As Brutus begins his speech to the people they obviously want to listen to him

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Assessing Mark Antony’s speech to the crowd in William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”

The first half of the play has built up to the assassination of Caesar by the conspirators led by Brutus.  At the beginning of the play, when the citizens of Rome love Caesar he is giving a speech to the Romans and everything seems fine but in the background in the out courts the plays audience witness Cassius’   attempts to begin to get Brutus on the side of the conspirators who want to assassinate Caesar.  Whilst talking to Cassius, Brutus accidentally says aloud “If it aught toward the general good, Set honour in one eye and death I’ th’ other, will look good on both indifferently”.  This is all the encouragement that Cassius needs and carries on flattering Brutus to make him a conspirator too.  And so Brutus spends months despairing whether or not to join the conspirators, which leads up to his soliloquy in the middle of his orchard on the morning of the ides of march the day that a soothsayer has warned Caesar about.  Brutus is in the orchard because he cannot sleep and takes the time out to think over his options with regards to the assassination of Caesar, his servant gives Brutus a letter of petition from the people of Rome saying that they want rid of Caesar, we hear his choice in his soliloquy, “It must be by his death” conceding that Caesar's death is for the good of Rome and that it is best that he join the conspirators also.  The rest of the conspirators turn up at Brutus’ trying to get his decision, Brutus signifies his allegiance with the men with a handshake with all of them.  Brutus then becomes the head leader of the conspirators where he makes some drastic last minute changes to the plan that was already made when Cassius was the leader; these are that Antony was to stay alive and that all men should stab Caesar to share the glory and that the murder would take place that night and that the men would parade around Rome covered in Caesar’s blood.  We then come to the senate house were Caesar has already been murdered and his butchered corpse lays mangled beneath Rome’s former ruler “Pompey” who Caesar assassinated.  Mark Antony’s servant comes in on Antony’s behalf pleading for his life.  Brutus gives his word as a Roman that Antony would not be harmed and so Antony comes in to face the murderers of Caesar.  He shakes the bloody hands of the conspirators much like Brutus did that morning this shows a false allegiance to the men, Antony does not ask for reasoning but just asks to be allowed to speak at Caesar’s funeral to the infuriation of Cassius, Brutus allows Antony to speak Cassius drags Brutus away briefly say “you know not what you do” but Brutus is so idealistic that he sees no flaw with allowing Antony to speak.  The conspirators all leave the room until eventually only Antony is left in the room with Caesar’s body were he delivers a powerful soliloquy revealing his true thoughts.  Antony reveals he really wants to revenge Caesar’s death with a bloody civil war in which “mothers shall but smile when they hold their infants quartered with the hands of war”.

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As Brutus begins his speech to the people they obviously want to listen to him.  The crowd yell “we will be satisfied” this signifies that they have no idea what has happened but their love for Brutus will suffice non-dependant on his crime.  The fickle crowd have chosen their new hero Brutus they show their respect by calling him “noble”.  Brutus speaks to the crowd of his honour, he is showing how respected he is throughout Rome.  When giving the crowd his reasoning for the murder of Caesar he appeals to the crowds’ patriotic senses by saying that he ...

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