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All Site ContentJulius CaesarAct 2Scene 2
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"like"
Wordplay
Act 2,
Scene 2
Lines 127-130

An explanation of the pun on the word “like” in Act 2, Scene 2 of myShakespeare’s Julius Caesar.

Caesar

Good friends, go in, and taste some wine with me;
And we, like friends, will straightway go together.

Brutus

[Aside] That every like is not the same, O Caesar,
The heart of Brutus yearns to think upon!
[Exit.]

The pun on “like” gives these lines two possible meanings:

  • Caesar thinks Brutus and the others have come to see him and share some wine “like friends,” i.e. as his friends.
  • It grieves Brutus that he and the others conspirators must act "like" Caesar's friends, before killing him.