Act II Scene i

Question

Julius Caesar

Act II Scene i

Meaning of the following lines

Act II Scene I (Lines 261-278)

BRUTUS I am not well in health, and that is all.

PORTIA Brutus is wise, and were he not in health, He would embrace the means to come by it.

BRUTUS Why, so I do. Good Portia, go to bed.

PORTIA Is Brutus sick? And is it physical To walk unbracèd and suck up the humors Of the dank morning? What, is Brutus sick, And will he steal out of his wholesome bed, To dare the vile contagion of the night And tempt the rheumy and unpurgèd air To add unto his sickness? No, my Brutus. You have some sick offense within your mind, Which by the right and virtue of my place I ought to know of.

Asked by Noni C #690824 on 3/13/2018 6:19 PM

Last updated by Aslan on 3/13/2018 9:51 PM

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Answered by Aslan on 3/13/2018 9:51 PM

Throughout the play, Brutus alone suffers from a lack of sleep. Brutus says that, "Since Cassius first did whet me against Caesar / I have not slept" (2.1.61) He adds to this that his mind, "Like to a little kingdom, suffers then / The nature of an insurrection" (2.1.68-9). His insomnia represents an internal struggle over whether to betray his friend or act in what he believes to be the best interests of Rome. His personal struggle is a microcosm for the civil war that eventually occurs. In 4.3 Brutus again suffers from a bout of insomnia during which he encounters Caesar's ghost.

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