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<title> A Close Reading of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar-¡Act II, Scene 1; Lines 112-191 </title>
In this close reading I will look at how the characters of Brutus and Cassius are revealed in the scene of the forming of the conspiracy in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Before the conspirators meet in Brutus' orchard, Brutus has gone through hours of reasoning with himself to reach the conclusion that Caesar must be killed, in order to prevent what might otherwise happen to the people of Rome. Cassius has put much enegry into convincing Brutus that assassinating Caesar is the righteous thing to do, for the general good of the people.

When the conspirators meet in Act II, Scene 1, Cassius wants them all to swear an oath of trust to each other. Cassius is a man who is cautious and aware of the threats to their scheme, as we shall see later on in this passage. He wants everything to be clear before the eight men of the conspiracy enters into their work; "let us swear our resolution" he says.

Brutus, on the other hand, claims that an oath is not at all necessary. He is a man who believes strongly in honor and in men standing up for their promises. To Brutus, the honor of his fellow men is enough to make him rest safely in his belief that they will stand by their word and not betray each other. He is at this time convinced that assassinating Julius Caesar is the only way to prevent things from going out of hand in Rome and making the people slaves under a tyrann, it is therefore an honorable and justful cause. Brutus does not need an oath when he is surrounded by men as honorable as himself. He says "what other oath Than honesty to honesty engaged". 

A third time, Cassius shows that he is aware of the danger in their plans when he raises the question of what should be done to Mark Antony. "Let Antony and Caesar fall together", he suggests, since he realizes that Mark Antony could very well become an enemy to the conspiracy. Once again, the men of the conspiracy show how eager they are to keep Brutus with them when they choose to listen to him and not to Cassius. This is an almost humouros aspect of this passage; how Cassius over and over again makes a proposal, which the other men chear, until Brutus contradicts it and the others turn to follow him instead. As an answer to Cassius' suggestion that Mark Antony be killed along with Caesar, Brutus gives a speach in which he reveals himself as an idealistic believer in the good cause they are about to perform. The conspirators are not simply to kill Caesar, but to make him a sacrifce worthy the gods. "Let us be sacrificers, not butchers" Brutus says to Cassius and he paints an imaginary picture of the sacrifice they are preparing to the men.

Thus have the men of the conspiracy made their decisions. They shall trust in each others nobility and honor and therfore they need not an oath. They shall go forth to kill only Caesar and not his good friend Antony, and they shall not ask Cicero to join them. Alål these decisions are made upon Brutus' wishes, contrary to the proposals put forth by Cassius. Although Cassius may have been the spark which enlightened the conspiracy, in this passage Brutus is the one of them whose light is the strongest. Brutus has become the ideological leader of the conspiracy, by power of his great friendship with Julius Caesar. Eventually, this choice of leadership will bring the fall of the conspiracy, but that is a different issue of this play, and not to be dealt with here. 

As well as with the issue of an oath, Brutus is of a different opinion from Cassius when it comes to the question of whether to approach Cicero or not. When Brutus suggests that Cicero be left out of the conspiracy, both Cassius and Casca, who were only a moment ago in favour of joining Cicero to their cause, change their minds to say that Cicero could just as well be left out. "Indeed he is not fit", proclaims Casca (line 153). Brutus is too important to the plot to be controversed. Because of his close relationship with Julius Caesar, the conspirators need Brutus with them to win the confidence of the people. Brutus is perhaps not aware of the importance the others lay upon him, but he is not afraid of speaking his mind and the fact that the others do listen to him must be satisfactory to his noble heart. 

The fact that all the men of the conspiracy are so eager to listen to Brutus and to fulfill his wishes when their plans are drawn up, will turn out to be a grave mistake later on. Brutus is not a good judge of character and, for example, he misjudges Mark Antony totally. He is convinced that there is nothing Mark Antony can or will do against the conspiracy once their deed is done and Julius Caesar is dead. Brutus tells the other not to worry about Mark Antony "for he can do no more than Caesar's arm when Caesar's head is off" he says. As before, the men of the conspiracy listen to Brutus and decides not to tuch Mark Antony, but only to kill Caesar. Cassius, however, is not convinced of Mark Antony's innocence and declares that he fears him for his great love of Caesar. Brutus, on the other hand, is convinced that the only thing that Antony's love for Caesar could possibly drive him to, is killing himself, and that is nothing to be feared. 
Again, Cassius reveals himself as a cautious man, who is aware that some people might question the motifes of the conspirators after the assassination. He is eager to succeed with the assassinating as well as with winning the trust of the people once their leader has been murdered.

In this passage, there is also a discussion going on as to whom shall be approached and asked to join the conspiracy. When Cassius first suggests that they should include Cicero, Casca, Cinna and Metellus immediately gives support to the idea. Since Cicero is an old and wise man, he will surely win many people over to their side if there is any doubt as to the rigtheousness in what the conspirators have done, after they have assassinated Caesar. Metellus proclaims:

Brutus is eager not to make the assassination look like an act of violence and hate but rather as a good deed for the people of Rome.

"Not hew him as a carcass fit for hounds. (II,1; 171-174) 
And buy men's voices to commend our deeds. (II,1; 145-147)
O, let us have him, for his silver hairs 
Will purchase os a good opinion.
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