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All Site ContentJulius CaesarAct 4Scene 2
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"How ill this taper burns"
Cultural Context
Act 4,
Scene 2
Lines 325-329

An explanation of Brutus' light in the presence of Caesar's ghost in Act 4, Scene 2 of myShakespeare's Julius Caesar. 

Brutus

Let me see, let me see — is not the leaf turned down
Where I left reading? Here it is, I think.
[Enter the Ghost of Caesar.]
How ill this taper burns! Ha! who comes here?
I think it is the weakness of mine eyes
That shapes this monstrous apparition.

It was believed that the light from lamps dimmed or turned blue in the presence of a ghost.