quence" (lines 123-124). The conspirators are
assigned to their various posts, and Cassius engages to secure Brutus
before morning.

_Act II, Scene i._ The humane character of Brutus, as master, husband,
and citizen, is elaborated, and his attitude to Caesar and
the conspiracy of assassination clearly shown. He joins the
conspirators--apparently their leader, in reality their tool. In
lines 162-183 he pleads that the life of Antony be spared, and thus
unconsciously prepares for his own ruin.

_Act II, Scene ii._ Caesar is uneasy at the omens and portents, and
gives heed to Calpurnia's entreaties to remain at home, but he yields to
the importunity of Decius and starts for the Capitol, thus advancing the
plans of the conspirators. The dramatic contrast between Caesar and
Brutus is strengthened by that between Calpurnia in this scene and
Portia in the preceding.

_Act II, Scene iii._ The dramatic interest is intensified by the warning
of Artemidorus and the suggestion of a way of escape for the
protagonist.

_Act II, Scene iv._ The interest is further intensified by the way in
which readers and spectators are made to share the anxiety of Portia.

III. THE CLIMAX, CRISIS, OR TURNING POINT (THE KNOT TIED)

_Act III, Scene i, 1-122._ The dramatic movement is now rapid, and the
tension, indicated by the short whispered sentences of all the speakers
except Caesar, is only increased by his imperial utterances, which show
utter unconsciousness of the impending doom. In the assassination all
the complicating forces--the self-confidence of Caesar, the unworldly
patriotism of Brutus, the political chicanery of Cassius, the
unscrupulousness of Casca, and the fickleness of the mob--bring about an
event which changes the lives of all the characters concerned and
threatens the stability of the Roman nation. The death of Caesar is the
climax of the physical action of the play; it is at the same time the
emotional crisis from which Brutus comes with altered destiny.

IV. THE RESOLUTION, FALLING ACTION, OR CONSEQUENCE (THE UNTYING OF THE
KNOT)

_Act III, Scene i, 123-298._ With Brutus's "Soft! who comes here? A
friend of Antony's" begins the resolution, or falling action, of the
play. "The fortune of the conspirators, hitherto in the ascendant, now
declines, while 'Caesar's spirit' surely and steadily prevails against
them."--Verity. Against the advice of Cassius, Brutus gives Antony
permission to deliver a public funeral ora