Act II Preview
 This scene takes place in the early morning of March 15th. (The
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Ides of March)
Brutus is in his orchard debating as to what to do regarding
Caesar.
Brutus decides on his own that Caesar must be stopped.
At this point the rest of the conspirators, led by Cassius, stop by
to try and convince Brutus and are happy he will be joining
them.
Brutus, Cassius, and the other conspirators also make the
following decisions 
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Whether to include Cicero
What do regarding Antony
There will be no more bloodshed than is needed to stop Caesar
To include Caius Ligarius who had a falling out with Caesar
 Brutus is confronted by his wife as to why is
uncommunicative with her.
 Brutus explains that he has had much on his mind but
still refuses to confide in her.
 She shows him a stab wound she has inflicted on
herself to demonstrate her love for him.
 Caius Ligarius arrives at Brutus’s house and pledges his
support to Brutus and the conspirators.
 The attitude of Brutus
 Do you feel his decision is correct?
 Do you feel his concern is genuine?
 Compare that to the attitude of Cassius
 Good decision or bad? – Antony is allowed to live
 Who wants to marry Portia?
 l. 10-11 “It must be by his death. And for my part I
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know no personal cause to spurn at him.” – Brutus
l. 33-35 “And think of him as a serpent’s egg, Which
hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous, And kill
him in the shell.” – Brutus
l. 53 “Shall Rome stand under one man’s awe? What,
Rome?” - Brutus
l. 164-65 “We will find of him a shrewd contriver” –
Cassius
l. 173 “Let’s be sacrificers, not butchers.” – Brutus
l. 315 “Oh ye gods!”- Brutus
 Augmented
 Increase; intensify
 l. 30-31 “Fashion it thus: that what he is, augmented, Would run to
these and these extremities.”
 Many seniors augment their efforts in the classroom as the semester
ends so they do not fail.
 Instigations
 Things begun or started
 l. 49 “Such instigations have been often dropped.”
 Mr. Manning often instigated trouble when he was a little boy.
 Insurrections
 Rebellion; mutiny
 l. 69 “… The nature of an insurrection.”
 The students led an insurrection against the administration when the
cafeteria stopped selling pop.
 Affability
 Friendliness; amiability
 l. 85 “Hide in smiles and affability.”
 Everybody enjoys Mrs. Butler’s affable personality.
 Gravity
 Seriousness; importance
 l. 155 “But it will all be buried in his gravity.”
 Mr. Manning’s tone and demeanor told his team the gravity of
the situation.
 Chide
 Scold; punish
 l. 184 “ And after seem to chide’em.”
 Mr. Manning has been known to chide students for being tardy
to his class.
 Prodigies
 Extraordinary or meaningful events
 L. 208 “It may be these apparent prodigies …”
 It was only a prodigious series of events that Mr. Manning’s team won
the game
 Augurers
 Those who predict
 L. 210-11 “And the persuasion of his augurers, May hold him from the
Capitol today.”
 Many of Mr. Manning’s high school teachers, augurers they thought
themselves to be, predicted he would not amount to a hill of beans
when he got older.
 Dank
 Disagreeably moist
 L. 274 “Of the dank morning?....”
 Mr. Manning’s new home has a very dank basement.
 It is the Ides of March at Caesar’s house.
 Caesar awakes to his wife Calphurnia’s nightmares.
 As a result of his advisor’s interpretations of the
dreams, Caesar decides to stay at home.
 Decius Brutus (not Brutus) arrives and re-interprets
the dream to convince Caesar to go the Capitol.
 The other conspirators arrive at Caesar’s to escort him
to the Capitol.
 Once again, pay attention to Caesar’s arrogance and
vanity. It will be his downfall in being convinced to go
to the Capitol by Decius Brutus.
 Remember Calphurnia’s dream – see if Caesar’s fate is
similar
 Remember – there are two characters named Brutus –
Brutus and Decius Brutus
 l. 33-34 “Cowards die many times before their
deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once.”
– Julius Caesar
 l. 46 – 47 “No Caesar shall not. Danger knows full
well That Caesar is more dangerous than he.” –
Julius Caesar
 l. 104 -105 “If Caesar hide himself, shall they not
whisper, “Lo, Caesar is afraid”?”- Decius Brutus
 Prevail
 Succeed; triumph
 l. 37 “let me upon knee prevail in this”
 Mr. Manning prevailed in many of his wrestling
matches in high school.
 Imminent
 About to happen; coming up
 l. 85 “And evils imminent; and on her knee…”
 Mr. Manning always warns his seniors that graduation
is more imminent than they may realize.
 Artimedorus is standing on a street waiting to warn
Caesar about his impending doom.
 His plan is to hand Caesar a letter to warn him.
 This is actually based on true events.
 Pay attention to the meter of the letter.
 l. 14-15 “If thou reads this, O Caesar, thou mayest live;
If not, the Fates with traitors do contrive.”
 Portia still fears for Brutus.
 After consulting with the Soothsayer Portia sends
Lucius to the Capitol to check the events of the day
and report back to her
 This scene brings the Soothsayer back and continues
to build more tension.
 I do not feel this scene is needed. Do you? Why may
Shakespeare have put this in?