Read the extract from 'Julius Caesar' Act 5, Scene 1, given below and answer the questions that follow: Cassius: Then, if we lose this battle, You are contented to be led in triumph Through the streets of Rome? Brutus: No, Cassius, no: think not, thou noble Roman, That ever Brutus will go bound to Rome; He bears too great a mind. But this same day Must end that work the ides of March begun; And whether we shall meet again I know not. Therefore our everlasting farewell take: Forever, and forever, farewell, Cassius. If we do meet again, why, we shall smile; If not, why then, this parting was well made.
Why does Brutus say, 'No, Cassius, no'? What conditions may force Brutus to go bound to Rome? Brutus says, 'And whether we shall meet again I know not.' What do these words imply?
Topic: Act 5 Scene 1 — Brutus before Philippi
Answer
He says it in answer to Cassius’s question whether he would consent to be led in triumph through Rome as a captive. Brutus rejects the idea absolutely: his spirit is too great to endure such humiliation, and he would take his own life first.
He would be led bound to Rome only if he were defeated at Philippi and taken alive by Antony and Octavius — paraded as a prisoner in their victory procession.
The words imply that Brutus expects to die. He knows the battle may destroy them both, and he is therefore taking a final leave of his friend — which is why he insists on an "everlasting farewell".
Three parts, one mark each. The second part often loses marks because candidates describe the humiliation instead of naming the condition — the condition is defeat AND capture alive. For the third, note the dramatic irony: Brutus is right, they never meet again, and Shakespeare makes the farewell echo by having both men repeat it — "Forever, and forever, farewell".