Cassius is upset and surprised when he learns how Portia died, and the audience probably is too.
Portia’s death probably came as a shock to everyone. Brutus’s wife was a strong woman. She was Cato’s daughter, and she considered herself a part of her husband’s war effort. When things did not go well for her husband, it was too much for her. She took her own life in the most spectacular way.
BRUTUS
Impatient of...
Cassius is upset and surprised when he learns how Portia died, and the audience probably is too.
Portia’s death probably came as a shock to everyone. Brutus’s wife was a strong woman. She was Cato’s daughter, and she considered herself a part of her husband’s war effort. When things did not go well for her husband, it was too much for her. She took her own life in the most spectacular way.
Impatient of my absence,
And grief that young Octavius with Mark Antony
Have made themselves so strong:--for with her death
That tidings came;--with this she fell distract,
And, her attendants absent, swallow'd fire.O ye immortal gods! (Act 4, Scene 3)
When Brutus tells Cassius that Portia is dead, it is a reminder that things are not going well for them. To the audience, it likely seems like everything for Brutus and Cassius’s side is going very poorly. Portia’s bizarre death may lead the audience to pity Brutus, but Brutus’s reaction to it is a little odd. He might be in a state of shock or denial.
He doesn’t want to talk about it anymore. Cassius tries to bring up the subject again.
No more, I pray you.
Messala, I have here received letters,
That young Octavius and Mark Antony
Come down upon us with a mighty power,
Bending their expedition toward Philippi. (Act 4, Scene 3)
Cassius may be trying to bring Brutus back down to Earth and help him accept what really happened. He may he trying to accept it himself. Shakespeare also might be using this incident as a reminder of how long the war has gone on and how it has affected the families of the men involved. The war goes poorly for Brutus and Cassius, and it is not about to get any better.
No comments:
Post a Comment