Question

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

LUCIUS - Madam, what should I do? Run to the Capitol, and nothing else? And so return to you, and nothing else? PORTIA - Yes, bring me word, boy, if thy lord look well, For he went sickly forth: and take good note What Caesar doth, what suitors press to him. Hark, boy! what noise is that? LUCIUS - I hear none, madam. PORTIA - Prithee, listen well; I hear a bustling rumour, like a fray, And the wind brings it from the Capitol.

1. ‘This scene creates suspense’. How? (Application)
2. Why is Portia so tensed? (Analysis)
3. Just before the extract, what had she uttered about ‘a man’s mind’ and ‘a woman’s body’? (Recalling)
4. Why is Portia worried about Brutus? How has Brutus added to her anxiety? (Understanding)
5. What other instructions were given to Lucius? (Recalling)

Answer 1

1. The scene creates suspense through Portia’s nervous behaviour and her imaginary fear of a disturbance at the Capitol. The audience knows that the conspiracy is about to be carried out and wonders whether Caesar will be saved or the plot will be discovered.
2. Portia is tense because she knows about the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar and worries about Brutus’s safety and the plan's success. She also fears the secret may be revealed.
3. She had said, “I have a man’s mind, but a woman’s might.” She meant that although she possessed a man’s courage and understanding, she was physically weak like a woman.
4. Portia is worried because Brutus has gone to the Capitol to take part in the conspiracy against Caesar. Brutus has increased her anxiety by leaving her in suspense after telling her about the dangerous plan and by appearing unwell when he went out.
5. Lucius was instructed to watch whether Brutus looked well, note what Caesar was doing and who was pressing around him, and bring Portia news before returning to her.