Back to the Play
Portia, Lines 262-279a
Performance Videos
Act 2,
Scene 1
Lines 262-279a

Portia performs a speech from Act 2, Scene 1 of myShakespeare's Julius Caesar. 

Portia

Is Brutus sick, and is it physical
To walk unbraced and suck up the humors
Of the dank morning? What, is Brutus sick,
And will he steal out of his wholesome bed
To dare the vile contagion of the night,
And tempt the rheumy and unpurgèd air
To add unto his sickness? No, my Brutus.
You have some sick offense within your mind,
Which, by the right and virtue of my place
I ought to know of; and upon my knees
I charm you — by my once commended beauty,
By all your vows of love, and that great vow
Which did incorporate and make us one —
That you unfold to me, your self, your half,
Why you are heavy, and what men tonight
Have had to resort to you; for here have been
Some six or seven, who did hide their faces
Even from darkness.