Month: September 2016

‘The torrent roar’d, and we did buffet it.’ This quote shows personification and I believe that it has been used here so you can imagine how rough the water and how stormy the day was when Cassius supposedly saved Caesar from drowning. ‘The torrent roar’d’ means that the water was choppy and that it was stormy, windy and probably raining.

‘Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world Like a Colossus.’   ‘Throwing it aside and stemming it with hearts of controversy.’    ‘I plunged in and bade him follow.’   ‘A wretched creature and must bend his body, If Caesar carelessly but nod on him.’   ‘Alas, it cried ‘Give me some drink, Titinius,’ as a sick girl.’

The verbs in the quotes above are used by Cassius to get his point across. He uses this very enthusiastically and almost like he is full of excitement. The use of verbs gets his point across and to persuade Brutus that Caesar is the enemy and that he is his ally and friend. He tries to get him to be on his side. Verbs help him because they let him speak his mind and he can say what he wants full of enthusiasm. He presents his ideas by saying words that really describe what he is talking about. The pattern in his speech is that he is very descriptive about what he talks about. For example, when he was talking about saving Caesar from drowning he made it seem that he was a hero. He said, ‘I, as Aeneas, our great ancestor, Did from the flames of Troy upon his shoulder The old Anchises bear, so from the waves of Tiber Did I the tired Caesar.’ His language is very imaginative and puts a picture in your mind of how he saved Caesar.

“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.”

“Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that ‘Caesar’? Why should that name be sounded more than yours? Write them together, yours is as fair a name; Sound them, it doth become the mouth as well; Weigh them, it is as heavy; conjure with ’em, ‘Brutus’ will start a spirit as soon as ‘Caesar’.”

“And this man is now become a god, and Cassius is a wretched creature and must bend his body, if Caesar carelessly but nod on him.”

“He had a fever when he was in Spain, And when the fit was on him, I did mark How he did shake: ’tis true, this god did shake; His coward lips did from their colour fly, And that same eye whose bend doth awe the world Did lose his lustre.”

“Alas, it cried ‘Give me some drink, Titinius,’ As a sick girl. Ye gods, it doth amaze me A man of such a feeble temper should So get the start of the majestic world And bear the palm alone.”

“I know that virtue to be in you, Brutus, As well as I do know your outward favour.”

In this quote, Cassius is manipulating Brutus by complimenting him and saying nice things about him. Really, he only thinks as Brutus as something he can take to his advantage and not as a friend at all.

“I was born free as Caesar; so were you: We both have fed as well, and we can both Endure the winter’s cold as well as he.”

In this quote, Cassius is comparing him and Brutus to Caesar and showing him that Caesar is no better than them. He says it almost like, “Why shouldn’t we be king?”.

There was a Brutus once that would have brook’d The eternal devil to keep his state in Rome As easily as a king.

Cassius is trying to get Brutus riled up by saying “There was a Brutus once that would have brook,d the eternal devil to keep his state in Rome as easily as a King”. Saying this is like saying that he used to be strong but is now weak. Then, Brutus will think that Caesar is a bad person and that him being King of Rome will mean bad things for those under him.

In Act 1 Scene 3, Cassius is trying to get people to join his cause. He has got Casca to join him in the plan to overthrow Caesar. However, to really make them respectable and to  get them an advantage over Caesar, they must get Brutus to join them because he is very close to Caesar. This would be good for them because he could know what Caesar is doing before he even does it. Caesar is very close to Brutus and sees him as someone he can trust.

Also, Cassius meets Casca and the weather is extremely bad. It is pouring with rain and there is thunder and lightning. This was seen as a bad omen and that the gods were angry. Because Cassius is very good at manipulating things and making it useful to him, he says that the bad weather is because the gods are unhappy that Caesar has been elected as leader or emperor of Rome. Casca calls him mad because Cassius says, “A very pleasing night to honest men.” He tries to say that he likes the weather. He also says, “A man no mightier than thyself, or me.” He says this but doesn’t say who he is talking about. He is talking about Caesar and how he is not better than Cassius. Everything he says has a hidden meaning. Casca says, ” ‘Tis Caesar that you mean, is it not, Cassius?”. Cicero also joins them and they discuss on the importance of getting Brutus to join them. Caesar is also coming to the Capitol tomorrow in the play.

Cassius talks about how he has got people to follow them and that they’re organisation or group is getting larger and larger. Comma is tasked with putting a piece of paper on the praetor’s chair which is Cassius’ chair. He places it there so he will definitely finish it. They decide to all go to Pompey’s Porch to meet and speak with each other about their mutual task. Cassius thinks that the next time they see Brutus, he will be 100% committed to the cause. They need him because if he isn’t with them and they kill Caesar then it will look like a criminal act. However, with Brutus in their side, it will look like it is a good thing, of virtue and worthiness. He would make them look much more respectable and not a group of hooligans or bandits. They want to try and wake him and make sure that he is on their side. This is what happens in Act 1 Scene 3.

In Scene 1, Murellus and Flavius hear the cheering on the streets and they try to stop the people from celebrating the arrival of Caesar because they don’t like him because Pompey’s two sons both were killed in the battle with Caesar. They question what he brings back or what he has done to have people cheer him.

In Scene 2, Cassius and Brutus talk about Caesar and what he could do. Cassius says that he saved Caesar’s life when they dived into the water. I think that he regrets saving him because Caesar hasn’t done anything to better Cassius. Cassius believes that he hasn’t been rewarded for what he’s done. He now resents Caesar.

Caesar arrives in Rome and people are celebrating his arrival. They are happy that he is here. During this, a soothsayer says to Caesar, ” Beware the Ides of March.” This quote means that he should be careful of the middle of March. However, Caesar says that he’s a “dreamer” and people shouldn’t listen to him. They completely disregard him.

At the end of this scene, Cassius is by himself and he says his soliloquy. He warns that Caesar should be careful. He says, ” And after this let Caesar seat him sure, For we will shake him, is worse days endure.” This says that he will let him be aware of his position and he will kill him or worse things are coming.

My prediction about what the story is about is that ‘Vengeance is Mine, Inc’ is a company that is against another company. Maybe the other company has done something wrong against ‘Vengeance is Mine, Inc’.