Eng II – Julius Caesar – Guiding Questions
Act 3, Scenes 1-3 page 1
1.
Name ________________________
Date _______ Hour ________
3.1.1. This scene takes place on the Capitol Hill, where the Temple of Jupiter is located. A halfcircle of steps is seen at the back of the stage, with a throne on top. A statue of Pompey is seen to
the side—the enemy Caesar defeated in the recent civil war. Caesar walks to center stage and the
others flank him. How should Caesar regard the soothsayer and Artemidorus? Should he address his
first remark to the soothsayer or to the crowd in general?
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2.
3.1.8. Is this sincerity or false humility? ________________________________________________
3.
3.1.10. Publius speaks to Artemidorus, and the conspirators rush the petitioner away from Caesar.
Whom is Cassius addressing in the next speech?
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4.
3.1.13. Popilius speaks to Cassius. Do you think he knows about the conspiracy? Why?
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5.
3.1.26. Why is Trebonius getting Antony out of the way?___________________________________
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6.
3.1.29. What is happening near Caesar now?_____________________________________________
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7.
3.1.48. What is Caesar doing during this speech? What is Metellus Cimber doing in response to
Caesar’s words?___________________________________________________________________
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8.
3.1.51. Whom is Metellus addressing here? _____________________________________________
9.
3.1.52. Brutus steps forward; notice that he uses the pronoun “thy” in an insulting way, since Caesar
is not his social inferior, nor is the situation intimate. How might Caesar react to Brutus’s surprising
words? __________________________________________________________________________
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10. 3.1.70. The senators now rush in around Caesar and, in most productions, kneel before him. Casca
has worked his way in back of Caesar. At what point in this speech would Caesar rise from his
throne? _________________________________________________________________________
11. 3.1.75. This line is often spoken to show Caesar’s great fondness for Brutus. How else might it be
spoken?__________________________________________________________________________
12. 3.1.76. What does this line mean? What is Casca doing? ___________________________________
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Eng II – Julius Caesar – Guiding Questions
Act 3, Scenes 1-3 page 2
Name ________________________
Date _______ Hour ________
13. 3.1.77. The murder of Caesar has been staged in many ways. Read the descriptions in your book to
find out how different companies have staged them. Then answer this question. What does Caesar
see as he utters his last words? Why does he say “Then fall Caesar?”
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14. 3.1.107. What are the conspirators doing now? ___________________________________________
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15. 3.1.118. These speeches can be delivered in various ways. Would you emphasize the selfrighteousness of the conspirators or their idealism? _______________________________________
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16. 3.1.137. What does Antony ask of Brutus? ______________________________________________
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17. 3.1.146. How does Cassius say this line? Notice that at this moment the play takes a turn and that the
hunters now become the hunted. ______________________________________________________
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18. 3.1.151. Where should Antony position himself? What movements or gestures would he make? In
this speech, where would you have the actor playing Antony pause? What movements or gestures
would he make? ___________________________________________________________________
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19. 3.1.178. What differences in character do Brutus and Cassius reveal here in replying to Antony?
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20. 3.1.185. This is a rather bold step on Antony’s part. What is he doing? What is his motive?
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21. 3.1.194. What is Antony’s position on stage now—is he standing or kneeling? Is he near the corpse
or far away from it? ________________________________________________________________
22. 3.1.210. Why is the imagery of the hunted deer (hart) so appropriate here? How does it make you
feel about Caesar?__________________________________________________________________
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23. 3.1.254. How should Antony immediately change his tone? Whom is he talking to? _____________
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24. 3.1.263. During this speech, some directors let us hear the offstage noise of the crowd. At what
moments in this speech would the offstage cries of the mob and even other street noises be
appropriate? ______________________________________________________________________
Eng II – Julius Caesar – Guiding Questions
Act 3, Scenes 1-3 page 3
Name ________________________
Date _______ Hour ________
25. 3.1.284. What might Antony do to the servant to make us feel his compassion?
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26. 3.1.297. Would you end this scene with Antony raising the body in his arms, or would you have him
stand over it? Would the noise of the crowd be heard from offstage? _________________________
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27. 3.2.1. Read the stage directions to the right of scene 2. What is Brutus’s mood as he fights free of
the mob and goes up to the pulpit?_____________________________________________________
28. 3.2.35. Notice that Brutus’s speech is in prose, not poetry. What value does Brutus presume the
people cherish—as he cherishes it? ____________________________________________________
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29. 3.2.52. Why is this cry from the mob, in lines 52053, ironic? Has the crowd understood Brutus’s
motives at all? ____________________________________________________________________
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30. 3.2.54. What would you have Antony doing while the mob is talking? (Remember, he has brought
Caesar’s body to the Forum.) _________________________________________________________
31. 3.2.75. An important question: Where would you place Caesar’s body so that Antony can use it most
effectively? Be sure to perform this famous funeral oration. What different tones do you hear in it?
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3.2.100. Remember that the crowd is pressing in on Antony. What movements or sounds would they
make as Antony says things that are meant to sway their feelings? ___________________________
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32. 3.2.109. What do lines 108-109 mean? What could Antony be doing at this point, as our attention is
drawn again to the crowd? ___________________________________________________________
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33. 3.2.139. Antony says he is not going to read the will, but what has he already implied about its
contents? _________________________________________________________________________
34. 3.2.148. Again, how has Antony scored his point indirectly? How could an actor play Antony in this
scene to make him seem manipulative? _________________________________________________
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35. 3.2.154. The irony here is so obvious that an actor playing Antony must make a choice about how to
say these lines: Will he continue his pretense of honoring Caesar’s assassins, or will he finally drop
this pose and speak with obviously scathing sarcasm? _____________________________________
36. 3.2.170. How do you visualize the placement of the actors at this point? Where is Caesar’s body?
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Eng II – Julius Caesar – Guiding Questions
Act 3, Scenes 1-3 page 4
Name ________________________
Date _______ Hour ________
37. 3.2.173. Watch for clues that tell what Antony is doing for effect as he delivers this speech. What is
he holding in line 172? ______________________________________________________________
38. 3.2.195. What is the crowd doing as Antony speaks? ______________________________________
39. 3.2.199. What has Antony done with the body now? ______________________________________
40. 3.2.217. Notice that Antony implies that reasons have not already been given. Have they? Explain.
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41. 3.2.225. How does Antony characterize himself, as compared with Brutus? What is his motive?
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42. 3.2.232. Again, the irony is obvious here. What is the key word in this speech? _________________
43. 3.2.240. Notice how many times the mob goes to run off and how Antony pulls it back again. How
do you think Antony feels about this hear of people he has so cleverly manipulated?
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44. 3.2.263. Antony is alone onstage. The noise of the mob dies off in the distance. We might in some
productions see the reflection of flames and hear the sounds of rioting. How should Antony speak
these lines? ____________________________________________________________________
45. 2.2.271. What have Brutus and Cassius done? ___________________________________________
46. What has the mob done to the innocent poet Cinna? Try performing this chilling mob secene,
perhaps using a chorus for the plebeians’ lines. ___________________________________________
47. Summarize the events of the Act here:
a. Scene 1:
b. Scene 2:
c. Scene 3: