Question

Read the excerpt from Julius Caesar, act 1, scene 2. CASSIUS. Ay, do you fear it? Then must I think you would not have it so. BRUTUS. I would not, Cassius; yet I love him well. But wherefore do you hold me here so long?90 What is it that you would impart to me? If it be aught toward the general good, Set honour in one eye and death i’th’ other, And I will look on both indifferently; For let the gods so speed me as I love95 The name of honour more than I fear death. Which prediction about the plot does this passage most support? Cassius will die. Rome will be destroyed. Brutus will die. Brutus will support Caesar.

Answer 1

The prediction about the plot that this passage most supports is that Brutus will die.

In Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, Brutus is one of the conspirators against Caesar. Throughout the story, Brutus's main characteristic is his deep love for Rome, which is what leads him to help the other conspirators to murder Caesar. According to them, killing him was what they did 'for the good of Rome' since Caesar had been abusing his power. In this excerpt, Brutus tells Cassius, another conspirator, that he is willing to do anything for Rome, even dying ("I love the name of honour more than I fear death"). Eventually, his devotion for Rome and his people is what leads him to his death. At the end of the play, Antony proclaims Brutus 'the noblest Roman of them all'.