Read the extract from 'Julius Caesar' Act 5, Scene 3, given below and answer the questions that follow: Brutus: O Julius Caesar, thou art mighty yet! Thy spirit walks abroad, and turns our swords In our own proper entrails. [Alarums] Cato: Brave Titinius! Look whe'r he have not crown'd dead Cassius! Brutus: Are yet two Romans living such as these? The last of all the Romans, fare thee well! It is impossible that ever Rome Should breed thy fellow. Friends, I owe more tears To this dead man than you shall see me pay -- I shall find time, Cassius, I shall find time.
What does Brutus promise when he says, 'I shall find time, Cassius, I shall find time.'? Why does he make this promise? What aspect of Brutus' character does this reveal to us?
Topic: Act 5 Scene 3 — Brutus's promise
Answer
He promises that he will mourn Cassius properly — that he will find a later time to weep the tears he owes his friend.
He makes the promise because the battle is still being fought and there is no time for grief: the living must be attended to, the body sent to Thasos and the army rallied for a second fight. He cannot indulge his sorrow now, so he defers it.
It reveals Brutus’s Stoic self-command and his sense of duty. He feels the loss deeply — he calls Cassius "the last of all the Romans" — yet he masters his emotion for the sake of the cause. It shows a man who governs his feelings by his principles, though it also hints at the loneliness of such control.
Three tasks, one mark each. For the character point, name the quality — Stoicism, self-restraint, duty before feeling — rather than merely calling him "strong". Recall that Brutus behaves the same way over Portia’s death, receiving the news and then turning at once to business, and cite it as a parallel if you have room.