Question

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

BRUTUS - How ill this Taper burns! Ha! Who comes here? I think it is the weakness of mine eyes That shapes this monstrous apparition.

1. Describe the setting of the scene. What makes this scene supernatural? (Recalling & Understanding)
2. What does the apparition tell Brutus? What effect does the apparition have on Brutus? How would you have felt had you been in place of Brutus? (Recalling)
3. What is the significance of the words of the apparition in the play? (Analysis & Evaluation)
4. Was the apparition real or a figment of Brutus' imagination? Give reasons to justify your answer. (Analysis)
5. When does the apparition appear to Brutus again? To whom did Brutus tell this, later in the play? (Recalling)

Answer 1

1. The scene takes place at night in Brutus’ tent at Sardis. The dim light, silence and Brutus’ tired state create an eerie atmosphere. It becomes supernatural when the Ghost of Caesar suddenly appears before him.
2. The apparition tells Brutus, ‘Thou shalt see me at Philippi.’ Brutus is startled and disturbed, but he tries to remain composed. If I were in Brutus’ place, I would feel frightened and anxious because the appearance suggests some coming danger.
3. The words of the apparition are significant because they foreshadow Brutus’ defeat and death at Philippi. They also suggest that Caesar’s influence continues even after his death and that the conspirators cannot escape the consequences of his murder.
4. The apparition may be seen either as a real supernatural appearance or as a vision caused by Brutus’ exhausted and troubled mind. Since Lucius and the others do not see it, it may be a figment of Brutus’ imagination; however, its later reappearance at Philippi gives it a strong supernatural significance in the play.
5. The apparition appears to Brutus again at Philippi, before his final defeat. Later, Brutus tells Volumnius that Caesar’s Ghost has appeared to him twice, first at Sardis and again at Philippi.