THe Day the Earth Stood Still

Adam Kapadia
Miss Sauline
English 2 Honors, Period 3
19 November 2013
Act II of Julius Caesar Review Sheet
ENG2H

Act II, Scene i
1. What is a soliloquy? What purpose does it serve? What do we learn from Brutus’ soliloquy in lines 10-35 at the beginning of Act II? A soliloquy is a speech given by a character alone onstage. It serves to let the audience know the character’s feelings. We learn that Brutus is troubled and is trying to determine if he is going to join the conspiracy.
2. In lines 32-34, Brutus makes a comparison. What is he comparing here and what does this comparison mean? What literary device is he using? He is comparing Caesar to a serpent’s egg. He says they need to kill him before he becomes more powerful. He is using a simile.
3. Who is Lucius? Lucius is Brutus and Portia’s servant.
4. Explain the significance of the letter Brutus reads in lines 44-58. Why is this important? The letter explains how Caesar is bad and he is just as good. It also says that Brutus should lead Rome. This finalizes Brutus’ decision to join the conspiracy.
5. Why doesn’t Brutus want to swear an oath with the conspirators? (lines 113-140) He doesn’t think they need an oath if they are going to do something good. He also says honest men don’t need an oath.
6. What are two reasons Brutus gives for not killing Mark Antony? (Lines 162-184) He is a limb of Caesar and will die along with Caesar. Also it will become too bloody if they do and it is unnecessary.
7. Who is Portia? What has she noticed about Brutus lately? Portia is Brutus’ wife. She has noticed that he is very complexed and he has been hanging around strange men.
8. Why has Portia voluntarily wounded herself? (Lines 298-302) He does that to prove how much she loves Brutus and how loyal she is to him so he would tell her his secret.

Act II, Scene ii
9. Summarize the following: “Caesar shall forth: the things that threaten’d me ne’er look’d but on my back; when they shall see the face of Caesar, they are vanished” (lines 10-12). What might these lines suggest about Caesar? Caesar is all-powerful and nothing can kill him. He can intimidate everything.
10. Describe what Calphurnia saw in her dream. She saw a statue of Caesar bleeding and the citizens of Rome bathing in the blood.
11. Explain the following: “Cowards die many times before their deaths, the valiant never taste of death but once” (lines 32-33). What is Caesar saying in these lines? Caesar does not worry about his death and it is fate when it will happen.
12. What does Decius convince Caesar to do, much to Calphurnia’s dismay? How does he convince Caesar to do this? He convinces Caesar to go to the senate. He says that the dream really means that Caesar’s blood is helping and giving life to the people. He also says that they are going to offer Caesar a crown today but if he doesn’t go their minds might be changed.

Act II, Scenes iii & iv
13. Who is Artemidorus and what does he do in scene iii? He is a lover of Caesar and he tries to hand a letter to Caesar to warn him of the conspirators.
14. What does Portia send Lucius to do in Scene iv? To go check if Brutus is doing good and to see what Caesar is doing and who is around him.
15. How might Act II be viewed as the rising action of the play? This gives all the events leading up to Caesar’s death, which would be the climax. This is preceding the climax.