Act II, scene i - notes

End of Act I Reminder:

Remember, at the end of Act I the weather was stormy, Cassius told Cinna to place the letters for Brutus to find, the conspirators were meeting at Pompey’s porch, and Cassius was about to go see Brutus.

Remember, in Act I, Brutus was contemplating whether to be loyal to Caesar or loyal to Rome.

ACT II - Rising Action (complications) 

¡In Act II, Brutus has decided that Caesar must die!!!!!

¡Brutus knows that Caesar will be crowned king tomorrow. He does NOT know if Caesar will be corrupted by his power or not.

¡Brutus is pacing back and forth, wondering what to do about Caesar.

¡Brutus has never seen Caesar swayed by power in the past. He thinks that when Caesar becomes king he will start scorning (hating on) people who are lower in status (beneath him).

¡ Brutus compares Caesar to the egg of a serpent “which, hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous”; thus, he determines to “kill him in the shell” (II.i.33–34).

¡The “serpent egg” is a metaphor for Caesar. A serpent is a snake. A snake is a symbol of evil.¡Brutus wants to destroy the egg (Caesar) before it hatches - (before he is made king).

¡Brutus’s servant enters with a letter he found near the window.

¡Brutus reads the letter, which accuses him of sleeping while Rome is threatened: “Brutus, thou sleep’st. Awake, and see thyself” (II.i.46).

¡ Brutus interprets the letter as a protest against Caesar: “Thus must I piece it out: / Shall Rome stand under one man’s awe?” (II.i.51–52).

¡Cassius introduces the conspirators to Brutus, then pulls Brutus to the side and asks him to swear an oath that they will go through with the assassination. Brutus does NOT take an oath because he says the CAUSE is strong enough to bind them together.

Quickwrite # 3

¡Remember, I am not collecting the Quickwrites until the end of the play.

¡Brutus’s wife, Portia, asks him to talk about the things that are bothering him, but he doesn’t want to talk about it. How many times do people ask you, “What’s wrong,” but you don’t talk to them about what is on your mind? If Brutus told Portia about the plan to kill Caesar, maybe Portia could have talked some sense into him. Has there ever been a time in your life when talking to someone about an issue you were having could have helped? Explain in 5-7 sentences.