In literary terms, apostrophe is when a person (on stage,
in the case of a play) addresses a person or other entity (like a god or a city) that is
not physically present on the stage.
There are a number of
places in Act II of Julius Caesar where apostrophe is used. For
example, in Scene 1 of this act, Brutus is talking about why he thinks Caesar is bad for
Rome. He addresses Rome as if it were a living entity there on stage with him. He
says
readability="8.1118421052632">
Am I entreated(55)
To
speak and strike? O Rome, I make thee promise,
If the redress will href="../../julius-caesar-text/act-ii-scene-i#prestwick-gloss-2-1-14">follow,
thou receivest
Thy full href="../../julius-caesar-text/act-ii-scene-i#prestwick-gloss-2-1-15">petition
at the hand of
Brutus!
In the
part that I have put in bold, Brutus addresses Rome and makes a promise to it. This is
a case of apostrophe.
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