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Act 2
Act 2 scene 1
Brutus considers the murder of Caesar.
Brutus reads one of the false letters and is visited by Cassius.
The decision is taken not to harm Antony or any of Caesar’s other followers.
The storm from the previous scene is continuing and Brutus refers to the darkness in the opening speech. Darkness is symbolic in this scene – it represents the darkness and confusion in Brutus’ mind. The conspirators arrive in darkness later in the scene which adds to the feeling of secrecy and impending evil and doom throughout the scene. Brutus’ soliloquy at the start of the scene shows Shakespeare’s skill at revealing confused states of mind, especially where the speaker doesn’t know of the confusion. Brutus seems certain what he must do – he starts the speech with a certain decision – ‘It must be by his death’ - and then proceeds to justify the decision. However these justifications seem doubtful yet plausible.
Brutus says that Caesar must die because he would abuse his power – however he has no evidence that Caesar has ever behaved this way. His remarks that ‘it is a bright day that brings forth the adder’ and ‘lowliness is young ambition’s ladder’ are plausible excuses but neither is a logical argument. This shows Brutus attempting to...
