Julius Caesar Acts V-IV Test

what is the mood in scene 1?

at the beginning of act IV, the second triumvirate (antony, octavius, and lepidus), set a ruthless mood when deciding which senators to kill. at one point, when antony and lepidus agree that they will kill their own relatives.

what does antony think about lepidus?

he doesn’t think that lepidus is worthy to be a member of the second triumvirate

what does antony compare lepidus to?

a horse. he says that the only reward he should receive is one meal a day.

what are cassius and brutus arguing about?

they are arguing about bribes

what does brutus try to explain to cassius about caesar’s death?

that they killed caesar in the name of liberty and justice; therefore, they cannot go around doing unethical things.

what is cassius angry with brutus about?

he’s angry because brutus didn’t listen to his warnings about marc antony.

why does the argument stop?

because cassius threatens to kill himself and brutus is upset that he just got removed from rome and he found out his wife is dead.

how and why did portia kill herself?

because portia feels she has been closed in, her husband has fled rome and she has been captured by antony and octavius. she kills herself by swallowing coals.

what do cassius and brutus think they should do for the plan of attack? what are the differences?

cassius wants to wait for octavius and antony to come to them, but brutus wants to march to philippi, because he thinks that antony’s and octavius’ armies will grow if they march to sardis.

what is the falling action?

brutus’ decision to advance to philippi rather than wait suggests a desire to get it over with. this leads to us to believe that events are proceeding quickly and represents the falling action of the play.

what is an anachronism?

something or someone that is not in its correct historical or chronological time

who has been killed?

cicero. a soldier brings a message to brutus and cassius informing them.

what is brutus warned by caesar’s ghost?

that he will see brutus again on the fields of philippi.

at the beginning of act V, who meets to discuss the rules of the engagement? what happens? what’s the outcome?

octavius, antony, cassius, and brutus. brutus and cassius say that octavius is too young to fight in this kind of battle. octavius agrees to fight brutus, and antony agrees to fight cassius.

who said this? “I will not lay my sword down until another caesar adds the deaths of the traitors to the general slaughter.”

octavius

where is alliteration and assonance shown?

“why, not blow wind, swell billow, and swim bark!”

what is shown as foreshadowing in act V?

when cassius tells messala that it is his birthday and informs him of a recent bad omen: ravens, crows, and other scavenger birds circle over the troops as if the mean were diseased and week prey.

who is lucillius to brutus? who is messala and titinius to cassius?

his top general. his top general and his best friend.

what is the interaction that cassius and brutus have while preparing for battle?

cassius says that if they lose, they may never see each other again. cassius asks if brutus would allow himself to be led through rome as a captive they should lose. brutus replies that he would rather die than go to rome as a defeated prisoner.

who says this? “must end that work the ides of march begun”

brutus

what does cassius tell titinius to do? why?

he instructs him to find out whose troops they are. cassius notices a series of advancing troops in the distance.

why does cassius kill himself?

because he assumes that his best friend titinius died since he dismounted his horse, men cheered, and cassius didn’t see. he asks a soldier to kill him.

who says this? “caesar has now been revenged by the very sword that killed him.”

cassius

what actually happened with titinius?

he ran into messala’s men and had a joyful reunion. the two return to the top of the hill, where they find cassius dead. messala leaves to tell brutus what has happened, and titinius realizes the confusion and kills himself.

who says this? “o julius caesar, thou art mighty yet: even in death, caesar is reaping revenge; he seems to turn events against his murderers from beyond the grave.”

brutus.

what does brutus do?

he orders cassius’ body away and gathers his men to continue the fight against antony’s and octavius’ forces.

what does brutus ask of his men and why?

he asks them to hold his sword so that he may run against it and kill himself. he says that the ghost of caesar hs appeared to him on the battlefield, and he believes that the time has come for him to die.

what does brutus declare as he impales himself on the sword?

that he acts on motive twice as pure as those with which he killed caesar, and that caesar should consider himself avenged.

who says this? “caesar, now be still. i killed not thee with half so good a will.”

brutus!

what does antony say when he stands over brutus’ body?

“brutus was the noblest roman of all: while the other conspirators acted out of envy of caesar’s power, brutus acted for what he believed was the common good. brutus was a worthy citizen, a rare example of a real man.”

what does octavius add about brutus?

that they should bury him in the most honorable way and orders the body to be taken to his tent, which symbolizes octavius leading rome into a peaceful period.