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   sagesource Teacher
   High School - 12th Grade

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   The theatrical effect of this scene is to increase the level of suspense surrounding the plot to assassinate Caesar. If Artemidorus indeed succeeds in getting his message to Caesar, the plotters will in all likelihood fail and be killed. Suspense, according to Aristotle, has two key components: peril and hope. Whether we look at this situation from the standpoint of the plotters or from that of Caesar, the letter introduces both a peril and a hope. For the plotters, it creates the peril of discovery, with the countervailing hope that the denunciation will somehow fail to have its intended effect (a possibility underlined by Artemidorus himself when he says it would mean that "the Fates with traitors do contrive"). For Caesar it offers the hope of escape from the plot, with the peril that he will not receive the message or not understand it properly. This short scene thus plays a key role in racheting up the tension as the assassination attempt approaches.

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   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspense

   http://www.enotes.com/jc/act-ii-scenes-3-4-summary-analysis

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   Posted by sagesource on Saturday April 18, 2009 at 3:15 AM