and the conspirators ‘honourable’ and noble, that by the end, it has become so
sarcastic that no one believes it. Also by calling him noble, he is able to keep the
crowds onside so that they will continue to listen to him. Moreover by stating that it is
Brutus who ‘hath told you Caesar was ambitious. If it were so…’ he emphasises that
it is not he who believes this. Also as he says ‘if it were so’ he emphasises that it
might not be true as it is only ‘if’. And so he makes the crowds think twice about
whether Caesar was in fact ambitious.
This effects the development of the play as whole, as Antony is betraying and
deceiving the conspirators and betrayal and deceit are two of the major themes of the
play as Cassius deceives Brutus by leading him into believing Caesar was ambitious
and the conspirators betray Caesar by murdering him.
As the speech progresses Antony speaks of Caesar as being a ‘faithful and just’
friend, naming Caesar’s good qualities, beginning to turn public opinion around and
continuing to argue Caesar was not an ambitious man by stating ‘But Brutus says that
he was ambitious, / And Brutus is an honourable man’. He states this in between
mentioning Caesar’s good qualities and arguing that ‘he hath brought many captives
home to Rome/ Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill. / Did this in Caesar seem
ambitious?’. ‘But’ signals a shift in the argument. Antony mentions Brutus’s
honourable nature so that what he and the conspirators did would not seem
honourable, and sounds sarcastic. In addition the statement about Brutus has a certain
patterning, as first he states that Brutus says he was ambitious and he is an honourable
man, so that each time it is repeated it sounds more sarcastic and cannot be taken
seriously.
Antony reminds the crowds of the good that Caesar did and asks them ‘did this in
Caesar seem ambitious?’ Antony questions them and asks them to think, at the same
time persuading them on to his side. In my opinion, as the speech progresses and
Antony gains more support, he becomes a mouthpiece for the crowds, as the crowds
gradually begin to agree with Antony. Thus it sounds as if they are all questioning
Brutus here. Furthermore he reminds them ‘when that the poor have cried, Caesar
hath wept’ and as the crowds are predominantly the poor, Antony is able to evoke
emotion in them by referring to Caesar’s compassionate nature as well as by using
emotive language such as ‘cried’ and ‘wept’. He then refers back to ambition and
states that it should be ‘made of sterner stuff’. Here there is a patterning in the speech
as he states that ‘Brutus says that he was ambitious and Brutus is an honourable man’,
he then reminds them of the good Caesar did to prove that he was not ambitious, for
example refusing the crown and then finally asks them ‘was this ambition?’. He
questions the crowds, which shows him trying to connect and engage with them as
he is asking them to think and participate. Moreover the language becomes more
straightforward here as he simply asks ‘was this ambition?’. Therefore Antony’s use
of language, words and patterning are effective in forming his argument. Through his
argument he is able to remind the crowds of their feelings towards Caesar before
Brutus’s speech, this he does by referring to ‘yesterday’ when he states ‘but yesterday
the word of Caesar might/ Have stood against the world. Now lies he there’. And so
he reminds them of their feelings yesterday as opposed to their feelings now. In
addition he reminds them ‘you all did love him once’ and questions why they are not
mourning him. In effect he asks them to mourn for Caesar, thus showing the power of
Antony’s words over the crowds now. He states ‘O judgement, thou art fled to brutish
beasts,/ And men have lost their reason’. ‘O’ emphasises his distress and ‘brutish’
plays on Brutus’s name thus it may be inferred that Antony is referring to Brutus as a
beast as he may be referring to the conspirators’ judgement that Caesar was
ambitious. Alternatively he may be referring to the crowds who are judging
Antony’s argument, thus Shakespeare is ambiguous here. Additionally when he weeps
he is able to evoke sympathy..
Antony’s repetitive use of ‘Brutus is an honourable man…so are they all, all
honourable men’ serves to undermine the conspirators’ honour as by repeatedly using
it in his speech, along with reminding the crowds of Caesar’s good nature, ‘accrues
new levels of sarcasm at each repetition’. The extent to which Antony has been able
to manipulate the crowd’s opinion by repeatedly using this phrase is highlighted when
one plebeian states ‘they were traitors! Honourable men?’. On the other hand it may
be argued that by repeatedly calling Brutus ‘honourable’ asserts Brutus further as an
honourable man and in my opinion, he is the most honourable man in the play,
although misguided, which ultimately leads him to become the ‘tragic hero’.
Therefore Antony’s speech is most important and effects the development of the play
as it asserts the honourable character of Brutus further.
Additionally, by mentioning ‘dead Caesar’s wounds’ and his ‘sacred blood’ he
makes it more real for the crowds, also it is not only Caesar’s wounds but ‘dead
Caesar’s wounds’.
Therefore Antony achieves the reaction he sets out to by cleverly manipulating the
audience into thinking that he does not want them to be angered when he does and so
is able to bring them to his side. And so he is able to provoke emotion when they want
Caesar’s will to be read out and is able to evoke a mutinous response to the
conspirators. Furthermore it is significant that he is able to have the last words as if
Brutus had had the last words perhaps the outcome of the play would have been
different. In addition it may be argued that it is not Antony’s oratorical skill that wins
over public opinion but rather that he is able to have the last word and because these
feelings existed already amongst the crowds, Antony just brought them to surface.
However his use of language and patterning demonstrates his ability as an orator.
Also this speech is the most important as it effects the development of the play as a
whole in many ways.
This speech effects the development of the play as a whole in that it reveals many
of the major themes. Firstly it reveals the themes of deceit and betrayal, mentioned
earlier. It reveals the theme of loyalty, as it is out of his loyalty for Caesar, that
Antony wants to exact revenge on the conspirators. This theme is evident in the whole
play as it is out of Brutus’s love and loyalty for Rome that he murders Caesar as he
states he killed Caesar because ‘not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome
more’. It also reveals the theme of persuasion as Antony tries to persuade the crowds
to his side throughout the speech. This relates to the play as a whole as there are many
instances and parallels where characters try to persuade. For example, when Calpurnia
tries to persuade Caesar not to go to the Senate and fails. Also, when Cassius succeeds
in persuading and manipulating Brutus to believe that Caesar is indeed ambitious.
This is clear when Brutus states that ‘since Cassius first did whet me against Caesar I
have not slept’. This is the first time we see someone persuading. Cassius flatters
Brutus in order to persuade and convince him to his way of thinking and states that
‘honour is the subject of my story’ thus appealing to Brutus’s honourable nature.
The speech reveals the theme of interpretation and misinterpretation as the speech
relies heavily on the audience’s ability to interpret Antony’s words as every speech
presupposes the capacity and ability of the audience to interpret and understand. This
effects the development of the play as a whole as misinterpretation is one of the play’s
major themes, for example Brutus misinterprets Caesar as being ambitious thus kills
him. Similarly Cassius misinterprets Titinius as being captured and thus asks to be
killed.
The speech effects the development of the play as a whole as it informs us of the
inconsistent and suspect character of Antony. Antony is clever in manipulating the
crowds and persuading them however he does not keep to what he says in the speech
as he informs the crowd of Caesar’s will and that ‘to every Roman citizen he gives…
seventy-five drachmas’. However later on in the play he asks Lepidus to ‘fetch the
will hither, and we shall determine/ How to cut off some charge in legacies’ to fund
the battle. Thus it shows that Antony is unreliable to an extent, as he has not kept to
his word. Additionally he ridicules Lepidus, when Octavius calls Lepidus ‘a tried and
valiant soldier’ Antony replies by stating ‘so is my horse’, showing his lack of respect
for a fellow soldier. And so Antony is inconsistent which is why the speech effects the
development of the play as a whole as by Antony being inconsistent, Brutus becomes
more reliable, with his consistent honourable character and so it asserts Brutus’s
situation as the hero of the play although Brutus is not wholly consistent. This is also
ascertained through Brutus’s speech in act three, scene two which, also serves as a
parallel to Antony’s speech and it may be argued that it is this speech that is the most
significant in the play. In contrast to Antony’s speech, Brutus’s speech aims to
narrate, persuade the crowds and justify the murder of Caesar. He gives reasons for
the murder and in a way, glamorises the reasons when he states ‘as Caesar loved me, I
weep for him. As he was fortunate, I rejoice at it…but as he was ambitious, I slew
him’. Again there is a patterning, which appeals to the crowds. ‘But’ signals a
progression in the argument therefore death is seen as the logical end, and the death is
what is justified here.
Brutus speaks in prose, which sounds formal, calm and ordered. This is evident
when he states ‘there is tears for his love, joy for his fortune, honour for his valour,
and death for his ambition’. Again death is justified and the patterning sounds
ordered, it is order that Brutus is trying to assert. Brutus too, is successful in winning
power and the public favour through his rhetoric, which not only shows perhaps the
inconstant nature of the public and that they trust Brutus but it can be argued that
Brutus is just as great an orator as Antony and his speech is just as important.
However in my opinion, Antony’s speech is more effective in the development of the
play as it reveals more of the themes evident in the rest of the play. However Brutus’s
role as the tragic hero is asserted throughout the play as he leads his army into battle,
he makes the decisions, overrules Cassius and takes charge of the plan to murder
Caesar. His honourable nature is asserted throughout the play and is summarised at
the end when Antony stands over his body and calls him ‘the noblest Roman of them
all’ and states that ‘this was a man’. This also parallels Antony’s funeral oration over
Caesar’s body. As the play ends with Brutus’s death, it can be argued that he is the
tragic hero. This also puts across the theme of manhood.
Antony’s speech effects the development of the play as a whole as it informs us of
‘the fickle nature of the crowd’s devotion’. This is established from the first scene
when Flavius and Murellus discuss the public’s fickleness as they talk about how they
cheered for Pompey once and now they celebrate his defeat. This relates to the
public’s opinion being easily swayed as they side with Antony just as easily as they
sided with Brutus. Here Shakespeare may be trying to suggest that he believed the
proletariat might never rise up against the system, as they are just too fickle. However
we the readers, the off stage audience are able to interpret to a higher extent as we are
more aware of the goings on of Cassius’s manipulation of Brutus. Although we
do not want Brutus to be manipulated, we never side with the conspirators whereas
the crowds do. And so it is manifest that it is not only the power of the orator to
influence, but the type of audience is also important and the orator’s power to
influence depends on the audience’s willingness to be influenced and it is evident that
the crowds in Julius Caesar will accept what they hear. It is not only the power of the
orator to awake and arouse a reaction in the audience but the audience themselves that
want to be awoken and have shared values and meanings.
In conclusion, Mark Antony’s speech is most important in this play, which focuses
so much on gaining power through rhetoric and oration and has the greatest effect
upon the development of the play as a whole. The predominant effect being that of
putting across the honourable nature of Brutus and furthering his role as the tragic
hero as well as putting across the fickleness of the public.
Mark Antony Speech (Pages 1565-1566, lines 70-134, Norton Shakespeare)
Ant. Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them,
The good is oft interred with their bones;
So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus
Hath told you Caesar was ambitious;
If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
And grievously hath Caesar answer`d it.
Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest,
For Brutus is an honourable man;
So are they all, all honourable men;
Come I to speak in Caesar`s funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me:
But Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
He hath brought many captives home to Rome,
Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill:
Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?
When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept;
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
You all did see that on the Lupercal
I thrice presented him a kingly crown,
Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And, sure, he is an honourable man.
I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,
But here I am to speak what I do know.
You all did love him once, not without cause:
What cause withholds you then to mourn for him?
O judgement! thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason. Bear with me;
My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,
And I must pause till it come back to me.
First Cit. Methinks there is much reason in his sayings.
Second Cit. If thou consider rightly of the matter,
Caesar has had great wrong.
Third Cit. Has he, masters
I fear there will a worse come in his place.
Fourth Cit. Mark`d ye his words? He would not take the crown; Therefore, `t is certain, he was not ambitious.
First Cit. If it be found so, some will dear abide it.
Second Cit. Poor soul! his eyes are red as fire with weeping.
Third Cit. There`s not a nobler man in Rome than Antony.
Fourth Cit. Now mark him; he begins again to speak.
Ant. But yesterday the word of Caesar might
Have stood against the world; now lies he there,
And none so poor to do him reverence.
O masters! if I were disposed to stir
Your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage,
I should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong,
Who, you all know, are honourable men.
I will not do them wrong; I rather choose
To wrong the dead, to wrong myself, and you,
Than I will wrong such honourable men.
But here`s a parchment with the seal of Caesar;
I found it in his closet, `t is his will.
Let but the commons hear this testament,
Which, pardon me, I do not mean to read,
And they would go and kiss dead Caesar`s wounds,
And dip their napkins in his sacred blood,
Yes, beg a hair of him for memory,
And, dying, mention it within their wills,
Bequesthing it as a rich legacy
Unto their issue.
Fourth Cit. We`ll hear the will: read it, Mark Antony.
Citizens. The will, the will! we will hear Caesar`s will.
Bibliography
Primary Resources
Stephen Green Blatt, Walter Cohen, Jean .E. Howard, Katharine Eisaman Maus, The Norton Shakespeare, Based on the Oxford Edition, United States of America.
Secondary Resources