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quotations to remember. Julius Caesar. ACT ONE:. “Wherefore rejoice? What conquest brings he home? / What tributaries follow him to Rome?”. “Wherefore rejoice? What conquest brings he home? / What tributaries follow him to Rome?”. Marullus , speaking to the plebians .
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quotations to remember Julius Caesar
“Wherefore rejoice? What conquest brings he home? / What tributaries follow him to Rome?”
“Wherefore rejoice? What conquest brings he home? / What tributaries follow him to Rome?” • Marullus, speaking to the plebians. • He wants them to quit their celebrations of Caesar. Didn’t they remember that they loved Pompey?
“I shall remember: / When Caesar says ‘Do this,’ it is performed.”
“I shall remember: / When Caesar says ‘Do this,’ it is performed.” • Antony, speaking to Caesar. • Antony will do whatever Caesar asks of him. In the beginning of the play, he seems like a follower. (What does he seem like in the end?)
“Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that ‘Caesar’? / Why should that name be sounded more than yours?”
“Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that ‘Caesar’? / Why should that name be sounded more than yours?” • Cassius, speaking to Brutus. • Cassius is trying to get Brutus to see himself as others see him. Cassius is also trying to get Brutus to join the conspiracy.
“Men at some time are masters of their fates: / The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / but in ourselves…”
“Men at some time are masters of their fates: / The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / but in ourselves…” • Cassius, speaking to Brutus • Cassius wants Brutus to know that their lives are not decided by fate or luck. They have the power to change this situation themselves.
“Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; / He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.”
“Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; / He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.” • Caesar, speaking to Antony. • He sees Cassius speaking to Brutus, and tells Antony of his suspicions. Caesar then decides that he has nothing to fear (was he wrong, or what).
“No, Caesar hath it not; but you, and I, / And honest Casca, we have the falling sickness.”
“No, Caesar hath it not; but you, and I, / And honest Casca, we have the falling sickness.” • Cassius, speaking to Brutus and Casca. • Casca has just told Brutus and Cassius the story of Caesar’s refusal of the crown. He learns that Caesar fainted after he refused the crown. Cassius is using a pun here. Caesar does have the “falling sickness,” but Cassius says, basically, that everyone else is falling for all of Caesar’s schemes.
“I will this night,/ In several hands, in at his window throw, / As if they came from several citizens, / Writings, all tending to the great opinion / That Rome holds of his name”
“I will this night,/ In several hands, in at his window throw, / As if they came from several citizens, / Writings, all tending to the great opinion / That Rome holds of his name” • Cassius, speaking to Casca. • He plans to trick Brutus into joining the conspiracy. (In Act two, we find out that Brutus has decided to join even before he reads the letters)
“I know where I will wear this dagger then; / Cassius from bondage will deliver Cassius.”
“I know where I will wear this dagger then; / Cassius from bondage will deliver Cassius.” • Cassius, speaking to Casca. • If Caesar becomes king, Cassius says he will kill himself to avoid becoming Caesar’s slave.
“It must be by his death; and for my part, / I know no personal cause to spurn at him, / But for the general.”
“It must be by his death; and for my part, / I know no personal cause to spurn at him, / But for the general.” • Brutus, speaking to himself. • Brutus is up in the middle of the night, thinking about the conspiracy. He decides that Caesar is too ambitious, and therefore must be killed.
“But ‘tis common proof / that lowliness is young ambition’s ladder, / Whereto the climber upward turns his face…”
“But ‘tis common proof / that lowliness is young ambition’s ladder, / Whereto the climber upward turns his face…” • Brutus, speaking to himself. • Brutus says Caesar has climbed the ladder of ambition, and now he looks down on those lower than he is, and treats them like servants.
“No, not an oath…” • Brutus, speaking to Cassius. • Brutus says the conspirators’ cause is just, and therefore they do not need to swear an oath to keep it. Brutus shows here that he truly believes their plan is for the good of Rome.
“Let’s be sacrificers, but not butchers Caius” • Brutus, speaking to Cassius. • Brutus does not want to kill Mark Antony, but Cassius does. Brutus does not want the people to think the conspirators are murderers, so he won’t kill any unnecessary people.
“I have made strong proof of my constancy, / Giving myself a voluntary wound / Here in the thigh”
“I have made strong proof of my constancy, / Giving myself a voluntary wound / Here in the thigh” • Portia, speaking to Brutus. • Portia wants Brutus to tell her his secrets, but Brutus refuses. Since Portia is a stoic, she wounds herself to prove that she can handle pain – if she can handle this physical pain, then she can handle the task of keeping Brutus’s secret.
“Cowards die many times before their deaths; / the valiant never taste of death but once.”
“Cowards die many times before their deaths; / the valiant never taste of death but once.” • Caesar, speaking to Calphurnia. • Calphurnia wants Caesar to stay home, but Caesar does not want to be a coward.
“This dream is all amiss interpreted; / It was a vision fair and fortunate…”
“This dream is all amiss interpreted; / It was a vision fair and fortunate…” • Decius, speaking to Caesar and Calphurnia. • Calphurnia has just shared her bad dream with Caesar, and convinced him to not go to the capitol. Decius has sworn to the conspirators that he will convince Caesar to go to the Capitol, so he flatters him with this new interpretation of the dream.
“But I am as constant as the Northern Star” • Caesar, speaking to the conspirators. • The conspirators have gathered around Caesar, to ask him to pardon PubliusCimber. Caesar refuses, saying he has made his decision, and must remain constant.
“You know not what you do; do not consent / That Antony speak in his funeral.”
“You know not what you do; do not consent / That Antony speak in his funeral.” • Cassius, speaking to Brutus. • Brutus allows Antony to speak at the funeral, but Cassius thinks he shouldn’t. Who was right in the end?
“O pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, / That I am meek and gentle with these butchers”
“O pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, / That I am meek and gentle with these butchers” • Antony, speaking to the body of Caesar. • Antony shows his true feelings here. Although he has just pretended to be kind to the conspirators, he really intends to avenge Caesar’s death.
“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; / I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him”
“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; / I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him” • Antony, speaking to the plebians. • Antony begins his persuasive speech. Remember his use of the word, “ambitious,” and the phrase “… honorable men”
“These many then shall die; their names are pricked” • Antony, speaking to Octavius and Lepidus. • The new triumvirate meets to discuss who they will need to kill in order to successfully rule.
“Cassius, you yourself / are much condemned to have an itching palm…”
“Cassius, you yourself / are much condemned to have an itching palm…” • Brutus, speaking to Cassius. • Cassius has been taking bribes, and Brutus thinks this is unjust. Ironically, Brutus asks Cassius for money, forgetting how Cassius acquired it.
“-To tell thee thou shalt see me at Philippi” • The ghost of Caesar, speaking to Brutus. • Caesar’s ghost appears to Brutus in his tent. Notice how, throughout act five, Caesar seems to live on, finding his revenge. Is Shakespeare trying to tell us that Caesar’s murder was a mistake?
