Question

read the excerpt from act 5, scene 5, of the tragedy of julius caesar and the background information on the allusion it contains.
excerpt:
brutus. it is more worthy to leap in ourselves
than tarry till they push us. good volumnius,
thou know’st that we two went to school together.
even for that, our love of old, i prithee,
hold thou my sword hilt, whilst i run on it.
so fare you well at once, for brutus’ tongue
hath almost ended his life’s history.
night hangs upon mine eyes; my bones would rest,
that have but laboured to attain this hour.
i prithee, strato, stay thou by thy lord.
thou art a fellow of a good respect;
thy life hath had some smatch of honour in it.
hold then my sword, and turn away thy face
how does the allusion in this excerpt from julius caesar affect the reader’s understanding of the plot?
○ it implies that the war between brutus and antony is a religious conflict.
○ it makes clear that strato is disloyal to brutus, since he is willing to kill him.
○ it reinforces the notion that brutus’s enemies would prevent him from dying honorably.
○ it shows that brutus is afraid he will be worshiped as a hero by the enemy.

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option:

• Option 1: The war is political, not religious—eliminated.
• Option 2: Strato helps Brutus die honorably, so he’s loyal—eliminated.
• Option 3: Brutus fears enemies will capture him (preventing honorable death), so he chooses suicide. The allusion (context of Roman honor and enemy threat) reinforces this.
• Option 4: Brutus wants to die honorably, not fear worship—eliminated.

Answer:

C. It reinforces the notion that Brutus’s enemies would prevent him from dying honorably.