ICSE Class 10 English Drama Julius Caesar Act 3, Scene 3 Summary, Theme, Explanation along with difficult word meanings
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ICSE Class 10 Julius Caesar Act 3, Scene 3
By William Shakespeare
In Act 3, Scene 3 of Julius Caesar, the action unfolds on the chaotic streets of Rome after Mark Antony’s speech at Caesar’s funeral. The angry mob, still upset about the assassination, mistakes the poet Cinna for the conspirator Cinna and violently beats him to death. This short scene shows the chaotic environment in the city and highlights the extreme mob violence happening at that time. The citizens, fired up by Antony’s words, direct their anger at the innocent poet simply because he has the wrong name and because they dislike his bad verses.
- Julius Caesar Act 3, Scene 3 Summary
- Julius Caesar Act 3, Scene 3 Summary in Hindi
- Julius Caesar Act 3, Scene 3 Theme
- Julius Caesar Act 3, Scene 3 Explanation
Related:
- Julius Caesar Act 3, Scene 2 Question Answers
- Julius Caesar Act 3, Scene 2 Character Sketch
- ICSE Class 10 English Lesson Notes
Julius Caesar Act 3 Scene 3 Summary
In Act 3, Scene 3 of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, the scene begins with Cinna the poet. He enters alone, expressing a feeling of unease. He says that he had a bad dream about feasting with Caesar and that he feels an unlucky foreboding. He also states that he does not want to leave his house, but something is compelling him to go outside.
As he wanders, a group of angry Plebeians confronts him. They demand to know his name, where he is going, where he lives, and whether he is married or a bachelor. They insist that he answer each question directly, briefly, wisely, and truthfully. Cinna tries to answer their questions cleverly, first saying that he is a bachelor, which the Second Plebeian takes as an insult to married men.
When asked where he is going, Cinna replies that he is going to Caesar’s funeral as a friend. He then reveals that he lives by the Capitol and, when asked his name, states that it is Cinna. Upon hearing his name, the First Plebeian immediately assumes he is Cinna the conspirator, one of the men who assassinated Caesar, and orders the others to tear him to pieces.
Cinna the poet frantically tries to explain that he is not the conspirator and that he is Cinna the poet. However, the Fourth Plebeian replies that it does not matter and even jokingly suggests tearing him to pieces for his ‘bad verses’. The mob, filled with blind rage and a desire for revenge, ignores his pleas. They declare that his name is Cinna, and that is enough reason for them to kill him. They continue to cry ‘Tear him, tear him!’ The scene ends with the Plebeians, now armed with firebrands, leaving to burn down the houses of the conspirators, including Brutus, Cassius, Decius, Casca, and Ligarius.
Summary of Julius Caesar Act 3 Scene 3 in Hindi
शेक्सपियर के जूलियस सीज़र के अधिनियम 3, दृश्य 3 में, दृश्य कवि सिन्ना के साथ शुरू होता है। वह बेचैनी की भावना व्यक्त करते हुए अकेले प्रवेश करता है। वह कहता है कि उसने सीज़र के साथ दावत करने के बारे में एक बुरा सपना देखा था और वह एक दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण पूर्वाभास महसूस करता है। वह यह भी कहता है कि वह अपना घर नहीं छोड़ना चाहता, लेकिन कुछ उसे बाहर जाने के लिए मजबूर कर रहा है।
जैसे ही वह भटकता है, क्रोधित प्लेबियनों का एक समूह उसका सामना करता है। वे उसका नाम जानने की मांग करते हैं, वह कहाँ जा रहा है, वह कहाँ रहता है, और क्या वह शादीशुदा है या कुंवारा है। वे इस बात पर जोर देते हैं कि वह प्रत्येक प्रश्न का उत्तर सीधे, संक्षिप्त, बुद्धिमानी और सच्चाई से दें। सिन्ना चतुराई से उनके सवालों का जवाब देने की कोशिश करता है, पहले कहता है कि वह एक कुंवारा है, जिसे सेकंड प्लेबियन विवाहित पुरुषों के अपमान के रूप में लेता है।
यह पूछे जाने पर कि वह कहाँ जा रहा है, सिन्ना जवाब देता है कि वह एक दोस्त के रूप में सीज़र के अंतिम संस्कार में जा रहा है। फिर वह बताता है कि वह कैपिटल के पास रहता है और जब उससे उसका नाम पूछा जाता है, तो वह कहता है कि वह सिन्ना है। उसका नाम सुनने पर, फर्स्ट प्लेबियन तुरंत मान लेता है कि वह सिन्ना साजिशकर्ता है, जो सीज़र की हत्या करने वाले लोगों में से एक है, और दूसरों को उसे टुकड़े-टुकड़े करने का आदेश देता है।
कवि सिन्ना उन्मत्तता से यह समझाने की कोशिश करता है कि वह षड्यंत्रकारी नहीं है और वह कवि सिन्ना है। हालाँकि, चौथा प्लेबियन जवाब देता है कि इससे कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ता और यहाँ तक कि मजाक में उसके ‘बुरे छंदों’ के लिए उसे टुकड़े-टुकड़े करने का सुझाव देता है। अंधे क्रोध और बदला लेने की इच्छा से भरी भीड़ उसकी दलीलों को नजरअंदाज कर देती है। वे घोषणा करते हैं कि उसका नाम सिन्ना है, और उनके लिए उसे मारने के लिए यही पर्याप्त कारण है। वे लगातार रोते रहते हैं ‘उसे फाड़ो, उसे फाड़ो!’ यह दृश्य प्लेबियन के साथ समाप्त होता है, जो अब आग की छर्रों से लैस हैं, ब्रूटस, कैसियस, डेशियस, कास्का और लिगेरियस सहित साजिशकर्ताओं के घरों को जलाने के लिए छोड़ देते हैं।
Theme of Julius Caesar Act 3 Scene 3
Mob Mentality and Irrationality
The most prominent theme is the danger and irrationality of a mob. . The group of Plebeians starts by asking Cinna the poet a series of questions that seem almost friendly. However, as soon as they hear his name, ‘Cinna’, they completely lose their reason. They don’t listen to his frantic explanations that he is a poet and not the conspirator. They are no longer individuals but a single, mindless force driven by rage and a desire for vengeance. They chant, ‘Tear him to pieces!’ and their dismissal of his pleas highlight how logic and justice are lost when a crowd acts as a single, emotional entity.
Chaos and Anarchy
This scene shows the direct result of Caesar’s assassination and Antony’s speech. The established order of Rome has completely collapsed. The mob is now in control, and the streets are filled with violence. There is no authority to stop them, and they act without any fear of consequences. The scene ends with the mob running off to burn down the houses of the conspirators, demonstrating the complete anarchy that now reigns in the city.
The Power of Words and Names
The entire conflict of the scene revolves around a single name: ‘Cinna’. Antony’s speech in the previous scene successfully turned the mob against the conspirators, and now the name ‘Cinna’ acts as a trigger for their violence. The mob is so enraged that even the Fourth Plebeian suggests tearing Cinna to pieces for his ‘bad verses’, showing a chilling kind of dark humor and a total disregard for the value of life. The scene proves that words, whether spoken by a skilled orator or simply a shared name, can have lethal consequences.
Justice vs. Vengeance
The mob’s actions are not about achieving justice for Caesar. True justice would involve a fair trial and the punishment of the guilty. Instead, the Plebeians are driven purely by vengeance. They don’t care that they have the wrong man; they just want to lash out and hurt someone. This theme demonstrates how a desire for revenge can easily overpower any sense of fairness or morality.
Setting of the Scene
The setting for Act 3, Scene 3 of Julius Caesar is the public streets of Rome. This is a very important detail because the location shows the complete breakdown of law and order after Caesar’s assassination. Instead of being a peaceful, orderly place, the streets are filled with an angry and vengeful mob. This mob has just been stirred into a frenzy by Marc Antony’s powerful speech. The setting is not a calm, private room or a place of government, but an open, chaotic space where irrational emotion has taken over. The streets become a place of danger and mob justice. Cinna the poet, a regular citizen, is caught in the middle of this public anger and cannot escape. The setting helps to show how the assassination has turned the city into a dangerous and unpredictable place where logic and reason have no power.
Julius Caesar Act 3 Scene 3 Explanation
Play
CINNA THE POET enters, followed by PLEBEIANS.
CINNA THE POET
I dreamt tonight that I did feast with Caesar,
And things unlucky charge my fantasy.
I have no will to wander forth of doors,
Yet something leads me forth.
FIRST PLEBEIAN
What is your name?
SECOND PLEBEIAN
Whither are you going?
THIRD PLEBEIAN
Where do you dwell?
FOURTH PLEBEIAN
Are you a married man or a bachelor?
SECOND PLEBEIAN
Answer every man directly.
FIRST PLEBEIAN
Ay, and briefly.
FOURTH PLEBEIAN
Ay, and wisely.
THIRD PLEBEIAN
Ay, and truly, you were best.
Word Meanings
Feast: To eat a large and elaborate meal. Here, it suggests a communal and celebratory gathering.
Unlucky: Bringing bad fortune or ill omens.
Charge: To fill or burden something with a certain quality or feeling. Here, it means the unlucky thoughts fill his imagination.
Fantasy: Imagination or the power of imagining things.
Wander forth of doors: To go outside of one’s house.
Whither: An old-fashioned word meaning ‘where to’.
Dwell: To live in a particular place.
Ay: An old word for ‘yes’.
Truly: In a truthful manner.
Explanation of the above dialogues— Cinna the poet enters, and a group of Plebeians follows him. He says that he had a dream the previous night in which he feasted with Caesar, and this dream filled his imagination with unlucky thoughts. He states that he did not want to leave his home, yet something compelled him to go outside. The Plebeians then confront him, with the First Plebeian asking for his name. The Second Plebeian asks where he is going, while the Third Plebeian asks where he lives. The Fourth Plebeian asks if he is married or a bachelor. The Second Plebeian demands that he answer each question directly, the First Plebeian insists he answer briefly, the Fourth Plebeian adds that he must answer wisely, and the Third Plebeian advises him to answer truthfully. This short but powerful scene is a microcosm of the play’s main themes, particularly the irrationality of the mob and the power of rhetoric. The Plebeians’ questioning highlights the suspicion and chaos that have taken over Rome. They are not acting as individuals but as a collective, demanding answers with a tense and aggressive energy. Cinna the poet, a man of words, becomes a tragic victim of the destructive power of other people’s words and the blindness of mob mentality. .
Play
CINNA THE POET
What is my name? Whither am I going? Where do I dwell?
Am I a married man or a bachelor? Then, to answer every man directly and briefly, wisely and truly—wisely I say, I am a bachelor.
SECOND PLEBEIAN
That’s as much as to say they are fools that marry.
You’ll bear me a bang for that, I fear. Proceed, directly.
CINNA THE POET
Directly, I am going to Caesar’s funeral.
FIRST PLEBEIAN
As a friend or an enemy?
CINNA THE POET
As a friend
SECOND PLEBEIAN
That matter is answered directly.
FOURTH PLEBEIAN
For your dwelling—briefly.
CINNA THE POET
Briefly, I dwell by the Capitol.
SECOND PLEBEIAN
That matter is answered directly.
FOURTH PLEBEIAN
For your dwelling—briefly.
CINNA THE POET
Briefly, I dwell by the Capitol.
Word Meanings
Whither: An archaic word meaning ‘to what place?’ or ‘where?’
Dwell: To live in or at a specified place.
Bachelor: An unmarried man.
Bang: a hard blow or a beating. The Plebeian is threatening to hit Cinna.
Explanation of the above dialogues— A poet named Cinna was asked a series of questions by a group of plebeians: what his name was, where he was going, where he lived, and whether he was married or a bachelor. He replied that, to answer wisely, he was a bachelor. The Second Plebeian took offense at this, saying that Cinna was implying that married men were fools and that he would get hit for that remark. The Second Plebeian then told him to proceed and answer directly. Cinna stated that he was directly going to Caesar’s funeral. The First Plebeian then asked him if he was going as a friend or an enemy, to which Cinna replied that he was going as a friend. The Second Plebeian said that matter was answered directly. The Fourth Plebeian then asked for his dwelling, briefly. Cinna replied briefly that he dwelled by the Capitol. Cinna the poet, a man who is completely innocent of the crime, becomes a victim of mistaken identity. His attempt to engage with the mob logically and wittily is futile; his answers are either twisted into insults or dismissed entirely. The plebeians are not seeking justice; they are seeking revenge. They are willing to kill an innocent man simply because he shares a name with a conspirator.
Play
THIRD PLEBEIAN
Your name, sir, truly.
CINNA THE POET
Truly, my name is Cinna.
FIRST PLEBEIAN
Tear him to pieces. He’s a conspirator.
CINNA THE POET
I am Cinna the poet. I am Cinna the poet.
FOURTH PLEBEIAN
Tear him for his bad verses! Tear him for his bad verses!
CINNA THE POET
I am not Cinna the conspirator.
FOURTH PLEBEIAN
It is no matter. His name’s Cinna. Pluck but his name out of his heart and turn him going.
THIRD PLEBEIAN
Tear him, tear him! Come, brands, ho! Firebrands: to Brutus’, to Cassius’, burn all. Some to Decius’ house and some to Casca’s. Some to Ligarius’. Away, go!
The PLEBEIANS exit, dragging CINNA THE POET.
Word Meanings
Truly: Here, ‘truly’ means truthfully or honestly.
Conspirator: A person who takes part in a secret plot to do something harmful or unlawful. Here, it refers to one of the men who planned to assassinate Caesar.
Tear him to pieces: A violent phrase meaning to rip his body apart.
Brands, ho! Firebrands: A ‘brand’ is an old word for a burning piece of wood or a torch. ‘Ho’ is a call to get someone’s attention. The phrase means ‘Get torches!’
Pluck: To pull or pull out quickly and forcefully. ‘Pluck but his name out of his heart’ is a poetic and violent way of saying to kill him because of his name.
Explanation of the above dialogues— A third plebeian demanded that the man, Cinna the poet, reveal his name truthfully. Cinna answered truthfully that his name was Cinna. Upon hearing this, the first plebeian immediately ordered the others to tear him to pieces, shouting that he was a conspirator. Cinna frantically protested, repeatedly insisting that he was Cinna the poet. A fourth plebeian added to the chaos, sarcastically suggesting they tear him to pieces for his bad poetry instead. Cinna desperately tried to clarify that he was not Cinna the conspirator. However, the fourth plebeian declared that it did not matter, because his name was Cinna. He suggested that if they could just tear the name ‘Cinna’ out of his heart, that would be enough. The third plebeian then led the mob in a chant to tear him to pieces, yelling for firebrands to burn the houses of the conspirators: Brutus, Cassius, Decius, Casca, and Ligarius. The scene ends with the plebeians dragging Cinna the poet away. The mob’s blind rage against Cinna the poet shows that the revenge they seek is not about justice, but about vengeance. The absurdity of the fourth plebeian’s lines about ‘bad verses’ underscores the utter senselessness of their actions. The scene also serves a crucial dramatic purpose by showing the immediate chaos and anarchy that has descended upon Rome, turning a simple name into a death sentence.
Conclusion
In Act 3, Scene 3 of Julius Caesar, the action unfolds on the chaotic streets of Rome after Mark Antony’s speech at Caesar’s funeral. The angry mob, still upset about the assassination, mistakes the poet Cinna for the conspirator Cinna and violently beats him to death. This short scene shows the chaotic environment in the city and highlights the extreme mob violence happening at that time. The citizens, fired up by Antony’s words, direct their anger at the innocent poet simply because he has the wrong name and because they dislike his bad verses. Students can take help from this post to understand Act 3, Scene 3 and also learn the difficult word meanings to get a better grasp of Julius Caesar. This post includes a summary of Julius Caesar, which will help students of ICSE class 9, to get a quick recap of the play.