ACT III, SCENE II
Read the extracts given below and answer the
questions that follow :
QUESTION 1
Third Citizen - Your name, sir, truly.
CINNA- Truly, my name is Cinna.
Second Citizen -Tear him topieces! He's aconspirator.
1. Who is Cinna in the scene ? Where is he
going ?
Ans. Cinnais apoet. He is wandering aimlessly on
the street.
him :
makes the mob furious with
2 What show about the
mob ?
What does this
thas
becomes furious when he tells
Ans. The mob This shows that the
mok
his name is Cinna.
brain nor sentiments. Mob worke
has neither
on impulse.
questions by the mob
3. Cinna was asked four
What were they ?
his name was, where
Ans. He was asked - what lived and if he was
he
he was going, where
married or single.
extract.
4. Besides the answers given in the
he gives
what are the other three answers
mob react to his
to the mob? How does the
answers?
Caesar's
Ans. He tells the mob that he is going to
funeral, he is going as a friend, and he is a
name
poet. The mob gets enraged because his
is Cinna which is the name of one of the
conspirators. They kill him for his bad name.
5. Where does the mob go at the end of the
scene ? What is the significance of this
scene ? What character traits of the mob are
portrayed in this scene ?
Ans. They go to the houses of Brutus, Cassius,
Decius Brutus, Casca and Ligarius to burn
them down.
This scene is very significant as it throws
light on mob mentality. Mob has nobrain, no
reason, no sentiment. It only acts on impulse.
QUESTION 2
Fourth Citizen - Itis no matter, his name's Cinna; pluCK
but
his name out of his heart, and turn him going.
1 What has Cinna tried to clarify before the
fourth citizen ?
Ans. Cinna has tried to clarify that he is Cinna the
poet and not Cinna the conspirator.
2. Why is it enough for the speaker that 'his
name's Cinna' ?
Ans. It is enough for the conspirators because the)
are full of hatred for the conspirators. They
ICSE Self-Study -- Lit. in English Paper li -10
are so enraged that they can't tolerate that
any man with the name of the conspirators
should live.
3. Is it logical when the speaker instructs the
others to just pluck his name out of his
heart ?Would Cinna be alive after his name
is plucked 'outof his heart ?
Ans. It is not at all logical. The mob is working
with extreme malice. If his name is plucked
out of his heart i.e., his heart is plucked out of
the body, he will die.
4. Why do you feel that the above lines are an
example of terrible comedy ?
Ans. Yes, the lines are an example of terrible
comedy. The murder of Cinna, the poet is
too deep for tears but it also evokes a sense
of comedy at the foolishness of the mob.
53. What is your opinion with regard to the
Roman mob ?State your reasons.
Ans. The Roman mob is very much like mobs in
other countries, The mob has no reason, no
Sentimernts, no thinking. The mob everywhere
works on impulse senselessly.
