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Quiz about They Should Have Known
Quiz about They Should Have Known

They Should Have Known Trivia Quiz


I'm Cassius, the conspirator from Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar", and if only the others had listened to me, things might have turned out differently! They should have known! Because I told them!

A multiple-choice quiz by merylfederman. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
350,056
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
405
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. The very first thing that I propose doing in Act II Scene I, that *they should have known* would be a good idea, is to swear our resolution to be faithful to each other. But Brutus turns it down and we all just "agree" to the plot. All noble and good but I knew those other conspirators would betray us if we didn't have them swear! Literally zero other conspirators from this scene are still fighting with our army in the second half of the play, and as far as I know none of them died.

Which "dull" conspirator, who dismisses my question about Cicero's speech with "It was Greek to me," is the most important other conspirator and designated to stab Caesar first - who *still* did not fight with us?
Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. The next thing that *they should have known* would be important was to get another elder statesman on board. We choose not to bring him on because he's too old and important to join other people's work, but I still maintain that having him would have helped the cause. But, again, Brutus turns it down.

Which elder statesman, who "spoke Greek" earlier in the play and appears in the storm sequence as well, do I propose adding to our roster? He dies offstage due to the proscriptions of our enemies so he ought to have been in our camp to have had some protection, don't you think?
Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Right after that whole fiasco, I explain that a dangerous ally of Caesar's should definitely not outlive him. This one I know I was right about! This guy was terrible, just so dangerous to us, and we should not have let him live! He loved Caesar too much and proved that his skill in kindling that love in others was a sharp weapon in his arsenal.

Who did Brutus convince me to keep alive even as we attacked Caesar?
Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Alright, admittedly I myself didn't say anything at the time but I probably should have stopped this other idea that they definitely should have known was a bad one. After our team killed Caesar, we did something that just made us look far more terrifying and evil than we should have wanted to look. What action was this? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. So Caesar just died, and then Mark Antony showed up. Fantastic. We should have known to be strict with him, but instead, he asked us for one small favor for Caesar's funeral. They should have known not to grant this, but again Brutus came through with the terrible decision to grant Antony's request.

Which request was this that proved our final downfall?
Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Okay, this I couldn't stand for. Before the battle, I saw that Brutus had started to condemn our own allies, like Lucius Pella, for minor crimes - when we needed all hands on deck to defeat the enemy! What is wrong with that guy and his personal armies? They should have known that we'd need everyone we could get, even if a bit unsavory. What crime had Lucius Pella even committed? Oh, a crime that I myself was accused of? Well, then. I deny that. But what crime was this? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Finally, we get to planning the battle. I argue that we should wait for the enemy to seek us, and they all should have known this was the best way to do things, but of course Brutus didn't agree. He decided to seek the enemy instead, forcing us into an all-or-nothing battle.

Which battle?
Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Well we finally get to the battle of the end of the play, thank goodness. And hey, I didn't come up with this idea, but there's someone here to "greet" us along with Mark Antony. Someone I *should* have thought of killing along with Caesar, and why no one else came up with the idea I don't know. Do I have to do all the thinking around here? They should have known we should have eliminated him!

Which young ally of Antony's proves just as irksome and difficult to control, insulting us with "I was not born to die on Brutus' sword"?
Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. At the battle itself, I tell Messala of a powerful omen that clearly told us that our battle could not succeed. They should have known to heed this omen but, at this point, it was admittedly too late. Which omen was this, which clearly showed us that our army was lying under "a canopy most fatal"? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Alright, I'm not perfect. I make mistakes too. At the end of the battle, I make a pretty critical error, in fact, which leads directly to my own demise. What should I have known better than to do? Hint





Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The very first thing that I propose doing in Act II Scene I, that *they should have known* would be a good idea, is to swear our resolution to be faithful to each other. But Brutus turns it down and we all just "agree" to the plot. All noble and good but I knew those other conspirators would betray us if we didn't have them swear! Literally zero other conspirators from this scene are still fighting with our army in the second half of the play, and as far as I know none of them died. Which "dull" conspirator, who dismisses my question about Cicero's speech with "It was Greek to me," is the most important other conspirator and designated to stab Caesar first - who *still* did not fight with us?

Answer: Casca

Casca has an entire scene with me earlier in the play, where he proves an interested party if not quite the zealot that I am. Casca, like the rest of the conspirators, vanishes from the play after the assassination is carried out, and is never heard from or heard of again.
2. The next thing that *they should have known* would be important was to get another elder statesman on board. We choose not to bring him on because he's too old and important to join other people's work, but I still maintain that having him would have helped the cause. But, again, Brutus turns it down. Which elder statesman, who "spoke Greek" earlier in the play and appears in the storm sequence as well, do I propose adding to our roster? He dies offstage due to the proscriptions of our enemies so he ought to have been in our camp to have had some protection, don't you think?

Answer: Cicero

Cicero is in the introductory scene, where Caesar returns from the festivities of the Lupercal; it is revealed that Cicero "spoke Greek" in an oration. Cicero then also appears with Casca in the storm sequence early in the play, and is proposed as an anti-Caesar partisan but Brutus turns him down saying that Cicero will never "follow anything that other men begin".
3. Right after that whole fiasco, I explain that a dangerous ally of Caesar's should definitely not outlive him. This one I know I was right about! This guy was terrible, just so dangerous to us, and we should not have let him live! He loved Caesar too much and proved that his skill in kindling that love in others was a sharp weapon in his arsenal. Who did Brutus convince me to keep alive even as we attacked Caesar?

Answer: Mark Antony

Mark Antony famously delivered the speech over Caesar's body that begins "Friends, Romans, Countrymen". It was an effective display that gets the populace on the side of Caesar's allies and heirs instead of Caesar's enemies.
4. Alright, admittedly I myself didn't say anything at the time but I probably should have stopped this other idea that they definitely should have known was a bad one. After our team killed Caesar, we did something that just made us look far more terrifying and evil than we should have wanted to look. What action was this?

Answer: Dipped our hands/swords in Caesar's blood

Brutus, again, doing something he should have known would look bad, told us to "bathe our hands in Caesar's blood... and besmear our swords". I don't know why I went along with it, maybe it was the adrenaline.
5. So Caesar just died, and then Mark Antony showed up. Fantastic. We should have known to be strict with him, but instead, he asked us for one small favor for Caesar's funeral. They should have known not to grant this, but again Brutus came through with the terrible decision to grant Antony's request. Which request was this that proved our final downfall?

Answer: Speak at Caesar's funeral

Yes, he asked to speak all right and we granted it. I told Brutus it was a terrible idea and that he would move the people. I was right. I'm always right.
6. Okay, this I couldn't stand for. Before the battle, I saw that Brutus had started to condemn our own allies, like Lucius Pella, for minor crimes - when we needed all hands on deck to defeat the enemy! What is wrong with that guy and his personal armies? They should have known that we'd need everyone we could get, even if a bit unsavory. What crime had Lucius Pella even committed? Oh, a crime that I myself was accused of? Well, then. I deny that. But what crime was this?

Answer: Taking bribes

Lucius Pella had "taken bribes here of the Sardians". Brutus then accused me, of all people, of selling offices to people who could bribe me best, and denying him gold when he needed it! I deny this, but, well, even if I myself didn't do that stuff, Lucius Pella isn't guilty of anything bad enough to keep him out of our favor for this difficult endeavor!
7. Finally, we get to planning the battle. I argue that we should wait for the enemy to seek us, and they all should have known this was the best way to do things, but of course Brutus didn't agree. He decided to seek the enemy instead, forcing us into an all-or-nothing battle. Which battle?

Answer: Philippi

Philippi, that awful place - Brutus thought that we should cut off the enemy there instead of waiting for him, thinking that our cause was at the height and could not gain any more advantages. I did not like the idea.
8. Well we finally get to the battle of the end of the play, thank goodness. And hey, I didn't come up with this idea, but there's someone here to "greet" us along with Mark Antony. Someone I *should* have thought of killing along with Caesar, and why no one else came up with the idea I don't know. Do I have to do all the thinking around here? They should have known we should have eliminated him! Which young ally of Antony's proves just as irksome and difficult to control, insulting us with "I was not born to die on Brutus' sword"?

Answer: Octavius

Octavius, the unworthy heir to the great Caesar, went along with Antony to the pre-battle parley, and proved a cold, well-spoken leader, with a penchant for simply looking to the decisive, active course.
9. At the battle itself, I tell Messala of a powerful omen that clearly told us that our battle could not succeed. They should have known to heed this omen but, at this point, it was admittedly too late. Which omen was this, which clearly showed us that our army was lying under "a canopy most fatal"?

Answer: Ravens replaced eagles perching on our crest

Eagles, the very symbol of Rome, were perched on our crest, and they fled to make room for ravens and scavenger birds. We were clearly about to be corpses ready to pick clean. Great, great omen.
10. Alright, I'm not perfect. I make mistakes too. At the end of the battle, I make a pretty critical error, in fact, which leads directly to my own demise. What should I have known better than to do?

Answer: Assume that my friend was taken by enemy troops

When I see Titinius surrounded by troops, I am convinced by my bondman Pindarus that he is taken by the enemy. Well, Pindarus was wrong and Titinius was actually not taken. Convinced that the day was lost, I took my own life rather than face the defeat. The defeat I wasn't actually facing. Whoops.
Source: Author merylfederman

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
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