CONTEXTUAL
QUESTIONS
Read the extract given below and answer the questions
that follows:
1.Caesar
Forget
not, in your speed, Antonius,
To
touch Calpurnia; for our elder say,
The
barren, touched in this holy chase,
Antony:
I
shall remember;
When
Caesar says, “Do this, it is performed.
Caesar:
set on; and leave no ceremony out.
Soothsayer:
Caesar!
i)Where
does the scene take place? Why have the characters referred to in the extract
gone there?
Ans: the
scene takes place at the public place in Rome. The characters referred to in
the extract have gone there to celebrate the feast of Lupercal.
ii)what
is the ‘holy chase’? who is assigned to take the holy chase? What is its significance?
Ans:
the ‘holy chase’ is a race where young men ran through the city touching
spectators with leather straps. Antony is assigned to take the holy chase. Its significance
is that the barren women so touched would be cured of their infertility.
iii)what
instructions did Caesar give to Calpurnia earlier regarding the holy chase? Which
characteristic trait of Caesar is revealed by his instructions?
Ans:
Caesar gave the instructions to Calpurnia to stand directly in Antony’s path so
that he could touch her during the race so that she could be cure of her
infertility. Caesar’s superstitious nature is revealed by his instructions.
iv)Give
the meaning of:
(a) Shake off their sterile cures –
it means to get cure from the curse of infertility.
(b) “do this”. It is performed –
it means that whatever Caesar says is carried out quickly without any delay.
v)According
to the extract, explain the type of relationship that existed between Caesar
and Antony.
Ans:
Antony, though, he was young and playful kind of a person but he was devoted to
Caesar and great trust and respect on him. Caesar also trusted on Antony. So the
relationship that existed between them was of trustworthiness.
2.
Soothsayer
Beware the ides of March.
Caesar:
what man is that?
Brutus:
Soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March.
Caesar:
set him before me; let me see his face.
Cassius:
Fellow, come from the throng; look upon Caesar.
i)what
is meant by ‘Beware the ides of March’? what is its significance in the play,
Julius Caesar?
Ans:
“Beware the ides of March” is the warning given to Caesar by a soothsayer of an
impending danger to him on 15th March (ides of March). It is the significance
of the event that are predestined by the fate. It is signified by the play, ‘Julius
Caesar’ about the assassination of Caesar which is carried out later on by the plotters.
ii)what
was Caesar’s reaction to the soothsayer’s warning? What light does his reaction
throw on Caesar’s character?
Ans:
Caesar asked him to step out from the crowd. He called him a ‘daydreamer’ and
walked off neglecting the warnings of soothsayer. This shows his arrogance and
disregards for the warning from a common man.
iii)what
in your opinion, is the soothsayer’s motive in warning Caesar to ‘beware the
ides of March’? which theme in the play is revealed through soothsayer’s warning
and Caesar’s denial of it?
Ans;
In my opinion, the soothsayer’s motive in warning Caesar to make him aware that
his life is in danger. So by warning him, he wanted to avert a tragedy and
bloodshed that would carry out by the senators.
iv)
why does Caesar want the soothsayer to look at him? What does Caesar think of
the soothsayer?
Ans: Caesar
wants the soothsayer to look at him because the soothsayer is an ordinary man
and Caesar is not sure whether he had the powers to foresee the future. Hence,
he calls and mocks him as a daydreamer who need not to be taken seriously.
v)Give
two other examples of warning about the danger which is in store for Caesar.
Ans;
two other examples of warning about the danger- i) Calpurnia’s dream. The priest
advices Caesar not to go out. ii) Artemidorus’s letter.
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