Act I
Why are the commoners celebrating at the opening of the play?
Caesar defeated Pompey
What does Brutus compare Caesar to in order to capture his potentially dangerous ways?
A serpent's egg
Who tries to warn Caesar about the conspirators in a letter?
Artemidorus
Who says: "But 'tis a common proof / That lowliness is young ambition's ladder, / Whereto the climber-upward turns his face; / But when he once attains the utmost round, / He then unto the ladder turns his back."
Brutus
What characteristic does Caesar possess that Brutus and Cassius deem worthy of death?
He is ambitious (ambition)
What does the Soothsayer repeatedly say to Caesar?
"Beware the Ides of March"
Who does Cassius want to kill along with Caesar?
Mark Antony
What does Antony do instead of showing up to speak with the conspirators himself to ensure his safety?
He sends his servant to deliver a message of peace/truce
Who says: "Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world / Like a Colossus, and we petty men / Walk under his huge legs and peep about / To find ourselves dishonorable graves."
Cassius
The Gods
What story does Cassius tell Brutus that makes Caesar seem weak?
Cassius and Caesar went swimming, and Cassius had to rescue Caesar from drowning (other acceptable answer includes Cassius discussing Caesar's health)
What does Portia do in order to show her loyalty to Brutus?
She stabs herself in the leg
What does Brutus allow Mark Antony to do against Cassius' advice?
Brutus allows Mark Antony to speak at the funeral
Who says: "Let me have men about me that are fat, / Sleek-headed men, and such as sleep o' nights. / Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; / He thinks too much, such men are dangerous."
Caesar
What do the conspirators do to distract Caesar right before they stab him?
They beg him (on their hands and knees) to allow a banished citizen to return to Rome
How many times did Caesar refuse the crown AND who told this story to Cassius and Brutus?
Three times (thrice) and Casca told the story
What causes Calpurnia to try and convince Caesar to stay home from the Capitol?
She has a bad dream in which a statue of Caesar is spouting blood
What does Mark Antony read to the public in order to persuade them to turn against Brutus?
Caesar's will
Who says: "O masters! If I were disposed to stir / Your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage, / I should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong, / Who you all know, are honorable men."
Mark Antony
What do the conspirators bathe their hands in to show that they are the responsible party?
They bathe their hands in Caesar's blood
What is the weather towards the end of Act I and what does Cassius decide to do to convince Brutus to join the cause?
Stormy (thunder and lightning) and Cassius writes fake letters from the commoners complaining about Caesar to Brutus
What does Caesar say he is not afraid of and in fact, embraces?
Death
Why is Cinna the poet killed by the commoners?
He shares the same name as Cinna the Conspirator and the commoners are angry.
Who says: "Alas, my lord/Your wisdom is consumed in confidence/Do not go forth to-day: call it my fear That keeps you in the house, and not your own/We'll send Mark Antony to the senate-house/And he shall say you are not well to-day: Let me, upon my knee, prevail in this."
Calpurnia
What does the phrase, "the fault is not in our stars," mean?
Fate has nothing to do with what has happened