Why are they shouting? I'm afraid the people have made Caesar their king. Which character says this?

• A. Antony
• B. Brutus
• C. Cassius
• D. Portia

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is how a character’s words reveal their values and fears about power and public opinion. Brutus speaks this line to show him worrying that the crowd’s feelings could crown Caesar as king, which he sees as a danger to the Roman Republic. It exposes Brutus’s commitment to liberty and his belief that popular approval can threaten liberty just as much as any king.

This line fits Brutus because he’s the republican, cautious conspirator who justifies killing Caesar as a defense of Rome’s freedom. He isn’t reveling in power or manipulating the crowd the way Antony does later; he’s expressing a real fear—that the people’s enthusiasm could legitimize tyranny. The other characters wouldn’t articulate this fear in the same moment: Antony uses the crowd to agitate, Cassius is more calculating about power and legitimacy, and Portia isn’t present to voice such political worry.