Brutus
Character Sketch
Brutus is worried
• Brutus is introduced in Act One, Scene Two.
• Our first impression of him is that he is a
serious man: ‘I am not gamesome; I do lack
some part / Of that quick spirit that is in
Antony.
• Cassius says that Brutus has seemed unhappy
or unfriendly recently. Brutus admits that he
is, saying ‘Poor Brutus, with himself at war, /
Forgets the shows of love to other men.’
Rome vs. Caesar
• Brutus is torn between his concern for Rome
and his love for Caesar.
• ‘ I do fear the people / Choose Caesar for their
king’.
• Although he says of Caesar ‘I love him well’,
Brutus makes it clear that Rome and honour
come first: ‘I love / The name of honour more
than I fear death’.
Manipulated by Cassius
• Cassius says that everyone respects Brutus
greatly and he wishes Brutus could see himself
as others see him.
• Brutus wonders why Cassius is flattering him:
• ‘Into what dangers would you lead me,
Cassius, / That you would have me seek into
myself / For that which is not in me?’
Unhappy to be a Roman citizen in
these times
• ‘Brutus had rather be a villager
Than to repute himself a son of Rome
Under these hard conditions as this time
Is like to lay on us.’
His virtue makes him vulnerable
• Cassius believes that he can use Brutus’
nobility to his own advantage. He plans to
bend Brutus to his will:
‘Well, Brutus, thou art noble; yet I see /
Thy honourable mettle may be wrought
From that it is disposed
Act One – Key Words about Brutus
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Worried
Distracted
Noble
Honourable
Loyal
Modest
Vulnerable