JULIUS CAESAR (QUESTIONS)

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT [Textbook Questions]

Answer the following questions briefly.

1. (a) How do the heavens ‘blaze forth’ the death of Julius Caesar?
(b) What does Calpurnia convince Caesar of?
(c) Why does Calpurnia say Caesar’s ‘wisdom is consumed in confidence?’ What does it mean?
(d) What was Calpurnia’s dream? How was it interpreted by Decius Brutus?
(e) What arguments did Brutus and other conspirators give to justify the killing of Caesar?
(f) Why is Decius more successful than Calpurnia in persuading Caesar?
(g) What is the petition put before Caesar by the conspirators? How does Caesar respond to it?
(h) Who says ‘Ete tu Brute’? When and why?
(i) In the moments following Caesar’s death, how do the conspirators proclaim to justify Caesar’s death?
(j) What does Antony say after Caesar’s death, when he sees the body of Caesar?
(k) How do Brutus and Cassius respond to Antony’s speech?
(l) Whom does Antony call “the choice and master spirits of this age.” Why?
(m) How do Brutus and Cassius respond to Antony’s request for giving a speech? What are the
conditions imposed by them.
(n) When he is left alone with the body of Caesar what does Antony call Brutus and others?
(o) What prediction does Antony make regarding the future events in Rome?
(p) Who says “let him be Caesar”? What light does this throw on the speaker?
2. Julius Caesar and Antony reveal something about their character in their words and actions. We also
learn about them from what other people say. Can you pick out the words that describe them from
the box given below? Also, pick out lines from the play to illustrate your choice.

3. In the play ‘Julius Caesar,’ we meet the Roman mob. We find that as Brutus and Antony speak, the
mob displays certain qualities and characteristics. Given below are some characteristics of the mob.
Complete the table by quoting the lines wherein these are revealed.
 4. Antony employs a number of devices to produce the desired effect on the mob. These devices may be
described as rhetorical devices. He first speaks in such a manner that it seems to the mob that he is in
full agreement with Brutus about Caesar. Then step by step he moves away from Brutus’ position,
depicting Brutus as a villain and Caesar as a wronged man. Copy and complete the following table by
showing how Antony builds the argument in Caesar’s favour.

SOME IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

1. “What can be avoided

Whose end is purposed by the mighty gods.” The above statement reflects Caesar’s dignity and
wisdom that the hour of death cannot be averted and is decided by God. Keeping the above statement
in mind, discuss the circumstances that led to Caesar’s death.
2. What characteristics are displayed by the Roman mob in the play? Discuss how the mob changes the fate
of the main characters of the play?
3. Compare and contrast the characters of Brutus and Mark Antony.
4. How was Antony successful in instigating the people of Rome against the conspirators?
Or
Antony displays lot of maturity in the way he befriends the conspirators in order to average Caesar’s
death. Explain.

REFERENCE TO CONTEXT – MCQS—MCQs

Read the following and write the most appropriate option from the ones given to you:

1. Calpurnia : When beggars die, there are no comets seen, the heavens themselves blaze forth the death of
princes.
Caesar : Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once.
(i) Why does Calpurnia make the above observation?
(a) She is a coward
(b) She is unsure of Caesar’s capability
(c) She wishes to stop Caesar from going to the senate
(d) She is superstitious
(ii) How do heavens differentiate between the death of a prince and a beggar?
(a) Heavens are indifferent
(b) There are ill omens when the mighty are going to fall
 (c) Beggars and poor are given special preference
(d) It is the duty of Heavens to show some omens
(iii) What is Caesar’s logic for not fearing death?
(a) Brave do not think of death
(b) Brave are always ready to die
(c) Brave are always thinking of death
(d) Death always favours the brave
(iv) What does the above conversation reflect about Caesar’s character?
(a) proud (b) selfless
(c) fearless (d) superstitious
2. Your statue spouting blood in many pipes
In which so many smiling Roman’s bathed
Signifies that from you great Rome shall suck
Reviving blood, and that great man shall press
For tinctures, stains, relics and cognisance.
(i) Who is the speaker and who is being addressed here?
(a) Caesar—Calpurnia (b) Caesar—Antony
(c) Decius—Caesar (d) Calpurnia–Decius
(ii) What is the context of this speech?
(a) Calpurnia’s dream (b) Caesar’s statue spouting blood
(c) Caesar’s visit to Senate (d) Some personal problem between Caesar and Calpurnia
(iii) How will Rome be benefitted as a result?
(a) Caesar’s enemies will decrease (b) He will become more powerful
(c) Rome will gain strength and sustenance from Caesar (d) Caesar will exploit the weak.
(iv) What is the effect of this speech on the listener?
(a) Caesar is shocked (b) Calpurnia is amazed
(c) Caesar looks up to Decius in disbelief (d) Caesar is full of praise for Decius
3. I must prevent thee, Cimber. These
couchings and these lowly courtesies
Might fire the blood of ordinary men,
And turn pre-ordinance and first decree into the laws of children.
(i) What is the reason for this speech?
(a) Caesar’s anger at Cimber’s request
(b) Caesar’s politeness to pardon Cimber’s brother
(c) Cimber’s audacity to provoke Caesar
(d) Caesar’s ignorance of the rules of Rome.
(ii) What kind of behaviour is disliked by the speaker?
(a) giving compliments
(b) bowing and bending to impress
(c) acts of cowardice
(d) acts of defiance and opposition
(iii) What is the speaker’s conception of law?
(a) Laws are a child’s play
(b) Laws cannot be changed at will
 (c) Laws should be flexible
(d) Laws can be bent to save the guilty
(iv) What light does the above speech throw on his character?
(a) kind and compassionate
(b) anthoriative
(c) strict and law-abiding
(d) fickle-minded
(v) What is the reason for Cimber’s behaviour?
(a) He is afraid of Caesar (b) He wishes to plead for his brother
(c) He wishes to lay a trap for Caesar (d) He hates Caesar
4. O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,
That I am meek and gentle with these batchers
Thou art the ruins of the noblest man
that ever lived in the tide of times.
woe to the hand that shed this costly blood!
over thy wounds now do I prophecy, –
(i) Who is referred to as ‘bleeding piece of earth’?
(a) Rome (b) Caesar’s dead body
(c) Brutus (d) Caesar’s home
(ii) What crime have the ‘Butchers’ committed?
(a) tyranny against Rome (b) Shed blood of Romans
(c) killed Caesar (d) looted the coffers of Rome
(iii) The speaker is full of grief at the death of Caesar, but his behaviour is very meek and gentle
towards the conspirators? Why?
(a) He is afraid of them (b) His own life is in danger
(c) He wishes to sidetrack them (d) He is calm by nature
(iv) What prophecy does the speaker make?
(a) Rome will be destroyed (b) Caesar will be grieved
(c) Conspirators will meet their doom soon (d) Rome will not be at peace ever
(v) Who are the conspirators?
(a) Brutus and Antony (b) Cassius and Brutus
(c) Caesar and Calpurnia (d) Antony and Cimber
5. Brutus: Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.
Had you rather Caesar were living and die all slaves, than that
Caesar were dead, to live all free man? As Caesar loved me
I weep for him, as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it, as he was
valiant, I honour him.
(i) Why does Brutus make the above speech?
(a) To plead and justify himself
(b) to provoke the conspirator
(c) he is afraid of Mark Antony
(d) he wishes to prove his nobility
(ii) Why does Brutus need to reaffirm and emphasize his love for Caesar?
(a) He was considered Caesar’s best friend
 (b) No one could ever associate him with murder
(c) He was weak
(d) He wished to prove his love for Rome
(iii) What reasons does Brutus offer for killing Caesar?
(a) Caesar was too dominating
(b) Roman liberty and democracy were at stake under Caesar
(c) Caesar was too strict in implementing laws
(d) He was ruthless and unkind
(iv) Mention a praiseworthy quality of Caesar which Brutus speaks about despite killing him.
(a) Authoritative (b) Ruthless
(c) Brave (d) Kind
(v) How important was honour to Brutus?
(a) important (b) most important
(c) least important (d) indifferent to it
6. Mark Antony :
But Brutus says he was ambitious,
And Brutus is an honourable man.
He hath brought many captives home to Rome
Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill;
Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?
(i) Why does Mark Antony keep repeating that ‘Brutus is an honourable man’?
(a) Because his is clever
(b) Not to sound disagreeable to the crowd
(c) Because he is patriotic
(d) Because he respects Brutus
(ii) Quote one example from the above speech that is in praise of Caesar?
(a) he waged wars (b) punished the captives of war
(c) filled the coffers of Rome by bringing captives to Rome (d) he was ambitious
(iii) Mark Antony’s conception of ‘ambitious’ is to have
(a) selfish motives (b) materialistic gains
(c) wage wars (d) love for Rome
(iv) What attitude of Mark Antony is reflected by the above speech?
(a) cleverness (b) great oratorial skills
(c) bravery (d) vanity
7. Antony :
But here’s a parchment with the seal of Caesar;
I found it in his closet, ‘tis his will : ..............
which, pardon me, I don’t mean to read –
And they would go and kiss dead Caesar’s wounds
And dip their napkins in his sacred blood.
(i) What secret does Antony reveal to the people of Rome?
(a) That Caesar left a will for Romans to read
(b) That Caesar was a very honest man
(c) That Caesar was misguided
 (d) That Caesar stabbed Rome in the back
(ii) What would be the effect of Caesar’s will?
(a) Romans would protest and revolt against the conspirators
(b) They will feel guilty
(c) They will feel happy at Caesar’s death
(d) They will kiss Caesar’s wounds
(iii) Why does Antony show hesitation in reading Caesar’s will?
(a) He does not wish to reveal the will
(b) He is unhappy at Caesar’s will
(c) It is a part of his acting and pretension
(d) He does not wish Romans to know about it
(iv) What are the contents of Caesar’s will?
(a) Caesar wished to be remembered as a hero
(b) Caesar wished his statue to be built in the centre of Rome
(c) He had left all his money, perks etc. for Romans
(d) He had left everything to Calpurnia
8. Antony :
Good friends, sweet friends, let me not stir you up
To such a sudden flood of mutiny
They that have done this deed are honourable
What private grief’s they have, alas, I know not
That made them do it.
(i) What is the occasion of Mark Antony’s speech?
(a) Caesar’s birthday (b) Anniversary of Roman invasion
(c) Caesar’s murder (d) Antony’s celebration
(ii) What does the use of ‘stir’ and ‘muting’ reveal about the purpose of Antony’s speech?
(a) It is a wake-up case for Romans
(b) He wants them to rise up and revolt
(c) He wants most of them to bow before Caesar’s statue
(d) He does not want anything from the Romans
(iii) What is meant by ‘private griefs’?
(a) virtues (b) personal problems
(c) professional jealousy (d) treason against Rome
(iv) Who are the ‘sweet friends’ Antony wishes to address?
(a) Brutus and Cassius (b) Romans
(c) Decius (d) Calpurnia and Caesar’s relatives
9. If there by any in this assembly, any dear friend of Caesar’s to him I say, that
Brutus’ love to Ceasar was no less than his. If then that friend demand why Brutus rose
against Caesar, this is my answer. Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.
Had you rather Caesar were living and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all free men?
(i) Why according to Brutus, did he kill Caesar?
(a) Brutus wanted to save Rome from slavery
(b) Brutus hated Caesar.
(c) Cassius forced Brutus to kill Caesar
 (d) Brutus himself wanted to become the king of Rome.
(ii) How does Brutus justify the assassination of Caesar?
(a) Brutus said that Caesar was ambitious.
(b) Brutus said that he would enslave Rome.
(c) Brutus said that he would become a tyrant.
(d) All of the above
(iii) How did the mob react to the speech given by Brutus?
(a) The mob revolted against Brutus.
(b) The mob agreed with Brutus’ decision.
(c) The mob criticized Brutus’ decision
(d) None of the above.
10. You know not what you do. Do not Consent that Antony speak in his funeral.
(i) _____ funeral is being talked about.
(a) Cassius’s (b) Caesar’s
(c) Brutus’s (d) none of the above
(ii) The person had been____
(a) killed in the war (b) poisoned
(c) killed by his own friends (d) killed by a wild animal
(iii) The speaker did not want Antony to speak because :
(a) he was not a good speaker. (b) he might instigate the public.
(c) he will not let anyone else speak. (d) none of the above.
11. Calpurnia : What mean you, Caesar? Think you to work forth? You shall not stir of your house today
Caesar : Caesar shall forth.
(i) Calpurnia stopped Caesar from going out of the house because
(a) Caesar’s enemies were out to kill him
(b) Caesar war not well
(c) Calpurnia saw Caesar being killed in her dream
(d) it was raining heavily
(ii) Caesar wanted to go out of the house because
(a) he didn’t care about his wife
(b) he wanted to throw the enemies of Rome out of the country
(c) he was worried about the safety of the common man
(d) he had to attend an important meeting
(iii) These lines tell us about Caesar that he
(a) was a superstitious person (b) was a coward
(c) was proud (d) was soft-hearted
12. Caesar, I have never stood on ceremonies,
Yet now they fright me
(i) _____ who says these words to Caesar?
(a) Calpurnia, his wife (b) Decius
(c) The watchman (d) Antony
(ii) What does this tell us about the character of the speaker?
(a) He / She is nervous (b) He / She is superstitious
(c) He / She is rational (d) He / She is strong and bold
 (iii) They in the above extract refer to some sights seen by his wife. What are they?
(a) graves opening and yielding the dead
(b) lightning shattering the skies
(c) a lioness giving birth in the street
(d) all of the above

REFERENCE TO CONTEXT – NON-MCQs

Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow :

1. What can be avoided

Whose end is proposed by the mighty Gods?
(a) Who makes the above comment?
(b) Discuss the context of the above remark?
(c) Do you believe that the speaker’s belief is justified in the end? How?
2. “And many lusty Romans
Came smiling and did bathe their hands in it”
And these she applies for warnings
(a) Identify the speaker and the listener.
(b) What do the warnings indicate?
(c) How does the above remark prove to be true? Discuss?
3. But I am constant as the northern star
Of whose true-fixed and resting quality
There is no fellow in the firmament
(a) Who is ‘fixed’ like the star?
(b) Discuss the context of the above.
(c) What qualities of the speaker are quoted above?
4. O mighty Caesar! dost thou lie so low?
Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils
Shrunk to this little measure.
(a) Identify the speaker.
(b) Why is Caesar lying so low?
(c) Why have his achievements come to naught according to the speaker?
5. For your part
To you our swords have leaden points, Antony
Our arms, in struggle of malice and our hearts
Of brothers’ temper
(a) Who is the speaker and the listener?
(b) What is the assurance, the speaker is giving to the listener?
(c) What support is required by the speaker?
6. Had you rather Caesar were living and die all slaves,
Than that Caesar were dead, to live all free men?
(a) Identify the speaker?
(b) Discuss the context of the above remark.
(c) What kind of situation is presented by the speaker? Is it true and justified?
7. The evil that men do lives after them
The good is oft interred with their bones;
So let it be with Caesar.
(a) Who is the speaker and what is the context?
(b) What good had Caesar done according to the speaker?
(c) What evidence does the speaker give to prove it?
8. That was the most unkindest cut of all
For when the noble Caesar saw him stales
Ingratitude, more strong than traitors’ arms
Quite vanquished him.
(a) What was the unkindest cut? Who gave it?
(b) Whose sight pained Caesar the most? Why?
(c) What is ingratitude according to Antony.

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. Brutus was not shrewd and foresighted enough to cash in upon the conspiracy and the killing of Caesar.
Discuss how did his miscalculations affect the conspirators.
2. Give two examples of supernatural elements from the play.
3. How does Caesar react to Cimber’s pleadings to recall his brother from banishment?
4. What are the contents of Caesar’s will that Mark Antony refers to?

LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. Brutus’ character is a conflict between his notions of honour and friendship of Caesar. Discuss how he
resolves this conflict and why he is unsuccessful.
2. “Caesar’s dead body could accomplish what Caesar could not do in his life time.” Discuss the strategic
importance of Caesar’s dead body and how it is exploited to the maximum.
3. Now let it work. Mischief, thou art afoot,
Take thou what course thou wilt!’
Who says the above lines? How does he succeed in instigating the people of Rome against the
conspirators?
OR
Antony in his speech presents Caesar as “a paragon of virtue and patriotism.” Discuss the glowing
tributes he paid to Caesar in his funeral speech.
4. What are the contents of Caesar’s will? What effects do these exert on the attitude of the Romans?
5. Discuss the character of Caesar in the light of the following :
(a) As a husband (b) As a statesman (c) As a friend
6. Caesar had done a lot of good things for the people of Rome. Yet he got nothing but death. Do you think
his end was justified? Explain.