Brutus

Character Sketch

Brutus is worried

• Brutus is introduced in Act One, Scene Two.• Our first impression of him is that he is a

serious man: ‘I am not gamesome; I do lack some part / Of that quick spirit that is in Antony.

• Cassius says that Brutus has seemed unhappy or unfriendly recently. Brutus admits that he is, saying ‘Poor Brutus, with himself at war, / Forgets the shows of love to other men.’

Rome vs. Caesar

• Brutus is torn between his concern for Rome and his love for Caesar.

• ‘ I do fear the people / Choose Caesar for their king’.

• Although he says of Caesar ‘I love him well’, Brutus makes it clear that Rome and honour come first: ‘I love / The name of honour more than I fear death’.

Manipulated by Cassius

• Cassius says that everyone respects Brutus greatly and he wishes Brutus could see himself as others see him.

• Brutus wonders why Cassius is flattering him:• ‘Into what dangers would you lead me,

Cassius, / That you would have me seek into myself / For that which is not in me?’

Unhappy to be a Roman citizen in these times

• ‘Brutus had rather be a villagerThan to repute himself a son of RomeUnder these hard conditions as this timeIs like to lay on us.’

His virtue makes him vulnerable

• Cassius believes that he can use Brutus’ nobility to his own advantage. He plans to bend Brutus to his will:‘Well, Brutus, thou art noble; yet I see /Thy honourable mettle may be wroughtFrom that it is disposed

Act One – Key Words about Brutus

• Worried• Distracted• Noble• Honourable• Loyal• Modest• Vulnerable