Critics of Julius Caesar have broadly fallen into two camps: those who view Brutus sympathetically as the noble, tragic hero of the play, and those who try to correct what they believe to be an excessively idealised view of his character. Unsurprisingly, the interpretation of Brutus’s soliloquy in the orchard regarding Caesar’s murder is a major point of debate. This talk will read Brutus’s speech set against the period’s rhetorical handbooks and commonplace collections to offer fresh insight into Brutus’s argument, motivations, and perhaps even the significance of Caesar’s deafness in the play.