Act 2 Skill focus → Style (Figurative Language / Imagery)

Speech to Analyze → As you annotate the lines below, be sure to identify, label and interpret the speaker, his audience,
meaning (claim/purpose), words choices, and style (figurative language).

Brutus (speaking to himself) Speaker: Brutus; Audience: None, Brutus is

speaking to himself;
Meaning: Despite his lack of personal
It must be by his death. And for my part, I know animosity towards Caesar, Brutus is justifying
no personal cause to spurn at him, But for the reasons for his assassination of Caesar. He
general: he would be crowned. How that might believes that Caesar has dangerous ambition.
change his nature, there’s the question. It is the
bright day that brings forth the adder, And that The “change in nature” refers to Caesar’s
craves wary walking. Crown him that And then I possibility of becoming a danger to Rome.
grant we put a sting in him, That at his will he
The “adder” and “serpent’s egg” suggest that
may do danger with. Th’ abuse of greatness is
Caesar is a potential threat, and his danger
when it disjoins Remorse from power. And to will grow just like an adder. (metaphor)
speak truth of Caesar, I have not known when his
affections swayed More than his reason. But ‘tis
a common proof That lowliness is young
ambition’s ladder, Whereto the climber upward This “unto the ladder turns his back” of
turns his face; But when he once attains the Caesar once he reaches his peak means that
upmost round, He then unto the ladder turns his he will turn his back on those who supported
him.
back, Looks in the clouds, scorning the base
degrees By which he did ascend. So Caesar may;
Then lest he may, prevent. And since the quarrel
Will bear no color for the thing he is, Fashion it
thus: that what he is, augmented, Would run to
The mood of Brutus’s soliloquy is very
these and these extremities. And therefore think
serious, and this was because he used a lot of
him as a serpent’s egg, Which hatched, would as rhetorical devices, including ethos and
his kind grow mischievous, And kill him in the pathos, and he also used many antithesis.
shell.

Write a 1-2 sentence objective summary over what these lines are saying:
Brutus is justifying to himself the need for Caesar's assassination, citing his fear that Caesar's ambition and abuse of power
would harm the Roman Republic if he were crowned king.

Provide a specific example of imagery (what sense?) and explain the effect:
The “serpent’s egg” is a visual imagery appealing to the audience’s sight, because the audience will form a vivid image of
this in his or her mind, and realize the urgency of assassinating Caesar if he is really a threat like this.

Provide a specific example of figurative language (simile, metaphor, personification) and explain the effect:
The quote saying “once attains the upmost round, He then unto the ladder turns his back” is a metaphor indicating
that Caesar will harm those who have helped him. The ladder here represents those helps that people provided to
him.