Key quotations from the play Julius Caesar

21 Feb, 2016 - 00:02 0 Views
Key quotations from the play Julius Caesar Cassius

The Sunday News

 

Cassius

Cassius

Charles Dube

Highlights of interesting parts of the play which students could remember continues. In Act One Casca narrates to Cassius and Brutus what happened at the festival of Lupercalia. We have an insight of Casca’s character in this episode. Cassius and Brutus did not go and watch the games during the festival hence they were eager to know what exactly took place there.

The curiosity of Brutus and Cassius is further driven by the angry flush on Caesar’s face, and his followers appear like a group which has been scolded. Calpurnia’s cheek is pale and Cicero’s eyes are red and small like that of a ferret as they had seen him in the Capitol when he was stopped in a conference by some senators. Cassius asks Brutus to pluck Casca by the sleeve and he will after his sour fashion tell them what the matter is. Brutus pulls Casca by the cloak and asks him “what hath chanc’d, that Caesar looks so sad”. Casca after his sour fashion asks Brutus, “Why, you were with him, were you not?” Brutus is equal to the challenge reminding Casca that he could have not asked him if he was there. Casca relates that there was a crown offered to Caesar, he put it by with his the back of his hand, thus; and then the people shouted. When Brutus asks him about the second shout, Casca is heated up and says, “Why, for that too.

Cassius gets the same kind of response for asking about the crowd having shouted thrice. Casca tells Cassius and Brutus that the crown was offered to Caesar three times and in the three times Caesar put it aside more gently than the last. The people shouted each time he refused to accept the crown. When asked by Brutus the manner of how it all happened, Casca says it was just foolery (stupidity) and he did not pay much heed to it. He says he saw Mark Antony offer Caesar a crown, yet it was not really a crown but one of those coronets. Casca relates all the three times the crown was offered to Caesar and how he refused to take it each time it was offered to him. He says every time Caesar refused the crown, the crowd shouted and clapped with their rough hands.

“The rabblement hooted, and clapped their choppy hands, and threw up their sweaty night-caps, and uttered such a deal of stinking breath because Caesar refused the crown, that it had almost choked Caesar, for he swooned and fell down at it. And for my own part I durst not laugh for fear of opening my lips and receiving the bad air.” From this we can see that Casca derives sinister motives in people’s actions. He narrates Caesar’s refusal of the crown but gives no reason, however, he says that Caesar in fact wanted to have it. He lets Caesar be seen in the bad light in which the conspirators want him to be seen.

The writer endows him with a course, cynical humour which fits in very well with a personality which twists incidents to show other people in poor light and stabs people from the back. Casca is also very superstitious as he is deeply disturbed by the storm that precedes the death of Caesar. Casca tells Cicero: “Either there is a civil strife in heaven, Or else the world, too saucy with the gods, Incenses them to send destruction.” When asked by Brutus if Cicero said anything at the festival, Casca says Cicero spoke Greek meaning he did not understand anything, so if he told Brutus anything, he would never be able to see him in the face, because he would have told a lie. When Casca leaves Brutus and Cassius comment on his character.

Brutus says of Casca, “What a blunt fellow is this grown to be! He was quick mettle when he went to school.” In simple language Brutus says, what a blunt stupid fellow Casca has grown to be! In his school days he had a sharp intelligence. On the other hand, Cassius says of him: “So is he now in execution of any bold or noble enterprise, However, he puts on this tardy form. This rudeness is a sauce to his good wit, which gives men stomach to digest his words with better appetite.”

In simpler terms Cassius is of the opinion that Casca is sharp even now in carrying out a noble enterprise, though he shows dullness in his character. This adds spice to his excellent wit and men have a healthier appetite to listen to him. Caesar proves to be a good judge of character to a certain extent. He sees that Cassius is dangerous though he is so much consumed in pride, overconfidence and arrogance such that he neglects his own security. He says of Cassius:

“Let me have men about me that are fat; sleek-headed men, and such as sleep a-nights. Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much; such men are dangerous.” Caesar goes on to display his arrogance bragging that he is not afraid of Cassius but if he was prone to be afraid, he does not know of any other man that he would avoid than that lean and thin Cassius. We get a detailed description of Cassius’s character from Caesar who tells us that the former reads a lot. He is a great observer who can see the real motive of men’s deeds and their real purpose. He is not fond of games like Antony. He does not listen to music.

He smiles rarely and when he smiles, he does it in a manner as if he is scorning his weakness. Such men are never at peace in their hearts when they see a man greater than themselves and are thus dangerous. Caesar adds on to his arrogance as he says he tells Antony what is to be feared that what he fears. He says he is always Caesar who is afraid of nothing. Cassius also gives us another famous quotation which might be of interest to students when he tricks Brutus into joining the conspiracy against Caesar. He highlights Caesar’s weaknesses to Brutus. For example he says:

“Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus; and we petty men walk under his huge legs, and peep about to find ourselves dishonourable graves. “Men at some time are masters of their fates: The fault dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings.”

Cassius is saying Caesar stands like a massive statue, while themselves, petty men walk under his huge legs, and look about to find themselves a grave where they can hide their dishonour. Men control their fates at one time or the other; that they remain slaves is not the fault of the stars that influence their birth; it is their own fault that they are so menial. Cassius tells Brutus that there is no difference between Caesar’s name and his that the latter’s should be uttered more than his. These are some of the parts which could be highlighted to the students to motivate them to read and understand the play.

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