Morning Star Workbook Solutions

Multiple Choice Question

1. What did Cinna the poet dream about?

(a) Fighting with Caesar

Answer: (c) Feasting with Caesar

2. What seemed to be an honour to Cinna now is a

(a) dream
(b) frightening situation
(c)difficulty
(d) insult

Answer: (b) frightening situation

3. What purpose does this scene serve?

(a) It highlights the effect of Antony’s speech

Answer: (d) All of the above.

4. According to a citizen, Cinna’s reply that he was a bachelor, tantamount to saying

(a) Only bachelors are trustworthy

Answer: (b) Those who marry are fools

5. Cinna was lynched by the mob because he had

(a) brutality as Cinna, the conspirator

Answer: (c) same name as Cinna the conspirator

Context Questions

1.Cinna
I dreamt tonight that I did feast with Caesar,
And things unluckily charge my fantasy.
I have no will to wander forth of doors,
Yet something leads me forth.
(i) Who was Cinna? Why did he wander forth? What did he dream that night?

Answer: Cinna was a poet. He wandered forth despite having no desire to do so because something
compelled him to leave his home. That night, he dreamt that he was feasting with Caesar.

(ii) What is meant by: “things unluckily charge my fantasy” ? What do you find ironical in this
statement of Cinna?

Answer: The phrase “things unluckily charge my fantasy” means that Cinna’s mind was filled with
troubling and ominous thoughts. The irony in this statement lies in the fact that his dream, which
seemed to be merely an unlucky or disturbing fantasy, foreshadows the real danger he is about to
encounter—being killed by the mob because of a mistaken identity.

(iii) Why had Cinna no will to go about? What does the extract show about superstitious attitude
of the Elizabethan age?

Answer: Cinna had no will to go out because he was unnerved by his ominous dream. The extract
reflects the superstitious attitude of the Elizabethan age, where dreams and omens were often seen
as signs of impending events, influencing people’s actions and beliefs.

(iv) What type of questions did the mob ask him? What did he tell them ?

Answer: The mob asked Cinna a series of personal questions, such as his name, where he was going,
where he lived, and whether he was married. Cinna answered them truthfully, stating his name, his
intention to attend Caesar’s funeral, and where he lived. He also clarified that he was a poet and not
the conspirator named Cinna.

(v) How far has Shakespeare portrayed a frenzied mob in this scene?

Answer: Shakespeare portrays the mob as irrational and violent, driven by anger and a desire for
revenge. The mob is depicted as frenzied, attacking Cinna simply because of his name, despite his
attempts to explain that he is not the conspirator. This scene highlights the dangers of mob mentality,
where reason and justice are overridden by collective hysteria and violence.

2.Cinna
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 Citizen
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
Directly , I am going to Caesar’s funeral.

(i) Who asks Cinna so many questions? What has just happened that makes them confused and
irrational?

Answer: The Plebeians (the Roman citizens) ask Cinna so many questions. They have just come from
hearing Marc Antony’s speech, which stirred them into a frenzy. The mob is now confused and
irrational, looking for someone to blame for Caesar’s death.
(ii) When Cinna says he is a bachelor, the Second Citizen concludes: “they are fools that marry.”
Why is this conclusion not logical?

Answer: The Second Citizen’s conclusion that “they are fools that marry” is not logical because Cinna
simply states he is a bachelor. There is no direct reasoning provided to support that married men are
fools, making the conclusion an illogical leap based on personal bias or societal beliefs rather than
sound reasoning.

(iii) Why was it unfortunate for the man to have Cinna as his name? How did the citizens deal with
him?

Answer: It was unfortunate for the man to have the name Cinna because the mob mistakenly
identifies him as Cinna the conspirator, one of the assassins of Julius Caesar. Despite his protests that
he is Cinna the poet and not a conspirator, the citizens still attack him. The mob, in their irrational
rage, decides to punish him regardless, simply because he shares the same name as one of the
conspirators.

(iv) What does this scene tell us about the events to follow?

Answer: This scene foreshadows the further chaos and violence that will follow in Rome after
Caesar’s assassination. The irrational and violent behavior of the mob suggests that the city is
descending into anarchy, where reason and justice are overshadowed by mob mentality and revenge.

(v) What is the significance of this short scene in the play? What purpose does it serve,
dramatically?

Answer: This short scene serves to illustrate the dangerous power of mob mentality and how quickly
the public can turn to irrational violence. Dramatically, it highlights the consequences of the political
manipulation by the conspirators and Antony, setting the stage for the further downfall of Rome into
civil strife. It also emphasizes the tragic futility and injustice that can arise in such turbulent times.