A toppled black chess king lies beside a red miniature pitchfork on dark cloth.

Original artwork, not a still

Julius Caesar

William Shakespeare

Et tu, Brute? Then fall, Caesar!

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker singles out Brutus with a stunned reproach, as though his presence stings more than anything else. Having named that betrayal, Caesar gives up and accepts his fall. The line joins personal heartbreak with the collapse of a powerful ruler.

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