Answer:
In this excerpt from Act V, Scene V, of "The Tragedy of Julius Caesar", by William Shakespeare, and the background information on the allusion it contains, affect the reader's understanding because <u>It shows that Brutus is afraid he will be tortured if he is still alive when his enemies arrive.</u>
Explanation:
Brutus is an honorable man, who was convinced by the other conspirators to kill Julius Caesar. He did it for Rome's sake, believing he was saving the future of Rome. He knows that his soldiers have been defeated, and he has seen Caesar's ghost. He wants to die honorably and knows that if his enemies arrive before he is dead they will torture him. So he asks Strato to hold his sword, and he runs on it.
