Discussion Questions

Brutus says he loves Caesar and at the same time fears the people will make him king. What does the conversation with Cassius do with that fear?

Casca and Cicero see the same night of portents and draw different conclusions. What does each one do with the signs?

Brutus says he has no personal grievance against Caesar and justifies the killing by what he might become. What makes this reason strong, and what makes it fragile?

Calpurnia and Decius ask Caesar for opposite things. What gives one appeal more force than the other?

Brutus grants Antony the floor at the funeral, against Cassius's advice. What does he seem to expect from this concession?

Brutus and Antony speak to the same crowd within minutes and win opposite reactions. What does each ask the people to do with what they hear?

What does the conversation about Lepidus reveal about how these three intend to divide power among themselves?

Cassius proposes waiting for the enemy, and Brutus decides to march at once to Philippi. Which argument of each seems stronger to you?

Brutus says it is cowardly to kill oneself out of fear of what may come, yet he refuses to be taken captive to Rome. How do the two things he says reconcile, or fail to reconcile?

Why does Titinius kill himself instead of simply mourning Cassius?

Antony says Brutus was the only conspirator moved by the common good. Given what the play has shown, do you agree?

In Act II, Brutus admits he has no personal grievance against Caesar and decides based on what he might become. Is it legitimate to kill to prevent an evil that has not yet occurred?

Is Brutus's idealism a virtue or a blindness?

Who drives the story in the play? At what moments does action weigh more, and at what moments does speech?

Cassius says the fault is not in the stars but in ourselves, and then reads the storm as a sign. What does the play do with Fate?

In Act V, Brutus calls Cato's suicide cowardly and, in the end, kills himself. What reason does the play give?