Original "Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act 3

Anna
Brutus is a trusted confidant of the Roman general Julius Caesar, but when he becomes convinced that Caesar's ambitions are a threat to the republic, he plots his friend's assassination. Read the full text here.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. humble
    marked by meekness or modesty; not arrogant or prideful
    Trebonius doth desire you to o’erread,
    At your best leisure, this his humble suit.
  2. suit
    a petition made to a person of superior status or rank
    Trebonius doth desire you to o’erread,
    At your best leisure, this his humble suit.
  3. fare
    proceed, get along, or succeed
    Fare you well.
  4. puissant
    powerful
    Most high, most mighty, and most puissant Caesar,
    Metellus Cimber throws before thy seat
    An humble heart.
  5. ordinance
    an authoritative rule
    These couchings and these lowly courtesies
    Might fire the blood of ordinary men
    And turn preordinance and first decree
    Into the law of children.
  6. fawn
    try to gain favor through flattery or deferential behavior
    If thou dost bend and pray and fawn for him,
    I spurn thee like a cur out of my way.
  7. spurn
    reject with contempt
    If thou dost bend and pray and fawn for him,
    I spurn thee like a cur out of my way.
  8. cur
    an inferior dog or one of mixed breed
    If thou dost bend and pray and fawn for him,
    I spurn thee like a cur out of my way.
  9. firmament
    the sphere on which celestial bodies appear to be projected
    If I could pray to move, prayers would move me.
    But I am constant as the Northern Star,
    Of whose true fixed and resting quality
    There is no fellow in the firmament.
  10. unassailable
    immune to attack; incapable of being tampered with
    Yet in the number I do know but one
    That unassailable holds on his rank,
    Unshaked of motion
  11. confound
    be confusing or perplexing to
    Here, quite confounded with this mutiny.
  12. mutiny
    open rebellion against constituted authority
    Here, quite confounded with this mutiny.
  13. lofty
    having or displaying great dignity or nobility
    How many ages hence
    Shall this our lofty scene be acted over
    In States unborn and accents yet unknown!
  14. prostrate
    stretched out and lying at full length along the ground
    Thus did Mark Antony bid me fall down,
    And, being prostrate, thus he bade me say:
    Brutus is noble, wise, valiant, and honest;
    Caesar was mighty, bold, royal, and loving.
  15. valiant
    having or showing heroism or courage
    Thus did Mark Antony bid me fall down,
    And, being prostrate, thus he bade me say:
    Brutus is noble, wise, valiant, and honest;
    Caesar was mighty, bold, royal, and loving.
  16. misgiving
    painful expectation
    I wish we may; but yet have I a mind
    That fears him much, and my misgiving still
    Falls shrewdly to the purpose.
  17. apt
    naturally disposed toward
    Live a thousand years,
    I shall not find myself so apt to die;
    No place will please me so, no mean of death,
    As here by Caesar, and by you cut off,
    The choice and master spirits of this age.
  18. reverence
    a feeling of profound respect for someone or something
    For your part,
    To you our swords have leaden points, Mark Antony.
    Our arms in strength of malice, and our hearts
    Of brothers’ temper, do receive you in
    With all kind love, good thoughts, and reverence.
  19. render
    bestow
    Let each man render me his bloody hand.
  20. compact
    a signed written agreement between two or more parties
    I blame you not for praising Caesar so.
    But what compact mean you to have with us?
  21. meek
    evidencing little spirit or courage
    O pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,
    That I am meek and gentle with these butchers.
  22. woe
    misery resulting from affliction
    Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood!
  23. strife
    bitter conflict; heated or violent dissension
    A curse shall light upon the limbs of men;
    Domestic fury and fierce civil strife
    Shall cumber all the parts of Italy
  24. havoc
    violent and needless disturbance
    And Caesar’s spirit, ranging for revenge,
    With Ate by his side come hot from hell,
    Shall in these confines with a monarch’s voice
    Cry “Havoc!” and let slip the dogs of war,
    That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
    With carrion men groaning for burial.
  25. oration
    an instance of formal speaking
    There shall I try,
    In my oration, how the people take
    The cruel issue of these bloody men,
    According to the which thou shalt discourse
    To young Octavius of the state of things.
  26. discourse
    carry on a conversation
    There shall I try,
    In my oration, how the people take
    The cruel issue of these bloody men,
    According to the which thou shalt discourse
    To young Octavius of the state of things.
  27. severally
    one at a time or in the order given
    I will hear Cassius, and compare their reasons
    When severally we hear them renderèd.
  28. extenuate
    lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or degree of
    The question of his death is enrolled in the Capitol, his glory not extenuated wherein he was worthy, nor his offenses enforced for which he suffered death.
  29. commonwealth
    a politically organized body of people under a government
    Here comes his body, mourned by Mark Antony, who, though he had no hand in his death, shall receive the benefit of his dying—a place in the commonwealth—as which of you shall not?
  30. inter
    place in a grave or tomb
    I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
    The evil that men do lives after them;
    The good is oft interrèd with their bones.
    So let it be with Caesar.
  31. grievous
    of great gravity or crucial import
    The noble Brutus
    Hath told you Caesar was ambitious.
    If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
    And grievously hath Caesar answered it.
  32. coffer
    the funds of a government, institution, or individual
    He hath brought many captives home to Rome,
    Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill.
  33. brutish
    resembling a beast; showing lack of human sensibility
    O judgment, thou art fled to brutish beasts,
    And men have lost their reason!
  34. testament
    a legal document disposing of property after a death
    But here’s a parchment with the seal of Caesar.
    I found it in his closet. ’Tis his will.
    Let but the commons hear this testament
  35. bequeath
    leave or give, especially by will after one's death
    And they would go and kiss dead Caesar’s wounds
    And dip their napkins in his sacred blood—
    Yea, beg a hair of him for memory
    And, dying, mention it within their wills,
    Bequeathing it as a rich legacy
    Unto their issue.
  36. vanquish
    defeat in a competition, race, or conflict
    For when the noble Caesar saw him stab,
    Ingratitude, more strong than traitors’ arms,
    Quite vanquished him.
  37. dint
    force or effort
    O, now you weep, and I perceive you feel
    The dint of pity. These are gracious drops.
  38. plebeian
    one of the common people
    Plebeians exit with Caesar’s body.
  39. thither
    to or toward that place; away from the speaker
    And thither will I straight to visit him.
  40. firebrand
    someone who deliberately foments trouble
    Tear him, tear him! Come, brands, ho, firebrands! To Brutus’, to Cassius’, burn all!
Created on Tue Jan 06 14:09:31 EST 2026

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