ENGLISH [Communicative] Textual questions : [2M]

Antony’s speech is more effective because he knows what and how to speak. He articulates emotionally and tactfully to arouse emotions of the crowd so as to prepare them to take revenge.

Third citizen says that. The speaker had deep respect and regard for the person spoken about. He idealises Caesar and wishes to give the same respectable position to Brutus.

Brutus says that he loved Caesar but loved Rome more. If Caesar had lived, he would have made all Romans slaves because he was ‘ambitious’. Would the people of Rome have liked that? They killed Caesar so that the people of Rome could be free. Brutus puts Caesar in wrong light saying that Caesar was ‘ambitious’. Therefore he had killed Caesar for the good of the country.

Antony predicts that ‘domestic fury and fierce civil strife’ shall spread in Italy. Blood and destruction shall rage the country. Mothers shall go mad and smile when they’ll see their children slaughtered. The earth shall be covered with dead bodies lying for burial. Caesar’s spirit shall roam about for revenge and his spirit will be accompanied by Ate, the goddess of strife, who would come from hell.

Antony begs pardon for he is being meek and gende with Caesar’s killers. He calls Caesar ‘a bleeding piece of earth’ and ‘ruins of the noblest man that ever lived in the tide of times’. He curses the hands that shed the cosdy blood of Caesar.

Conspirators agree to allow Antony to speak but Brutus will speak first giving reasons for killing Caesar. Antony could speak only after Brutus finishes and he must tell people that he had been given permission to speak by Cassius and Brutus. He would speak from the same pulpit as Brutus. Antony should not blame them for the killing of Julius Caesar.

Cassius objects to allowing Antony to speak at Caesar’s funeral because he fears that Antony would move the people against them. Brutus overrules the objection saying that he himself would speak first and give a reason for Caesar’s murder. He will also tell people that Antony had been allowed to speak by his permission and that he should speak only after him.

Brutus asks Antony not to beg for his own death because they had killed Caesar with a purpose. They are not Antony’s enemies. He offers his arms of friendship to Antony and proclaims him to be their friend. Cassius says that with Antony by their side, he shall be strong like others and Antony’s words will carry much credibility as anybody else in the distribution of the new offices and honours.

Antony calls Brutus and the others who have murdered Caesar as ‘the choice and master spirits of this age’ because they are the ones who take this decision to murder somebody as great as Caesar. He wants them to even kill him and lay him beside Caesar.

Antony is overwhelmed with grief on seeing Caesar’s body. He proclaims that in spite of his conquests, glories, triumphs and spoils, he lies so low. He offers to be killed and lie by Caesars side and he calls the conspirators as ‘choice’ and ‘master spirits’ of his age.

The conspirators proclaimed that Caesar was so ambitious that he would have enslaved all the Roman citizens.. Thus they killed Caesar to protect Rome and her people from him. Also that he would have become a tyrant.

These words were the last words of Julius Caesar when he was being stabbed by his own friends. These were spoken as his closest friend Brutus also stabbed him. Caesar could not believe that such a close friend could also backstab him.

Decius knew what Caesar wanted to hear. He knew that Caesar would easily be flattered by praise. So he used such a language which flattered him easily whereas Calpurnia was very fearful of her husbands wellbeing. So her language and tone did not match Caesars way of thinking. Caesar also thought that his wife was asking him to act as a coward.

Brutus says that Romans wanted to offer the crown to the mighty Caesar. If he did not go that day, they might change their minds. He also convinces him that the dream will prove to be auspicious.

Calpurnia foresees in her dream the assassination of Julius Caesar. She sees in her dream Caesar’s body being transformed into a fountain from which his blood is spouting and Romans smilingly washing their hands in his blood. Brutus interprets that blood coming out of Caesars body shall enrich Rome. People shall soak their handkerchiefs in his blood and keep them as their prized possession fomgenerations to come.

Calpurnia tries to convince Caesar against going to Senate House by saying that his reasoning has been devoured by his overconfidence. That is why he is not able to take a right decision whether to go to Senate House or not.

Calpurnia tries to convince Caesar not to go to senate house as nature is showing unusual signs. She fears that some untoward incident might happen with her husband.

It is said that when princes or kings die a star gets pulled from the sky. This star shoots and falls. This leaves behind a shining light. This happened on the day Caesar died.

Calpurnia prevented Caesar from going to the Senate House because she feared something miserable would happen to him. She felt this because of her dream in which she saw Caesar’s statue with many spots, from which blood was oozing out.
No, she did not succeed because Decius Brutus very cunningly convinced Caesar to go to the Senate House.

Decius Brutus says that Calpurnia’s dream has been misinterpreted. He very skillfully and cleverly gives a new meaning to the dream by calling it auspicious. He explains that Caesar’s blood would give new life and energy to the Romans. They would dip their handkerchiefs in the noble blood and preserve it for posterity. They would be used to add colour to their coat of arms, mementoes, and service badges.

Decius was more successful than Calpurnia in persuading Caesar as he appealed to Caesar’s vanity by telling him that the senators want to crown him. In contrast, Calpurnia only talks about her dreams. It seems that Caesar did not believe in superstitions and his vanity overcomes all persuasions by Calpurnia.

Julius Caesar was a great warrior and a just leader. He was proud of his achievements but he was not arrogant or haughty. However, he was overconfident, He underestimated the power and potential of the conspirators as well as his wife’s intuition. He paid the price with the loss of his life.

Yes, Julius Caesar was proud of his achievements. He was a great warrior and a fair leader. But he was overconfident. He paid a very heavy price because of his overconfidence and ignorance towards his wife’s intuition. Had he paid attention to what his wife was saying and not been overconfident, he would have not been murdered by others.