Answer:
It simplifies complex ideas and emotions for the audience.
It enables a better understanding of Cassius because he compares himself to Aeneas.
It connects the context of the play to the myth of a great hero that the audience admires.
Explanation:
This is an excerpt from Shakespeare's play, <em>Julius Caesar</em>, in which a group of conspirators decides to murder Caesar, as he is becoming more and more powerful.
In these particular lines uttered by Cassius (one of the conspirators), he recalls a situation when Caesar and him found themselves on the banks of the Tiber River. The two of them swam through the water, determined to reach a distant point. But Caesar became weak, and asked Cassius to help him so as not to sink. While retelling this story, Cassius compares himself to Aeneas, a great hero that founded Rome. Aeneas rescued his father from the fire in Troy, and Cassius rescued Caesar from drowning. This allusion contributes to our better understanding of his character and the way he perceives himself.
