Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

As soon as the two men are within the tent, Cassius accuses Brutus of having wronged him by condemning Lucius Pella for taking bribes from the Sardians, in spite of Cassius’ letters in his defense. Brutus replies that Cassius should not have written defending such a cause, and Brutus charges him with having an “itching palm”—that is, Cassius has been selling offices. Brutus reminds Cassius that it was for the sake of justice that they killed Caesar, and he says strongly that he would “rather be a dog and bay the moon” than be a Roman who would sell his honor for money. The quarrel grows in intensity as Cassius threatens Brutus, but Brutus ignores his threats. Brutus reminds Cassius of his failure to send sums of gold that Brutus had requested for his troops. Cassius denies this and laments that his friend no longer loves him; he invites Brutus to kill him. Finally the two men are reconciled and they grasp one another’s hands in renewed friendship.

Brutus and Cassius drink together as Titinius and Messala join them. From the conversation that follows, you discover that Octavius and Antony are marching with their armies toward Philippi and that they “put to death an hundred senators,” including Cicero. Messala also reports the death of Portia, but Brutus stoically gives no indication that he already knows of her suicide. He proposes that they march toward Philippi to meet the enemy at once. Cassius disagrees, maintaining that it would be better to wait for the enemy to come to them. This strategy would weary the enemy forces while their own men remain fresh. Brutus persists, however, and Cassius at last gives in to him.

When his guests have departed, Brutus tells his servant Lucius to call some of his men to sleep with him in his tent. Varro and Claudius enter and offer to stand watch while Brutus sleeps, but he urges them to lie down and sleep as well. Brutus then asks Lucius to play some music. Lucius sings briefly, then falls asleep. Brutus resumes reading a book he has begun, but he is suddenly interrupted by the entry of Caesar’s ghost. Brutus asks the ghost if it is “some god, some angel, or some devil,” and it says that it is “thy evil spirit.” It has appeared only to say that they will meet again at Philippi. The ghost then disappears, whereupon Brutus calls to Lucius, Varro, and Claudius, all of whom he accuses of crying out in their sleep. They all swear that they have seen and heard nothing.

Commentary

Portia is dead by her own hand. She’s swallowed coals, a most painful—and some would say, fitting—way of death. By her suicide she takes on the sins of the men and attempts to expiate them; that is, in the manner of her suicide she, in metaphorical terms, internalizes the painful, rash, hot decisions that have brought the state to civil unrest. But in doing so, she does not contain and remove the difficulties facing Rome. She is ineffective, for this is not a play about what a woman could do, but a play about men and men’s affairs.

The news of her death to Brutus is delayed. For the first one hundred and forty-six lines of the scene, the reader is unaware that Portia’s death is probably the underlying motivation for Brutus’ passionate quarrel with Cassius. What is Shakespeare’s purpose in delaying such news? Impact. The sudden realization of what has happened gives Cassius and the audience a sudden insight into Brutus: the action of the scene and its real motivations and the change in Brutus’ and Cassius’ friendship. Moments of impact such as these offer a pause, a catching of breath that reveals multitudes.

Note that the love that Brutus felt for Portia is transferred to the male, non-sexual sphere in his friendship with Cassius. Loss and betrayal are essential elements of grief, but Brutus, unable to speak these disloyal thoughts against his wife, transfers his feelings to Cassius. It is Cassius who has betrayed him. It is Cassius who leaves him.

Having transferred his grief over Portia into a test of his friendship, Brutus feels that he can go on with the military aspects of his life with stoicism, yet while the feminine is left behind (shown by Brutus expelling the poet because his soft and rounded verses), Brutus still seeks and requires comfort. By banishing thoughts of his wife, Brutus is left with his companions of war. He asks his loyal men to stay with him and looks to Lucius for the calming and expressive quality of music.

They all fall asleep, however, and leave Brutus to face the ghost of Caesar alone. It is not without some irony that, at this point in the play, Shakespeare allows a male character to experience what has so far been a woman’s realm—a prophetic dream. Women, the civilizing influences of art and intuition, have been banned from this world of masculine violence and disruption. In their place, is a man who has put himself in an untenable position by trying to live by reason alone, pushing emotion to one side.

The dream foreshadows—and Brutus realizes—that Brutus will die in the battles to come, and that his death will not be the last. The events Brutus initiated with the murder of Caesar will continue to result in more death.

Glossary