarding plans for Caesar’s funeral?

16. In Act 3, Scene 1, what does Antony reveal to be his true motive in the soliloquy beginning “O pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth” that follows his conversation with the conspirators? Does this soliloquy make you think worse of Antony, or does he have some measure of right on his side? What is his attitude toward the violence he means to stir up in and beyond Rome? When you hear the word “Roman,” what qualities come to mind first? What kind of Roman is Mark Antony?

17. In Act 3, Scene 2, how does Brutus present to the people and defend what he and the other conspirators have done? Upon what principles does he say they have acted? How well does his rhetoric succeed with his plebeian audience—what do they apparently want by the time he finishes speaking? By this point, what should we understand about Shakespeare’s estimation of the temperament and intelligence of crowds?

18. In Act 3, Scene 2, how does Antony, speaking after Brutus, persuade the commoners (plebeians) in favor of Caesar and against the conspirators? What specific appeals does Antony make to the people? What devices or rhetorical tricks—including but not limited to his famous concentration on the “honorable” disposition of the killers—does he employ to hold their attention and direct their passions where he wants them to go? By the end of his speech, what is the situation—what are the plebeian audience members already starting to do?

19. In Act 3, Scene 3, how does the cruel fate of Cinna the poet (and non-conspirator) at the hands of the mob drive home the true quality of the passions Antony’s skillful rhetoric has stirred up? Granted, the scene is in part comic relief of a sort that is common in the plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries, but still it seems fair to ask, “If this crowd accurately represents a sizeable amount of the people for whose benefit the conspirators acted, was the act still justified, or was its objective doomed to failure from the outset?” Explain your view.

ACT 4

20. In Act 4, Scene 1, Antony confers with Octavius (the future Emperor Augustus) and the third member of the Second Triumvirate (43-33 BCE), Lepidus. What new facet of himself does Antony reveal in the course of his discussion with Octavius? How does Octavius react to Antony’s characterization of Lepidus, and how does Antony respond? Finally, what is the plan against the conspirators at this point?

21. In Act 4, Scenes 2-3, what is the cause of the argument between Cassius and Brutus? What injustice has Cassius committed? How does Cassius manage to heal the rift between them—on what basis does he appeal to Brutus, and why is his attempt so successful? Consider as at least one component of your response the importance of amicitia, friendship, in Roman culture—what does this concept have to do with the two men’s reconciliation?

22. In Act 4, Scene 3, how does Brutus take the news of his wife Portia’s suicide? What battle tactics does Cassius recommend, and what reasons does Brutus give for his decision to reject those tactics and instead to meet the enemy forthrightly at Philippi? How does Brutus’s military analysis blend the practical considerations of battle with a more philosophical dimension of life?

23. In Act 4, Scene 3, why does Caesar’s ghost appear to Brutus toward the end of the scene? The ghost calls himself Brutus’s “evil spirit.” This language is sometimes glossed as a claim that some “evil” within Brutus is responsible for his imminent downfall, but consider Antony’s remark toward the end of Act 3, Scene 1, which has “Caesar’s spirit, ranging for revenge” while violence and destruction shake the Roman world. How might this reference inflect our reading of Caesar’s words here in 4.3? Explain. Moreover, how does Brutus respond to the Ghost—what is its impact on him?

ACT 5

24. In Act 5, Scene 1, describe the brief meeting between the forces of Antony and Octavius and Brutus and Cassius: what charges and counter-charges do they level against one another? What philosophical meditation does Brutus share afterwards when he is alone with Cassius? How do you interpret what Brutus says at this point—what does he plan to do if he is threatened with capture?

25. In Act 5, Scene 3, what military error has Brutus committed, according to Titinius? How is that error symptomatic of Brutus’s mistaken assumptions throughout the play? What error of perception or attitude then leads Cassius to order his slave Pindarus to run him through with the sword he used to kill Caesar? How does Brutus take the death of his old friend—what reflections does he make?

26. In Act 5, Scene 5, what parting thoughts does Brutus offer about his course of action as he prepares to run upon his sword? Why does he think that he, and not Antony and Octavius, will be best remembered? A short while later, how does Mark Antony memorialize his now-departed enemy? On the whole, do you think that Brutus’s prediction came true—did he in any sense (practical, philosophical, moral, historical, etc.) win out over Antony or even the great Augustus Caesar (that is, Octavius)? Why or why not?

27. In Act 5, Scene 5 and in general, since it is really Brutus and not Caesar who is the protagonist of Julius Caesar, how would you characterize Brutus’s tragedy? What accounts for his failure as a practical political actor? To what extent, if at all, do his Roman virtues redeem him? To what extent does he attain to tragic insight into the causes of his failure to defeat “Caesarism” and re-establish republican virtues?

28. General question: when we read or watch a work of art about someone like Julius Caesar, we may ask what forces are at work in the making of history. Today, few if any historians would accept the “Great Man” theory of history, whereby the will, appetites, and beliefs of remarkable people like Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, or Napoleon are said to underlie historical change. Based on your response to the play Julius Caesar, do you believe Shakespeare would also consider that theory false? Explain.

Edition. Greenblatt, Stephen et al., editors. The Norton Shakespeare: Tragedies + Digital Edition. 3rd ed. W. W. Norton, 2016. ISBN-13: 978-0-393-93860-9.