JULIUS CAESAR ANSWERS

Answer 1

a) Calpurnia sees ill-omens that predict the death of Caesar beforehand. The heavens predict the death of
princes and great kings. There were fierce battles, blood rained, ghosts were seen, graves opened up,
battle cries were heard. All this signalled that someone as powerful as Caesar was bound to suffer.
b) She convinces Caesar to avoid going to the senate. She believed that Caesar would be safe if he stays at
home.
c) When Caesar is adamant about going to the senate, Calpurnia dissuades him. But Caesar believes that ill-
omens are for the weak and not for the mighty like him. Then Calpurnia says that Caesar’s over
confidence has clouded his wisdom. He was so confident that he refused to see reason nor understood
the indication behind the illomens.
d) Calpurnia sees a terrifying dream in which Caesar is murdered, his statue is gushing blood and many
smiling Romans are bathing their hands in his blood. Calpurnia was not superstitious but earlier in the
night she had a nightmare comprising the dead man walking about. She felt that the dream was a
premonition of the evil that was going to befall Caesar. So she forbids Caesar to go to the Senate. But
Decius cleverly interprets it positively. He says that the vision of Romans bathing in Caesar’s blood
signifies that Caesar’s spirit or influence will touch many lives; staining their handkerchieves in Caesar’s
blood indicates reverence, dedication and a token of memory on part of the Romans.
e) Julius Caesar is an able general and a mighty conqueror who has brought great glory to Rome. It is
believed by many that Caeser is too ambitious and would one day be the Roman emperor and a dictator.
Jealous of Caesar’s growing power, Cassius instigates a conspirary to murder Caesar. The conspirators
were unhappy with Caesar’s obstinacy and egoistic behaviour. Cassius was jealous of Caesar’s soaring
power and popularity. According to Cassius, Caesar was a tyrant who wanted to treat the Romans as
slaves and that Roman liberty and democracy were under threat from Caesar. Brutus stabbed Caesar
because he was an idealist and believed that ambition and tyranny should be nipped in the bud but
Cassius killed Caesar because he wanted to be a part of the Roman triumvirate.
f) Decius interprets Calpurnia’s dream as a fair and fortunate vision. He says that the vision of Romans
bathing in Caesar’s blood signifies Caesar’s spirit or influence will increase manifold. Basically he boosts
Caesar’s ego, flatters his greatness and might and makes him feel more powerful. So Caesar is happier
with his version.
g) The conspirators want Caesar to pardon Publius Cimber and recall the order of his banishment. Caesar
refuses the request and says that his order cannot be changed and he will stick to his decision.
h) Caesar utters these words which mean, “you too, Brutus”. These are uttered when Brutus stabs Caesar
and Caesar is too hurt to see that even his dear friend Brutus could resort to such treachery.
i) The conspirators wish to justify Caesar’s death by announcing their love and loyalty to Rome. They say
that Caesar was very ambitious and Romans would have become slaves under his autocratic rule.
According to Brutus, Caesar was a tyrant and Roman liberty and democracy was under threat and Caesar
wished to become an Emperor.
j) Antony apologises to Caesar’s body for being meek and gentle with his murderers. He curses the hands
that killed such a noble man. He also requests them to kill him for he cannot tolarate Caesar’s death.
k) Both Brutus and Cassius request Antony not to plead for his own death. They offer him authority and
good position and ask for his support in the murder of Caesar.
 l) Antony calls Brutus and Cassius the most powerful people after Caesar’s death; they have all the power.
Moreover, he wants to flatter their ego, to pretend that he is not against them.
m) Cassius is very much against Antony’s idea of speech but Brutus feels that no harm can befall him and
others with just a speech. Brutus says that he will give a speech first and justify Caesar’s death so there
will not be a problem, if Antony delivers his speech later. Moreover Antony is had agreed to deliver the
speech from the same platform and not talk against them.
n) Antony curses the murderers and he seeks forgiveness for being polite to them. He calls them ‘butchers’
who killed the noblest of men.
o) Antony prophesies that Rome will be ravaged with civil war, violence and extreme blood shed will leave
the earth full of dead bodies. Goddess of revenge will descend on earth with Caesar’s spirit and the
stench of dead bodies will fill the earth.
p) The 3rd citizen says this. This statement reflects the vulnerability of the mob who believe, whatever is
told to them. They say that Brutus should be put in place of Caesar, after being impressed by his speech.
Later they turn towards Mark Antony and are ready to kill Brutus and others.

Answer 2
Answer 3

Answer 4

SOME IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

1. Caesar is fearless, valiant and believes that the fixed hour of death decided by heavens cannot be
averted. This proves true in his case. He is persuaded by Calpurnia to avoid going to the Senate due to ill-
omens. Caesar had nearly succumbed to Calpurnia’s entreaties, but Decius Brutus ignites Caesar’s pride,
vanity and overconfidence proves to be his failing. Despite the premonitions, he proceeds towards the
Senate. He haughtily rejects the petition of Metellus Cimber to revoke his brother’s banishment. The
conspirators are ready to kill Caesar. Casca is the first one to stab Caesar, followed by Brutus and others.
2. Mob is of strategic importance in the plays of Shakespeare. It gives us a deep insight of the main
characters and is instrumental in turning the tide of events. The mob is full of hero worship. They glorify
Caesar when he brings victory and fills the coffers of Rome. They rejoice in his honour, worship him and
put him on a pedestal as a hero. But the commoners are too gullible, very easily swayed and exhibit
‘herd-mentality. ’When Brutus convinces them that Caesar’s murder was justified in the interest of
Rome, they believe him, but when Mark Antony plays on their emotions, they rise in mutiny. They are
 overwhelmed to hear of Caesar’s will and cause heavy destruction. So mob can turn the tide, depending
upon who proves to be clever to exploit it to his advantage.
3. Brutus is a powerful public figure, a dignified military leader and a loving friend. The conflicting value
systems that battle with each other, in the play, are enacted on a micro level in Brutus’ mind. Even after
the murder of Caesar has been committed, questions remain whether it was a noble, selfless act or
failure of a great nobleman and friend.
Brutus’ rigid idealism is both his greatest virtue and his most deadly flaw. He lives up to Antony’s
elegiac description as ‘the noblest of Romans.’ His commitment to principles leads him to
miscalculations: wanting to curtail violence, he ignores Cassius’ advice and does not kill Antony as well.
In another moment of naive idealism, he allows Antony to give his funeral oration over Caesar’s body. So
he forfeits the authority of having the last word on the murder and allows Antony to incite the plebeians
to riot against him. He later endangers his good relationship with Cassius by self-righteously condemning
the fundraising tactics.
So Brutus acts out of a desire to limit the self serving aspects of his actions, ironically in each
incident he dooms the very cause, he seeks to promote, thus serving no one.
4. Mark Antony is a clever statesman and a good friend of Caesar. He is foresighted enough to judge that
Brutus is a famous public figure and has already won the approval of the plebeians, instead of censure,
after killing Caesar. Now it is upto him to turn the tide, which threatens to flow on the side of the
conspirators.
Antony proves strong in all the ways while Brutus proves weak. His impulsive, improvisatory
nature serves him perfectly to persuade the conspirators that he is on their side, thus gaining leniency.
Throughout his speech, he keeps repeating, ‘Brutus is an honorable man.’ “I come to bury Caesar, not to
praise him,” whereas he does just the opposite. He is able to persuade the plebeians of the conspirators’
injustice and gains mass support. He contradicts the charges of Brutus that Caesar was ambitious by
pointing out that Caesar had refused the crown twice, had filled the coffers of Rome and wept for all
Romans.
Not too scrupulous to stoop to deceit and duplicity, as Brutus claims to be, Antony proves himself
to be a consummate politician, using gestures and rhetoric to his advantage. He graphically displays all
the stabs, Brutus and others have inflicted on Caesar’s body and uses Caesar’s body to exploit the
plebeians emotionally. He responds to subtle cues, tailors his words very deftly and uses the most
appropriate actions to incite the people. He deliberately thrusts the words ‘mutiny’ and ‘riot’ at them
and gets the desired results. Unlike Brutus, who prides himself on solely acting with respect to virtue and
blinding himself to his personal concerns. Antony never separates his private affairs from his public
actions. So Antony’s eulogy at Caesar’s funeral is a master-stoke, and the mention of Caesar’s will that
leaves money and his property for all Romans, acts as the final nail in the coffin of the conspirators. So
Antony’s speech is a combination of wit, irony, sarcasm, pathos and satire.

REFERENCE TO CONTEXT – MCQS—MCQs ANSWERS

1. (i) (c) (ii) (b) (iii) (a) (iv) (c)

2. (i) (c) (ii) (b) (iii) (c) (iv) (d)
3. (i) (c) (ii) (b) (iii) (b) (iv) (c) (v) (c)
4. (i) (b) (ii) (c) (iii) (c) (iv) (c) (v) (b)
5. (i) (a) (ii) (d) (iii) (b) (iv) (c) (v) (b)
6. (i) (a) (ii) (c) (iii) (d) (iv) (b)
 7. (i) (a) (ii) (b) (iii) (c) (iv) (c)
8. (i) (c) (ii) (b) (iii) (b) (iv) (b)
9. (i) (a) (ii) (d) (iii) (b) (iv) (b)
10. (i) (b) (ii) (c) (iii) (b)
11. (i) (c) (ii) (c) (iii) (c)
12. (i) (a) (ii) (b) (iii) (d)

REFERENCE TO CONTEXT – NON-MCQs ANSWERS

1. (a) Julius Caesar makes this comment.

(b) Calpurnia had witnessed some ill omens, so she does not wish Caesar to go to the Senate.
(c) Yes, it proves true because it was God’s will for Caesar got murdered.

2. (a) The speaker is Caesar and the listener is Decius Brutus.

(b) The warnings indicated future tragedy for Caesar, i.e., death.
(c) Caesar got stabbed by other conspirators when he went to the Senate.
3. (a) Julius Caesar himself.
(b) Brutus is making a request to Caesar to grant pardon to Publius Cimber.
(c) He is law-abiding and believes that one must never change oneself for rules.
4. (a) Mark Antony is the speaker.
(b) Caesar has been murdered by the conspirators.
(c) Since Caesar is killed, his achievements have come to a standstill.
5. (a) The speaker is Brutus and the listener is Mark Antony.
(b) Brutus assures Antony that they have no dangerous designs or ill-will against him.
(c) He seeks support from Antony for the murder of Caesar.
6. (a) Brutus is the speaker.
(b) Brutus in his funeral speech blames Caesar for being dictatorial.
(c) He says that Caesar wanted to make all Romans slaves and he wished to become an Emperor himself.
No it is not true, because Caesar had given no evidence of doing so.
7. (a) Antony is delivering his speech on the death of Julius Caesar.
(b) Caesar had done lot of good for Rome.
(c) He reads out Caesar’s will to prove it.
8. (a) The most unkind cut was the wound caused by Brutus.
(b) The sight of Brutus attacking him.
(c) Ingratitude is treachery of a dearest friend, which causes maximum pain.
9. (a) He is speaking to Desius Brutus.
(b) He wanted to tell the senators that he was not well.
(c) What makes Caesar change his mind?
10. (a) She is Caesar’s wife.
(b) It indicates that something bad is going to happen.
(c) Yes, it comes true. Her husband, Caesar, gets murdered.

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. Brutus was an idealist and a zealous Roman. He was not a good judge of human psychology and was very
gullible. After killing Caesar, Brutus justifies his act by calling Caesar ‘ambitious’ and that he wished to be
 the Roman Emperor. He told the mob that Caesar wanted to be an Emperor and was an enemy to
Roman liberty and democracy. Antony proved all these claims wrong and Brutus’ greatest mistake was to
allow Antony to give a speech over Caesar’s body.
2. Calpurnia sees many ill-omens in her dreams. They are mostly supernatural elements used to predict the
future. The examples are as follows:
l A lioness lays a litter in a city street.
l Graves opened, the dead walked and there were fierce battles fought in the skies.
3. Caesar is very arrogant and conceited of his judgement and his decisive nature. He not only refuses to
pardon Cimber’s brother from being banished but he also refuses to listen to the entreaties of Brutus. He
is obstinate and infuriates Cimber and Brutus with his rudeness. He calls himself ‘a fixed star’ and abuses
Cimber by calling him a dog and insulting him. He refuses to accept their ‘bows’ and ‘respects’ and stays
adament on his decision.
4. Antony uses emotional blackmail to provoke the Romans against the conspirators. He exploits their
sentiments by saying that Caesar was not money-minded and he has left all his riches for the Romans in
his will. He elaborates that Caesar has left all his walks, gardens, private chambers and newly planted
orchards on the bank of Tiber for them. This revelation makes the Romans very emotional.
5. Brutus is Caesar’s friend. He has great Republican zeal, noble idealism and he is a great moralist. He is a
champion of public liberty and freedom. But he is not a good judge of psychology. He gets misled by the
conniving nature of the conspirators and joins them to kill Caesar because of his love for the liberty and
bright future of Rome.

LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. Brutus has great Republican zeal, noble idealism and he is a great moralist. He is a champion of public
liberty and freedom. It is this love for liberty that urges him to join the conspirators for the murder of
Caesar. He is an idealist and a dreamer of the bright future of Rome. Being honourable, he fails to see
the dishonourable nature of Casius and others. Even Antony calls him the noblest of souls. But he is not
at all practical. He gets misled by the conniving nature of the conspirators and sides Cassius in killing
Caesar. He sacrifices his love and friendship for the sake of Rome. So he is equally responsible for this
tragedy.
2. “Mark Antony takes full advantage of Caesar’s dead body and exploits this situation to the hilt. Caesar’s
dead body emotionally grieves the Romans, his stabs cause them pain. Antony points out the wounds
and this physical evidence turns the tide. The Romans psychologically start siding with Antony and
change their stand. During his lifetime, Caesar had few enemies and critics but all them become
emotional to see his dead body. So Antony exploits this to the maximum. Seeing Caesar’s blood, the mob
gets ready to mutiny.
3. Antony is his speech, highlights the positive qualities of Julius Caesar. Caesar was a great warrior, a
formidable General who brought captives to Rome and filled its coffers. He was valiant and fearless.
Moreover, he was not ambitious, as projected by the conspirators. He had thrice refused the crown
when he was offered. Caesar’s heart bled for the welfare of Rome and he had Roman interests on top of
any other consideration. He had also bequeathed all his property, money, walks, chambers and orchards
for the people of Rome. He was a champion of Roman liberty and wanted to make Rome a very powerful
nation. Hearing all this, mob feel emotionally supportive of Antony and he was able to provoke them to
rise against Brutus and others.
4. Antony shows Caesar’s will gradually by increasing the suspense and by asking the conspirators to circle
around it. First he shows his unwillingness to reveal it, which makes the Romans very excited. They are
pleasantly surprised to discover that Caesar has left all his riches and belongings to them. All his walks,
gardens, chambers, orchards for the use of local Romans. This makes all the Romans very emotional and
they feel that Caesar has been wronged and rise to mutiny. The mob is basically fickle-minded. Firstly,
they are swayed by the emotions of Brutus and support him. Later they feel emotionally supportive of
Antony and get provoked to rise against Brutus and others.
5. (a) Caesar is a concerned husband and gives due regard to Calpurnia’s fears by refusing to go to the
senate. He is thoughtful of her considerations and does believe that she has only his true interests at
heart.
(b) Caesar is an able general, very valiant and bent upon the welfare of Rome. He has waged wars,
brought many captives and filled the coffers of Rome. He is conceited but not unmindful of the liberty of
local people. He had refused to become the Emperor of Rome, thrice.
(c) Caesar was a true friend of Antony and Brutus. He was very loyal and was most hurt to see that even
his dear friend Brutus had stabbed him. Antony respects Caesar and his love is proved by his tribute
offered to Caesar on his funeral.
6. Caesar was a great diplomat and a zealous Republican. He is ambitious, dominant and often aggressive
and rude. He is also haughty, boastful and arrogant. He calls men like Decius Brutus ‘curs’ and calls the
senators ‘grey beards’. He succumbs to flattery and that proves to be his undoing. Though he has the
welfare of Rome at his heart but he comes across as very arrogant who would never change himself for
anything and anyone. He is insulting to many and this infuriates people like Decius Brutus. However, his
murder is not justified in any way because he was a true Roman and a benefactor of the common
people.
7. Caesar is a fearless valiant and believes that the fixed hour of death cannot be averted. When Caesar is
adamant about going to the Senate, Calpurnia dissuades him pleading that she has seen a terrifying
dream in which Caesar is murdered, his statute is gushing blood and many smiling Ramans are bathing
their hands in his blood. She also sees a dead man walking about. She feels that the dream was
premonition of the evil that was going to befall Caesar. So she forbids him to go to the senate. But she
doesn’t succeed in her attempt because Decius Brutus cleverly interprets it positively. He says that the
vision of Romans bathing in Caesar’s blood signifies that Caesar’s spirit or influence will touch many lives,
and are indicates reverence and dedication for Caesar on part of the Romans. Caesar comes under the
flatery of Brutus and refuses the requests of Calpurnia and leaves for the Senate.