Read the extract from ‘Julius Caesar’ Act 5, Scene 1, given below and answer the questions that follow:
Cassius: Then, if we lose this battle,
You are contented to be led in triumph
Through the streets of Rome?
Brutus: No, Cassius, no: think not, thou noble Roman,
That ever Brutus will go bound to Rome;
He bears too great a mind. But this same day
Must end that work the ides of March begun;
And whether we shall meet again I know not.
Therefore our everlasting farewell take:
Forever, and forever, farewell, Cassius.
If we do meet again, why, we shall smile;
If not, why then, this parting was well made.
(i) Why does Brutus say, ‘No, Cassius, no’?
What conditions may force Brutus to go bound to Rome?
Brutus says, ‘And whether we shall meet again I know not.‘ What do these words imply?
(ii) To what does Brutus refer when he says, ‘the work which the ides of March begun’?
How was ‘that work’ begun?
What political change would take place in Rome if Brutus and Cassius lose this battle?
(iii) Earlier in this scene, Cassius had confided to Messala a strange occurrence that he had observed when
his army was on its way from Sardis to Philippi.
Describe this strange occurrence.
(iv) How does Brutus die?
How does his manner of dying contradict the philosophy by which he had lived his life?
(v) At the end of the play, Antony calls Brutus, ‘the noblest Roman of them all’. Why does he say this?
What does this reveal of Antony’s character?
[3] SECTION C
(Answer one or more questions from this Section.)
PROSE - SHORT STORIES
(Treasure Trove – A Collection of Poems and Short Stories)
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(i) Brutussays,“No,Cassius,no”inresponsetoCassius’s
suggestion that he might be captured and paraded
as a prisoner through Rome if they lose the battle.
Brutus, a man of great pride and principle, cannot
bear the thought of being led in disgrace through the streets of the city he sought to liberate. He
would rather die than suffer such humiliation. His
words, “And whether we shall meet again I know not,”
suggest an acknowledgement of the uncertainty
of war. This moment is deeply poignant, as he
and Cassius prepare for what could be their final
battle. The farewell they exchange carries a sense of
inevitability, foreshadowing their impending fates
and reinforcing the tragic weight of their choices.
(ii) Brutus refers to Caesar’s assassination when he
speaks of “the work which the Ides of March begun”.
The conspirators, led by Brutus and Cassius,
assassinated Caesar on the Ides of March, believing
it would restore the Republic and prevent
tyranny. However, their vision of Rome free
from dictatorship was never realised. If Brutus
and Cassius lose the battle, Rome will fall under
the rule of Octavius and Antony, who will likely
establish a new form of autocracy. This marks the
ultimate failure of the conspiracy, as their attempt
to preserve the Republic instead paves the way for
an empire, proving the futility of their actions.
(iii) Earlier in the scene, Cassius tells Messala about a
strange omen he observed while marching from
Sardis to Philippi. Two mighty eagles had perched
on their banners, feeding from the hands of their
soldiers, which he initially took as a good sign.
However, on the morning of the battle, the eagles
vanished, replaced by ravens, crows and kites
circling ominously above them. Cassius, who once
dismissed omens as mere superstitions, begins to
see this as a sign of their impending doom. This
change in his belief underscores his growing sense
of fatalism and foreshadows his tragic end.
(iv) Brutusdiesbyrunningontohisownsword,heldby
his loyal servant, Strato. His death is deeply ironic
because throughout his life, Brutus upheld Stoic
philosophy, which teaches endurance in the face
of suffering and rejection of suicide as an escape
from fate. He had earlier criticised Cato for taking
his own life, calling it cowardly. Yet, in the end, he
does exactly that, choosing death over dishonour.
His suicide marks his final acknowledgement that
their cause has failed, and that Rome will no longer
be what he fought for.
(v) Antony calls Brutus “the noblest Roman of them all”
because, unlike the other conspirators, Brutus did
not kill Caesar out of envy or ambition but out of a
sincere belief in the Republic. He acted with what
hethoughtwasRome’sbestinterestatheart,evenif
his actions were misguided. Antony, despite having
fought against him, acknowledges this purity of
intent. This moment reveals Antony’s ability to
recognise virtue, even in his enemies. Though he
has been ruthless throughout the play, Antony’s
words here show a sense of honour and respect
for true nobility, reinforcing the complexity of his
character.