1) The Will- of Julius Caesar
2) The Corpse of Julius Caesar- that is put on the front of the raised rectangular area to create trepidation in the weak hearts of the gullible Plebeians.
So as to cause more perturbation in the Plebeians hearts, the bayonet that Julius Caesar was killed by is laid by the corpse pointing vertically downwards.
As for the music, an hautboy (oboe) is heard playing swiftly in the background- but not disrupting the funeral speeches. Ultimately, there is a spotlight shining up from beneath the orator’s feet and its colour being magenta will amaze the watchers at what they see in front of their eyes. The lights are switched of throughout the play and there is only one light that permanently stays on- this is a light above the stage picture. There is also a ray of phosphorescence shining on any Plebeian who is acting out his part. For example, if a Plebeian shouts out something, the ray automatically shines on him. In addition, spotlights shine at certain dramatic points for extra contrast. Puffs of smoke are also finally given off at particular moments for more drama.
All the Plebeians- at the beginning of the scene- are coming into the performance section as a throng alongside Cassius and Brutus. All take their positions on stage and the first line is shouted extraordinarily loudly to awaken the audience and startle them out of their seat- here the sub-conscience speaks. Brutus recites his lines then the two Plebeians agree to listen to Brutus’s speech. At this point only Cassius departs and Brutus goes up to the elevated area to commence his speech. He begins to say the first line- “Be patient till the last,” until a Plebeian shouts out- “We will dear Brutus!” There are also Plebeians around the stage in different positions- standing; sitting; crouching; kneeling; lying; and even some among the crowd.
As you can see on the previous illustration, it is all black apart from three very small sections, which are lightened. This is melodramatic as black is a sign of death. Subsequently, when Antony gets the Plebeians to dislike Brutus, the Plebeians will remember who Brutus was from when he spoke and associate the red light with blood. Whereas when Antony goes up to speak there is a yellow light shining from beneath Antony so the Plebeians can associate him with angels (therefore the lights are going in favour of Antony). Another light is also added into the play above the corpse of Julius Caesar, which is white to allow the corpse to stand out in the dark for everyone to see it. So as you can see from the above, colour is the outline of drama, as you can’t have drama without colour. When the light is placed over the corpse, this shows hyperbole on the corpse of Julius Caesar, as it is not a traditional act to hang up a corpse just to cause the spectators to become emotional. As Brutus is reciting the second line of his speech, “Romans, countrymen and lovers!” The words they were addressed with murmurs of “us” excite the Plebeians and “he’s a good man!” Are heard whispering in the background. Then he gets to the part where he explains how he loved Caesar-here a homosexual Plebeian shouts from among the audience “I love u too.” Furthermore Brutus uses rhetorical questions such as “…to live all free men?” and “Who is here so base that would be a bondman?” After many rhetorical questions, Brutus pauses to make the scene more dramatic.
After the corps is put in its body is in a suitable position where Brutus cannot see it so he does not have to see its significance because he doesn’t know its there. Brutus is now departed and Antony can say whatever he wishes. The light above Caesar is presently shining all over Caesar and is also the cause for the long occurring stares from the Plebeians. At this stage, Brutus has finished pronouncing his mistakes-which include ordering Plebeians to listen to Antony and telling them he gave Antony permission to speak. Antony saunters up the small flight of stairs and starts his speech by unintentionally addressing the stinkful Plebeians as “Friend”! And at this very first word murmuring is heard and sayings of “Us-friends?” and “Oh!” which is said by a woman who is eavesdropping from her apartment. These reactions go so far that a man faints! Whilst Antony rehearses his speech he often uses repetition by using the word “honourable” before mentioning Brutus. This leaves Plebeians thinking- “Was Brutus a noble man?” He is also being sarcastic to himself and to whoever understands him when he says that Brutus is a honourable man. Later on, Antony causes an arousal of emotions across the hall when he says he must have a pause to think about Caesar. But from among best skills is when he mentions “British Beasts” which the Plebeians straight away see the link between
“Brutish Beasts = “Brutus”!
Meanwhile the Plebeians are all scattered around Antony and tension is increasing from line to line. Some Plebeians are sitting down quietly not making any noise because they’re not sure what to apprehend whilst others continuously walk or run across the stage and chat up other members of the audience. Then when Antony turns around and rubs his eyes, a Plebeian recognises this and says “Poor Soul! His eyes are as red as fire with weeping.” Hence Antony wins over their hearts with this falsely intended action. Antony now begins to fiddle with the will inside of his robe and quoting how he found it in his closet and if he read it they'd go and kiss Caesars dead wounds. Here at this moment of time, the Plebeians are as desperate as ever to hear the Will and are 100% in Antony's control. Antony is very powerful in speech and causes the Plebeians to become extra demanding and implies that if he reads it to them they will become extra mad because it shows how generous Caesar was to them. Here everyone stars to mime and a Plebeian runs up to the bloodstained corpse kissing it saying "Oh, Caesar". Again in this scene he uses repetition and punning when he says –“Will you be patient? Will you stay a while? … You will compel me then to read the Will?” This is a clever trick to put in the Plebeians minds. All of these rhetorical questions build up the process of Turning Plebeians against Brutus and conspirators and repetitively reminds the Plebeians about the will. With the Plebeians’ children starting to get bored and run around – Antony forces himself to say, “Please friends – control you children,” getting distracted from the trampling of the children’s feet. Antony brings out emotion in the atmosphere when he says, “If you have tears– prepare to shed them now,” to remind them to cry otherwise they would not have known when they were meant to. He also takes advantage of puns when he says; “You will make me read the will,” which I mentioned before that Antony is reminding them about the will. But by the end of the speech he has got them so angry they are ready to explode. This occurs when Antony gets them so furious- he wanted to get them angrier, so proud of his oratory he wanted to use all of his properties- even though he has completed his
job. Now he is on the verge of losing what he worked for with all the Plebeians ( along with the audience) shouting for the Will to be read. This is the first time in the whole scene that the main character is overtaken by all the noise around that no-one can hear his orders of “Fellow mourners- please listen to me,” or “Gentles stop, I order you.” Later on from this, Antony understates himself by saying “I am no orator…”I have no speech or tongue or wit to move men’s hearts…” and also saying “a plain blunt man…” Antony uses the word ‘stones’ to describe the Plebeians as stones have no brains but are very strong and solid. The comparison made between stones and Plebeians is a very precise comparison but the only difference is that it is easier for stones to be stupid as they have no hearts- making the Plebeians very stupid when compared with stones. Finally, the last thing he uses is a rhetorical device (question) to leave that hanging in their minds, as normally the part of a speech you remember most is that part- so Antony cleverly finishes off with a rhetorical question at their leisure. When Antony leaves the elevated area and watches the Plebeians destroy everything- he reveals his true plan is working and his motive WAS to cause mischief throughout Rome in the first place!