Original "Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act 5

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. exigent
    demanding immediate attention
    Why do you cross me in this exigent?
    In this line, exigent is used as a noun to mean an exigent situation — that is, a situation requiring immediate attention.
  2. parley
    a negotiation between enemies
    They stand, and would have parley.
  3. peevish
    easily irritated or annoyed
    A peevish schoolboy, worthless of such honor,
    Joined with a masker and a reveler!
  4. defiance
    a hostile challenge
    Defiance, traitors, hurl we in your teeth.
    If you dare fight today, come to the field;
    If not, when you have stomachs.
  5. billow
    a large sea wave
    Why now, blow wind, swell billow, and swim bark!
    The storm is up, and all is on the hazard.
    Bark is an obsolete term for a ship or boat.
  6. presage
    indicate by signs
    Now I change my mind
    And partly credit things that do presage.
  7. ensign
    colors flown by a ship to show its nationality
    Coming from Sardis, on our former ensign
    Two mighty eagles fell, and there they perched,
    Gorging and feeding from our soldiers’ hands,
    Who to Philippi here consorted us.
  8. consort
    keep company with
    Coming from Sardis, on our former ensign
    Two mighty eagles fell, and there they perched,
    Gorging and feeding from our soldiers’ hands,
    Who to Philippi here consorted us.
  9. stead
    the place properly occupied or served by another
    This morning are they fled away and gone,
    And in their steads do ravens, crows, and kites
    Fly o’er our heads and downward look on us
    As we were sickly prey.
  10. canopy
    a covering (usually of cloth) that shelters an area
    Their shadows seem
    A canopy most fatal, under which
    Our army lies, ready to give up the ghost.
  11. befall
    happen or be the case in the course of events or by chance
    But since the affairs of men rests still incertain,
    Let’s reason with the worst that may befall.
  12. philosophy
    any personal belief about how to live
    Even by the rule of that philosophy
    By which I did blame Cato for the death
    Which he did give himself (I know not how,
    But I do find it cowardly and vile,
    For fear of what might fall, so to prevent
    The time of life), arming myself with patience
    To stay the providence of some high powers
    That govern us below.
  13. providence
    the guardianship and control exercised by a deity
    Even by the rule of that philosophy
    By which I did blame Cato for the death
    Which he did give himself (I know not how,
    But I do find it cowardly and vile,
    For fear of what might fall, so to prevent
    The time of life), arming myself with patience
    To stay the providence of some high powers
    That govern us below.
  14. suffice
    be adequate, either in quality or quantity
    O, that a man might know
    The end of this day’s business ere it come!
    But it sufficeth that the day will end,
    And then the end is known.
  15. demeanor
    the way a person behaves toward other people
    Let them set on at once, for I perceive
    But cold demeanor in Octavius’ wing,
    And sudden push gives them the overthrow.
  16. disconsolate
    sad beyond comforting; incapable of being soothed
    MESSALA: Where did you leave him?
    TITINIUS: All disconsolate,
    With Pindarus his bondman, on this hill.
  17. misconstrue
    interpret in the wrong way
    Alas, thou hast misconstrued everything.
  18. apace
    rapidly; in a speedy manner
    Brutus, come apace,
    And see how I regarded Caius Cassius.
  19. tyrant
    a cruel and oppressive dictator
    I will proclaim my name about the field.
    I am the son of Marcus Cato, ho!
    A foe to tyrants and my country’s friend.
  20. tarry
    leave slowly and hesitantly
    It is more worthy to leap in ourselves
    Than tarry till they push us.
  21. conquest
    the act of defeating and taking control of
    I shall have glory by this losing day
    More than Octavius and Mark Antony
    By this vile conquest shall attain unto.
  22. bondage
    the state of being under the control of another person
    Free from the bondage you are in, Messala.
  23. bestow
    give as a gift
    Fellow, wilt thou bestow thy time with me?
    Bestow is used here in the sense of "spend."
  24. virtue
    a particular moral excellence
    According to his virtue, let us use him
    With all respect and rites of burial.
  25. rite
    any customary observance or practice
    According to his virtue, let us use him
    With all respect and rites of burial.
Created on Tue Jan 06 14:10:08 EST 2026

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