The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Part 5: Developing Central Ideas
Question 8 • [ELA10] ELA 10, Sem 2 (26-27)
Read the excerpt from act 4, scene 3, of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.[BRUTUS.] Messala, I have here receivèd letters,That young Octavius and Mark AntonyCome down upon us. . . .MESSALA. Myself have letters of the selfsame tenor.BRUTUS. With what addition?MESSALA. That by proscription and bills of outlawry,Octavius, Antony, and LepidusHave put to death an hundred senators.BRUTUS. Therein our letters do not well agree.Mine speak of seventy senators that diedBy their proscriptions, Cicero being one.CASSIUS. Cicero one!MESSALA. Ay, Cicero is dead,And by that order of proscription.
Answer
A
the power of love
B
the value of peace
C
the ruthlessness of power
D
the importance of compromise
Explanation
The excerpt describes Octavius, Antony, and Lepidus using proscriptions—official lists of people marked for death—to kill senators, including Cicero. The characters disagree about the number killed, but both accounts show that many people have been executed. This emphasizes the ruthlessness of power, not love, peace, or compromise.
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