56 pages • 1 hour read
William ShakespeareJulius Caesar
William ShakespeareFiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1599A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
During Reading
Reading Questions & Paired Texts
Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.
ACTS I-II
Reading Check
1. Where does the play begin?
2. Who warns Caesar to “[b]eware the Ides of March” in Act I, Scene 2?
3. Who offers Caesar a crown during the Lupercalia?
4. What is in the letter Lucius brings Brutus?
5. What is the name of Brutus’s wife?
6. Who dreams of Caesar’s murder?
7. What is in Artemidorus’s letter?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What does Cassius mean when he tells Brutus, “I had as life not be as live to be / In awe of such a thing as I myself” in Act I, Scene 2?
2. Why is Caesar upset when the crowd cheers to see him refuse the crown?
3. What is the significance of Casca using prose, while Brutus and Cassius use blank verse?
4. Why is Brutus against killing Antony in addition to Caesar?
5. Why do the conspirators decide to send Decius to Caesar?
6. Caesar decides to go to the senate despite his wife Calpurnia’s reservations. What does this say about his character?
Paired Resources
“Divination: Greek and Roman Divination” by Sarah Iles Johnston
- This resource contains a thorough introduction to Greek and Roman divination practices.
- This connects to the theme of How Hubris Can Lead to One's Downfall.
- How might Caesar have escaped his fate if he had been more willing to heed warnings from others or from omens?
“How the Ancient Roman Government Worked”
- This short video by the World History Encyclopedia explains how the Roman government worked at different periods in history.
- This connects to the themes of How Hubris Can Lead to One's Downfall and The Persuasive Power of Rhetoric.
- How do Caesar’s ambitions undermine the usual workings of the Roman government?
ACT III
Reading Check
1. Who persuades Antony to leave the senate meeting?
2. What does Antony tell Octavius to do after Caesar’s assassination?
3. Why does the mob kill Cinna the poet?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What is the significance of Caesar's last words, “Et tu Brute?”
2. On what terms does Brutus allow Antony to deliver a funeral oration for Caesar?
3. How does Brutus justify his killing of Caesar to the plebeians?
4. Why does Antony’s reading of Caesar’s will move the plebeians?
Paired Resources
“Beware of False Tales About the Ides of March”
- In this podcast, Cornell history professor Barry Strauss discusses some of the misconceptions surrounding Caesar's death.
- This connects to the themes of How Hubris Can Lead to One's Downfall and How Shakespeare Uses the Greek Notion of Hamartia.
- How does Shakespeare alter or embellish historical details to add drama to his play?
“The Deeds of the Divine Augustus”
- This is a translation of an important inscription in which Augustus records how he avenged Julius Caesar.
- This connects to the themes of How Hubris Can Lead to One's Downfall, The Persuasive Power of Rhetoric, and How Shakespeare Uses the Greek Notion of Hamartia.
- How does Augustus glorify himself in his version of the aftermath of Caesar’s assassination? How does his presentation of facts differ from Shakespeare’s play?
ACTS IV-V
Reading Check
1. Who is the ally of Antony and Octavius?
2. Which two allies join Brutus and Cassius near Sardis?
3. What does Caesar’s ghost tell Brutus?
4. Why does Cassius kill himself?
5. Who wins the first battle between Brutus and Octavius at Philippi?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Why is Brutus upset with Cassius?
2. What event causes Brutus to be so quick to anger?
3. What does Cassius conclude about Octavius's character after witnessing his behavior during the parlay?
4. How does Antony treat the captured Lucillus? What does this say about his character?
5. Why does Antony lament the death of Brutus?
Recommended Next Reads
Richard III by William Shakespeare
- Richard III is one of Shakespeare’s most famous historical plays and is based on the brutal reign of King Richard III of England.
- Shared themes include How Hubris Can Lead to One's Downfall and How Shakespeare Uses the Greek Notion of Hamartia.
- Shared topics include historical events and rebellion against tyrannical figures.
- Richard III on SuperSummary
The Ides of March by Thornton Wilder
- This epistolary novel depicts the events leading up to the assassination of Julius Caesar.
- Shared themes include How Hubris Can Lead to One's Downfall and The Persuasive Power of Rhetoric.
- Shared topics include Roman history and the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar.
Reading Questions Answer Key
ACTS I-II
Reading Check
1. A street in Rome (Act I, Scene 1)
2. A soothsayer (Act I, Scene 2)
3. Antony (Act I, Scene 2)
4. An attempt to convince him that Caesar must be removed from power (Act II, Scene 1)
5. Portia (Act II, Scene 1)
6. Calpurnia (Act II, Scene 2)
7. A warning to beware of Cassius, Brutus, and the other conspirators (Act II, Scene 3)
Short Answer
1. Cassius fears becoming a stranger to himself and not understanding his own values and feelings. (Act I, Scene 2)
2. Caesar is upset because he wants the Roman people to accept him as their king. By cheering when they see him refusing the crown, the Romans show that they do not want a king. (Act I, Scene 2)
3. Casca’s prose suggests that he is more straightforward and simpler than his colleagues Brutus and Cassius. (Act I, Scene 2)
4. Brutus does not want the conspiracy to be unnecessarily vindictive, saying, “Let’s be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius. / We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar, / And in the spirit of men there is no blood.” (Act II, Scene 1)
5. The conspirators send Decius to Caesar to ensure that he leaves his house to come to the senate, fearing that superstition might keep him at home. (Act II, Scene 1)
6. Caesar is ambitious, and this proves to be his undoing. He refuses to acknowledge signs and omens when they do not tell him what he wants to hear, even when the meaning of these signs and omens is clear to everybody else around him. (Act II, Scene 2)
ACT III
Reading Check
1. Trebonius (Act III, Scene 1)
2. To flee Rome (Act III, Scene 1)
3. They mistake him for Cinna the conspirator. (Act III, Scene 3)
Short Answer
1. With his final words, Caesar expresses shock that Brutus, whom he loved so dearly, would betray him (“Et tu Brute?” means “You too, Brutus?”). (Act III, Scene 1)
2. Brutus allows Antony to deliver a funeral oration for Caesar provided he does not speak ill of the conspirators. (Act III, Scene 1)
3. Brutus cites his love for the Republic as his reason for killing Caesar, saying his actions show “not that I loved Caesar less, but that / I loved Rome more.” (Act III, Scene 2)
4. Caesar’s generous bequest to the people of Rome reminds them of how much Caesar cared for them. (Act III, Scene 2)
ACTS IV-V
Reading Check
1. Lepidus (Act IV, Scene 1)
2. Lucilius and Titinius (Act IV, Scene 2)
3. That he will meet him at Philippi (Act IV, Scene 2)
4. His men have been defeated, and he does not want to be taken alive. (Act V, Scene 3)
5. Brutus (Act V, Scene 3)
Short Answer
1. Brutus accuses Cassius and his partisans of taking bribes and behaving unjustly. Cassius is being hypocritical: They killed Caesar because of his injustice, but it is they who are unjust. (Act IV, Scene 2)
2. Brutus reveals that his wife Portia recently ended her life, and that this was why he was quicker to anger than usual. (Act IV, Scene 2)
3. Octavius passionately vows to avenge Caesar by killing the conspirators, prompting Cassius to observe that he is behaving like a silly schoolboy. (Act V, Scene 1)
4. Antony orders that the captured Lucillus be treated kindly, indicating that Antony is an honorable man. (Act V, Scene 4)
5. Antony feels compassion for Brutus because he believes that, of all the conspirators, he alone acted truly in the service of Rome. (Act V, Scene 5)
Unlock all 56 pages of this Study GuidePlus, gain access to 8,800+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
Related Titles
By William Shakespeare
