PLOT.--Where did Shakespeare get his material for this play? How has he modified it? Select two or three important modifications and show why he made them. In this story of the rise and fall of the conspiracy show by what successive steps it reaches the highest point in the first scene of Act III. At this point is our feeling one of sympathy with the conspirators or of opposition to them? Why? Where does the fall begin? Trace the successive steps of the fall to the end in the last scene of Act V. Does our feeling toward the conspirators change? Why? Compare the opening scene of this play with the corresponding ones in _The Merchant of Venice_, and _Macbeth_. Which seems to you the most interesting and the best, regarded as an introduction? What gave rise to the quarrel in Act IV? What are the steps in the reconciliation? For what purpose is Cæsar's ghost introduced in Act IV? What other instances of the use of the supernatural are there in this play? What purpose do they serve? Should this play have been called _Marcus Brutus_? Why? CHARACTERS.--What gave Brutus the great influence that he enjoyed? Could he think clearly and reason logically? Could he clearly discern facts in the life about him? Was he a man of sympathetic nature, or was he cold and unfeeling? Give proof in detail for each answer. What was his mistake? Is there any evidence that he regretted the part that he took? Do you think it was possible for him to be thoroughly honorable and yet not regret this part? What is the lesson of his life? What acts and words of Cæsar, with statements made about him, tend to belittle him in our eyes? What do Brutus and Antony say of Cæsar when they are alone, speaking freely and without disguise? What words or acts of Cæsar mentioned in the play are expressive of true nobility? Why did Shakespeare present in one play two impressions of Cæsar very different from each other? Are both correct, or only one, or neither? Give evidence. Was Cassius a patriot or a self-seeking politician? Give evidence. How could he justify the means that he used to win Brutus? In what respect did he surpass Brutus? What case did he make against Cæsar? How far was he right? What weakness and what strength does he show in Act IV? How does Antony appear before the death of Cæsar? (Note what he does and says and what others say of him.) What change comes over him after Cæsar's death? Is his agreement with Brutus in regard to Cæsar's funeral an honorable one? Give reasons. How does he dare to speak so frankly and boldly in the presence of the conspirators as he does in III, 1, 184-210? Does he conduct himself throughout the rest of the play as a true patriot? Give evidence. What were his virtues? Wherein was he weak? What characteristics of Portia do you discover in II, 1, 261-278, 291-302; IV, 3, 152-156? Compare her with Calpurnia as she appears in II, 2.