Question

16

Read the excerpt from act 4, scene 3, of Julius Caesar.

BRUTUS. No man bears sorrow better. Portia is dead.

CASSIUS. Ha! Portia?

BRUTUS. She is dead.

CASSIUS. How scaped I killing when I crossed you so?
O insupportable and touching loss!
Upon what sickness?

BRUTUS. Impatient of my absence,
And grief that young Octavius with Mark Antony
Have made themselves so strong—for with her death
That tidings came. With this, she fell distraught,
And, her attendants absent, swallowed fire.

Why is this excerpt an example of situational irony?

Cassius does not believe that Portia is dead.
Brutus does not believe that Portia is dead.
Portia's death is unexpected because Brutus tried to protect her.
Cassius's response is unexpected because Brutus tried to protect him.

Answer 1

Answer: Cassius's response is unexpected because Brutus tried to protect him.

Answer 2

The correct answer is "Cassius's response is unexpected because Brutus tried to protect him.". Taken from the play “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare (1599), the situational irony in this excerpt explains that Cassius is surprised by Brutus response, since he did not manage to kill him right there as if it were expected. That is what situational irony describes: what is expected to happen and what actually does happen. In fact, the phrase “How ’scaped I killing when I crossed you so?” that Cassius says to Brutus reflects his surprise. Brutus does not attack Cassius because of his sorrow of having lost his wife, Portia, after she swallowed burning coals.