Question

Read the passage. Then answer the question that follows.

PORTIA. I prithee, boy, run to the Senate House;

Stay not to answer me, but get thee gone.—

Why dost thou stay?

LUCIUS. To know my errand, madam.

PORTIA. I would have had thee there and here again

Ere I can tell thee what thou shouldst do there.

[Aside] O constancy, be strong upon my side;

Set a huge mountain ‘tween my heart and tongue.

I have a man’s mind, but a woman’s might.

–The Tragedy of Julius Caesar,

William Shakespeare

What does the image of "a huge mountain ‘tween my heart and tongue” suggest about the meaning of this passage?

Portia does not want Lucius to find out that she is in love.
Portia fears her own thoughts and wishes they would stop.
Portia is not sure if Lucius can be trusted with the errand.
Portia does not want to say what she is feeling.

Answer 1

The image of "a huge mountain 'tween my heart and tongue" suggests that Portia does not want to say what she is feeling.

When Lucius asks Portia why she sends him to the Senate, she hesitates to answer him; her mind is put elsewhere. Portia wants to be strong enough not to reveal what she knows about Brutus' plans, since he considers Caesar has to be killed for power abuse. She cannot keep such secret anymore, and begs "constancy" to help her maintain composure.

Answer 2

The thing which the image of "a huge mountain ‘tween my heart and tongue” suggest about the meaning of this passage is:

D. Portia does not want to say what she is feeling.

Based on the given excerpt, we can see that there is the narration about how Portia has internal conflict about  what to do with the news which she knows about the plot of Brutus to murder Caesar.

• With this in mind, we can see that there is the uncertainty in the mind of Portia as she does not want to say what she is feeling.

Therefore, the correct answer is option D

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