I pr’ythee, boy, run to the Senate-house;
Stay not to answer me, but get thee gone.
Why dost thou stay?
I pr’ythee, boy, run to the Senate-house; Stay not to answer me, but get you gone. Why do you stay?
I pr’ythee, boy, run to the Senate-house; Stay not to answer me, but get you gone. Why do you stay?
i pr’ythee, boy, run to the senate-house; stay not to answer me, but get thee gone
To know my errand, madam.
To know my errand, madam.
To know my errand, madam.
to know my errand, madam
I would have had thee there and here again,
Ere I can tell thee what thou shouldst do there.
I would have had you there and here again, Ere I can tell you what you should do there.
I would have had you there and here again, Ere I can tell you what you should do there.
i would have had thee there and here again, ere i can tell thee what thou shouldst do there
Madam, what should I do?
Run to the Capitol, and nothing else?
And so return to you, and nothing else?
Madam, what should I do? Run to the Capitol, and nothing else? And so return to you, and nothing else?
Madam, what should I do? Run to the Capitol, and nothing else? And so return to you, and nothing else?
madam, what should i do
Yes, bring me word, boy, if thy lord look well,
For he went sickly forth: and take good note
What Caesar doth, what suitors press to him.
Hark, boy, what noise is that?
Yes, bring me word, boy, if your lord look well, For he went sickly forth: and take good note What Caesar does, what suitors press to him. Hark, boy, what noise is that?
Yes, bring me word, boy, if your lord look well, For he went sickly forth: and take good note What Caesar does, what suitors press to him. Hark, boy, what noise is that?
yes, bring me word, boy, if thy lord look well, for he went sickly forth: and take good note what caesar doth, what suitors press to him
I hear none, madam.
I hear none, madam.
I hear none, madam.
i hear none, madam
The most painful moment in scene 2-4 is the aside that the source text marks as stage directions: 'Ay me, how weak a thing / The heart of woman is! O Brutus, / The heavens speed thee in thine enterprise!' She calls herself weak. She blames her sex. But look at what she's actually doing: carrying a secret she was given against her will, watching the man she loves walk toward probable death, unable to act, unable to speak, unable to help. The only thing 'weak' here is the social structure that has placed her in this position. She proved her strength in the previous scene by wounding herself. She constructed a logical argument that would have satisfied a law court. And now she's standing in the street sending a boy on a purposeless errand because she has no other outlet. The line about 'a woman's might' isn't a statement about female inferiority — it's a statement about what happens when genuine intelligence and courage are stripped of all practical agency. Portia isn't weak. She's trapped. In 4-3, we learn she's dead.
Pr’ythee, listen well.
I heard a bustling rumour, like a fray,
And the wind brings it from the Capitol.
Pr’ythee, listen well. I heard a bustling rumour, like a fray, And the wind brings it from the Capitol.
Pr’ythee, listen well. I heard a bustling rumour, like a fray, And the wind brings it from the Capitol.
pr’ythee, listen well
Sooth, madam, I hear nothing.
Sooth, madam, I hear nothing.
Sooth, madam, I hear nothing.
sooth, madam, i hear nothing
Come hither, fellow:
Which way hast thou been?
Come here, fellow: Which way hast you been?
Come here, fellow: Which way hast you been?
come hither, fellow: which way hast thou been
At mine own house, good lady.
At mine own house, good lady.
At mine own house, good lady.
at mine own house, good lady
What is’t o’clock?
What is’t o’clock?
What is’t o’clock?
what is’t o’clock
About the ninth hour, lady.
About the ninth hour, lady.
About the ninth hour, lady.
about the ninth hour, lady
Is Caesar yet gone to the Capitol?
Is Caesar yet gone to the Capitol?
Is Caesar yet gone to the Capitol?
is caesar yet gone to the capitol
Madam, not yet. I go to take my stand,
To see him pass on to the Capitol.
Madam, not yet. I go to take my stand, To see him pass on to the Capitol.
Madam, not yet. I go to take my stand, To see him pass on to the Capitol.
madam, not yet
Thou hast some suit to Caesar, hast thou not?
you hast some suit to Caesar, hast you not?
you hast some suit to Caesar, hast you not?
thou hast some suit to caesar, hast thou not
That I have, lady, if it will please Caesar
To be so good to Caesar as to hear me,
I shall beseech him to befriend himself.
That I have, lady, if it will please Caesar To be so good to Caesar as to hear me, I shall beseech him to befriend himself.
That I have, lady, if it will please Caesar To be so good to Caesar as to hear me, I shall beseech him to befriend himself.
that i have, lady, if it will please caesar to be so good to caesar as to hear me, i shall beseech him to befriend himself
Why, know’st thou any harm’s intended towards him?
Why, know’st you any harm’s intended towards him?
Why, know’st you any harm’s intended towards him?
why, know’st thou any harm’s intended towards him
Scenes 2-3 and 2-4 work together as a deliberate structural pair. Both Artemidorus and the Soothsayer are independently trying to warn Caesar. Neither knows about the other. Both are moving toward the same physical spot — the street leading to the Capitol — on the same morning. Their warnings come from completely different sources: Artemidorus from insider knowledge of the plot, the Soothsayer from prophecy. And both will fail, for exactly the same reason: Caesar won't give them the time they need. Shakespeare builds this parallel structure in two consecutive short scenes to drive a single point home: the information was available. Multiple warnings exist. The failure isn't lack of warning — it's Caesar's refusal to receive warning, because receiving it would require acknowledging that he is vulnerable. The architecture of futility is the architecture of hubris.
None that I know will be, much that I fear may chance.
Good morrow to you. Here the street is narrow.
The throng that follows Caesar at the heels,
Of Senators, of Praetors, common suitors,
Will crowd a feeble man almost to death:
I’ll get me to a place more void, and there
Speak to great Caesar as he comes along.
None that I know will be, much that I fear may chance. Good morrow to you. Here the street is narrow. The throng that follows Caesar at the heels, Of Senators, of Praetors, common suitors, Will crowd a feeble man almost to death: I’ll get me to a place more void, and there Speak to great Caesar as he comes along.
None that I know will be, much that I fear may chance. Good morrow to you. Here the street is narrow. The throng that follows Caesar at the heels, Of Senators, of Praetors, common suitors, Will crowd a feeble man almost to death: I’ll get me to a place more void, and there Speak to great Caesar as he comes along.
none that i know will be, much that i fear may chance
I must go in.
I must go in.
I must go in.
i must go in
The Reckoning
Portia knows. She knows enough to be terrified, and she knows she can't act, and she knows she can't say anything without betraying Brutus. The scene is a portrait of someone trying to hold a secret while being destroyed by it — barely succeeding at the surface and coming apart underneath. The Soothsayer's calm amplifies her dread. He has a warning, but he fears it may not arrive in time. Neither of them can do anything that matters.
If this happened today…
You know your partner is about to do something that will ruin both of your lives — you've pieced it together, you can't un-know it. You watch them leave for work. You pick up your phone and type and delete the same message fifteen times. You know you can't call anyone. You try to think of an excuse to make them turn around. You can't find one. You send a text saying you're having a great morning.