Summary of the chapter "Julius Caesar" of drama.
Answers
Meanwhile, Brutus has decided to go ahead and kill his friend Caesar because the man might become a complete tyrant if he gains more power. Brutus reasons that, even though he and Caesar are BFFs, killing Caesar is the only way to save the Roman Republic. (Is he right? We don't know for sure, but Shakespeare definitely wants us to think about this.) Brutus finally meets with all the conspirators, and they hatch a plan: they'll arrange to bring Caesar to the Capitol so they can hack him into a million little pieces.
Meanwhile, Caesar has had a rough night, complete with a crying wife (Calphurnia) who wants Caesar to stay at home because she's had a bad dream and fears something awful is about to happen to him. But Caesar ultimately decides to go to the Capitol, because Decius (one of the conspirators!) steps in and says something like, "Oh, hey, when Calphurnia dreamed that you were a statue full of holes and spouting blood, that just meant that you're going to be the greatest leader Rome has ever seen." Caesar is all, "Yeah, I think you're right." Decius promises that Caesar's going to be crowned king that day. Caesar goes skipping off to the Senate. On the way to the Capitol, an old man tries to give Caesar a letter warning him about the assassination plot, but Caesar blows him off.
At the Capitol, Caesar stands around bragging about how awesome he is. Just as he's making a big speech about how he's the brightest star in the sky, Cassius, Brutus, and the other plotters surround him and stab him to death – 33 times, just to be sure. Before falling, Caesar looks up and says "Et tu, Brute?" Translation: "Even you, Brutus? What happened to us beingbest buds forever?"
The conspirators wash their hands in Caesar's blood (hmm...seems like Calphurnia's dream was pretty accurate after all) so they can walk the streets and calmly tell everyone that Rome is free of tyranny. The idea is that they'll seem more convincing about their plans for a new dawn of peace if they're dripping with Caesar's fresh blood. Surprisingly, instead of hailing Brutus and Cassius as saviors, the people of Rome run around declaring that it's Doomsday. The situation is not going according to plan.
Things really go awry when Antony shows up to weep over Caesar's body. While clearly distraught, he promises not to blame the conspirators as long as he's allowed to speak at the funeral in praise of Caesar's virtues. Of course, we hear in an aside that Antony plans mayhem and murder, so we're not surprised when he gets to the funeral pulpit and urges the people of Rome to riot against
Meanwhile, Brutus and Cassius have fled and chaos has ensued. Even politically unimportant folks like poets are being killed on the street. Antony has met up with Lepidus and Caesar's adopted son, Octavius. . At least, that's what Brutus says.) Still, they agree to march and meet the enemy (Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus) at Philippi, despite a visit from Caesar's ghost to Brutus to say he'll be at Philippi too. It's going to be like a family reunion, except this one will mostly end in death. Everyone has steeled himself for this possibility, and Cassius and Brutus implicitly agree to pull a Romeo and Juliet (kill themselves) in case anything goes wrong in the battle.
On the battlefield the two enemy factions exchange some rough words, and Brutus claims he's not a traitor. Fighting ensues, and Cassius and Brutus set up on different parts of the field. Brutus is having some success in overtaking Octavius' army, but Cassius' guys are held fast by Antony's, so they're at a stalemate.
Then Cassius jumps the gun and kills himself over a misunderstanding: he thought his friend Titinius had been overtaken by enemy hordes, when it was really only Brutus' friends trying to hand a crown to Titinius so he could give it to Cassius. Titinius finds Cassius' body and kills himself too, so when Brutus arrives, his buddies are already dead. Then Brutus decides to kill himself. He gets his old friend Strato to hold his sword while he runs at it. As he dies, he says he didn't kill Caesar with half so strong a will as he kills himself now, so we know he dies willingly.
Antony and Octavius know they've won even before they arrive to find Brutus' body. Antony gives a nice speech over the body in his usual style, saying Brutus was the noblest Roman ever and the only one of the conspirators who killed Caesar for Rome's good and not out of envy. Finally, Octavius agrees that Brutus's body can stay in his tent for the night, befitting a dead soldier, and they won't even have to share a bunk, as Octavius and his friends will be out celebrating all the death and victory. The end.