Julius Caesar Essay
English 10H
1) Compare and contrast the values of Brutus and Antony in the play. Who would make the better leader? Why?
2) E.M. Forster said, “If I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend, I hope I should have the guts to betray my country.”
--From Two Cheers for Democracy, 1951
Write an essay using Julius Caesar in which you agree or disagree with Forster’s quote.
3) In Canto 34 of Dante’s epic poem The Inferno, Brutus and Cassius are placed alongside Judas Iscariot in the Ninth (and lowest) Circle of Hell, where those who are “treacherous to their masters” are relegated for eternity. Satan holds all three traitors in his mouth and “rips [them] eternally with his teeth” (282). In the canto itself, Brutus “dangles down from the black face [and] writhes without a word” (285) next to Cassius with his “huge and sinewy arms” (285).
Why does Dante do this, and do you agree or disagree with his assessment of their crime?
John Ciardi, trans. The Inferno
by Dante Aligheri
New York: Mentor Books, 1982.
4) The concept of nobility and noble behavior permeates the play. Define what it means to be noble and discuss which characters in the play are noble. You may include references to people from literature, history, personal experiences, current events, etc. to support your stand.
5) “Brutus is a defeated idealist.” Agree or disagree with this quotation.
(Courtesy of Jane Schaffer)
6) “Brutus is not a dishonorable man; he is a mistaken one.”
-Alice McPherson, Julius Caesar
Comment on this quotation as it applies to the discussions we have had about the play.