Julius Caesar: Act 5, Scene 5 Summary

Plot Summary / Storyline

• Brutus and a few loyal followers (Clitus, Dardanius, Volumnius, and Strato) retreat from the battlefield, tired and knowing they have lost.
• Brutus tells them he has seen Caesar's ghost twice, and he feels that his time has come to die.
• He asks Clitus to hold his sword while he runs on it; Clitus refuses, saying he would rather kill himself.
• He asks Dardanius the same; Dardanius also refuses.
• He asks Volumnius; Volumnius also refuses, unwilling to help his friend die.
• All three soldiers will not assist him, so Brutus tells them to go away.
• Strato, his fourth follower, stays behind and agrees to hold the sword.
• Brutus thanks him, says "Caesar, now be still. I killed thee not with half so good a will," and runs on his sword.
• Brutus dies; Strato closes his eyes.
• Antony and Octavius arrive with Messala and find Strato standing and Brutus dead.
• Antony calls Brutus "the noblest Roman of them all," saying Brutus alone killed Caesar from honest motives, not from envy or personal hatred.
• Octavius orders that Brutus be buried with full military honours.
• The play ends with Octavius taking control of Rome as the new ruler.

Commentary on Act 5, Scene 5

This final scene is the tragic climax of the play. Brutus, having lost the battle and having seen Caesar's ghost warn him twice, decides he will not flee or be taken prisoner. Instead, he chooses to die, keeping control of his own fate until the very end.

The refusal of Clitus, Dardanius, and Volumnius to help shows their love and respect for Brutus: they would rather disobey him than be the instruments of his death. Only Strato, without hesitation or long argument, agrees. Brutus' final words to Strato are gentle: "What is thy will? It is my turn to die," showing he is calm and accepting.

Brutus' dying words—"Caesar, now be still. I killed thee not with half so good a will"—show that he has come to understand his mistake. He killed Caesar believing he was saving Rome, but he did so with less certainty than he now kills himself. This suggests that killing Caesar was wrong, and now Brutus is paying the price in death.

Antony's final judgment of Brutus is the play's ultimate statement on the conspirators: Brutus was different from Cassius, Casca, and the others because he acted from principle, not from jealousy. Yet his principle led him to commit murder, and that murder destroyed him anyway. The play suggests that noble intentions do not guarantee good outcomes, and that even the best motives can lead to tragedy when joined with violence.

The promise of an honourable burial for Brutus, given by the victors, shows that even in defeat and death, Brutus earns respect. The play ends not with joy at victory but with a quiet acknowledgment of Brutus' tragic greatness. Rome is now ruled by Octavius, a younger, colder man who will use power without Brutus' moral doubts. The conclusion hints that Rome has not been saved but merely changed hands.