Study Questions
1. Why is Caesar concerned when the scene begins?

2. What is Calphurnia’s request of Caesar?

3. What is Caesar’s response to Calphurnia’s concern he might be killed?

4. What was the result of the sacrifice performed by the augurers?

5. What reasons does Caesar give Decius for staying home?

6. What was Calphurnia’s dream?

7. How does Decius use flattery to get Caesar to change his mind?

8. How does Decius interpret Calphurnia’s dream?

9. What does Trebonius say when Caesar tells him to stay by?

10. What is the irony in Caesar’s last lines in the scene?

Answers
1. A storm is raging and Calphurnia had a dream that Caesar was murdered.

2. She wants him to stay at home. Calphurnia is afraid for his safety because of the unusual events that are going on and because of her dream.

3. Caesar’s response is, “Cowards die many times before their deaths; / The valiant never taste of death but once.”

4. The augurers could not find a heart in the beast they sacrificed and they want Caesar to stay at home.

5. Caesar tells Decius that he is staying home because Calphurnia wants him to.

6. Calphurnia dreamed a statue of Caesar was spouting blood and Romans were washing their hands in it.

7. Decius interprets Calphurnia’s dream in a favorable way. He tells Caesar that people will think Caesar is a coward if he doesn’t go to the Senate House. He says the senate may change their minds about giving Caesar a crown.

8. Caesar is the lifeblood of Rome, and Romans, bathing in his blood, derive strength from him.

9. He says, in an aside, that he will stay so close that Caesar’s friends will wish Trebonius had been further away.

10. He regards the conspirators as friends, having no idea they plan to kill him within the hour.