Blending into the ground, waiting for the perfect moment to lash out, and then attacking when an opportunity presents itself, snakes hunt the same way some people do politics. In Rome, 44 BC, when one man fell prey, another man, camouflaged, found his opportunity to strike. As William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar progresses, the character of Marc Antony slowly reveals that he is not who he at first seems, a cunning manipulator rather than a blindly obedient lapdog.
Antony, when he is introduced in Act 1 is running a traditional race on the Lupercal and is asked to touch Calpurnia by Caesar, who is referring to a superstition at the time that the touch of a runner in the race could cause a woman to be fertile. Antony responds to this request by simply saying “I shall remember. When Caesar says ‘do this,’ it is performed” (Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 12-3). He not only acknowledges and consents to Caesar’s request, but also reinforces his absolute loyalty. Whatever Caesar says will be done by him. In this line, the reader is made to draw the conclusion that Antony is loyal to a fault, and will blindly follow Caesar in his every exploit.
Yet, later in the scene, when Caesar comments on how Cassius looks like a man who “thinks too much”, and is therefore dangerous, Antony dismisses it, saying “Fear him not, Caesar, he’s not dangerous. He is a noble Roman, and well given” (Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 208-9). Caesar and Antony are both warriors (having clashed earlier with Pompey and emerged victorious), and as such, have the strong instincts necessary to survive the battlefield. Antony, being the model Roman general he is, would probably have picked up on the danger presented by Cassius earlier than Caesar, yet he immediately shot the idea ...
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...ntony could be trusted, because he was willing to dirty his hands to seal the friendship. On the other hand, Antony could be vowing vengeance against the conspirators, because he formally names each before shaking their hand. The blood could symbolize his willingness to get his hands dirty in order to get revenge. This second interpretation is reinforced by Antony’s furious soliloquy addressing Caesar’s body later in the scene when the conspirators have left him alone with the corpse. Antony vows vengeance, a war that would consume Rome, tear it apart, and eviscerate the society, “[l]et slip the dogs of war”. Antony’s true feelings are shown plainly here. He acts almost unbalanced in his anger towards the conspirators.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.” Elements of Literature: Kylene Beers. Austin: Holt, 2009. 842-963. Print.
By saying this, Antony is showing how he was as a friend To Caesar and is showing his loyalty and faith to him to tell the audience how great Caesar was.
In the beginning of the Book Cassius uses anecdotes of Caesar’s weakness and faults, argumentum ad antiquatum, and ethos on Brutus to persuade him to join the conspiracy to kill Caesar, this works on Brutus and shows that anyone, even people as stoic as Brutus, can be persuaded by appealing to their motivations. Cassius, a very suspicious character thru ought the play tells Brutus to “be not jealous on me” (827), in the quote he tells Brutus to not be suspicious of him because he is just a friend who genuinely cares. Cassius does this to put himself on Brutus’ side and not seem like a distant person, this allows him to criticize Caesar and suggest that he is a bad influence on Rome which appeals to Brutus’ desire to keeping Rome safe. After setting himself up as a friend to Brutus, Cassius uses harsh anecdotes on the weakness of Caesar to show that he isn’t fit to rule Rome. Cassius recollects on a time when he and Caesar went swimming in the river Tiber and Caesar screamed “Help me, Cassius or I sink” (828) to de...
In conclusion, William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is the quintessence of a tragic hero. He is highly respected in society and holds a position of authority, yet is corrupted by his pride and arrogance. He ignores warnings of assassination, but once he is attacked by his confidant Brutus he realizes his flaws. Unfortunately, he can never repent of his prideful ways, as his life is extinguished. Because he is murdered by one of his greatest friends and did so much to aid the destitute, he is a sympathetic character. Julius Caesar is a complex and multi-faceted man, but the tragedy of his life strikes a chord of sympathy that resonates throughout not only his subjects, but the readers of his downfall for centuries past, present, and future.
Mark Antony, for example, begins the play strongly loyal to Caesar, and his actions through the death of Caesar in Act 3 are clearly motivated by his desire to support Caesar's cause. Something goes wrong somewhere, though, as by 4.1 Antony is engaged in dividin...
William Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a story full of manipulation and jealousy that changes the way people think. Ancient Rome had umpteen different ways of handling situations that, in today’s world, would be considered unethical; such as battles that were very much horrifying and vivid. However, these battles were not important with the development of the plot. Shakespeare uses various ways of the idea of manipulation and betrayal to lead readers into the rest of the narrative.
...ve in his cause rather than Brutus's. Finally, while the crowd is in awe of Brutus's raw power and booming authority, Antony uses sarcasm to rip down any respect the Roman people may have built for Brutus and the conspirators. In his funeral oration, Antony insults Brutus ten times by stating that he is "an honorable man" (Act III, scene ii, line 84) in a tone of biting mockery, therefore questioning Brutus's credibility.
Shakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar”. Elements of Literature. Ed. Deborah Appleman. 4th ed. Texas: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 2009. 843-963.
Alvin B. Kernan. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009. Print.
Mark Antony’s loyalty to Julius Caesar, went as far that one could call his behavior that of a servant as he often did anything Caesar requested of him as Caesar asks if he will touch his wife, Calpurnia, during the holy race, Lupercalia. The belief that since Mark Antony was a holy man him touching Calpurnia during this race would make her fertile and she would be able to become pregnant with Caesar’s child. Mark Antony assures his friend and leader he will do so.
Both Cassius and Brutus conspire against Caesar, yet Shakespeare depicts Brutus as doing a noble job compared to Cassius as doing a greedy and envious task. Cassius believes that he is stronger than Caesar. Therefore, Cassius does not understand why Caesar is in power and he is not. Cassius is also envious of Caesar. In Act I Scene II, Cassius describes to Brutus the time he had to save Caesar in a swimming race. Since then, Cassius feels superior to Caesar. In Cassius’ mind, kings’ right to rule should be based off of strength, not intelligence or virtue. On the other hand, Brutus knows that although a king should be strong, he must also be virtuous. Brutus always elaborates on the topic of honor. In fact, his first priority is to keep his own honor intact and Brutus fears that Caesar will change when he is crowned. Brutus says, “He would be crowned: How that might change his nature, there’s the question.” (Act II, Scene I, Page 49, lines 12-14) He senses Caesar’s greed for power, and ...
In the play Julius Caesar, written and preformed by William Shakespeare, there are many characters, but two, Brutus and Cassius, stood out. The play begins in Rome where a celebration of Julius Caesar's victory over the former ruler of Rome, Pompeii. The victory leads to Caesar's betrayal by his jealous companions. Senators and other high status figures are jealous of Caesar's new and growing power, while others, like Brutus, fear the tyrannical rule Caesar could enforce. The conspirators, Brutus and Cassius being the most important, assassinate Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius, better known as Antony, and Octavius Caesar, Caesar's heir to the thrown, revenge Caesar's death. Antony convinces the Roman populous to destroy the conspirators and eventually begins a war with Cassius and Brutus' armies. Both Cassius and Brutus commit suicide to save their honor and Antony and Octavius win the war. The characterizations of Brutus and Cassius show a distinct contrast in their character traits and motives for the assassination of Julius Caesar.
Mark Antony’s character at the beginning of the play, is that of a great, powerful, triumvir whose heart has been entrapped by Cleopatra’s enchanting personality. The audience hears many good things about Antony’s character, which is shown through his great past, “It is reported thou didst eat strange flesh which some did die look on,” which informs us that he was a great warrior which evoke feelings of respect towards him.
Brutus is considered an honorable, noble man in Rome and it is important to Cassius that he becomes part of the conspiracy. In Act 1, Cassius and Brutus agree that Caesar becoming king would be detrimental to Rome. Cassius starts off persuading Brutus by describing how weak Caesar is. He states, “he had a fever when he was Spain, and when the fit was on him, I did mark how he did shake; ‘tis true, this god did shake” (I.ii.119-121). Cassius is trying to show Brutus that Caesar is not perfect or better than everyone else. In fact, he is weak and infirm. Next, Cassius makes the point that Caesar is too powerful and if he becomes king, he will rule over the people “like a Colossus” (I.ii.136). Brutus says he will consider joining the conspiracy if it is
The crowd responds to show what is going on. Antony then responds by reading off of the will of Caesar to gain the attention of the crowd. He is delivering the speech only because he wants to address his feelings and thoughts on Caesar’s death and how he feels about the conspirators. Antony is trying to persuade the crowd to see what he sees and feel how he feels about the whole ordeal. The crowd, of course, is easily moved and persuaded by Antony’s
One of the biggest internal struggles in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra is Antony’s struggle between reason and emotion. One of the times this is shown is when Antony turns his ships around after noting that Cleopatra has done so in Act III scene 10. Shakespeare decided to show Antony’s internal struggle by having him follow Cleopatra to emphasize how strongly his emotions and reasoning lead him to mix business with pleasure, intertwining his role of general with his role of lover. From turning his ship around mid-battle to dressing himself after spending the night to outright stating his feelings, Antony shows over and over the unavoidable mutual existence of his roles as general and lover.