English 154/180
Harlan
LECTURE ON JULIUS CAESAR
Copyright William Harlan, 2002
This material is based on the taped lecture for Julius Caesar prepared for English 154. It is not a transcription of those audiotapes but is an alternative means of conveying essentially the same information. The citations are based on the Signet edition of the play, and when act, scene and line are cited in bold, you must consult the text in order to follow the commentary.
Shakespeare undoubtedly wrote Julius Caesar in 1599, just after he had finished writing Henry the Fifth. A visitor from Switzerland recorded his reaction to seeing the play performed that year on a visit to London. Shakespeare had recently opened the Globe Theater with his partners and was interested in performing plays that would consistently attract full houses. This play marked the return of his interest in writing tragedy since he had written Romeo and Juliet about five years before. It would be followed within a few years by the great tragedies of Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth; therefore scholars have looked upon Julius Caesar as an important step in Shakespeare's writing career.
Why would Shakespeare write a tragedy about the assassination of ancient Rome's greatest military hero and the political aftermath of that act of murder? For one thing most literate Elizabethans were very familiar with the story. The mark of an educated person throughout Europe in the Renaissance was knowledge of Latin and the history of ancient Rome. Many people in Shakespeare's audience probably knew more about the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC than they knew about some comparable event in English history. Furthermore, the best known Roman historian from that original time was Plutarch, who had written about the event in his book Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, and Plutarch's work had just been published in a new translation in English by North. Shakespeare used North's translation extensively in writing this play. The selections from North's translation, found in the back of the Signet edition, are interesting to look at after you have finished the play.
A second reason for writing about the history of ancient Rome was the fascination Rome held for Englishmen. For hundreds of years Englishmen had identified their country with Rome, and they saw themselves building a second Roman Empire. They even created a myth that the grandson of the founder of Rome had sailed to their island and had founded the ancient kingdom of Britain. Shakespeare had explored the culture and politics of ancient Rome in his first tragedy, Titus Andronicus. Young Will Shakespeare's melodramatic potboiler about rape, mutilation, murder and cannibalism took advantage of the excesses of some of the Roman leaders. Shakespeare's audiences ate it up, we know, because the play continued to be very popular throughout his career. A recent film version stars Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange and is a very strange yet powerful film.
The third reason for writing this play had to do with the immediate political situation in Elizabeth's England. When Shakespeare wrote the play Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen, had been on the throne for over 40 years, and it was obvious that she would not have a child to be her heir to the throne. The people of England were fearful of what would happen to their country upon her death. It seemed to them that whenever in English history the question of the succession (who would be the next ruler) had been left unresolved, the result had been a bloody civil war. Powerful forces were already forming to contest for the throne upon Elizabeth's death. The Catholics and Protestants had already tried to force Elizabeth into naming one of their champions as her heir. Foreign countries, like France and Spain, had proposed alliances through marriage. Powerful nobles in England had tried to control the throne by winning the queen's affection. Some had tried even more drastic measures. The Earl of Essex and a band of followers, including Shakespeare's own patron, the Earl of Southampton, had attempted an armed coup just before Julius Caesar was written. When the coup failed, largely due to the animosity of the ordinary citizens of London, most of the conspirators were executed. Southampton languished in prison at the Tower of London. Assassination was a distinct possibility in that charged political atmosphere. A king of France, facing a similar political conflict in his country, had been murdered. Several attempts had been made on the life of the Scottish king, James, who would eventually succeed Elizabeth. Even the queen herself was the object of assassination. Catholic leaders in Europe had openly urged her assassination for years. Followers of Mary, Queen of Scots, had plotted against the life of Elizabeth until the queen had to order the execution of Mary. Finally there had been a recent, well-publicized attempt by the queen's own physician allegedly to poison her, followed by a political show trial and a particularly gruesome public execution. Just as in our country in the 1960's when we saw four famous public figures gunned down, England wrestled with the threat of and possible reasons for political assassination. Was the murder of a leader ever morally justified? What was the effect on the nation? What was the traumatic effect upon the lives of the people directly involved? All of these questions were of immediate concern to Elizabethans and all of them are addressed in this great drama of Julius Caesar. Because of the political constraints on publicly discussing these questions on the stage, Shakespeare had to deal with the issues within the context of ancient Rome. However, because of the way the plays were performed at the Globe Theater -- the costumes, the language, etc. -- we know that Shakespeare's audience was encouraged to see themselves and their own age in the play, regardless of what historical period the play was set in.
To illustrate these particular issues there was no better example than Julius Caesar. He was an ambitious, ruthless military leader who sought to seize control of the Roman state, and his assassination had led to the establishment of the very thing his murderers had tried to prevent -- absolute rule by an emperor. It certainly made sense to name the play for this legendary figure, although it must be added that Julius Caesar's historical reputation since the late 16th Century has been helped immeasurably by Shakespeare's play. Julius Caesar is the most well-known of the Roman leaders, although he was never crowned emperor. However, because we are dealing with Shakespeare and because Shakespeare delighted in doing the unexpected, the protagonist of the play called Julius Caesar is not Julius Caesar but Brutus, the man who sought to overthrow Caesar. In fact Caesar is not found in the second half of the play at all, at least not in the flesh, although his reputation and what he stood for dominate throughout the entire work.
Although Shakespeare's play is clear and complete in itself, there are some key historical events and characters that are referred to, and it helps if you are familiar with them. Julius Caesar was born into a noble family around 100 BC. The "Caesar" part of his name was an honorific, an honorary title, which the subsequent Roman emperors adopted as part of their names, such as "Augustus Caesar." At that time Rome and its growing empire were ruled by the Senate, a governing body selected by the social and political elite. The Roman State was called a "republic," although it bore little resemblance to what we now call a "republic." There were a variety of political positions to which an ambitious, capable man might be appointed, and Caesar began to work his way up the ladder of success to become, in 59 BC a counsel, a combination of high political and military authority within the republic. He formed a strategic political alliance with two other ambitious men: Pompey and Crassus. Caesar even arranged a marriage between his daughter and Pompey. He then led a Roman army in an eight-year conquest of Gaul, what is now France. Julius Caesar, like many military leaders throughout history, was very careful to control the accounts of his campaigns. He himself wrote the official commentary of his campaign, and his writing style is exemplified in the famous, brief observation: "Veni, vidi, vici" or "I came, I saw, I conquered." General Douglas MacArthur in the Second World War patterned himself to a great extent on Caesar.
While Caesar was in Gaul conquering the natives, back in Rome the alliance with Pompey and Crassus disintegrated. After the death of Crassus and Caesar's daughter, Pompey openly opposed Caesar, with the backing of many Roman nobles and members of the Senate. The Senate finally forced the issue of Caesar's quest for power and ordered him to give up command of his army in Gaul. Instead Caesar marched his army back to Italy, crossed the border of the Rubicon River (hence the phrase "to cross the Rubicon" or to take an irrevocable step), and he engaged Pompey's army in combat. Bloody civil war spread all over the empire. Pompey was murdered in Egypt in 48 BC. Caesar continued to hunt down and destroy all potential opponents. He was appointed "dictator," a position of authority in the Roman State but not exactly like a modern dictator. However, Caesar's real goal was to replace the Roman republic with a single strong king or emperor, wielding centralized control. This put him in direct conflict with the Senate, many of whose members had opposed him in the war with Pompey and who had only recently sworn allegiance to him. On March 15 of 44 BC, what the Romans called "the ides of March," this simmering conflict led to the assassination of Julius Caesar by prominent members of the Senate. In the turmoil following the murder the assassins found themselves at a disadvantage when the common citizens of Rome rose up against them and when two of Caesar's allies, Mark Antony and Caesar's nephew Octavius, formed an army to be avenged for the murder of the great man. The conspirators were hunted down, and at the battle of Philippi in Greece they were defeated and many of the leaders committed suicide. Ironically the very thing the conspirators had tried to prevent, the rule of the country by a strong man, eventually took place when Octavius seized power and crowned himself the first Roman emperor, Augustus Caesar.
Now here are some of the dramatic highlights to watch for in the play:
1.) The contrast between Caesar's personal flaws as a man and his ability as a leader. What happens to Caesar's power after his death?
2.) Cassius' manipulation of Brutus before the murder. Why is he successful?
3.) The subtle power struggle between Brutus and Cassius throughout the play. Two men absolutely convinced that they must stop Caesar's rise to power engage in the same kind of contest themselves.
4.) Brutus' attempts to justify the assassination to himself throughout the play. How successful is he in justifying his actions?
5.) Brutus' struggle with Portia, his wife, over whether or not to trust her.
6.) The way Shakespeare builds suspense as he approaches the assassination. It is a masterful job that he does.
7.) Mark Antony's persuasion of the Roman mob. Why is it so effective?
8.) The chaos and political repression which follow the failure of the coup.
9.) The growing conflict between Mark Antony and Octavius.
10.) Brutus' actions as a soldier in comparison to his actions as an assassin. In what sense does Brutus succeed as a tragic hero?
Act I, scene 1
Julius Caesar begins in an unusual manner. The play deals with serious issues and momentous events, and yet the first scene is filled with low humor and puns. It's the kind of low comedy Shakespeare used in his tragedies to provide comic relief from the emotional strain of the action, but here the action hasn't even begun. However, watch how this scene does establish the appeal that Caesar has for the lower classes, and the hostility that the upper classes feel toward him as a result of his leadership. How does Shakespeare reinforce social differences among his characters with differences in the kind of language they use? [Act I, scene 1]
[Lines 1 -- 5] In the first five lines we are reminded of the control the upper classes exercised over the working people of ancient Rome, as well as of Shakespeare's London. Two tribunes, Flavius and Marullus, a couple of law enforcement officers representing the Senate, stop a group of working people out to celebrate the latest victory of Julius Caesar. Because they are "mechanicals" (working with their hands) they must not be away from their places of business unless it is an official holiday, and they must always carry the tools of their trades, "the sign of your profession [line 5].
[6 -- 34] The tribunes are upset to discover that they have stopped a shoemaker with a smart mouth, who answers their questions with witty puns and cynical comments. At line 11 he says he is only a "cobbler" with a pun on his profession and the fact that he is not very good at it. (To "cobble" something meant to throw some things together.) At line 15 he says he is a "mender of soles," another pun. At line 27 he says is a "surgeon to old shoes" who has to "recover" his patients. At line 32 he answers the question about why he is leading a group of men through the streets by saying that he is wearing out their shoes "to get myself into more work." He then admits that they have come out to celebrate the victory of Caesar over the last enemies of Pompey.
[35 -- 68] Marullus angrily reminds the "cruel men of Rome" [line 39] that they have done the same thing for Pompey in the past. In a poetic passage [lines 46 -- 50] he says that they have honored Pompey when he was victorious. He finishes his speech, castigating the workers for their "ingratitude" [line 58] in celebrating the defeat of their previous champion. They slink away. This is the first of many passages in the play to the fickle loyalty of the plebians, the ordinary citizens of Rome. In earlier history plays Shakespeare had shown the political dangers to the state of the mob, the uneducated and unstable lower classes that had to be held in check. He was quite open in showing his disdain for the mob of London.
[69 -- 79] The two tribunes separate to send the celebrating workers home and to tear down the decorations (robes) which had been put up on the statues which had been erected to celebrate Caesar triumphant return. Their intent at lines 75 -- 79 is to deflate Julius Caesar's ambition:
These growing feathers plucked from Caesar's wing
Will make him fly an ordinary pitch,
Who else would soar above the view of men
And keep us all in servile fearfulness.
It is as if Julius Caesar were an eagle, seeking to intimidate everyone else by soaring over their heads. The battle for power is on again, and it is a battle in which image is everything.
Act I, scene 2
[Line 1 -- 24] Now this is a short sequence, but it tells us a great deal when we look at it closely. This is our introduction to the great man, Julius Caesar, and as Shakespeare shows us Caesar has timed his triumphant return to coincide with a fertility festival called "Lupercal." Think about that in terms of its political image. So Caesar comes back at Lupercal, and part of the celebration involved games. The Romans loved games, such as track and field and wrestling. (The World Wrestling Federation Smackdown came originally from the Romans, only they used real folding chairs.) Throughout this scene Shakespeare has thrown in a lot of little ironic foreshadowings about upcoming events. For example notice who the people are who surround Caesar, doing his bidding, being part of his entourage, his yes-men. At line 2 Casca is the character who tells everyone to be quiet: "Peace, ho! Caesar speaks." Caesar is so important that he has to have someone warn everyone when he's ready to say something. It's ironic that the first person who steps forward to serve Caesar here is Casca who will be the first person to strike in the assassination of Caesar. Others include Brutus at line 19 who repeats the message of warning to Caesar from the Soothsayer: "A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March." Cassius is the third major conspirator, and at line 21 he bids the soothsayer to come from the thong and look upon Caesar. Shakespeare sets up this little scene as a preview to show us how these conspirators will end up killing the very man they seem to respect and serve here.
At the beginning of the scene Caesar orders his wife Calphurnia to stand up publicly so that during the course of the race Mark Antony, one of the participants in the race can touch her as he goes by. He explains that the elders have declared that the barren, those unable to have children, "touched in this holy chase,/ Shake off their sterile curse" [line
8 -- 9]. Antony is the quintessential yes-man, telling Caesar: "I shall remember:/ When Caesar says, 'Do this,' it is performed" [line 10 --11]. In historical reality Mark Antony was already a major player in the Senate and ally of Caesar. Shakespeare will show him, at least in the eyes of Brutus, as a simple-minded guy, a jock, who enjoyed the good life and was a dutiful go-for for Julius Caesar. We will watch the emergence of Anthony as a leader and the potential replacement for Caesar after the assassination.
And then we get the famous warning about the ides of March from the Soothsayer, the predictor, the Roman equivalent of the prediction issue of the National Inquirer with Jeanne Dixon at the end of each year: "Caesar, beware the ides of March!" the "ides" here meaning the fifteenth of March. One of the themes Shakespeare develops through the play is the contrast between the private Caesar and the public. As a private citizen Julius Caesar has weakness, failings, and he might respond with fear to this dire warning, delivered in this reading by a guy with a quivery, Twilight-Zone kind of voice. The real private Caesar might show fear, but the public leader Caesar can show no fear at all. And so it is that having heard this warning the public leader Caesar dismisses the warning: "He is a dreamer; let us leave him" [line 23]. This opening sequence is always an opportunity for the director and actors to give us a sense of pageantry in the play and prepare for the conflict between Caesar and the men who will kill him.
We now move from the public arena to the private arena as everyone leaves except Cassius and Brutus. Cassius starts his manipulation of Brutus. Cassius has been thinking about this moment for a long time. He needs someone as part of his assassination plot who's got a reputation and who will bring others to their cause
[Lines 25 -- 78]
Throughout this sequence, in fact throughout Act I, scene 2, Cassius' intent is to manipulate Brutus, to get Brutus into his conspiracy to assassinate Caesar. Cassius sees himself as an intellectual, as more clever than others and able to manipulate them. Indeed, throughout the play we will see Cassius manipulate other characters. But Brutus is a tougher nut to crack.
[25 -- 50] At the beginning of this sequence Cassius asks Brutus if he will join the throng of people fawning on Caesar at the race. At line 28 Brutus excuses himself: "I am not gamesome. I do lack some part/ Of that quick spirit that is in Antony." Here we see that kind of dismissive attitude toward Antony, who is perceived as only interested in having a good time, Cassius begins his process by accusing Brutus gently of not being as attentive, as friendly of late as he had been before: "I have not from your eyes that gentleness/ And show of love as I was wont to have"[line 33 -- 34]. It is as if he's asking, "What's bothering you? You see preoccupied." If someone keeps telling you that something's bothering you, you will sooner or later in almost all cases begin to accept their assessment. Something will be bothering you! This is also an indirect way to get people to open up, to share with you their innermost thoughts. Cassius says, "I've always been your friend, and I'm hurt by the way you've been acting." Brutus excuses himself at line 37: "Be not deceived; if I have veiled my look,/ I turn the trouble of my countenance/ Merely upon myself." At line 46 he will refer to it as being at war with himself. At line 39 he says, "Vexed I am/ Of late with passions of some difference,/ Conceptions only proper to myself." Brutus is a very private man; he does not open up easily. Rather than telling Cassius why he is at war with himself, he simply asks to be excused and reassures Cassius that he considers him to be one of his good friends.
[51 -- 78]Cassius seems to accept that and then goes into a new, interesting speculation at line 51: can you see yourself? Can the eye see the face? Brutus, who prides himself on being a rational man, says, "Of course the eye can't see itself directly, but only by reflection." That gives Cassius his opening for a new attempt to manipulate Brutus: "Let me be your reflector or mirror." Cassius proceeds to lay out for Brutus at line 57, "your hidden worthiness into your eye." In other words, let me show you the qualities hidden within you that are worthy and that you should take into consideration. "I have heard/ Where many of the best respect in Rome" [line 58], and here he brings up the idea that people with impeccable reputations ("best respect") have yearned that Brutus could only see himself in their eyes. Now Brutus is no dummy; he knows exactly when he is being manipulated, and his first reaction at line 63 is "Into what dangers would you lead me"? Rather than being flattered his suspicions are immediately aroused: "That you would have me seek into myself/ For that which is not in me"[line 64]. So Brutus' first reaction is to deny the slightest suggestion that he has that within him which would make him a worthy alternative to "the immortal Caesar" at line 60. (Cassius is undoubtedly speaking sarcastically here, and note the irony of the "immortal" for a man who will soon be dead.)
So Brutus is suspicious, but Cassius presses on: "be prepared to hear:/ And since you know you cannot see yourself/ So well as by reflection" [line 66]. Let me show what is in you. Now why would Cassius try to appeal to Brutus' ambition? Let me show what is within you, what others fervently hope you would bring forth. Why this approach? Think about it.
Now Cassius at line 71 reassures Brutus: You can trust me because you know my reputation: "Be not jealous on me [suspicious] gentle Brutus." You can trust me. If I were known as a flatterer, if I were known as someone who would talk about people behind their backs, then you might be suspicious of me. But because I do not have this reputation, because Cassius assumes Brutus agrees that he has a reputation as a straight shooter, Brutus should accept what he says here. At this point we hear cheering from offstage. That becomes the opening Cassius really needs to sway Brutus because Brutus will now let his guard down and reveal what has been bothering him, what has caused him to be at war with himself. [Line 78 -- 175]
[79 -- 81] When Brutus and Cassius hear the cheering from the crowd offstage at line 78, Brutus reveals the source of his inner turmoil: "I do fear the people/ Choose Caesar for their king." Throughout his struggle and rise to power, Julius Caesar was always very careful to cultivate his image among the common people. They were not players. They were not represented in the Senate. They could not choose the next political appointment. But Caesar was smart enough to realize he could not succeed without their tacit approval, and he knew that the nobles were fearful of the mob. So he did everything he could to cultivate this public image. We saw a good example of this playing to the commoners back in the opening sequence, lines 1 -- 24. Brutus and all the other upper class people from the Senate saw that Caesar was making a play for public approval, and here Brutus reveals his concern when he says that he fears the people are choosing Caesar to be king. Once Brutus reveals this concern Cassius has the opening he needs to manipulate him: "Ay, do you fear it?/ Then must I think you would not have it so" [l. 80].
This becomes the common ground between them.
[82 -- 89] Brutus is quick to say, "I would not, Cassius, yet I love him well" [l. 81] Obviously Brutus counts Caesar as one of his friends, but he suspects his motives. At line 84 Brutus tells Cassius:
What is it that you would impart to me?
If it be aught toward the general good,
Set honor in one eye and death in the other,
And I will look on both indifferently.
Brutus is telling Cassius he values most the general good, what's best for the country. Personally he seeks whatever is most honorable for him to do, not ambition or personal gain. Brutus' philosophy of life, which he will relate in bits and pieces throughout the play, is stoicism -- the idea of calmly and honorably accepting what life throws at us. Throughout the tragedies Shakespeare reveals a real interest in this philosophy, especially in a character like Hamlet, who is suspicious of characters that allow their emotions to get control of them. Brutus explains further at line 89, "I love honor more than I fear death."
[90 -- 131] Cassius is quick to modify his message to fit what Brutus tells him: "I know that virtue to be in you, Brutus,/ As well as I know your outward favor. Well, honor is the subject of my story" [l. 90 -- 92]. He heads in a new direction and hammers on Caesar and asks why Caesar should be held in more esteem than anyone else. Why should he have more honor? At line 95 he dramatically states, "I had as lief not be, as live to be/ In awe of such a thing as I myself." What Cassius is actually saying here is that he'd rather not be alive as be in awe of Caesar. Shakespeare introduces here a motif or little theme that we'll find with Cassius throughout the play. Whenever he gets in a tight situation he'll say at some point: "I always have the option of committing suicide." He'll do this four or five times in the play, revealing a key aspect of his character. Cassius then cites specific examples that to his mind prove that Caesar is no better than anyone else, certainly no better than himself or Brutus: "We were born as free, both fed as well, both can endure the winter's cold." He tells of the time he and Caesar went for a swim in the Tiber River on a cold winter's day. Halfway across Caesar gets into trouble, has a cramp perhaps, and calls out, "'Help me, Cassius, or I sink" [l. 111]. Now in Cassius' mind the fact that Caesar couldn't swim across the Tiber without help is evidence that he shouldn't be king, that he is no better than Cassius, not as good as Cassius, based on swimming skills. That's the hidden meaning behind the story. Because of his rescuing Caesar, Cassius now mockingly compares himself at line 112 to Aeneas, a leader of ancient Troy, who had led a few of the survivors from the fallen city on a long voyage which culminated with the founding of Rome. When Cassius carried Caesar from the river he was like Aeneas carrying his father Anchises to safety. At line 115 Cassius declares sarcastically,
And this man
Is now become a god, and Cassius is
A wretched creature that must bend his body
If Caesar but careless nod on him.
So in Cassius' mind Caesar is unfit to be a leader because of his personal failings. Shakespeare consistently drew a distinction between the human, imperfect Caesar and Caesar qualities as a leader. Suffice to say nothing Cassius has said so far really addresses the question of Caesar's leadership. He then launches into a second story to illustrate Caesar's frailties. He tells how Caesar on campaign in Spain fell sick and groaned in an unmanly way, Cassius says, like a sick girl. This disqualifies Caesar as a leader. At line 128 he declares
It doth amaze me,
A man of such a feeble temper should
So get the start of the majestic world
And bear the palm alone.
Your notes tell you about "bearing the palm alone" as a sign of superiority.
[132 -- 150] They are interrupted by a second shout off stage. Brutus does not respond to what Cassius has said but reacts to the shouting, fearing that it means "some new honors that are heaped on Caesar" [l. 134]. He is most concerned about the possibility of Caesar seizing absolute power in the future. Cassius' struggle is right here with Brutus, and he takes Brutus' expression of concern for another opening and dramatically states, "Why man, he doth bestride the narrow world/ Like a Colossus." (The Colossus of Rhodes was an enormous statue under which people could walk and even ships could sail.) Cassius then turns this allusion into a dramatic image: "we petty men/ Walk under his huge legs and peep about/ To find ourselves dishonorable graves." Cassius and Brutus, who were so concerned for the personal honor, are dwarfed by the looming giant Caesar and face dishonorable deaths. Then Cassius makes his most powerful point, probably this character's most memorable line in the play, "Men at some time are masters of their fate./ The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,/ But in ourselves, that we are underlings"[line 139 -- 141].
What he is doing here is asserting something that in Shakespeare's time was a relatively new concept and considered somewhat subversive. It's the view of human life associated with the great Italian political scientist, Machiavelli. He had written that ordinary people believe their lives are controlled by the stars, by fate, by God's will, by forces beyond their control or understanding. Successful people in politics, or in any endeavor, know inherently that they have control of their own lives, they have free will, and they use that knowledge to their own advantage. Machiavelli's concept is embedded in those two lines at 140 -- 141. Cassius then compares Brutus and Caesar at line 142:
Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that "Caesar"?
Why should that name be sounded more than yours?
Write them together; yours is as fair a name;
Sound them, it doth become the mouth as well.
Cassius has attempted to reduce the complex issue of Caesar's leadership and ambition to a simple contest of names: Which name has more letters? Brutus is just as good as Caesar, just as capable. Why should Caesar get all the glory? This is going to become one of the dominant themes of the play and one of its great ironies. Brutus will sacrifice everything to save Rome from being dominated by a strong leader. However, whether he realizes it or not, Brutus will try to become the same kind of leader that Caesar was. We'll see how well he does in his efforts.
[151 -- 161] At line 151 Cassius hits upon Brutus' weak spot, which is a kind of vanity about his family's reputation: "Rome, thou hast lost the breed of noble bloods!" This is an indirect reference to one of Brutus' ancestors who was famous for helping overthrow an early effort by a strong man to take over Rome. (A footnote at line 159 gives you the details.) The reputation of Brutus' family is one of the main reasons Cassius wants to get him in the conspiracy. It will suggest that these latter day conspirators are simply doing what Brutus' ancestor had done. Notice the unusual pun at lines 154 -- 156: "When could they say (till now) that talked of Rome,/ That her wide walks encompassed but one man?/ Now is it Rome indeed, and room enough." The pun on "Rome" and "room" shows, as we saw in Romeo and Juliet, that puns could be used for serious purposes. Cassius concludes by paying a direct tribute to Brutus' ancestors at line 159: "There was a Brutus once that would have brooked/ The eternal devil keep his state in Rome,/ As easily as a king."
[162 -- 177] Having said nothing in response to Cassius' ardent efforts, at last Brutus speaks: "That you do love me, I am nothing jealous" [line 162]. I know you like me and do not doubt your friendship. "What you would work me to, I have some aim" [line 163]. Notice, "work me to" which implies that Brutus realizes Cassius us trying to manipulate him toward a specific action. "How I have thought of this, and of these times/ I shall recount hereafter"[line 164]. Brutus says the same things that bother you are bothering me, but I'm not going to tell you any more that this time. "What you have said/ I will consider; what you have to say/ I will with patience hear"[line 167 --169]. Brutus is very careful not to commit himself directly, but he does say something revealing at line 172:
Brutus had rather be a villager
Than to repute himself a son of Rome
Under these hard conditions as this time
Is like to lay upon us.
People who lived in Rome, regardless of their social class, considered themselves to be the most fortunate in the world. Rome was the center of the known world, and just to be able to live there was the greatest blessing. Most in Shakespeare's audience felt the same way about living in London in 1599. Brutus would rather give up this great advantage as a son of Rome that to have to endure the difficulties that lay ahead. Even though this is indirect it does reveal how powerfully Brutus feels about Caesar becoming king. Cassius has the opening he wanted.
The private conference between Brutus and Cassius ends as Caesar and all his party suddenly return. In this next sequence of Act I, scene 2 I'd like you to look for two things. First, we learn more about the personal flaws of Julius Caesar. He has quite a few. Next, notice Caesar's skills as a leader in this sequence. [Lines 177 --213]
We see one of Caesar's flaws in the last two lines of this sequence: he's deaf. "Come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf" [l. 212]. Another flaw right at the beginning of the sequence is that Caesar can let his anger get the better of him. At line 183 we're told, "The angry spot doth glow on Caesar's brow." We can tell from the reaction of everyone else that when Caesar is angry, he shares that emotion with all of those present. The third and probably the most important flaw is not as obvious. It is that Julius Caesar is trapped in the role of a leader. As a human being he has certain fears and weaknesses. But as a leader, he cannot show those all-too-human weaknesses. At line 198, after having shared with Mark Antony his fears and concerns about Cassius, he has to add,
But I fear him not,
Yet if my name were liable to fear,
I do not know the man I should avoid,
So soon as that spare Cassius.
Having told Antony his well-founded fear of Cassius, he has to quickly deny it and make it go away, because Caesar cannot be afraid. The same idea is expressed at line 211: "I tell thee what is to be feared/ Than what I fear, for always I am Caesar." (When people refer to themselves in the third person, as Caesar does here, it's a good idea to put your hand over your wallet. It's pretty likely someone is about to pull a fast one on you.)
Caesar's skills are at least as impressive as his flaws. He walks in here, still upset from just having had an epileptic fit. We're told his face is red and he is breathing hard. Yet he is able to assess the political climate and identify Cassius as his chief enemy. Furthermore, he does a very insightful analysis of why Cassius hates him: "Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; /He thinks too much. Such men are dangerous" [line 194].
Then further at line 208 he observes, "Such men are never at heart's ease/ Whiles they behold a greater than themselves,/ And therefore are they very dangerous." He correctly pinpoints Cassius primary motive as envy. This is very astute. Brutus, by contrast, seems to miss this aspect of Cassius' motivation completely. He never comments on what lies behind Cassius' manipulation. So Caesar has this ability to understand human dynamics. Look at other aspects of his analysis. At line 201 he views Cassius with suspicion because he is spare. (It's personally gratifying to me that were I in Caesar's court I would be allowed close proximity to the great man because of my bulk.) He says of Cassius "he reads much./ He is a great observer, and looks/ Quite through the deeds of men" [line 201]. Cassius analyzes everything in great detail.
He loves no plays,
As thou dost, Antony; he hears no music;
Seldom he smiles, and smiles in such a sort
As if he mocked himself, and scorned his spirit
That could be moved to smile at anything.
What Caesar is observing here is quite important: Cassius has no sense of humor. When he does smile it is a smile of scorn. We see a lot of scorn in this play masquerading as humor. The next character we meet, Casca, also has this scornful spirit. Mark Antony, who after Caesar's death will emerge as the next great leader, misses this insight about Cassius completely around line 197: "Oh no, Caesar, he's not plotting anything. He's a noble Roman." Now Caesar does get his analysis of Cassius correct, but he misses Brutus. He doesn't see anything suspicious about Brutus and Cassius in private conversation. That omission proves to be fatal for Caesar.
In this next sequence look for a couple of things. First, what was it that upset Julius Caesar at the race? Second, what do you make of the character of Casca who is introduced in more detail here? He was first mentioned in the opening lines of this scene when he ran around and told everyone to be silent when Caesar spoke. I've also prepared you for Casca's habit of scorning things. [Line 214 -- 322]
[214 -- 275] Why was Caesar upset when he came back on stage? He had just had an epileptic seizure and had lost consciousness in public. Here is still one more human weakness shown by the great man. Now besides being embarrassing for a leader, as when George Bush threw up all over the Prime Minister of Japan back in the early 1990's, this unfortunate event took place right in the middle of an elaborate piece of political theater. The race takes place with Caesar as the guest of honor. Antony wins, and by prior arrangement he offers Caesar a crown, in fact offers it three times. Why? Although Caesar wants the crown, both literally as a physical symbol and figuratively as the absolute ruler, the Romans are not used to the idea of having a supreme monarch. They haven been told throughout their history that Rome will never be ruled by a king, So what Caesar is doing in this little drama of rejecting the crown is just getting them used to the idea. This is not unlike the special news conference the president holds to assure everyone that he has no intentions of raising taxes. You can bet there's tax increase in your future. For whom was this scene of offering and refusing the crown played out? It was not done for members of the Senate, like Brutus, Cassius and Casca. He's playing to the ordinary citizens of Rome, the great multitude. He's winning the hearts and minds of the ordinary folks. He's making it more difficult for the Senate to oppose him, because the senators represent only a small ruling elite.
Casca, who had been shown earlier as one of Caesar's yes-men, turns out to be scornful and cynical. He uses sarcasm to convey his bitter feelings toward Caesar and the plebians. At line 230 he refers to the commoners with superior mockery as "mine honest neighbors." I assure you this is sarcastic; he feels no kinship with these people at all. He drops the pretense at line 243 when he calls them "the rabblement" and at 244 when he refers to their "chopt" or chapped hands; they can't afford gloves and they have to do hard physical labor outdoors, so their hands are red and rough. At line 245 he has a subtle putdown when he describes how the people threw their "sweaty nightcaps" in the air. The only head coverings the people could afford on this blustery spring day were caps probably made of rough woolen material. They resembled the kind of caps people like Casca wore to keep their heads warm in bed. From line 246 on he makes much of their "stinking breath" which he asserts caused Caesar to "swound" or faint and about which Casca says, "I durst not laugh, for fear of opening my lips and receiving the bad air" [line 248]. Casca is just not used to being in close proximity to the people.
Casca's social superiority also shows itself in his supposed indifference to the events he just witnessed. At line 235 he calls the offering of the crown "mere foolery. I did not mark it" or pay it any attention. It was beneath his notice. Yet notice that for all of his dismissal, he knows exactly what happened. He knows the crown was offered three times. He knows that it wasn't exactly a crown, but a "coronet" or miniature crown at line 237. Casca may disapprove of the political theater, but he is fascinated by it.
Casca is quick to attribute certain motives to Caesar. When Caesar rejects the crown the first time, Casca says at line 238, "but for all that, to my thinking, he fain would have had it." Caesar really desired the crown, and so each time he was offered the crown he was more reluctant to refuse it, according to Casca.
What we have with Casca is a character that pretends to be a loyal yes-man around Caesar. Then with Cassius and Brutus he pretends to be something else: the bored sophisticate who can't be bothered to notice. The real Casca is revealed kind of between the lines. Casca is absolutely correct in his assessment of what's taking place. Between line 258 and 261 he even calls it a kind of performance and uses the images of the theater. We all are familiar with this kind of play-acting. President Clinton was fond of flying off somewhere to be photographed hauling sandbags to a flooded levee. President Bush will go to some disaster and will pitch in to hand out relief supplies as long as the television cameras are running. The most dramatic moment in Caesar political performance was when Caesar fainted, when, according to Brutus, he had an epileptic seizure. When Caesar regained consciousness, he immediately tried to excuse himself, apologizing if he had said or done anything that offended the crowd. Later at line 265 Casca describes how Caesar offered his throat to be cut by anyone, probably as a sign of his willingness to sacrifice his life for the State. Casca at line 266 says he really felt like taking advantage of the offer. In Caesar's offer of his throat what we have is a foreshadowing of the assassination in a few days when Caesar will fall under the knife.
The dramatic gesture of offering your life as a test of your faith was not new in Shakespeare's works. In one of his first successful plays Shakespeare had his villain Richard III, a consummate political actor, impress a woman by offering her a knife to cut his throat. Of course in Richard's case it was even more dramatic since he had just murdered her husband and her father-in-law. He was trying to convince her that he had only committed these crimes because he was in love with her, and it worked.
When Casca describes Caesar fainting and foaming at the mouth at line 252 -- 253, Brutus, who apparently knows some of Caesar's most intimate secrets, tells us that he has epilepsy, what Brutus calls "the falling sickness" at 254. Cassius quickly turns this information into another heavy-handed political lesson: "Nay, Caesar hath it not, but you, and I/ And honest Casca, we have the falling sickness" [255 -- 256]. Is that play on "falling" too subtle for us? Do we miss the point of Cassius' barb?
Casca dismisses the crowd's reaction to Caesar's fainting. He sneeringly describes several women weeping when he fell and forgiving him. At line 273 Casca says not to pay any attention to them; they would have done the same thing if Caesar had stabbed their mothers.
[276 -- 294] One of Cassius' first questions is, "What was Cicero's reaction? What did he say?" Cicero is one of the main movers in the Senate, and his opinion is important. We can see Cassius mentally counting heads, trying to calculate if he has enough support for his plan. "What did he say?" and Casca gives his normal dismissive answer: "He said something in Greek." "Well, what was it?" insists Cassius. At line 284 Casca gives his famous response: "For mine own part, it was Greek to me." That is, Casca didn't understand it. Those few who did get it smiled at each other and nodded, but they represented only tiny fraction of those present. Here we see in a small way the larger political struggle going on. Caesar is playing to the multitudes, thousands of people, and those who might oppose him are standing by, speaking to each other in a private, intellectual tongue only a few can understand. Cicero was a famous orator in historical reality, but here he comes off as an ineffectual snob.
Casca goes on to add, in an offhanded manner, that the two tribunes we saw back at the beginning of the play, Marullus and Flavius, pulling scarves off the statues of Caesar, have been "put to silence" [line 286]. This has an ominous sound to it, and I assume they have been executed. It does give us an idea of the high stakes that people are playing for and how Caesar is operating, perhaps, outside the law. Casca's last line at 287 is "There was more foolery yet, if I could remember it." Once again he pretends that it was all beneath his notice, but of course he has just given us a detailed account that lasted over 50 lines!
[295 -- 307] As soon as Casca leaves Brutus gives us an assessment of him: "What a blunt fellow is this grown to be!/ He was quick mettle when he went to school" [line 295 --296]. These lines remind us that all these men -- Brutus, Cassius, Casca, even Caesar -- know each other very well. They have gone to school together, know each other's health problems. Cassius had married Brutus' sister, so they have a close connection. They constitute a tight little fraternity, the ruling elite in Rome.
Much as he had done throughout this scene, Casca turns Brutus' description of Casca with "quick mettle" into a political purpose: "So is he now in execution/ Of any bold or noble enterprise" [line 297 -- 298]. He will act decisively when the occasion is right. The truth is that Cassius has not gotten either Brutus or Casca to agree to join the assassination conspiracy, but here he pretends that Casca has agreed to act in some "bold enterprise," implying the assassination. Furthermore, from line 299 -- 302 he describes Casca putting on "this tardy form." That is, Casca really is a man of action, not matter how he pretends to be disengaged and scornful. In fact his behavior is an act "Which gives men stomach to digest his words/ With better appetite" [line 301 --302]. In other words, there's a hidden purpose behind his act, his dissembling -- and Casca pretends he knows what that purpose is.
[308 -- 322] At this point as Brutus departs, he leaves the situation open. He makes no commitment, but simply suggests that Cassius come and see him or he will visit Cassius and they'll discuss the situation further. They'll do lunch. When he's gone Cassius has a short soliloquy in which he reveals his true feelings. Here he throws his nightcap in the air, figuratively, he's so happy with his success. He even calls it a "seduction" at line 312. In his perception he has changed Brutus from what he was to something less noble, something closer to Cassius' own wicked mind. It was a mistake for Brutus to even talk with him, Cassius in effect saying, "Noble minds should only associate with those like themselves." We see Cassius' plan for disinformation: He will deliver to Brutus letters written in different handwriting as if they came from different people, letters that will urge Brutus to act to stop Caesar. If that seems like a pretty crude political trick, remember that during his administration Richard Nixon did exactly the same thing. His operatives in the Committee to Re-Elect the President would send letters to the newspapers written in the names of ordinary citizens. Once there was a television program on Nixon's policies in Vietnam. Viewers were invited to phone in and cast their vote for or against. Nixon's people got word of this and had hundreds of volunteers repeatedly calling in to support the president, giving a biased poll. Cassius does many of the same things in order to manipulate the individuals whose support he needs. He revels in his deception which he says is necessary because Caesar hates him at line 313. (And we know Caesar does distrust and hate Cassius!) Now this behavior puts Cassius in the same category as some of Shakespeare's other great villains: Iago from Othello, Richard III I mentioned before, Edmund the Bastard from King Lear -- all of whom manipulate others and use disinformation. The final two lines of Cassius soliloquy, "And after this, let Caesar seat him sure,/ For we will shake him, or worse days endure" [line 321] always reminds me of Snively Whiplash, the outrageous villain on the old Rocky and Bullwinkle show, twisting his mustache and laughing fiendishly. Cassius is playing the conscious villain in the last part of this scene, but what kind of a villain is he? We'll see in the rest of the play.
In Act I, scene 3 the night after the race there is a terrible storm in Rome. The Elizabethans, like many people, believed there was a direct link between the events of the universe at large (the macrocosm) and the small world of human events ( the microcosm). When things were upset in the microcosm, it was often reflected by events in the macrocosm, such as eclipses, meteor showers, earthquakes and a major storm, as in this case. We will see the same thing in Macbeth where the natural world, in sympathy with the human, reacts either before or after the event. This storm will be a significant event over the next three scenes. I want you to watch for the reaction to the storm by the major characters. [Act I, scene 3]
[Line 1 -- 40] It certainly seems to be a bad storm, but its severity varies according to the perception of the characters involved. Casca tells us at line 4 that all of creation "Shakes like a thing infirm." This is the same Casca who in the previous scene was scornfully bored and couldn't be bothered with the "foolery" of what was happening. Now he's unhinged by this terrible storm. At line 11 he offers his explanation of this event, using the model of the microcosm/macrocosm concept I mentioned before: "Either there is civil strife in heaven,/ Or else the world too saucy [disrespectful] with the gods,/ Incenses them to send destruction." Cicero, the famous orator who spoke Greek in the previous scene, is less impressed by the storm than Casca. At line 14, when he asks, "Why, saw you anything more wonderful" he is probably being sarcastic, given Casca's kind of hysterical explanation of what's happening. From line 15 to 28 Casca lists all the "prodigies" [Shakespeare's term for unnatural events] that he has witnessed. First there was a man with a flaming hand. Next, around line 20, he sees a lion across the street from the Capitol. Then there were a hundred ghastly women who in turn tell about men covered in flames, walking the streets. Finally, most ominously for Shakespeare's audience, there was an owl, in the marketplace at noon, hooting. This was a sign of supernatural significance, because owls did not come out during the day and hoot. Something terrible is about to happen. From line 29 to 32 Casca concludes these things are not natural; they are "portentous" and meaning something. Cicero, from 33 to 36, agrees it's a bad night, but he warns that men may misconstrue or interpret incorrectly what the significance is. His advice on such a night is to get inside. Cicero deflates Casca's eagerness to find some sinister meaning in the storm.
[Line 41 -- 130] When Cassius enters we find out that the storm has had a very different effect on him -- he's energized and transformed. When Casca asks if it isn't a terrible night, Cassius replies at line 43: "A very pleasing night to honest men." Even more dramatically at line 49 he describes how he has walked the streets, baring his breast to the lightning, challenging the gods. Casca is appalled and warns him at line 54 "It is the part of men to fear and tremble/ When the most mighty gods by tokens send/ Such dreadful heralds to astonish us." To Casca, Cassius' behavior is terrifying and self-destructive. Cassius dismisses Casca's fear and insults him: "You are dull, Casca, and those sparks of life/ That should be in a Roman you do want." From line 68 to 71 Cassius gives an entirely different interpretation of the storm. Yes, the gods have infused the storm with fear and warning, but not as a general message to everyone, but as a response to a specific event. Cassius leads Casca right up to the meaning of the event, line 72 -- 78:
Now could I, Casca, name to thee a man
Most like this dreadful night,
That thunders, lightens, opens graves and roars
As doth the lion in the Capitol;
A man no mightier than thyself, or me,
In personal action, but prodigious [note connection with "prodigies] grown
And fearful, as these strange eruptions are.
Cassius lets Casca draw the conclusion that he's talking about Caesar. As a manipulator, a con man, Cassius realizes the best way to trick someone is to let him make the final connection. Just as he had with Brutus, Cassius argues here on the basis of equity. Caesar is like this terrible storm, but in reality he's no mightier than Casca or Cassius. From line 80 to 84 he explains that while Romans resemble their ancestors physically, their minds are dead; they are governed by their mothers' spirits. Otherwise they would not have allowed Caesar to so dominate them.
At line 84 once again Casca draws the connection Cassius has prepared, saying that the Senate, as a compromise, has decided to allow Caesar to be crowned king throughout the empire, except in Italy. This is a big step toward Caesar assuming absolute power everywhere. Cassius responds melodramatically to the news by threatening to commit suicide. As he says at line 97 in the face of tyranny and political oppression, he always has the option of killing himself. Casca responds at line 100 that Cassius' threat is no big deal. Any slave can kill himself. What we can see, however, is that Cassius is doing the same kind of theatrical action that Caesar had done previously when he offered his throat to be cut at the race. Caesar was playing to the crowds; Cassius only wants to impress Casca. There's more here. Despite Cassius' effort at manipulation here, throughout the play when he is confronted with a dilemma, Cassius will often use the same threat of killing himself.
Cassius at line 103 observes sarcastically that Caesar has no choice but to become king: "Poor man, I know he would not be a wolf/ But that he sees the Romans are but sheep." They have allowed themselves to be dominated by, impressed by, cowed by such a vile thing as Caesar. This is about line 111 -- 112. Then he suddenly blurts out dramatically, "My god, what have I done? Perhaps I have revealed my innermost feelings before a willing bondsman or slave. Well, if I have told too much about how I feel, I know what my recourse is," implying that option of self-destruction again. At around line 113 he says in effect, "If you're going to run and tell Caesar what I really think, I'll take action." This of course forces Casca to make a commitment to the assassination plot, which is what Cassius wanted. At line 117 Casca has to declare that he is no telltale and will do as much to save the state as anyone else. Cassius has successfully manipulated Casca into joining the conspiracy. In another life Cassius would be selling used cars or time shares at non-existent resorts. Cassius and Casca shake hands to seal the commitment at line 119. As soon as he has officially joined Cassius tells Casca in effect at line 121, "I want you to know I've already got some very important people to join with us." Earlier he had implied to Brutus that Casca was a conspirator; now he implies to Casca that Brutus is a member, or at least very close to joining.
Now Cassius uses the storm at line 130 to characterize how they must act in the assassination: "Most bloody, fiery, and most terrible." This is the third different interpretation of the storm Cassius has given.
Cinna enters, out-of-breath and nearly hysterical from the storm. Cassius introduces him as another conspirator and asks pointedly at line 136, "Am I not stayed for?" Cassius, in his own piece of political theater, wants to emphasize his importance as the leader, to suggest that a group of men somewhere are eagerly awaiting to get the word from him. Cinna just wants to talk about the violence of the storm at lines 137 -- 138, and Cassius has to remind him what is most important here, namely Cassius' performance as the man in charge: at line 139 he sharply asks again, "Am I not stayed for?" Cinna reveals that the meeting is to discuss the possibility of getting Brutus into the conspiracy. Cassius tells him to take three phony letters addressed to Brutus and leave them at three different locations where Brutus is sure to find them. These are the letters which Cassius had described back at lines 315 -- 320 in I, 2, part of his campaign of "dirty tricks" and disinformation. He says that he has almost won Brutus to their cause at line 154: "three parts of him/ Is ours already." Casca sees immediately the significance of getting Brutus to join them at lines 157 -- 160:
O, he sits high in all the people's hearts;
And that which would appear offense in us,
His countenance, like richest alchemy,
Will change to virtue and to worthiness.
Alchemy is of course the process of changing base metal, like lead, to gold. If Brutus is a part of our conspiracy then the assassination will not shock people but will be seen as a good and necessary thing. Cassius is way ahead of Casca, and he says, somewhat patronizingly, "You have right well conceited" [line 162], in effect saying, "Very good, you understand."
Act II, Scene 1
In the first sequence, lines 1 -- 85, we'll see Brutus weighing the arguments about whether or not to murder Julius Caesar. There is some interchange between Brutus and a servant boy named Lucius that Shakespeare uses for dramatic purposes, but the primary focus is on Brutus' inner struggle. Brutus is no Cassius. Cassius never once considers any alternative; he never once wrestles with the moral consequences of his actions. He is single minded in his determination. But Brutus is a different kind of human being. He is a thinking, self-conscious man; he is a man of moral principles. What arguments does Brutus raise in this sequence which favor the murder of Caesar? Then listen for arguments which oppose the assassination, observations which indicate his discomfort with this course of action. Finally we heard other characters react to the storm. What is Brutus' reaction to the storm? I'll warn you that you have to really look hard to find this information. [Lines 1 -- 85]
[1 -- 34] Throughout this sequence Brutus is very clear that Caesar will have to die and he will have to kill him. However, unlike Cassius, Brutus sees many sides of the issue, and there are things about his proposed action which bother him. At line 4 we see that Brutus, like all of Shakespeare's other tragic heroes, has difficulty sleeping. He wishes he could sleep as soundly as the servant boy Lucius. At line 10 he gets into the argument about assassinating Caesar, and he begins with the conclusion: "It must be by his death." Having said that he immediately qualifies his decision by assuring us that he has no personal reason to hate Caesar, unlike Cassius' personal envy: "for my part,/ I know no personal cause to spurn at him" [line 10 --11]. So what is the justification for the assassination? Here Brutus gets into a rather slippery argument, using an argument based upon the possibility of potential, what Caesar might do. At line 12 he says his concern is for the good of the state, "the general" and adds, "He would be crowned./ How that might change his nature, there's the question." To pursue this argument of potential action, Brutus develops an extended analogy. Now if he had taken a course in critical thinking skills, Brutus would be realized that it is difficult to base a logically sound argument on an analogy. However, the analogy which Shakespeare invents for Brutus is emotionally very powerful: "It is the bright day that brings forth the adder,/ And that craves [requires] wary walking" [lines 14 -- 15]. So Brutus sees Caesar with a crown as a poisonous snake, and the killing of Caesar is simply an act of self-protection against an unremitting threat. If the snake involved, for example, were a cobra, you wouldn't hesitate and wonder, "Maybe it's a nice cobra!"
Caesar is no cobra but a complex human being, capable of a variety of motives and actions. Brutus realizes this and begins to feel some ambivalence about his actions. At line 18 he summarizes the dangers of Caesar seizing greater power: "The abuse of greatness is when it disjoins/ Remorse from power." Your notes tell you "remorse" means "mercy," but I think the scope of the word is greater and refers to a whole attitude toward governing. It suggests that the leader is careful to consider all his subjects and not to allow his authority to make him cruel or capricious. Having voiced this concern about Caesar's potential for oppression of his followers, Brutus immediately denies that Caesar is guilty of such behavior: "to speak truth of Caesar/ I have not known when his affections [emotions] swayed/ More than his reason" [line 19 -- 21]. But he comes back to his argument for potential abuse by introducing another homey analogy at line 21:
But 'tis a common proof
That lowliness is young ambition's ladder,
Whereto the climber upward turns his face:
But when he once attains the upmost round,
He then unto the ladder turns his back,
Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees
By which he did ascend.
(This analogy is a lot like the advice actors receive in show business: be nice to the people you meet on the climb to stardom. That way they'll be nice to you when you meet them on your way down, after your 15 minutes of fame, when you're back to playing community theater in Milpitas.) For Brutus the case against Caesar once again comes down to potential evil. At line 27 he concludes "So Caesar may,/ And lest he may, prevent" or stop him now before he "runs to these and these extremities" [line 31] or extremes of tyranny. At the conclusion of this long speech he returns to the snake analogy he had introduced back at line15: "And therefore think him as a serpent's egg/ Which hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous/ And kill him in the shell" [lines 32 --34].
[Lines 35 -- 58] Lucius brings a candle as Brutus requested, along with a letter that has been thrown in the window, part of Cassius campaign of trickery. Brutus asks Lucius to go back and check to see if the next day is the "ides of March," a reminder of the Soothsayer's warning in I, 2. Brutus opens the letter and around line 45 he makes the only reference to the storm which had been so important to the other characters. For Brutus, who is so self-absorbed he notices very little about the world outside his head, the unnatural lightning and supernatural meteors are of no consequence except to provide enough light to read by. Cassius' disinformation has its desired effect. Brutus is vulnerable to flattery about his family name. Even though the phony letter uses very vague phrases, such as "Shall Rome, etc.," Brutus is quick to "piece it out" [line 51] and find a hidden message for him to duplicate the heroics of his ancestors who had driven the would-be tyrant Tarquin from Rome centuries before. Brutus makes an emotional pledge at line 56: " O Rome, I make thee promise./ If the redress will follow, thou receivest/ Thy full petition at the hand of Brutus." This is a very stirring commitment and reveals the nobility of Brutus' nature. But Shakespeare seldom lets us enjoy just a single emotional response. While this pledge of action is commendable, we can't help feeling a little queasy that it comes as a result of Cassius' clever trick. Furthermore, there is a kind of arrogance in Brutus' grand gesture. How many of the citizens of Rome for whom Brutus presumes to act will welcome his killing Caesar?
[Lines 59 -- 69] Lucius returns with word that the next day is indeed the ides of March, so we sense something is about to happen. There's a knock at the door, and Lucius goes to see who's there. Having made his momentous decision, Brutus sets about to analyze what he did. In this respect Brutus resembles the hero of the next great tragedy Shakespeare would write, Hamlet. Hamlet, the most self-aware character in all literature, is always stopping in the middle of his actions to examine how he is acting or to determine how he feels, much as Brutus does from line 61 -- 69. He begins by telling us that the source of his sleeplessness is Cassius' urging him to act. From line 63 on he analyzes why the idea of killing Caesar has so profoundly affected him: "Between the acting of a dreadful thing/ And the first motion, all the interim is/ Like a phantasma, or a hideous dream." Compared to how we normally think about thought leading to action, Brutus has reversed the process. He mentions the "acting" first and then the idea or "first motion." In the time between the original idea and the final execution, everything seems unreal or like a nightmare, at least it does to this sensitive, moral man. The reason for this loss of reality is a terrible inner conflict. Brutus identifies the "genius," or as your notes suggest "reasoning spirit," on one side and the "mortal instruments," or the emotions and physical powers, on the other side, as if they faced each other in hostility across a "council" table [line 67]. What we think and what we feel are at odds: "the state of man,/ Like to a little kingdom, suffers then/ The nature of an insurrection" [lines 67 -- 69]. Like a country torn apart by civil war, Brutus is in conflict. He hardly sounds like someone eager to get on with the glorious cause of killing Caesar.
[Line 70 -- 85] Lucius enters to tell Brutus that his brother-in-law Cassius is at the door, along with a number of other men. He does not know who they are because they have hidden their faces. Brutus sends Lucius to bring them in. At first, at line 77, we see Brutus' ambivalence or self-conflict once again. He doesn't like the idea that the men who want him to join their cause have come in secrecy:
They are the faction. O conspiracy,
Shamest thou to show thy dangerous brow by night,
When evils are most free? O, then by day
Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough
To hide thy monstrous visage?
Brutus feels these men have hidden their faces, at least in part, because they are ashamed. The light of day will leave them no where to hide. To join the "conspiracy" will mean he must dissemble in the same way. But having expressed his revulsion at what they represent, Brutus immediately sees the necessity for their actions. He had asked the rhetorical question about finding a cavern dark enough to their terrible guilt. At line 81 he answers himself:
Seek none, conspiracy;
Hide it in smiles and affability;
For if thou path [walk in the open], thy native semblance on,
Not Erebus itself were dim enough to
Hide thee from prevention.
In the play up to this point we have seen Caesar and Cassius both play roles, pretend to be something they are not. Now Brutus realizes that in this new role he has chosen to play, he too must hide his identity and disguise his true feelings. He has consciously chosen to behave in a way that he had condemned in others. His reference to "Erebus," the dark regions of the underworld, gives us still one more example of his ambivalence about his choice.
In the next sequence, lines 86 -- 233, Brutus will make his final commitment to join the conspiracy and will work out strategy with his newfound friends. I would like you to identify the point where Brutus actually says yes. Dramatically what's unusual about how Shakespeare presents this event? Then I'd like you to identify who is in charge of the conspiracy at line 86. Who's making the decisions and providing leadership? Then identify who is in charge at line 233. [Lines 86 -- 233]
I love this sequence. The ground shifts from under the characters, and none of them realizes what has happened. At line 86 Cassius leads his conspirators in. He has put the group together; he has manipulated each one of them; he knows what has to be done and is single-minded in his determination. He is clearly in charge. Then by line 233 Cassius is no longer the leader. He's got no more say in what they do than Casca or Cinna or anybody else. Brutus is clearly in charge. Cassius at some point probably thought, "What the hell happened? I brought this guy into the group! How did he end up running my show?" The other irony is that Brutus was all worked up about Julius Caesar exercising some much power as the leader. Of course, Brutus has become what he railed against, and yet he has no idea what has happened. To me this is part of the genius of Shakespeare, that he can create such an intelligent, self-aware character like Brutus, and then show him blindly falling into the same pattern that he attacks in others.
[Line 86 -- 111] The entrance of the conspirators is significant. They had hidden themselves from Lucius, but now they reveal their identities to greet Brutus. He knows why they are there, and they know they are risking possible betrayal by showing themselves to Brutus. It is an act of faith, or a psychological trick, in that it increases the pressure on Brutus to join them. Once he knows who they are, what's he going to do? Rat them out? No, much more likely he will become one of them. In the storm scene Cassius had done something very similar. At one point he said to Casca, "Maybe I'm revealing my hatred of Caesar to a willing slave who will run and tell on me." Casca is sucked in further and quickly denies this and swears he will match Cassius in his opposition to Caesar's power grab.
Brutus makes his commitment to Cassius privately between line 100 and 112, but Shakespeare does not show us this climatic moment. Ever the trickster, Shakespeare seems to say, "You don't need to hear Brutus say yes to Cassius. You've already seen him wrestling with himself, and you know he's made his decision." So Shakespeare gives us 12 lines of an apparently irrelevant argument among three guys over which direction the sun rises in. Why? Well, the conversation about which way is east does build the suspense a little more. Shakespeare had done something similar in Romeo and Juliet when he cut away from the actual marriage ceremony. And in recent years it has given directors an opportunity to do a little piece of what I've been calling political theater. At line 106 Casca says, "You think that direction is where the sun comes up? I'll point my sword where the sun arises." And he points toward Brutus. Brutus is about to become the sun, the center of the universe as far as these guys are concerned. There's nothing in the text that requires the scene to be played this way, but as you can see it makes the nice piece of stage business.
[Line 112 -- 140] Brutus and Cassius return from their conference, and now Brutus shakes hands with each of the other five conspirators. At that moment, line 112, Cassius is at his high point; he's gotten everybody he wanted into the plot. Now it's all downhill for poor old Cassius. At line 113 he makes an innocent request, that the men swear their commitment to the assassination, and Brutus dismisses the suggestion out of hand in a long speech at lines 114 -- 140. So much for the idea of Cassius as the evil mastermind (as he saw himself back at the end of I, 2). Cassius is no Iago, the ultimate villainous plotter of Othello. Furthermore, Cassius doesn't even protest his sudden loss of power. Brutus just runs over him like a Mack truck.
No, not an oath. If not the face of men,
The sufferance of our souls, the time's abuse --
If these be motives weak, break off betimes,
And every man hence to his idle bed.
So let high-sighted tyranny range on
Till each man drop by lottery.
Having committed himself to a morally questionable, personally repulsive action, Brutus wants to dress it up in as idealistic terms as possible. Having just made the point back at lines 81 -- 85 about the conspirators having to keep their true feelings from their faces, Brutus now insists that those faces are a truer reflection of men's intentions than any oath. What their souls have suffered and how their country is being abused -- these are sufficient motives to carry out the deed. If these grievances are not enough, they should call it off now and go back to bed. They should let tyranny (here in the form of Caesar as king) have free reign -- tyranny which like a bird of prey can see further and can hunt down each man by himself. As unresisting individuals their deaths will be meaningless, just the result of some impersonal "lottery" of power.
But Brutus is sure the others feel as strongly as he does. (From now on Brutus will make the assumption that everyone he counts as a friend feels just as he does, an assumption that will lead him to make some terrible mistakes.) Because they all feel the same they need only "our own cause/ To prick us to redress" [line 123 -- 124]. At lines 125 -- 126 he sees the conspirators as "secret Romans that have spoke the word,/ And will not palter [have misgivings]." They are patriots who are committed to the cause and fully capable of maintaining their silence. They need no more oath "Than honesty to honesty engaged" [line 127]. ("Engaged" here is a particularly strong word, meaning "committed by one's personal honor.") But consider for a moment -- is Cassius' honest in the same sense as Brutus? Does he operate with the same selfless idealism that Brutus does? I don't think so.
As he proceeds with his argument against taking an oath, Brutus gets more and more worked up and more eloquent, until at line 132 even the idea of an oath is an insult:
[D]o not stain
The even virtue of our enterprise,
Nor the insuppressive mettle of our spirits,
To think that or our cause or our performance
Did need an oath; when every drop of blood
That every Roman bears, and nobly bears,
Is guilty of a several bastardy
If he do break the smallest particle
Of any promise that hath passed from him.
(The use of the word "mettle" here reminds us that this word for "spirit" or "temper" was often used as a serious pun on "metal" with the same suggestion of strength.) Brutus is convinced of the rightness of the cause and also the nobility of all Romans who, he implies here, would be honored to be a part of the plan to murder Caesar. This is an exaggerated idealism, but it is effective.
In large part it is Brutus' eloquence here that sways the other conspirators. But it is also his vision of what they are to do. Cassius' motives for killing Caesar are hardly more than, "He doesn't deserve to be king. He got a cramp in the river once, and his name doesn't have as many letters as my name does. Let's kill him." Brutus' conception is grander. He sees that every Roman has in his blood a nobility that would make him want to join this great cause. So by the end of the speech it is as if everyone simply agrees with Brutus' assessment. The question of the oath is never raised again.
[Lines 141 -- 192] Cassius raises the next practical problem -- should they approach the Senate's most eloquent speaker, Cicero? Cassius has had so much luck in manipulating people to join the conspiracy, why stop now? The others readily agree: "Let's get Cicero. He's got a reputation for seriousness. People will say that our cause is not frivolous if he is one of us." Of course, that's what they had said about Brutus, and they still want to get Cicero. Despite having declared just a few lines before that every Roman would be honored to become a conspirator, Brutus rejects this idea at line 151: "he will never follow anything/ That other men begin." Once again, all the other conspirators acquiesce in Brutus' opinion, especially Cassius at line 152 who has meekly become one of the followers.
Decius raises the next question -- shall anyone else die with Caesar? Cassius has made a careful study of the political situation (remember, "he looks quite through the deeds of men") and knows that Caesar's principal ally in the Senate is Mark Antony. He warns at line 157 "we shall find of him/ A shrewd contriver." He's absolutely right! Antony will contrive against them and ultimately destroy them all. And yet, once again Brutus disagrees and imposes his own opinion on the group. As he had with the issue of swearing an oath, Brutus idealizes what they must do. He begins by arguing at line 162: "Our course will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius,/ To cut the head off and then hack the limbs." Brutus, like the others, is concerned about how the assassination will appear. He believes they will make the best impression if the damage is minimal -- just one target. Furthermore, he adds at line 166, the murder must be done in a way which will play down the violence:
Let's be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius.
We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar,
And in the spirit of men there is no blood.
O, that we then could come by Caesar's spirit,
And not dismember Caesar! But, alas,
Caesar must bleed for it. And, gentle friends,
Let's kill him boldly, but not wrathfully;
Let's carve him as a dish fit for the gods,
Not hew him as a carcass fit for hounds.
Brutus continues to be eloquent, but he develops a strangely disembodied view of the murder. After all, the conspirators must take sharp implements and drive them into the flesh of another human being with enough force to take his life. And yet Brutus wants that physical action to be above reproof, with no hint of rage or personal animosity. It is very difficult to stab someone to death without strong, and Brutus would say, "inappropriate" emotions. The murder becomes almost bloodless; Caesar is depersonalized to the extent that Brutus no longer sees him as flesh and blood. In this Brutus is not that different from terrorists like Timothy McVeigh or Osama bin Laden who also ignore the humanity of their victims and focus on some large concept. Brutus has convinced himself and the others that what they will do is not a "murder" but a "purging," or medical procedure, at line 180. We can see in this strange vision of the murder still one more example of Brutus' ambivalence about the assassination. As for the original question, whether or not to kill Antony, at line 181 Brutus concludes: "As for Mark Antony, think not of him;/ For he can do no more than Caesar's arm/ When Caesar's head is off." Brutus assumes any power Antony might have is totally dependent on Caesar. What a mistake!
Cassius doesn't want to let this one go, and he reiterates his fear of Antony. At line 186 Brutus lets us know what he really thinks of Antony:
If he love Caesar, all that he can do
Is to himself -- take thought and die for Caesar.
And that is much he should, for he is given
To sports, to wildness, and much company.
Brutus says, "He's a jock and a party animal -- nothing to worry about!" This is another terrible political miscalculation Brutus makes, but it also reveals the human side of Brutus. Behind the grand vision of the sacrifice, we see that Brutus is not free of petty animosities: both Cicero and Antony have earned his contempt. Trebonius, speaking for the rest of the conspirators, agrees with Brutus and, incredibly, thinks that Antony will laugh about the assassination once the shock has worn off. Unclear on concept!
[192 -- 233] The clock strikes three and they decide to break up the session. Cassius raises one more problem: Caesar may not go to the Capitol the next day because "he is superstitious grown of late" [line 195]. Cassius is concerned that the "apparent prodigies" of the storm and the "persuasion of his augurers/ May hold him from the Capitol today" [lines 198 & 200]. Cassius now speaks of the terrors of the storm as they had appeared to Casca -- "apparent" in the sense of obvious warnings. "Augurers" were priests who foretold the future by cutting open and interpreting the entrails of animals. It took a special skill to decide what someone should do based on the intestines of a goat. Now a new character steps forth -- Decius Brutus. He assures the group that he can "o'ersway" Caesar if he decides not to go to the Capitol. He tells Caesar that the great man hates flattery; "he says he does, being then most flattered" [line 208]. Be sure to check your footnotes at 204 -- 206 on the interesting ways Decius says other animals are betrayed. Decius, like Cassius, is a skilled psychological manipulator, using a subtle form of reverse flattery.
Just as they are breaking up Mettelus suddenly thinks of another possible conspirator, Caius Ligarius, who got in trouble for speaking well of Caesar's old enemy, Pompey. Brutus takes charge, approves of the choice, and tells Mettelus to send Caius Ligarius to him. It's a subtle but significant point as Brutus takes over the role of recruiter that Cassius had as the previous leader. Of course, Brutus would not see himself as manipulating potential conspirators, as Cassius had done, but simply telling them the truth. Nevertheless, as we'll see, Brutus does influence people's decision to participate.
Now they group finally breaks up. At this point it is the function of the leader to inspire and dismiss the troops. Cassius, not fully realizing the change in leadership, does as is expected. He dismisses everyone and reminds them: "show yourselves true Romans" [line 223]. But Brutus is the true leader and so he insists on the last word:
Good gentlemen, look fresh and merrily.
Let not our look put on [reveal] our purposes,
But bear it as our Roman actors do,
With untired spirits and formal constancy.
And so good morrow to you every one.
Earlier in the scene Brutus had spoken of the necessity of hiding the expression of our true feelings on our faces. Here Shakespeare uses the images of the theater as he often does in the plays. We saw this same situation of two characters contesting for the control of a group in Midsummer Night's Dream. In Act I, scene 2 Bottom, the ham actor, and Peter Quince, the nominal head of the acting company, tried to outdo each other giving the final words at the first rehearsal.
Act II, Scene 1, lines 234 -- 334
This brings us to the final 100 lines of the scene. We see Brutus in his new capacity as a leader of men. I have emphasized throughout how quickly and completely Brutus takes control, but he does not realize himself the shift in his role. We see Brutus interact with two characters as the new leader. The first is his wife, Portia, who represents the greatest challenge. What do you make of her character? How does Brutus get along with Portia? Finally, what has she done to break through his self-imposed wall of secrecy? Next is Caius Ligarius, the possible recruit. See if you can determine what leads him to join the conspiracy. [Lines 234 -- 334]
[Lines 234 -- 309] Shakespeare discovered in his drama that one of the most revealing ways of showing a man's character is how he interacts with his wife. Portia demands to know what is bothering her husband. She's smart enough to recognize all the signs, the "ungentle" acts as she says, that show something is on his mind: We realize these are the same symptoms of inner conflict we saw earlier in the scene. She notes that he "stole from my bed" [line 238]; the previous day he got up in the middle of dinner and walked around, sighing [line238 --240]; when she asked him what was wrong, he stared at her "with ungentle looks" [line 242]; when Portia insisted on knowing, Brutus stamped his foot and tried to dismiss her with a wave or "angry wafter" of his hand. Portia has tolerated all of these insults, hoping they were just his "humor" [line 250]. Finally at line 257 Brutus says he is sick, but Portia won't accept that. If he is sick, why is he up late at night, sucking up "the humors/ of a dank morning" [line 262]? The Elizabethans believed that illness was a result of chemical substances called humors that were prevalent in the air at certain times of the day. It was thought to be especially dangerous to walk around in the night air. As Portia asks at line 265, if Brutus were sick, why would he risk "the vile contagion of the night"? Around line 270 she kneels before her husband and pleads with him to tell her the truth. Now the act of kneeling is significant in this play. Caesar's wife, Calpurnia, will knell before her husband to get him to change his mind. It also foreshadows the conspirators kneeling in front Caesar as a gesture of submission just before they kill him. Portia's final compelling argument at line 275 is to ask her husband to tell her who the men were who just left, their faces hidden even in the dead of night.
Brutus is made uncomfortable by his wife's kneeling, and he asks her "Kneel not, gentle Portia" [line 279] to which she replies, "I should not need, if you were gentle Brutus." Shakespeare uses the word "gentle" here in its social sense, as he usually does. Portia is saying that Brutus, by his refusal to acknowledge their equity in marriage, is not behaving as a gentleman should. This same social criticism is implied in the "ungentle" acts she cites back around line 237 and 242. Brutus had earlier used this same important social distinction between the gentlepeople and the commoners as part of his appeal to the conspirators at lines 171 and 224. At line 281 Portia challenges her husband to reveal his secrets on the basis of their marriage. At line 284 she asks if her role is simply
To keep with you at meals, comfort your bed,
And talk to you sometimes? Dwell I but in the suburbs
Of your good pleasure? If it be no more,
Portia is Brutus' harlot, not his wife.
(The reference to dwelling in "suburbs" reminds us that outskirts of a large city, especially London, were considered undesirable at that time. Portia is saying in effect, "If love is like San Francisco, I'm somewhere in Milpitas in your heart.") Many women throughout history have questioned the equity in their marriages as Portia does here. An ordinary husband might just shrug and think, "Here she goes again!" But Brutus is especially sensitive to Portia's charge and declares his love, saying at line 289 that she is as dear to him as the blood which visits his "sad heart."
Portia now anticipates the arguments that Brutus might raise against telling her what's going on. She knows that women have a reputation for not being able to keep secrets, and so she reminds him at line 292
I grant I am a woman; but withal
A woman that Lord Brutus took to wife.
I grant I am a woman; but withal
A woman well reputed: Cato's daughter.
Cato was a heroic figure of the earlier generation, a man who committed suicide rather than lose his integrity. Portia argues that her father and her husband make her more than just an ordinary woman. She then offers the clincher in her argument at line 298:
Tell me your counsels [secrets], I will not disclose them.
I have made strong proof of my constancy,
Giving myself a voluntary wound
Here in the thigh; can I bear that with patience,
And not my husband's secrets?
Portia at some point in the past has cut herself, mutilated herself in the thigh, as she now reveals, to prove that she can keep a secret. This dramatic gesture has the desired effect on Brutus at line 303 as he declares, "O ye gods, render me worthy of this noble wife."
At that point there's a knock at the door, and he asks her to leave and promises he will come and tell her all his secrets as soon as he can. In the long run Portia's knowing the details of the assassination plan is not that big a deal; people all over Rome, from the Soothsayer to some ordinary citizens, know the attack will occur on the ides of March.
There's a darker side to this noble gesture of Portia's voluntary wound, and that is her tendency toward self-destruction. We see this in several characters, most notably Cassius. Portia will commit suicide in a particularly grotesque manner, and this act of mutilation anticipates her death.
[Lines 309 -- 334] Brutus now deals with Caius Ligarius, an old friend who has gotten out of a sick bed to come out into the contagious night and terrible storm because Brutus has asked to see him. In this sequence Brutus recruits Caius, tempting him to commit the sin of political murder, using his own reputation as the enticement. From line 321 -- 324 Caius assures Brutus he feels better, just to be there in his presence, calling him "Soul of Rome" and "Brave son" and describing him as an "exorcist" of illness. Brutus doesn't tell Caius what exactly it is they will have to do, but the invalid commits himself wholeheartedly at line 330:
Set on your foot,
And with a heart new-fired I follow you,
To do I know not what; but it sufficeth
That Brutus leads me on.
Here is one more piece of evidence that Brutus has assumed the leadership role of the conspiracy; leaders recruit new followers. And here is a follower who makes it clear he is acting entirely on the basis of his trust in and respect for the leader. Brutus even ends the scene, as they rush out, with the injunction at line 334 "Follow me, then!"
If it seems that I have made a great deal out of Brutus assuming the role of a leader that is because I see this as the most significant development in the play after the fact that Brutus decided to join the conspiracy. It is a development, however, that none of the characters, including Brutus, really understands.
Act II, Scene 2
This scene takes place at Caesar's home. It is the third scene where characters comment on the storm, so notice how Caesar and his wife, Calphurnia, react. In addition to the supernatural events of the storm, we also have a prophetic dream by Calphurnia, so watch for its significance. We also get a different view of a relationship within a marriage. [Act II, Scene 2]
[Lines 1 -- 56] First of all we see that Caesar, like other characters, is bothered by the storm: "nor heaven nor earth have been at peace tonight" [line 1]. But in addition he is troubled by his wife's apparent dream: "Thrice in her sleep hath Calphurnia cried out,/ 'Help, ho, they murder Caesar" [line 2 -- 3]. And so Caesar sends to the priests to have them perform an augury to see if it is safe for him to leave home today. Julius Caesar, the frail older man with one deaf ear and epilepsy, is afraid. But when his wife gets up and says, "What are you doing? You're not going in to work today," Caesar reverts to his heroic role as the superhuman leader. (You can always tell when he's playing his leader role because he speaks of himself in the third person.) "Caesar shall forth. The things that threaten me/ Ne'er look but on my back; when they shall see/ The face of Caesar, they are vanished" [line 10 -- 12]. This sounds like a stock response he trots out every time the question of fear comes up. Even though we know he's afraid, he denies it, even to his wife.
Calphurnia says she never put much stock in "ceremonies" [omens] but after the storm, she's a believer [line 13 --14]. She runs through the list of supernatural events we've heard before, changing some and dropping some. It's interesting how Shakespeare gives each character who describes the storm different perceptions; as more people repeat the account, events begin to magnify. So for Calphurnia the lion doesn't just walk in the streets; it becomes a lioness and delivers a litter [line 17]. Casca had ghostly women; Calphurnia tells about the graves opening and giving up the dead [line 18]. Whereas Casca had men with hands of fire, now we have fiery warriors who fought upon the clouds so that blood drizzled on the Capitol [line 19]. Horses neighed, dying men groaned and ghosts shrieked -- all of this is the Elizabethan equivalent of a story in the National Enquirer. Once again, Caesar's response at line 26 seems stock, as if he had giving the speech many times before: "What can be avoided/ Whose end is purposed by the mighty gods?" In other words we're going to die when our death is fated, so it doesn't do any good to worry. He concludes at line 28 "Yet Caesar shall go forth; for these predictions/ Are to the world in general as to Caesar." Brave words, and yet we know the fearful human being who utters them and wants nothing more than to stay home. Caesar here argues that the terrible omens could apply to anyone. Calphurnia replies, as would anyone in Shakespeare's audience, that events of such magnitude could only mean something disastrous is about to happen to a great man: "When beggars die, there are no comets seen" [line 30]. Now we get the third stock speech from Caesar at line 32:
Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste of death but once.
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,
It seems to me most strange that men should fear,
Seeing that death, a necessary end,
Will come when it will come.
Brave words, indeed, except, of course, we know how terrified Caesar is under the façade of the fearless leader. It must take enormous courage to pass it off as fate when you know that both men and the natural world are conspiring against you. If I emphasize that these responses to fear are "stock," well-rehearsed, that's because that's how they seem to me, things a man would say when he was trying to be an inspirational leader. Curiously he has given no indication, even to his wife, about how he really feels.
The servant returns with word that the augurers have recommended staying in the house all day since they were unable to find a heart in the small animal they dissected. This is a bad sign, worse than Jeanne Dixon predicting your wife will run off with Osama bin Laden and you'll get hit by a Russian satellite falling to earth. Things are stacking up against Caesar: the omens of the storm, Calphurnia's dream and now the augury. Nevertheless, Caesar tries to explain it away at line 41: "The gods do this in shame of cowardice:/ Caesar should be a beast without a heart/ If he should stay at home today for fear." It's likely that Caesar's rhetorical posturing to show everyone how brave he is rises in direct proportion to the level of fear he actually feels. This next passage, beginning at line 45, is even greater macho-posturing:
Danger knows full well
That Caesar is more dangerous than he.
We are two lions littered in one day,
And I the elder and more terrible,
And Caesar shall go forth
In this passage Caesar personifies Danger as a living entity, a companion of Caesar. The two are then cast metaphorically as lions, suggesting the lion in the streets in the storm -- both terrible beasts. However, Caesar is the older one, and hence more terrible. This is just empty bravado -- it makes Caesar sound as if he were wrestling for the WWF World Title.
Calphurnia is now desperate. She warns her husband at line 49 "Your wisdom is consumed in confidence," here meaning too much self-confidence. She pleads with him to use her as the excuse for doing the right thing at line 50: "Call it my fear/ That keeps you in the house and not your own." She suggests they send Mark Antony to say he is not well. At line 54 she even kneels before her husband, as Portia had done in the previous scene, to beg him to do what we know he desperately wants to. It's possible to see in this sequence a kind of unstated game played by husband and wife -- she urging him to do something he wants to do anyway, he insisting that he's big and brave until he finally relents, supposedly out of concern for her: "Mark Antony shall say I am not well,/ And for thy humor, I will stay home today" [lines 55 -- 56].
[Lines 57 -- 129] Decius, one of the conspirators, enters to escort Caesar to the Capitol. Caesar almost immediately begins to renege on what he had told his wife. He cannot bring himself to say he cannot come. At line 62 he tells Decius to inform the senators
"I will not come today/ Cannot, is false; and that I dare not, falser:/ I will not come today." When Calphurnia urges him to use the excuse that he is sick, the one he had just agreed to use, Caesar thunders "Shall Caesar send a lie?/ Have I in conquest stretched mine arm so far/ To be afeard to tell graybeards the truth?" [line 66 -- 67]. Decius is desperate to get Caesar to the Capitol, and so he asks, apparently just for his own information, why Caesar chooses not to go on such a momentous day. Caesar agrees to tell him for his "private satisfaction" at line 73 and then explains at line 75:
Calphurnia here, my wife, stays me at home.
She dreamt tonight she saw my statue,
Which, like a fountain with an hundred spouts,
Did run pure blood, and many lusty Romans
Came smiling and did bathe their hands in it.
And these does she apply for warnings and for portents
And evils imminent, and on her knee
Hath begged that I will stay at home today.
Earlier Caesar had dismissed his wife's dream and assured her that he would never run from danger, but notice how he goes into great details about Calphurnia's dream, revealing that it made more of an impression on him than he has admitted. Of course the business about Romans bathing their hands in his blood is a foreshadowing of what Brutus and the others will do at the assassination.
Decius very quickly turns the analysis of the dream around and explains that his blood symbolizes the revitalization of Rome. Caesar prefers this interpretation at line 91. Decius then offers a political analysis at line 93 which wins Caesar completely:
the Senate have concluded
To give this day a crown to mighty Caesar.
If you will send them word you will not come,
Their minds may change. Besides, it were a mock
Apt to be rendered, for someone to say
"Break up the Senate till another time,
When Caesar's wife shall meet with better dreams."
Decius implies that this is a critical juncture in the issue of crowning him. He could lose some key support if he waits. Furthermore, Decius does what men often do when they are interacting with other men about their wives; he turns Calphurnia's genuine concern into an attack on Caesar's manhood. He says in effect, "This will really make you look bad because you gave into your wife." Furthermore, at line 100, he articulates Caesar's greatest fear: "If Caesar hide himself, shall they not whisper/ 'Lo, Caesar is afraid'" And, of course, that's the worst thing Caesar can imagine anyone saying. And so Caesar turns on his wife and berates her because of her "foolish" fears: "I am ashamed I did yield to them./ Give me my robe, for I will go" [lines 106 --107]. Decius had told us in the previous scene that he would be able to manipulate Caesar into going to the Capitol, regardless of his concerns, and he did it.
At this point a group arrives to escort Caesar to the Capitol, and many of them turn out to be the conspirators. Even Brutus comes, which surprises Caesar at line 110. We hear Caesar playing the glad-hander, as political figures so often do today, laughing, joking and acknowledging those who are honoring him by their presence. He makes a joke at line 116 about Antony showing up, despite his reputation for partying late. Caesar specifically mentions Cinna, Metellus and Trebonius, all three of them conspirators, and tells them he wants to talk specifically to them. There will be a huge crowd at the Capitol, so he urges them to stay close to him. At line 124 Trebonius agrees to stay close, and in an outstanding example of dramatic irony he says just to the audience, "and so near will I be/ That your best friends shall wish I had been further." This is dramatic irony because we know Trebonius will "stay close to Caesar" with his knife in his flesh, but Caesar doesn't know that. Look at the last exchange in the scene at line 126 where Caesar invites everyone to go in and, "like friends," to taste some wine with him. This is a piece of political theater, where people go through the motions of friendship, like a group of political fat cats paying $50,000 for a chance to eat cold chicken at a gathering of Friends of Bill Clinton. But Brutus feels a pang of regret in an aside at line 128: "That every like is not the same, O Caesar/ The heart of Brutus earns to think upon." Brutus is struck by the irony of the situation -- not all the men going through the motions of are really Caesar's friends, and that fact makes Brutus "earn" or grieve. Clearly Brutus is feeling that ambivalence again; he's not going to enjoy killing Caesar, and it bothers him that he must pretend friendship. Contrast this feeling with Trebonius' aside, which is simply, "Ha, ha, I'm going to be close to you all right!" There's not another conspirator who's having these second thoughts. They can't think beyond the murder itself. Only Brutus is concerned with the moral consequences of the murder.
We'll now examine two relatively short scenes which serve the function of building suspense before the assassination. [Act II, Scene 3]
Shakespeare uses the device of short staccato scenes building to a dramatic highpoint in several of his plays. In his letter Artemidorus warns Caesar of the conspiracy and names the specific men out to get him. At line 8 he says, "security gives way to conspiracy," which is very similar to what Calphurnia had warned her husband in the previous scene: "your wisdom is consumed in confidence." Two different people have tried to warn Caesar that he is too trusting. The other key point in this scene is that Artemidorus identifies the motive for most of the conspirators as "emulation" or envy at line 13. Brutus is, of course, the one exception. Dramatically Artemidorus functions like the cavalry in the old Western movie: he may arrive in time to rescue the wagon train from the Indian attack. The suspense builds. Now lets hear the next short scene. {Act II, scene 4]
Portia is panicking before the assassination. It would not be appropriate for her to go to the Senate to see what's happening, so she sends Lucius, Brutus' servant boy to watch and report back to her. At the opening he is standing, waiting for her directions, since she has told him to run to the Senate House without giving him specific errand. At line 6 she says, "O constancy, be strong upon my side," help me to be true to my commitment. At line 8 she complains, "I have a man's mind, but a woman's might./ How hard it is for women to keep counsel." Despite the wound in her thigh and kneeling to her husband, Portia finds it hard to keep the secret. The Soothsayer appears and utters some appropriately ambiguous messages: he does not have a suit to Caesar (a request for something) except that Caesar "befriend himself" or do himself a favor at line 30. Portia asks if he knows of any threat to Caesar, and he answers he does not, but he fears that may be some danger. The Soothsayer passes on to wait for Caesar's arrival, saying that the Roman street at this point is too narrow, and the mob following Caesar might crush an old man to death. In her final speech in this scene Portia is operating at several different levels. She tells us, for the third time in the scene, how hard it is for women to keep secrets, thus building suspense about keeping the plot hidden. At line 40 she blurts out "O Brutus,/ The heavens speed thee in thy enterprise," meaning may you be successful. She suddenly realizes that Lucius has hear her say this, so she makes up an excuse to cover herself, telling the boy she was referring to a suit that Caesar has so far refused to grant her husband. With that she tells us she is growing faint and sends Lucius off to see how Brutus is doing.
Act III, Scene 1
This scene is the dramatic highpoint of the first half of the play. We'll listen to it in three distinct sections. The first, line 1 -- 78, builds up to the murder itself. As you read notice in how many different ways Shakespeare maintains the suspense of the situation. Then check out Caesar's speeches before his death; he's discussing a request that he rescind an order of banishment against one of the conspirator's brothers. However, as he talks about his decision he is being unconsciously ironic because we know he is about to die. The audience is waiting for the first stabbing, which we've been told will come from Casca. Finally, imagine how the assassination itself might be physically staged. Almost all the conspirators are kneeling before Caesar when the first blow is struck. [Act III, scene 1, lines 1 -- 78]
I always like that great dramatic moment when Caesar says, "Et tu, Brute. Then fall Caesar." My own traumatic exposure to Shakespeare came when I had to play the part of Caesar and utter those lines and fall with a thunderous crash on the floor of Room 116 of Watsonville Joint Union High School, much to the delight of the other members of the sophomore English class. There are a number of places in these 78 lines where Shakespeare builds suspense. At the beginning Caesar taunts the Soothsayer, "The ides of March are come," and the Soothsayer declares in a sinister fashion, "but not gone." Artemidorus tries to thrust his warning into Caesar's hands. If the great man simply glances at the list of conspirators, he might be saved. But it doesn't happen because once again Caesar is trapped into playing the role of the leader. When Artemidorus urges him to read the letter because it "touches Caesar nearer" [line 7], Caesar imperiously puts it aside and announces in effect, "I'm here to take care of the public good. Whatever affects me directly I'll read last." So because he used the wrong words in his verbal request, Artemidorus fails in his mission. Then a non-conspirator, Popilius, wishes Cassius good luck in his "enterprise," implying that he, like so many other people, knows about the assassination. Popilius then goes off to talk with Caesar privately. Cassius panics, afraid that the conspiracy is being revealed. It's revealing at that moment of crisis Cassius turns without thinking to Brutus, the new leader, for advice at line 20. He tells Brutus, "If this be known [if Caesar knows of the plot]/ Cassius or Caesar never shall turn back, [remain alive]/ For I will slay myself" [lines 30 -- 32]. Cassius has made the whole plan a personal contest between himself and Caesar, just as we saw in his first conversation with Brutus. Once again we see that obsession Cassius has for self-destruction. Except before, as in I, 3, when he told Casca he would kill himself rather than live under Caesar's rule, it was a melodramatic gesture. Now he is in deadly seriousness, and modern productions often have him pull out his knife and start to cut his throat. Brutus has to restrain him and reassure him that Popilius is not revealing their secret at lines 22 -- 24. The suspense created by these three plot developments -- Soothsayer's renewed warning, Artemidorus' attempt to warn Caesar, and the possibility of Popilius' revealing the plot -- continues to build for the next 50 lines while we go through the charade of Caesar holding court and the conspirators getting themselves psyched up to kill him.
Caesar is there in his capacity as a magistrate, and he is hearing an appeal to an earlier decision he had made to banish the brother of Mettelus Cimber. At line 30 we learn that Casca is to strike first, so throughout the scene we watch for Casca to make the first move, another nice device to build suspense. Mettelus begins his presentation by flattering Caesar at line 33: "Most high, most mighty, and most puissant Caesar" and proceeds to kneel before Caesar, showing deference as Portia and Calphurnia did.
Caesar responds by giving the first of a series of speeches which are laden with dramatic irony for us because we know he is about to die. At line 36 he says of Mettelus' flattery and kneeling
These couchings and these lowly courtesies
Might fire the blood of ordinary men,
And turn preordinance and first decree
Into the law of children.
He's saying in effect, "Your behavior might sway some ordinary judge and make him, if he were an American jurist, violate the Constitution by ignoring the law." He warns Mettelus at line 39,
Be not so fond [foolish]
To think that Caesar bears such rebel blood
That will be thawed from the true quality
With that which melteth fools --
"My decision was one of 'true quality,' and I am not about to rebel against myself by changing my decision just because you kneel and flatter, even though you might be able to sway men not so constant and powerful as me." He goes on to call Mettelus' behavior at line 43 "base spaniel fawning" and continues the dog reference at line 46 by saying "I spurn thee like a cur out of my way." Behind these words of firm commitment to a principle we see someone who never questions his own decisions, never allows for the possibility he may be wrong. We also see an arrogance, someone that sets himself apart from the "ordinary men" whom he compares to dogs. Only weak fools could be moved by flattery. What's ironic about the situation is that the only reason Caesar is there at that moment is because he was susceptible to the flattery of Decius and the others at his house that morning. Caesar is all too human.
Mettelus asks for help from among the bystanders: "Is there no voice more worthy than my own" [line 49]. And of all people Brutus kneels and kisses Caesar's hand. This must be an action completely uncharacteristic of Brutus, because Caesar questions at line 55: "What, Brutus?" Later at line 75, as the conspirators continue to press him, Caesar points out how unusual Brutus' actions are, saying in effect, "It's not going to do you any good to plead for Mettelus' brother since I wouldn't change my mind even for Brutus."
When Cassius kneels and asks for freedom, "enfranchisement" for Mettelus' brother, Publius Cimber, Caesar responds with his second long speech of justification, one of the most famous in the play. Beginning at line 58 he begins a long comparison of himself to the North Star, the only body in the heavens that does not move: "I could be well moved, if I were as you;/ If I could pray to move, prayers would move me." In effect he is saying, "If I were like you guys and begged people to change their minds, then I could change my mind." He continues: "But I am constant as the Northern Star,/ Of whose true-fixed and resting quality/ There is no fellow in the firmament." The mark of Caesar's superiority, at least in his mind, is his unwavering spirit. Being the North Star sets him apart from the rest of mankind. Then he draws out this conceit, this elaborate, detailed comparison:
The skies are painted with unnumb'red sparks.
They are all fire, and every one doth shine;
But there's but one in all doth hold his place [refuses to move].
So in the world; 'tis furnished well with men,
And men are flesh and blood, and apprehensive [capable of reason],
Yet in the number I do know but one
That unassailable holds on his rank [maintains his position],
Unshaked of motion, and that I am he,
Let me a little show it, even in this --
That I was constant Cimber should be banished,
And constant do remain to keep him so.
A very powerful statement, "I am the North Star of my society," and one thick with irony. For the individual proudly proclaiming he will not change is within seconds of changing forever -- through his death. There is a further irony here, because Shakespeare is having Caesar argue that there must be someone in every society who is constant to principle and thereby maintains proper social order. While we have changed in our beliefs, the Elizabethans believed with a religious intensity that there had to be someone who would hold society together through political and social constraints. Julius Caesar may be trying the ultimate power grab by becoming king, but Shakespeare's audience believed firmly that such a step was necessary. Brutus and the conspirators are about to upset that expectation by demonstrating forcibly that Caesar is not unchanging. But that does not disprove the argument that such a figure is necessary. If it's not Caesar, it will have to be someone. The final irony is that Brutus, who thinks he is saving his society from rule by a strong man, is making such a move inevitable.
Casca strikes the first blow at line 76. The staging of the assassination is always interesting because it reveals how the director wants us to feel about the murder. The best production I have ever seen was at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, in a modern setting where the part of Casca was played by an atress as a career woman trying to break into the old boys' club of the powerful. They gave her the "honor" of striking the first blow, and throughout the scene you could see her trying to psyche herself up. But at the critical moment her human side asserted itself, and she was unable to do more than cut him. The rest of the conspirators quickly surrounded him, stabbing him, but it was only when Brutus approached Caesar that he spoke his famous final words: "Et tu, Brute? Then fall Caesar" [line 77]. This gives Shakespeare a chance to parade his schoolboy Latin in this passage he created. If you read in the Signet edition the account by Plutarch on which Shakespeare based his creation, you learn that in reality Caesar didn't have this dramatic final statement, but when Caesar saw Brutus with his sword, he pulled his cloak over his head as if to accept death.
[Lines 78 -- 253] In the next sequence we'll see the confusion in the immediate aftermath of the assassination. In our country we have learned through bitter experience how the period right after the killing of public figures or the attack of terrorists is a time of frightening pandemonium. The conspirators will realize immediately that they will need to present to the public a coherent explanation in the form of a motto. Find three different mottoes that are suggested in the first 35 lines following Caesar's death. Then examine the character of Antony who comes in soon after the murder. What's he doing in this scene? Does he ever reveal his true feelings in the sequence we'll listen to next. Finally watch Brutus in action. This is the highpoint for him, when he really asserts his leadership of the group and articulates his vision of the future. In some productions Brutus is the last to stab Caesar because he is not good at this part of the assassination. He's not a man of action, but he is in his own element afterwards in leading the group, however misguided. {Line 78 -- 253]
No sooner has Caesar fallen and died at the base of Pompey's statue, Caesar's old enemy, than the conspirators offer the first attempt at a slogan. You always need a good slogan when you're starting a political movement, and Cinna shouts, "Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead!" at line 78. It's got a certain ring to it, but it's probably too long to get on a bumper sticker. Cassius offers the next slogan at line 81: "Liberty, Freedom and Enfranchisement!" Once again, it sounds all right, but I don't see many people fighting and dying for "enfranchisement." I think the winning entry in the slogan contest is Brutus' at line 110: "Let's all cry "Peace, Freedom and Liberty!" Three good-sounding abstractions and just about the right length.
[Line 78 -- 121] Seriously, let's look at how the conspirators handle the chaos that comes in the aftermath of the terrible event. While some fear an attack from Caesar's friends, at line 87, Brutus' first concern is for the well-being of Publius, the oldest member of the Senate who was unable to run when the murder was done. Brutus reassures him at line 90 and urges him to leave so that people won't think he was part of the conspiracy. At line 98 we see Brutus at his best. The conspirators have given little thought to what they will do after the assassination, so we have a sense of panic. Some want to arm themselves and prepare for a counter-attack, but Brutus rather calmly urges them: "Fates, we will know your pleasures./ That we shall die, we know; 'tis but the time,/ And drawing days out, that men stand upon." This dignified acceptance in the face of danger parallels a similar speech Caesar had made earlier that morning at his house when he said death was a "necessary end" [II, 2, line 36]. Unlike Caesar's speech, which was a kind of pompous reminder of how brave he is, here Brutus utters these words of acceptance of one's fate to calm the fearful and hysterical men he leads. Furthermore, Brutus, trying to cast the murder in the best possible light, suggests at lines 105 -- 110 that they stoop and bathe their hands and smear their swords in Caesar's blood and then walk out into the marketplace, shouting the slogan he proposes. You see his purpose in this extreme action; rather than hiding and cowering because of what they did, he says in effect, "Let's publicly proclaim our action and take pride in it." Ironically this is a reminder of Calphurnia's dream where she saw the Romans bathing in her husband's blood. It can also raise an inner conflict for some of the other conspirators. While Brutus sees the symbolic value, others can't get past the blood and the fact they had thrust sharp weapons into another man's flesh. I've seen several productions where the conspirators were sickened by the idea of putting their hands in all that blood For us in an age of AIDS and contaminated blood the idea seems especially scary. Brutus, of course, doesn't see the blood as blood, or Caesar's body as flesh -- it's all part of a philosophical abstraction for him. In a memorable production in Britain some years back, at this point the conspirators are all sitting, staring at the corpse of Caesar, the full realization of what they've done just sinking in. Brutus, on the other hand, is looking upward, his hands held up to heaven, as if this were some kind of religious ceremony. Cassius, at line 111, makes a remarkable connection, which Brutus immediately picks up on:
Cassius Stoop then, and wash; how many ages hence
Shall this our lofty scene be acted over
In state unborn and accents yet unknown!
Brutus How many times shall Caesar bleed in sport,
That now on Pompey's basis lies along
No worthier than the dust.
Cassius realizes, and Brutus agrees, that this symbolic act of washing their hands in blood will be re-enacted as a drama or ritual in years to come. What he foresees is that future generations, even in lands and with languages which do not yet exist, will perform this event. And, indeed, it is being acted in William Shakespeare's play, but not necessarily as Cassius and Brutus wanted it to be. The audience is far less sure that the assassination is a good thing or that it will save Rome from being ruled by a monarch. Nevertheless the idea of people at a historical moment thinking of their actions being re-enacted is quite intriguing. It reminds us that nowadays people involved in demonstrations, public events or even crimes will rush home to see themselves on television, as if that alone made their participation real. There have even been cases where condemned criminals tried to negotiate to make sure their favorite actor portrayed them when their crime was made into a movie. Art makes reality somehow more real. Brutus, much as a stage or film director, points out the dramatic significance of Caesar, who triumphed in life, now lying at the foot of Pompey's statue. As they prepare to go out in public with their bloody hands, Cassius formally acknowledges Brutus' assumed leadership at line 120: "Brutus shall lead, and we will grace his heels."
[Line 122 -- 146] Before they can leave a servant from Antony comes in with a message and a question at line 126:
Brutus is noble, wise, valiant and honest;
Caesar was mighty, bold, royal and loving.
Say I love Brutus and honor him;
Say I feared Caesar, honored him, and loved him.
Antony's message is very carefully constructed. Notice, he pays no attention to the other conspirators but addresses Brutus directly, assuming he is the leader. He carefully parallels the qualities of Brutus and Caesar ("noble, wise, valiant and honest" versus "mighty, bold, royal and loving"). He makes it clear that Caesar loved him but leaves Brutus' attitude toward him unstated -- the implied question that Antony poses. Notice also that while he says he honored and loved both men, only Caesar inspired fear in him. Antony then makes Brutus an offer:
If Brutus will vouchsafe [guarantee his safety] that Antony
May safely come to him and be resolved
How Caesar hath deserved to lie in death,
Mark Antony shall not love Caesar dead
So well as Brutus living; but will follow
The fortunes and affairs of noble Brutus
Thorough [through] of this untrod state [time of confusion]
With all true faith.
Antony has carefully crafted his message here to suggest that he is just another political opportunist. While Caesar was in power Antony followed him. Now he makes the same offer, apparently, to Brutus: do you need another docile follower who will do what you want him to? Behind the words, however, Antony is careful not to deny his affection for or loyalty to Caesar. Nor is he completely open in his proposed loyalty to Brutus. For example, when he says he will follow Brutus through the "untrod state" he doesn't state without ambiguity which man will have his "true faith."
Brutus accepts Antony's offer at face value and without hesitation at line 138: "Thy master is a wise and valiant Roman./ I never thought him worse." Well, actually Brutus did think him worse: remember when he declared the night before that Antony was no threat to them because "he is given/ To sports, to wildness and to much company." He dismissed any idea of Antony being a serious person. Cassius has misgivings about any arrangement with Antony and reminds Brutus that "my misgivings still/ Falls shrewdly to the purpose" [lines 145 --146]. In other words, when Cassius has a bad feeling about something it always ["still"] turns out to be justified. Brutus ignores his concern.
[Line 147 -- 253] Antony enters, and we immediately see a man in conflict. I had asked you to watch how he interacted with the conspirators. First it is an act of incredible bravery for him to go into this dangerous situation. As far as he knows, as Caesar's closest friend, he's probably the second person on the hit list. Second he has to witness the corpse of his friend and at the same time try and convince the conspirators that they can trust him. Notice his opening lines at line 148: "O mighty Caesar! Dost thou lie so low?/ Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils,/ Shrunk to this little measure? Fare thee well." When enters he does not acknowledge the presence of the conspirators but speaks first to the fallen leader. His rhetorical questions here point out the truism that the glories of this life are transitory; at the same time it's clear that he moved by what he sees. He next at line 151 openly and bravely confronts the conspirators and their plans:
I know not, gentlemen, what you intend.
Who else must be let blood, who else is rank.
If I myself, there is no hour so fit
As Caesar's death's hour, nor no instrument
Of half that worth as those your swords, made rich
With the most noble blood of all this world.
I do beseech ye, if you bear me hard,
Now whilst your purpled hands do reek and smoke,
Fulfill your pleasures. Live a thousand years,
I shall not find myself so apt to die;
No place will please me so, no mean of death,
As here by Caesar, and by you cut off,
The choice and master spirits of this age.
Antony dares them to kill him now so he can die next to the most noble of men. If they intend to murder him too, this is as good a time and place as any. But Antony knows Brutus, better than Brutus knows Antony, and he senses that Brutus doesn't see him as a threat and won't kill him. Praising Caesar at this point probably may increase their appreciation for his loyalty and courage. If Antony shifts his allegiance he won't simply be another yes-man. Notice that he is very careful not to speak ill of the murderers, calling them "The choice and master spirits of this age." Finally this idea of choosing when he will die and under what circumstances will be repeated in the deaths of Cassius and Brutus at the end of the play. It was a concept of noble suicide which Shakespeare seems to have associated with the Romans because he uses it in all his Roman plays. Perhaps because suicide was considered a mortal sin in the Elizabethan age, it has the attraction of the forbidden for Shakespeare and his audience.
From line 164 -- 176 Brutus reassures Antony that they mean him no harm and welcomes him as a brother. He says in effect, "You see the effect of our actions, the corpse of Caesar and our bloody hands, but you do not see our hearts or motives." There is again a kind of arrogance in Brutus' treatment of Antony, the assumption that he can simply explain to this dumb jock why Caesar had to die, and that should do it. He won't feel bad any longer. Brutus welcomes Antony officially at line 176, "With all kind love, good thoughts, and reverence." Once again, Brutus goes for the good-sounding abstractions. Cassius, being less high-minded than Brutus, offers at line 177 a more practical inducement to play along: "Your voice shall be as strong as any man's/ In the disposing of new dignities." In other words, "If you join us, you too can appoint new officers and fill political vacancies ['disposing of new dignities'], all of which bring with them a chance for graft and payoffs."
We see that intellectual arrogance of Brutus again at line 181 where he proposes to explain to all the citizen of Rome why they should not feel shock and grief at Caesar's death. At line 183 Antony does something unusual. Remember that earlier the conspirators bathed their hands in Caesar's blood as a way of publicly acknowledging their responsibility in the murder. Now Antony insists on going around and shaking hands with each of the conspirators, in the process getting his hands bloody as well. The conspirators probably think, "O, he wants to join us in this symbolic act, to be one of us." It is, after all, the same thing Brutus had done the night before when he had shaken hands with each of the conspirators. Antony's motives, however, turn out to be more complex. Yes, he wants to give the impression that he is making his peace with the murderers. At the same time he wants to look each conspirator in the eye so he won't forget him when the time comes for revenge. At line 191 he acknowledges the ambivalence they must feel about his actions:
My credit [reputation] now stands on such slippery ground
That one of two bad ways you must conceit [conceive] me,
Either a coward or a flatterer.
That I did love thee, Caesar, O, 'tis true.
"Either you see me as a coward for making my peace with the men who killed my friend, or else you see me as a flatterer, trying to convince you of my friendship that is false." He assures them that he did love Caesar, and that leads to a spontaneous outburst from line 194 -- 210 again in sorrow for the death of Caesar. I don't think Antony planned to give way to another powerful expression of grief; he was trying to finesse the conspirators, to make them comfortable with the idea of accepting him. But his emotions carry him away. At line 195 he envisions the spirit of Caesar looking down and being appalled to see him shaking hands with the murderers, but he makes sure to call the killers "most noble" at line 199. At line 204 he introduces one of those "serious puns" we've seen before in which Caesar becomes a mighty stag hunted to death by hounds:
Pardon me, Julius! Here wast thou bayed [cornered by barking dogs], brave hart [deer];
Here didst thou fall, and here thy hunters stand,
Signed in thy spoil and crimsoned in thy lethe.
O world, thou wast the forest to this hart;
And this indeed, O world, the heart of thee.
"Signed in thy spoil" may refer to the custom of marking a successful hunter with blood from the slain prey. "Crimsoned in thy lethe" suggests that the flow of victim's lifeblood resembled the waters of the Lethe River in the Greek underworld which helped the souls of the recently dead to forget their former lives. The powerful Caesar did dominate the world of his time; in that sense the world was his "forest." At the same time because of who he was and what he had accomplished, Caesar was the "heart" of the world, the figure to whom everyone looked for inspiration.
All this outpouring of grief and praise for Caesar makes Cassius uncomfortable, and he asks at line 215 what Antony's intentions are: "what compact mean you to have with us?" Antony tries to explain away his outburst by saying he shook hands with them to prove his acceptance, but that the sight of Caesar's body made him lose control. He asks at line 222 that they provide him with reasons "Why, and wherein, Caesar was dangerous." Well of course, answers Brutus, who is so convinced of his own powers of persuasion that he assures Antony at line 224, "Our reasons are so full of good regard [compelling reasons]/ That were you, Antony, the son of Caesar,/ You should be satisfied." The most ironic aspect of this statement is that Brutus really believes it, despite the proof he has seen of Antony's genuine emotional reaction to Caesar's death. It's just a matter of a more intelligent man explaining the assassination calmly and logically to a less intelligent one. Then Antony won't have those negative emotions any more. Yeah, right!
Antony pretends to be placated and asks just one little favor: he'd like to bring Caesar's body to the marketplace for public view and speak in the funeral. No problem, says clueless Brutus. Cassius immediately sees the danger and at line 232 takes Brutus aside and warns him not to allow it, because Antony may be able to sway the people. "Not to worry," in effect says Brutus, "because I'll speak first and convince everyone of the justice of our cause. Then we'll announce that we're allowing Antony to speak at Caesar's funeral, showing that we have no fear of allowing an opposing viewpoint. This will really impress everyone." Cassius is still uncomfortable with the idea, but things have progressed too far in the struggle over leadership. Cassius has no hope of changing Brutus smug assurance. To make sure of his plan, Brutus makes Antony promise at line 245 not to blame the conspirators in any way for Caesar's death: "You shall not in your funeral speech blame us,/ But speak all good you can devise of Caesar,/ And say you do it by our permission." Well, that should make it all right! Of all the terrible political mistakes Brutus makes in the play, none is any worse than this giving Antony a chance to sway the Roman mob. And it all stems from Brutus' own arrogant sense of superiority. With a hidden smirk Antony prepares to take the body to the marketplace. And in his oration Antony is careful to follow Brutus' ground rules, to speak well of the "noble men" who killed Caesar and gave him permission to speak. In fact Antony makes "noble men" a kind of sarcastic mantra throughout the first part of his famous speech.
Act III, scene 1, lines 254 -- 297
In the final part of this scene we hear what Antony really thinks of Brutus and the others. I'd like you to consider two questions as you listen to the rest of the scene. How has Caesar's death transformed Antony from what he was before? We don't see that much of the character, but people do discuss him. How has he changed? Then try to determine what is the extent of Antony's plan for revenge. What specific things does he plan to do?
[Line 254 -- 297].
Caesar's death has apparently energized Antony. He sounds very different from the way he sounded back in Act I, scene 2 when he assure Caesar that Cassius and the others were "noble men" who were no threat. You can certainly see a difference between the angry, intense language of his first speech here, line 254 -- 275, filled with images of brutality and violence, and the kind of soft, apologetic speech back at line 185 of this scene that he made to the killers. Antony is transformed not just to be revenged for Caesar's death but also to save his own life; it's only a question of time before they find some reason to get rid of him.
[Line 254 -- 275] Look at the revealing language of this first speech: "O pardon me, thou bleeding piece of flesh,/ That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!" When the conspirators were present Antony had to pretend that he was ambivalent about Caesar's death. Here we see how he really feels, and there's absolutely no inner conflict! He may have pretended to reach an accommodation with them, but in reality Antony hates them and will kill them if he can. At line 259 he becomes the voice of prophecy of dead Caesar's spirit: "Over thy wounds now do I prophesy/ (Which like dumb mouths do ope their ruby lips/ To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue)". What Antony foresees is that not only the actual murderers of Caesar but all of Rome and its empire shall suffer. In one of the most powerful and frightening speeches in all of Shakespeare, beginning at line 262, Antony evokes the sense of total destruction to come:
A curse shall light upon the limbs of men;
Domestic fury and fierce civil strife
Shall cumber all the parts of Italy;
Blood and destruction shall be so in use,
And dreadful objects so familiar,
That mothers shall but smile when they behold
Their infants quartered with the hand of war,
All pity choked with custom of fell deeds;
And Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge,
With Ate [goddess of discord and revenge] at his side come hot from hell,
Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice
Cry "Havoc," and let slip the dogs of war,
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial.
Antony's vision is one of progressive and heartless destruction. He begins with civil strife, the worst kind of warfare, which will tear apart Italy, the center of the empire. The next major image is of mothers, so used to the horrors of war, that they can only smile as they watch their babies cut in four parts. Over all this destruction Caesar will preside, with the help of the goddess Ate, who normally resides in Hell. If Caesar was not allowed to become a monarch in Rome, in death he is given a monarch's voice, a supreme commander of death and destruction. In the warfare practiced throughout the Renaissance, walled cities were often besieged. The attacking forces would allow the inhabitants a chance to surrender and survive. If they failed to take advantage of the offer, then when the walls were finally breached and the city taken, the commander would cry "Havoc" as a signal that the victorious army could rape, loot and murder without penalty for a prescribed time. Caesar's spirit will cry "Havoc," and the turn loose "the dogs of war," literally the great mastiff dogs bred specifically to attack human beings. The murder of Caesar will create the stench of rotting flesh as unburied bodies of war rot away. The dominant tone throughout is totally without mercy. Contrast this vision of the future with Brutus' sense of order and peace which exist after Caesar's death.
Which vision is more accurate?
[Line 276 -- 297] A servant of Octavius Caesar enters. Octavius was an adopted son of Julius Caesar and therefore might inherit the mantle of Caesar's power. The servant has not heard what happened, and when he sees the bloody body, he weeps. Now, for the first time, Antony allows himself to cry, saying that tears must be infectious. He tells the servant to warn Octavius to stay away from the city, at line 288 using one of those puns in serious situations: "Here is a mourning Rome, a dangerous Rome,/ No Rome [pronounced "room"] of safety for Octavius yet." Now the only plan that Antony has come up with at this point is to take the corpse to the marketplace: "there shall I try/ In my oration how the people take/ The cruel issue [outcome] of these bloody men." Antony has no detailed operation planned out. He is only going to see how the people feel about the murder. Everything that happens in the next scene comes from Antony spontaneously reacting and taking advantage of the circumstances. He has the servant help him take the body out for public view.
Act III, Scene 2
We move on now to one of the most famous scenes in all of Shakespeare's plays: the dueling funeral speeches. We'll hear two different orations about Caesar's death, one by Brutus and one by Antony. Which is the more effective and why? Then see if you can find the single line in this scene which signals the fundamental shift in the play, the point where the fortunes of Brutus begin to turn sour. Shakespeare does this in several of his tragedies, use a single line to mark the turning point in the play. [Act III, scene 2]
This is the dramatic heart of the play. Did you find the point where Brutus began his downward slide? Up to this point in the play we have been almost entirely focussed on Brutus and the conspiracy. From now on we'll be concerned with the success of Antony, the rise of Octavius and the death of Brutus and Cassius. I also asked you to determine which speech was more effective. Shakespeare makes it quite clear that, despite Brutus' fine oration, Antony wipes the floor with him.
[Line 1 -- 63] Throughout the play thus far we have seen that Brutus, despite his noble aims, has consistently made the wrong political decisions. The pattern continues in this scene. Right at the beginning he divides the crowd of agitated plebians and sends Cassius off to speak to one group. So throughout the scene there will be no one present to check on Brutus' actions. Brutus' funeral speech (lines 13 --48) is really quite impressive. He uses a number of elements of classical rhetoric (construction of formal speeches). For example, he uses repetition of words and phrases: "mine honor" at line 15. Similar ideas are often expressed in parallel structure, shown in the modified form of this example (lines 24 -- 27):
As Caesar loved me, I weep for him;
as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it;
as he was valiant, I honor him; but
as he was ambitious, I slew him.
Brutus will balance conflicting ideas with a single sentence, as at line 21 -22: "Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more." Finally he uses a number of rhetorical questions (questions to which the speaker does not expect a stated answer) for dramatic effect (line 30 -- 31): "Who is here so rude, that would not be a Roman?" If this were an advanced speech class, Brutus would get an A+, but that's not unusual since formal rhetoric was considered one of the hallmarks of an educated man in the classical world. I'd like you to look again at the funeral speech and answer three questions: 1.) What specific details (images of things you can see or touch) does Brutus use to make his message more immediate? 2.) Where in his speech does he refer to the physical corpse of Caesar? 3.) Finally the entire text up to this point (except the passages with the plebians in the opening scene) are in verse. Why does Shakespeare choose to put this speech in prose?
Brutus begins the speech invoking his personal honor and that of his family. He urges the plebians to "Believe me for my honor, and have respect to my honor' [line 14 --15]. The central argument of the speech, made between lines 20 -- 25, is that Julius Caesar had to die in order to save the freedom of Rome. Brutus asks a series of rhetorical questions, designed to elevate the idea of that freedom, and then he takes a real chance. At line 35 he pauses for someone to answer the rhetorical questions, which are not really asked to be answered; nevertheless you always run the risk, when you give the audience a chance to participate, of someone saying something and interrupting the flow of the speech. Brutus is able to get the crowd on his side, and at line 39 he tells them if they are interested in a more complete justification of the assassination, there is a document available for reading in the Capitol. (When you're watching a presentation on television, and the announcer says, "If you want to know more about the proposed Democratic energy policy, get more details at www.demogas.org," do you jump up and check it out? Brutus' offer was probably just as successful.)
I had asked you where in the speech Brutus mentions the physical corpse of Caesar. The answer is, he doesn't, not until Antony enters at line 42 with the body. Now people will listen politely to the kind of speech Brutus gives, but they have an absolute morbid fascination with a dead body. They want to see it. How many stab wounds were there? Is the body mutilated? Suddenly no one is listening to Brutus anymore while they strain to look at the corpse. Remember the death photos of Princess Diana in the National Inquirer? If Brutus were at all aware he might have seen Antony's entry with the body for what it is -- a deliberate distraction from his message. Brutus goes ahead and ends his speech with a very dramatic gesture: "as I slew my best lover for the good of Rome, I have the same dagger for myself, when it shall please my country to need my death" [lines 46 -- 48]. We have seen this same implied threat of suicide from Cassius, of course, and remember that Julius Caesar made the same threat after he collapsed at the Lupercal in Act I, scene 2. This gesture also foreshadows Brutus' eventual suicide in the final scene. Remember the English fascination with ritual suicide of the Romans which I mentioned earlier.
So how effective is Brutus' speech? The answer is -- not very. It is filled with grand-sounding abstractions. Here are just a few: honor, respect, wisdom, love, freedom, valor, fortune, ambition, country, glory and commonwealth. These words represent important concepts, but they are very difficult by themselves for people to relate to. We need concrete, immediate images, and Brutus doesn't use many of these at all. (Remember my definition of "images" as that which you can see or touch?) That's another reason why the appearance of Caesar's corpse is so disruptive. It's something everyone can relate to. Brutus customarily does not see the world as others do. Remember his muted reaction to the storm? While everyone else was freaking out, he only noticed that there was a little more light than usual at 3 a.m. He probably does think the most compelling point in his oration was the well-written position paper he had posted, "enrolled in the Capitol." The speech is well-crafted and follows the rules of rhetoric, but it is bloodless and detached. That's why I think Shakespeare puts it in prose, to set it off from Antony's passionate outpouring. The plebians respond positively enough to Brutus' speech, but as they talk about the message we realize they have missed the point entirely. At line 51 one says, "Give him a statue with his ancestors!" which must have secretly pleased Brutus who is always conscious of living up to his heritage. But at the very next line another shouts, "Let him be Caesar!" If Brutus hears it, that must be very discouraging, because the whole point of the killing was to make sure there would be no more strong men to assume absolute power. Brutus has killed the physical Caesar, but he cannot stop the idea of Caesar, the innate desire, Shakespeare would say, for a single powerful leader.
As Brutus prepares to leave, he implores the crowd to stay and listen to Antony's speech. He's such a Boy Scout, he wants to make sure that he plays by all the rules. Furthermore, he doesn't want to impede Antony's opportunity to honor Caesar, so he leaves. After all, he thinks, "How much harm can Antony do? He's only a jock." Still one more fatal mistake.
[Line 64 -- 119] Antony's got a tough job trying to win over the audience. Brutus has really convinced the plebians. At line 70 one warns that Antony had best not speak ill of Brutus, and two more agree that Caesar was a tyrant and that Rome is best rid of him. At first Antony can't even get them to quiet down enough to hear him. That famous opening of his speech at line 75 is an effort to get their attention and to reassure them of his intentions: "Friends, Romans, and countrymen, lend me your ears;/ I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him." Now Antony will successfully win the audience because he does not play by the rules; he takes everything that Brutus foolishly gives him. More importantly he does not try and convince the crowd rationally, to appeal to their sense of logic. He goes right for their emotions. Whereas Brutus uses grand-sounding abstractions, Antony uses lots of specific, tangible images in his speech, not the least of which is the body of Caesar itself. He seems to dismiss whatever good Caesar may have done in life at line 78: "The evil that men do lives after them;/ The good is oft interred with their bones./ So let it be with Caesar." Indirectly here, however, he is reminding his audience of Caesar's accomplishments. At first he seems to agree with Brutus' accusation against Caesar at line 79:
The noble Brutus
Hath told you Caesar was ambitious.
If it were so, it were a grievous fault,
And grievously hath Caesar answered it.
Notice the subtle hint here in the use of what we in the grammar business call the subjunctive voice, the "if." It's just the suggestion that there may be another version of the events. When he points out how Caesar has "grievously" pay for his alleged crime, it gives him a chance to point to the body.
Now Antony is quick to reassure his audience that Brutus and the rest have given him permission to say these things, and at line 84 he affirms the honorable intentions of the conspirators: "For Brutus is an honorable man,/ So are they all, all honorable men." This is the first of seven times Antony will use this idea of the murderers being "honorable." (If repetition is a technique of formal rhetoric, Antony will give them repetition!) By the end of the speech, by sarcasm, by the subtle juxtaposition of what the conspirators did and what they claim to be, Antony will change the context and make the word "honorable" a condemnation. Notice also that Antony doesn't bother too much with the other conspirators. He could have attacked the unbalanced Casca or the sleazy Cassius, but he goes after the best of the bunch, knowing that if he can blacken Brutus' image, he will have won the battle for the plebians' hearts.
Antony will now bring up five specific assertions that will indirectly challenge the charge of Caesar's tyranny. After assuring the crowd he would not praise Caesar, he does just that. At line 86 he simply declares "He was my friend, faithful and just to me," which of course everyone knew about Antony. Notice how Antony lays the foundation for resurrecting Caesar's reputation by bringing up his interpersonal relations. This is followed by the first repetition: "But Brutus says he was ambitious,/ And Brutus is an honorable man." Antony's friendship versus Brutus' intellectual proof -- I wonder which one will carry more weigh with the audience? The second assertion at line 90 says, "He hath brought many captives home to Rome,/ Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill." It was undeniable that Caesar, the conqueror of Gaul, had brought thousands of prisoners back, and the sale of these captives was an important source of public funding. Of course, parading massive numbers of prisoners was a way of showing off the prowess of the commanding general, but here Antony makes it sound like an act of selfless generosity on Caesar's part. The third assertion at line 93 is "When the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept." The patricians of the Senate were notoriously for callously ignoring the suffering of the masses, so Antony claims Caesar sympathized with their plight. (Notice, Antony doesn't say that Caesar did anything to relieve their suffering, but at least he wept -- a trick many successful conservative politicians today have mastered.) With the third repetition of "But Brutus says he was ambitious…." Antony may have some members of the crowd murmuring at this point. The fourth assertion is at line 97: "You all did see that on the Lupercal/ I thrice presented him a kingly crown,/ Which he did thrice refuse. Was this ambition?" You remember that piece of political theater Casca described in I, 2? Here it is again with a different interpretation. Antony had offered the crown and Caesar had refused it as a trial balloon, a device to put pressure on the Senate while getting Romans used to the idea of changing the long-standing prohibition against having one-man rule. Now Antony explains it at face value: if Caesar really wanted to be king, why did he refuse the crown? For the plebians who have no idea about the subtle maneuvering that went on, this seems like compelling evidence. After one more sarcastic repetition of "But Brutus says he was ambitious…." Antony flatly denies at line 102 what he is actually doing: "I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,/ But here I am to speak what I do know." He then makes the fifth and final assertion at line 104: "You all did love him once, not without cause./ What cause withholds you then to mourn for him?" In this rhetorical question Antony comes back to his first assertion about Caesar: "He was my friend" and concludes in effect with "He was your friend as well."
Antony finishes this first phase of his campaign to win support by attacking his audience, at least indirectly, at line 106: "O judgment, thou are fled to brutish beasts/ And men have lost their reason." It's a calculated risk to challenge the judgment of the people he's trying to win, but he needs to give them some reason to reconsider their previous position. He may even be indirectly suggesting the cause for their misperceptions about Caesar when he refers to "brutish beasts" with a hint of "Brutus." Ironically Antony is arguing that the rational conclusion is that Caesar was not a threat; he seems to take Brutus' strength, his reason, away from him.
Antony now plays the most blatant of his emotional appeals at line 107: "Bear with me;/
My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,/ And I must pause till it come back to me." Very successful politicians have learned that show of powerful emotions can be very effective in demonstrating one's sincerity. Bill Clinton was a master of the device. The pause also gives Antony a chance to gauge how effective his message has been up to this point and to plan a new attack. What we hear shows how successful he has been. The plebians have shifted from Brutus to Antony, shown by the first response at line 110: "Methinks there is much reason in his sayings." The others agree and now view the conspirators with suspicion. One even comments on the "sincerity" of Antony's grief at line 117: "Poor soul, his eyes are red as fire with weeping." Another at line 118 starts the same process of elevating Antony that we saw earlier with Brutus: "There's not a nobler man in Rome than Antony." Antony is winning and can move on to the second phase of the campaign.
[120 -- 170] In the second long passage Antony is more confident and can play on the crowd's emotions more directly. He begins by pointing out the same irony that he mentioned in the previous scene: Yesterday Caesar was the most powerful man; now he lies pathetic in death. There's nobody who will even "do him reverence" [line 122]. He then warns the audience what he could say and how they might react:
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 honorable men.
I will not do them wrong; I rather choose
To wrong the dead, to wrong myself and you,
Than I will wrong such honorable men.
It's an old psychological trick to warn someone what you could do but choose not to. In the process, of course, you implant the message of the threat. Antony here says if he wanted the plebians "mutiny and rage" he could, but he chooses not to do that. Are we surprised when, within 100 lines, they "mutiny and rage"? The reason Antony claims he is not stirring the crowd up is, of course, his commitment to the "honorable men," who now seem anything but honorable. Technically, he is still playing by the rules Brutus set down in the previous scene -- do not blame us. So Antony says in effect, "To maintain that fiction I consciously and publicly choose to wrong the dead [Caesar], myself [because I know better] and you [yes, you plebians are now in an alliance with Caesar and me because we have all been wronged by the honorable men.] " It's a masterstroke of accomplishing what he says he is not doing.
What did Brutus' funeral oration lack? Concrete details. Antony won't make the same mistake. He pulls out a parchment which he claims is the will of Caesar. (You might ask yourself when in the rush of events Antony was able to get the will, as he says at line 131, from Caesar's "closet" or private room.) He will now use the existence of this alleged will to spellbind the crowd. This piece of political theater has an exact parallel in our history back in the early 1950's when a right-wing demagogue, Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, decided to ride the wave of hysterical fear of Communism by announcing that the government was filled with hidden Communist agents. He used to pull out a piece of paper from his pocket and proclaim that he had the names of 43 Communists in the State Department. (The numbers would change every time he did it.) He was finally destroyed politically when he went too far and accused the US Army of harboring Communist agents. Having produced the will, Antony immediately apologizes for having done so and assures everyone he does not mean to read it. However, if he were to read it, he tells us at line 134, and the commoners learned what Caesar had left them in the will,
They would go and kiss dead Caesar's wounds,
And dip their napkins in his sacred blood;
Yea, beg a hair of him for memory,
And dying, mention it within their wills,
Bequeathing it as a rich legacy
Unto their issue.
When you tell someone that you have exciting news, especially about money, but you don't want to tell him or her, what's the psychological effect? Antony really inflates the impact of the will, once again telling the plebians what their reaction would be, thus setting up the self-fulfilling prophecy. Notice we get the image of bathing in Caesar's blood for the third time (after Calphurnia's dream and the conspirators' ritual). The mementos from Caesar's body will become the somewhat grisly inheritance passed on to their heirs by the plebians, continuing the process of bequeathing. When the crowd demands to hear the will (surprise!), Antony continues to build the suspense and shape their response. A not so subtle form of manipulation is to tell people how they will react before they experience something. At line 142 he warns them
Have patience, gentle friends, I must not read it.
It is not meet [appropriate] you know how Caesar loved you.
You are not wood, you are not stones, but men;
And, being men, hearing the will of Caesar,
It will inflame you, it will make you mad.
'Tis good you know not you are his heirs;
For if you should, O, what would come of it?
By this one device Antony manages to couple emotional appeal with self-interest; after all, the plebians think, "Caesar was incredibly rich. What's my share going to be?" They now demand he read the will. Antony protests one last time at line 153: "I fear I wrong the honorable men/ Whose daggers have stabbed Caesar." Now the mob spits the phrase "honorable men" back at Antony, at line 155: "They are traitors. Honorable men!" It is as if the plebians had finally figured out that "honorable" here is a bad thing. They think that Antony has been unaware all this time of the irony behind the word. The clamor for the will to be read, and Antony protests at line 159, "You will compel me then to read the will?" Any good confidence man knows that a scam works better when the victim "compels" you to reveal what you planned to all along.
Antony asks the crowd to make a circle around the coffin of Caesar while he descends. If you've read the background material about Shakespeare's stage on the class web page, you can guess that Antony has been on the upper stage while Caesar's body has probably been on the lower or main stage. Antony now descends, probably by means of a ladder, to the main stage to stand with the crowd. (By the way, in modern productions this scene is usually played as if the audience were part of the Roman mob.) On stage the plebians crowd around Antony and the body.
[Line 171 -- 210] Antony has descended to read the will, but he now uses the body of Caesar to whip up the anger of the plebians. He does this in two stages: first using their imagination and then the body itself. He takes the "mantle," or more historically accurately toga, which has probably been draped over the coffin or body and holds it up. He uses it and the stab wounds in it to imaginatively reconstruct the murder, in the process now directly attacking the motives and behavior of the conspirators. Antony has already warned the people how they will react at line 171: "If you have tears, prepare to shed them now." He increases the sentimental value of the garment by giving it a history, whether real or imagined, at line 172:
You all do know this mantle. I remember
The first time ever Caesar put it on:
'Twas on a summer's evening, in his tent,
That day he overcame the Nervii [a famous victory].
Antony has used a simple garment to remind the plebians of Caesar's glorious past and to establish a personal connections between them and the body: "You all do know this mantle." Whether they do or not is immaterial -- Antony has invited them to share this memory.
He now reconstructs the murder. "Look, in this place ran Cassius' dagger through;/ See what a rent [hole] the envious Casca made" [lines 176 -- 177]. As with the history of the garment, Antony's explanation of the forensic evidence is undoubtedly fictional; he didn't witness the killing. But it works to personalize the murder and to attribute less-than-honorable motives to the killers, especially to Brutus at line 178:
Through this the well-beloved Brutus stabbed,
And as he plucked his cursed steel away,
Mark how the blood of Caesar followed it,
As rushing out of doors, to be resolved
If Brutus so unkindly knocked, or no.
Throughout his speech Brutus made much of the fact that he loved Caesar. Now Antony turns that declaration against Brutus for having slain the man who loved him in return. Notice how Antony even personifies the blood of Caesar, describing it as if it had run out of a house to see if it was Brutus who knocked at the door.
For Shakespeare and his audience ingratitude was an especially grievous sin. Antony emphasizes Brutus' betrayal of all the favor Caesar had shown him. At line 183 he explains:
For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar's angel [favorite].
Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him!
This was the most unkindest cut of all;
For when the noble Caesar saw him stab,
Ingratitude, more strong than traitors' arms,
Quite vanquished him.
It wasn't the daggers that killed Caesar; it was the ingratitude of Brutus.
At line 190 Antony describes how Caesar fell at the base of Pompey's statue. When the conspirators realized that Caesar had fallen before Pompey, they thought it was politically appropriate because Pompey had been the champion of the Senate and he now had at least symbolic revenge for his defeat. But Antony turns that into another example of the injustice of the murder at line 192: "O, what a fall was there, my countrymen!/ Then I, and you, and all of us fell down,/ Whilst bloody treason flourished over us." He makes the fall of Caesar a defeat for all of them. No one stops to ask why the plebians should identify more with Caesar than with Brutus or what common interest they might have; Antony has successfully wedded himself and Caesar with the discontent of the mob.
Now Antony plays the "body card." The crowd has been morbidly fascinated by the presence of the dead body since it was first carried on stage back at line 42. Antony now reveals it with a dramatic gesture at line 197: "what, weep you when you but behold/
Our Caesar's vesture wounded? Look you here./ Here is himself, marred, as you see with [by] traitors." However a production chooses to stage the revelation of the body, it appeals directly to the kind of gristly fascination we nowadays find in the tabloids. Brutus has never heard of the National Inquirer; Antony has it delivered to his house. The sight of the body with its multiple stab wounds fills the crowd with horror and pity and then with rage: "Revenge! About! Seek! Burn! Fire! Kill! Slay! Let not a traitor live!" [line 206] A lesser manipulator would let the mob run off to destroy the conspirators, but Antony is going to make doubly sure that their minds won't be changed again. He asks them to listen just a little while longer, and they make clear their new-found allegiance to him at line 210: "We'll hear him, we'll follow him, we'll die with him."
[211 -- 274] Antony wants to give them direction and, in effect, to deny what he just did. At line 211 he urges the crowd "Good friends, sweet friends, let me not stir you up/ To such a sudden flood of mutiny." Is the suggestion too subtle here of what he wants them to do? He reminds them that the conspirators were "honorable" men ("It's now our little joke," Antony seems to say), and they had reasons for murdering Caesar. (Yes, why don't you go read that position paper "enrolled in the Capitol" that Brutus was so proud of?) At line 218 Antony then denies what he has just accomplished.
I come not, friends, to steal away your hearts;
I am no orator, as Brutus is;
But (as you know me all) a plain blunt man
That loved my friend, and that they know full well
That gave me public leave to speak of him.
Antony is too modest. He succeeded in winning their hearts and minds precisely because he is not the orator Brutus is. He acknowledges one last time that the conspirators had given him permission to speak to the crowd because he is a simple guy. It isn't his words that stirred them up but "sweet Caesar's wounds" at line 227. Antony ends this passage comparing himself with Brutus, saying in effect, "If I were as good as Brutus, I could really persuade you." He concludes at line 230, "[I] would ruffle up your spirits, and put a tongue/ In every wound of Caesar that should move/ The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny." The crowd takes suggestion well and promptly responds at line 233, "We'll mutiny!" They start to run off once again.
Like a pitchman on television Antony says, "But wait! There's more!" He reminds them of the will, if it is indeed the will and not just some old scroll Antony happened to have. He grandly announces that every citizen of Rome will receive 75 drachmas, and they go wild in appreciation. Seventy-five drachmas may be a modest sum, sort of like a Republican tax cut for a middle-class family: "Congratulations, you'll save $27.00 on your taxes, and we'll get government off your backs by closing down the EPA." Furthermore Caesar has left his estates and gardens as public parks. When Antony specifies that the property is "on this side Tiber," he may be limiting the actual property that will be made public; later on he will try and cut back on how much of Caesar estate will be given up. Having won the crowd over in every conceivable way, he finally turns them loose with the stirring lines: "Here was a Caesar! When comes such another?" The crowd rushes out, some to cremate Caesar's body and some to burn the traitors' homes using wooden benches from the public streets. Antony, who started this scene with no real plan, is triumphant: "Mischief, thou are afoot,/ Take thou what course thou wilt" [lines 263 -- 264].
A servant arrives with news that Octavius has arrived in Rome, along with Lepidus, a general and old friend of Caesar's. Antony is ecstatic at line 269: "Fortune is merry,/ And in this mood will give us anything." He goes off to meet his new allies.
Act III, Scene 3
We now move to a short scene, a vignette of the violence in the aftermath of the revenge killings. Here are two things to notice: The bloodshed and mindless destruction Antony foretold back in III 1 at lines 255 -- 275 are now coming true. We can certainly see the mindlessness in the choice of the victim in this scene. While the action is very frightening, this scene also provides what passes for comic relief in the play. In his tragedies Shakespeare almost always had a scene with comic elements right after a major dramatic scene. It was a way to relieve emotional tension in the audience before the play would proceed. Look for these two elements in the scene. [Act III, scene 3]
A poet named Cinna decides to attend the funeral of Caesar, despite unrest in the streets. Like others in the play, such as Calphurnia, he has had a dream which proves to be prophetic: he does end up dining with Caesar, in death. The vigilantes of the mob stop him and ask him rapid-fire questions -- what's you name, where do you live, where are you going and are you married -- and demand that they answer him immediately. Cinna, as a little joke, takes one answer and says it is the wisest one he can give -- he is a bachelor. One of the plebians, drunk with the power of lawlessness, takes offense at line 17: "That's as much as to say they are fools that marry," and promises revenge. They question him further and discover his name is Cinna and go crazy. When he protests he is not Cinna the conspirator but Cinna the poet, they carry him off stage to beat him to death anyway. These are illiterate working people who resent the cultural superiority represented by those who could read and write. One says "Tear him apart for his bad verses," and another says, very revealingly, "Tear his name out of his body" at line 34. In Shakespeare's plays when characters talk about words or names as if they were physical objects, they are most often illiterate. Poor Cinna! He was in the wrong place at the wrong time and the mob kills him simply because they have the blood lust for murder.
Shakespeare did not believe that the common people should be allowed to govern themselves. He thought the passions and the lack of control would make popular government impossible. We see in this small scene the fear that Shakespeare and many in the society had about the threat of the mob, whether plebians in ancient Rome or the working people of Shakespeare's London.
Act IV, Scene 1
This is another short scene, also pretty sinister, which shows the effects of the counter-revolution. In my mind the efforts of the conspirators to stop Caesar's power-grab was a revolution. The backlash of Antony, Octavius and the mob is a counter-revolution. It will affect not just Rome and Italy but the entire Roman Empire, most of the known world at that time. The death of Caesar has left a power vacuum. The conspirators have fled from Rome, and most of the prominent Senators, such as Cicero, have been killed. Three of Caesar's associates, called the triumvirate, have assumed political power: Marc Antony, one of Caesar's generals, a respected older man named Lepidus, and Caesar's adopted son, Octavius. It is Octavius that years later will emerge from the future three-way power struggle for control to become the first and greatest of the Roman emperors, Augustus Caesar. Many in Shakespeare's audience knew all about the future conflict that would come between Antony and Octavius, and they watched his character with particular interest to see what signs of greatness he reveals. In this scene what are the two principal conflicts which are revealed? [Act IV, Scene 1]
If we foolishly believed that the triumph of Antony would usher in a period of justice and decency, we are disillusioned. Antony and his two co-conspirators are busy drawing up lists of enemies they plan to execute and altering the real will of Caesar to eliminate some of those bequests that would otherwise have gone to the plebians. The scene is very cynical and dramatically economic in its portrayal of political machinations. As it opens the men are literally trading lives, "pricking" the names of those who must die from a list of prominent citizens. At line 2 Octavius warns Lepidus, "Your brother too must die, consent you Lepidus?" Lepidus agrees on condition that "Publius shall not live/ Who is your sister's son, Marc Antony" [line 5]. If Lepidus has to give up a brother, Antony has to lose a close relative too. "He shall not live. Look, with a spot I damn him," says Antony. To me this is amorality at its worst, the casual discarding of life by men newly come to political power. We will soon learn that most of the primary enemies died in the immediate aftermath of the assassination, including the Senate's most famous member, Cicero, who we know had no part in the plot.
Antony sends Lepidus off to Caesar's house to get Caesar's real will so they can alter it. That piece of parchment Antony was waving around at the funeral speech was a fake, something that Antony just grabbed and pretended was the will. Antony treats Lepidus with little respect here, a glorified gofer, and he no sooner leaves than Antony starts attacking him at line 12:
This is a slight unmeritable man,
Meet to be sent on errands; is it fit
The threefold world divided, he should stand
One of the three to share it?
Now we are not told how this three-way division of the Roman Empire was arrived at. (If you're interested check out the passage by Plutarch in the Signet edition.) But it's clear from the outset that it's not going to work. Antony is already plotting to get rid of one of his partners. Octavius reminds Antony that he consented to the arrangement and let Lepidus "prick" people to die. Antony, while reminding Octavius of his age and experience, compares Lepidus to the ass that bears the gold, a beast of burden, that does his job and is then turned loose, "to shake his ears/ And graze in commons" [line 26].
Octavius is cagey and tells Antony to do what he wishes but asserts once more at line 28 that Lepidus is "a tried and valiant soldier, to which Antony responds, "So is my horse," at line 29. He continues to ridicule Lepidus, declaring that like a horse he must be controlled and trained. He calls him at line 36
A barren-spirited fellow; one that feeds
On objects, arts and imitations,
Which, out of use and staled by other men,
Begin his fashion. Do not speak of him
But as a property.
The insult here is that Lepidus is always behind the times, someone with no originality who only discovers a fashion after everyone else has discarded it. Lepidus is still hosting macarena parties. He's hardly human, just a piece of property. Antony urges that he and Octavius form an alliance and raise an army to destroy the rest of the conspirators. Octavius ends the scene with an interesting image: "we are at the stake/ And bayed about with many enemies" [line 48]. It reminds us of the other very popular form of entertainment in Shakespeare day, the bear baiting: tying a bear to a stake and letting him fight a bunch of dogs. Octavius concludes that they are surrounded people who smile at them but have "millions of mischiefs" in their hearts.
We move on to Act IV, scene 2, a short scene. A great deal has happened over which Shakespeare has jumped. He has chosen not to show us that moment of panic when Brutus and Cassius and the others who survived the mob realized how quickly success had been snatched from them. We don't get to see the recrimination, if there was any, when someone said to Brutus, "I told you not to let him speak at the funeral." It is as if Shakespeare tells us, "That's no longer important. What I want you to focus on is the character of Brutus as he deals with his own failure." Brutus and Cassius are on the downward slope. They have been run out of Italy and lost their base of power. It's only a question of time before they are cornered and destroyed. How does Brutus handle the knowledge that he has helped put himself and his friends in this situation. That's the theme of the last two acts. In this scene notice how the relationship between Brutus and Cassius has changed. [Act IV, scene 2]
Things have begun to sour in the relationship. Shakespeare leaves it to our imagination to fill in the gap between the last time we saw Brutus when he left the funeral and now. But he certainly suggests that the disasters of Brutus' political choices have helped strain his friendship with Cassius. Now the two are marching through Greece, near the town of Sardis, with their armies. None of their former co-conspirators are to be seen, suggesting that they've all died or fled Rome. Now they have a whole new set of associates, military men, who will share the fate of Brutus and Cassius.
At line 6 Brutus greets Pindarus, a representative from Cassius, and says he has some disagreements with Cassius, but rather than discuss them with Pindarus he will wait for Cassius' imminent arrival. Brutus does ask his representative, Lucilius, how Cassius greeted him and is told that Cassius did not treat him "such free and friendly conference/ As he hath used of old" [line 16]. Brutus responds at line 18
Thou hast described
A hot friend cooling. Ever note, Lucilius,
When love begins to sicken and decay
It useth an enforced ceremony.
Brutus recognizes the signs of a deteriorating friendship in the reluctant hospitality Lucilius has received. Brutus goes on to compare the deception of pretended friendship to the actions of horses which promise a great race but fail in the stretch.
Cassius and his army arrive, and we get some military stuff, with soldiers formally saluting. Cassius doesn't wait and starts in ragging on Brutus at line 37: "Most noble brother, you have done me wrong!" Brutus denies that he wrongs anyone, even his enemies. However, Cassius complains that Brutus' sober exterior hides the wrongs he has committed against him. Brutus has to remind him that it doesn't look good to argue in front of their troops and to urge him to continue the discussion in private. Brutus even orders his men to guard the tent so they won't be disturbed.
The men who edited Shakespeare's plays after his death set up a scene break at this point, although we can tell it's a continuation of the same action. Brutus and Cassius probably moved into the inner stage, representing Brutus' tent.
In the first part of the next scene why is Cassius so angry with Brutus? Why is Brutus upset with Cassius? As they argue bitterly the men will reveal intimate details about their lives and past relationship. What surprising things do we learn? [Act IV, scene 3,
lines 1 -- 139]
The two conspirators go right at it. Cassius is upset because Brutus has punished Lucius Pella, a friend of Cassius, for accepting bribes. Brutus declares that he will not tolerate corruption in his crusade and furthermore Cassius reputedly has "an itching palm" at line 10, i.e. encourages corruption by selling offices in the army and government. Cassius responds by blustering and threatening Brutus, at least indirectly: "You know that you are Brutus that speaks this,/ Or, by the gods, this speech were else your last" [line 13]. Cassius will threaten in a similar manner throughout the rest of the scene, complaining bitterly that he is restraining himself. Brutus now places Cassius' actions under a strict moral scrutiny, beginning at line 18:
Remember March, the ides of March remember.
Did not great Julius bleed for justice sake?
What villain touched his body, that did stab,
And not for justice? What, shall one of us,
That struck the foremost man of all the world
But for supporting robbers, shall we now
Contaminate our fingers with base bribes,
And sell the mighty space of our large honors
For so much trash as may be grasped thus?
I had rather be a dog, and bay the moon,
Than such a Roman.
The events of the ides of March changed everything. The death of Caesar has made the assassins accountable to a higher moral standard. Everything they do now must be measured, according to Brutus, by the same idealism with which they joined the conspiracy. (Notice that here, after the fact, Caesar is accused of "supporting robbers," or corrupt officials, an accusation that was not made before the murder.) Brutus believes so strongly in what they did that he envisions the assassins' honor as a "mighty space," compared to the tiny area represented by grabbing the "base bribes" which demean their integrity. Brutus even proclaims that he rather be a dog than such a Roman, very much as he had swore back in I, 2, line 172, that he would rather be a villager than a citizen of Rome under the sway of Caesar. His identity as a Roman is vital for Brutus.
For Cassius, conducting a war cut off from one's base of support back in Rome is no time for moral niceties. You must make countless compromises and get the funds to carry out military operations wherever you can. He has been a soldier before and knows how to make these compromise: "I am a soldier, I,/ Older in practice, abler than yourself/ To make conditions" [line 30-32]. This declaration sets off a new round of quarreling, as Brutus taunts Cassius and mocks his anger: "Go show your slaves how choleric you are,/ And make your bondsmen tremble" [line 38 -- 39]. Brutus vows at line 49 that in the future he will use him when he is angry for his entertainment.
Brutus objects to Cassius asserting that he was a better soldier, and Cassius denies he said it, calling himself "older in practice," not necessarily better. Cassius angrily declares that when Caesar was alive, he would have not have insulted Cassius as much as Brutus has. Brutus rejoins by saying that Cassius would not have dared anger Caesar as he has Brutus. Brutus, dismissing Cassius' threats, now gets to the core of his complaint, beginning at line 69: Brutus had sent to Cassius for gold to pay his soldiers. Normally an army occupying territory like this would take the money they needed from the peasants, but Brutus is too noble to raise money by what he calls "vile means." He is angry that Cassius denied him the money he needed and charges that Cassius is greedy and unwilling to turn loose of the gold he has, something he asserts he would never have done if the situation were reversed. We can ask a couple of practical questions at this point. Where did Cassius get the money which Brutus wanted? Apparently from selling offices and collecting bribes and all the other dirty activities which Brutus disdained to use and which he accused Cassius and his associates of using.
Rather than pointing out to Brutus the hypocrisy of his situation, Cassius tries to explain the conflict away, saying now that he never denied the money and that the messenger who passed between them was a fool. Cassius keeps insisting that Brutus is throwing up these charges and accusations of moral failure because he no longer loves Cassius. These two men are behaving throughout the whole sequence as if they were a married couple in the middle of a fight. Brutus is uncharacteristically emotional; Cassius keeps evoking their prior relationship and insisting that he can stand no more.
All this emotional upheaval reaches a dramatic climax in Cassius' long speech beginning at line 92: "Come, Anthony, and young Octavius, come,/ Revenge yourselves alone on Cassius,/ For Cassius is aweary of the world." This is a melodramatic gesture of someone who uses the threat of self-destruction as a form of emotional blackmail. After complaining about how Brutus has publicly humiliated him, Cassius comes back to that self-destructiveness we've seen throughout the play when he is at a crisis: "There is my dagger,/ And here my naked breast; within, a heart/ Dearer than Pluto's mine, richer than gold" [lines 99 -- 101]. We can imagine Cassius pulling out his knife and throwing open his toga, yelling, "You want your gold? Here it is! Kill me for it!" But he doesn't stop there. He ends by revealing his own emotional vulnerability at line 104: "Strike as thou didst at Caesar; for I know,/ When thou didst hate him worst, thou lovedst him better/ Than ever thou lovedst Cassius." This dramatic revelation sounds like some married couple working with Doctor Phil on the Oprah Show, but it may have some validity, but just as quickly as it appeared, Brutus' rage is gone. He tells Cassius he will tolerate any of his dishonors, comparing himself to a lamb and his sudden anger to the spark inside a flint. He confesses at line 115 that he was ill tempered when he insulted Cassius earlier. The two shake hands, and Cassius asks that Brutus excuse his "rash humor," which he blames on his mother.
At this point an outsider, a poet, rushes past the guards and bursts into the tent. This self-appointed peacemaker urges the two generals to patch up their disagreements and appear before their armies in solidarity. The two men unite in their brusque dismissal of this intruder and mocking of his lame verse. Here Shakespeare reveals another truth about domestic disagreements: a couple in a fight will turn quickly on anyone from the outside who tries to intervene and settle the argument.
We now move on to the next sequence in this scene. We will discover what lies behind Brutus' uncharacteristic behavior. We have seen him display emotions he did not reveal even when he was killing Caesar; now we'll see the cause. We also see a debate over military strategy as Brutus, Cassius and their leading officers argue over where to fight the armies of Octavius and Antony which are closing in on them. Try to determine why Brutus is allowed to win this debate. [Act IV, scene 3, line 140 -- 234]
We see that the cause for Brutus' earlier anger at Cassius is undoubtedly the death of his wife Portia. Brutus is a stoic, a follower of the philosophy that teaches our highest achievement is to take whatever life dishes out to us with calm acceptance. The stoic tried not to allow his emotions to guide his behavior. But Brutus is also a loving husband who feels the loss of his wife at the core of his being. And so he displaces the sorrow he feels by allowing himself to lose his temper with Cassius. Cassius certainly sees the connection because at line 149 he wonders, "How scaped I killing when I crossed you so?" Brutus does not waste words in telling about his wife's death. At line 143 he tries to excuse his earlier behavior by declaring that he is "sick of many griefs," and when Cassius urges him to use his philosophy for comfort, he says simply, "Portia is dead." No build-up, no emotional preparation. It is so brusque, Cassius does not understand at first and at line 147 asks, "Portia?" as if he can't conceive that Brutus is talking about his own wife. The manner of Portia's death makes it all the more difficult on Brutus. At line 151 he explains:
Impatient of my absence,
And grief that young Octavius with Mark Antony
Have made themselves so strong -- for with her death
That tidings came -- with this she fell distract,
And (her attendants absent) swallowed fire.
Like Lady Macduff, in Macbeth Portia had been left behind when he husband fled for political reasons. Surrounded by the angry Roman mob and the triumphant Antony and Octavius, she despaired and, despite the watch placed on her to prevent suicide, killed herself by swallowing hot coals. It must have been a particularly painful death, and Brutus must have felt guilty at several different levels.
Brutus asks Cassius not to speak of her anymore. He has his young servant Lucius fill cups of wine to drink to their renewed friendship, which Cassius eagerly does. Throughout the play Cassius' emotions are always on the surface, often dominating the audience's attention. The way Brutus relates Portia's death and his reluctance to discuss it in any detail tells us that Brutus is not a man comfortable with anyone else knowing his feelings, let alone discussing them. They welcome their subordinates, Titinius and Messala, to discuss strategy. At line 164 when the traumatized Cassius mentions Portia one more time, Brutus asks him to be quiet about it. Brutus and Messala compare the information they have received about how many senators were put to death and try to reconcile the different figures. The one thing they do agree on is the death of poor Cicero, which provokes a response from the emotionally fragile Cassius at line 178.
Now between lines 180 and 195 Shakespeare has a second announcement of Portia's death. The editor of the Signet offers a commonly accepted explanation for the second account by Messala, who has learned of her death in a letter. The editor suggests that Shakespeare may have originally had Messala tell Brutus and then emphasized Brutus' stoic acceptance of the news. Subsequently Shakespeare decided to play up Brutus heart-felt reaction to her death within the context of his argument with Cassius and just forgot about eliminating the first version of the news that we get in these lines. Most directors choose to have Brutus reveal the news to Cassius so we get this fuller treatment of his reaction and grief, and the lines from 180 to 195 are cut. I have seen at least one production where both accounts were used and we get a scene where we observe Brutus pretending to get the news we already have seen him wrestle with. Messala and Titinius are both impressed with the calm acceptance of Brutus, and Messala at line 192 declares, "Even so great men great losses should endure." The effect of that line is undercut somewhat by our knowing Brutus has already wrestled with his grief.
Brutus now plunges into a discussion of where the climatic battle between their forces and Octavius and Antony's army should take place. The conventional wisdom, articulated by Cassius, the "older soldier," is that they should wait, let their enemies wear themselves out marching to the battlefield, and fight a defensive battle, which was always considered easier. Brutus argues in great detail against this position, saying that they should move to attack at Philippi where their enemies are currently waiting. Brutus argues that the people around Sardis begrudge them support and might flock to the forces of Octavius and Antony if they wait in defense. At line 212 he has a second long speech about the advantages of attacking at Philippi: their legions are full right now, the morale of their men high. If they wait, their enemies will grow stronger. Brutus now advances a psychological argument in some of the most memorable lines in the play at line 217:
There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
These are powerful images and suggest an almost mystical sense of timing. There is only one problem: they are being uttered by Brutus, a man who consistently made the wrong political decisions earlier in the play. Like so many other matters on which he holds strong opinions, Brutus' arguments tend to be rather abstract rather than based on practical experience. Why should anyone believe that he has a better sense of military strategy than he did of political options?
Cassius capitulates at line 223 with no further argument, although he will complain latter to his subordinates that it is the wrong decision. I think we can feel why Cassius goes along with Brutus' plan, even though it will lead to their deaths. Brutus' anger and the news of Portia's death undid Cassius. It is almost as if Cassius will willingly go along with what he knows is wrong if it will maintain their friendship. The domination of Cassius by Brutus is complete, without either man understanding what has happened.
We now finish the scene in a sequence dominated by the appearance of great Caesar's ghost in Brutus' tent. Pay particular attention to Brutus' reaction to the ghost. What's unusual about it? [Act IV, scene 3, line 235 -- 304]
This part of the scene begins with a sense of calm and normalcy. We have seen in plays like Romeo and Macbeth how Shakespeare would use scenes like this to lower the emotional tension just after or just before big dramatic highpoints. In a few lines Shakespeare creates a sleepy atmosphere with Lucius once again nodding off as he had done back in Act II, scene 1. Brutus even has two other servants come into the tent to sleep. We see a number of places where Brutus expresses concern for the well being of men who serve under him, insisting that Claudius and Varro sleep rather than stand at attention. He reassures Lucius and asks nicely if the boy will play his instrument to help Brutus relax. When Brutus finds a missing book in the pocket of his robe, he almost apologizes to Lucius. There is something so typical about Brutus, the quintessential intellectual, reading a book on the eve of the great battle.
Behind that great calm, however, Brutus is in turmoil. Why does he insist that people sleep in his tent? Is there any reason he does not want to be alone on this night in particular? He never articulates his reasons nor does he speak of Portia again, even though he is alone. As has happened before in this scene we see Brutus deny his own grief. As he tries to read he suddenly notices the candles dimming, a sure sign that some supernatural force is present. The ghost appears, but never identifies himself as Caesar; we are just supposed to notice the similarity. It is not unlike the appearance of Banquo's ghost at Macbeth's banquet. The ghost calls himself Brutus' "evil spirit" at line 281. Now Shakespeare's audience believed explicitly in ghosts and their ability to predict the future. Therefore when the ghost appears to Brutus and tells him they will meet again at Philippi, Brutus knows better than anyone what the outcome of the battle will be: his defeat and death. And yet Brutus calmly accepts this knowledge, "Why I will see thee at Philippi, then" at line 285. He wakes Lucius and then Varro and Claudius to see if they have been dreaming and asks why they cried out in their sleep, although we know they did no such thing. Brutus seems desperate to find someone else who can validate his vision of the ghost. But throughout all of Act V he will know the outcome of the final battle.
Act V is a series of shorter scenes, leading up to the famous battle at Philippi, taking place during the battle and then showing the aftermath. In the first scene notice how the two accidental allies, Octavius and Antony, are getting along. Then watch as Cassius and Brutus begin to have second thoughts about their course of action. [Act V, scene 1]
The forces of Brutus and Cassius have surprised Antony by coming down out of the hills to do battle on the plains at Philippi. At line 1 -- 6 Octavius expresses happy surprise at their action, because they make themselves more vulnerable. He tweaks Antony for guessing wrong, but Antony declares he knows exactly why they are putting themselves at a tactical disadvantage. Brutus and Cassius want to make them think they are stronger than they really are, creating what he calls "a fearful bravery," a sense of false courage which Antony is sure is a trick.
As they prepare to hold a parlay with their enemies, Antony tells Octavius to lead his men on the left side of the battlefield. In a sign of the disagreement and eventual armed conflict between these two temporary allies in years to come, Octavius refuses to obey and tells Antony to take the left and less desirable side himself. Shakespeare showed many battles in his 37 plays, battles that usually involved the clash of thousands of men. He developed a formula for staging these battles with his limited company of some 14 actors. As he does here, he often had the combatants meet before battle and express their hostility in words. He replaces physical violence with verbal conflict. As Brutus says at line 28, "Words before blows; is it so countrymen?" The enemies immediately begin to quarrel, with Octavius insulting Brutus with, "Not that we love words better, as you do," suggesting the conspirators are all talk and no action. Brutus reminds his opponents that communication is still vital: "Good words are better than bad strokes, Octavius." Antony joins the verbal free-for-all by reminding the conspirators of their earlier "strokes": "In your bad strokes, Brutus, you give good words;/ Witness the hole you made in Caesar's heart,/ Crying 'Long live! Hail Caesar!" Cassius points out that Antony is also guilty of using language to deceive, comparing his sweet words to the plebians to the famous bees of Hybla, famous in antiquity for the sweetness of their honey. At line 37 Cassius extends the conceit to the idea of the bees buzzing before they sting, the image here of buzzing to suggest a hostile theater audience who show their displeasure by buzzing, as if Antony were a bad actor. Antony at line 40 changes the comparison to other animals, comparing the conspirators' servile behavior before Caesar to dogs which fawned on the great man, before the "cur" Casca struck from behind. At the least the conspirators were guilty of flattery. At line 45 we get the only recrimination Cassius ever throws up to Brutus. Referring to Antony and the decision to let him live, Cassius says, "Now, Brutus, thank yourself;/ This tongue had not offended so today,/ If Cassius might have ruled."
Octavius ends the attempt to one-up their opponents by drawing a sword and swearing revenge for Caesar's "three-and-thirty" wounds. Brutus dismisses his dramatic gesture and says even if Octavius were the most noble of his family (as he is decidedly not, being inferior in honor to Julius Caesar) he could not die in a more honorable fashion than on the sword of Brutus. Cassius throw in his last insult, calling Octavius "a peevish schoolboy, worthless of such honor [as fighting Brutus]/ Joined with a masker and a reveler [the old charge against Antony]." Antony responds simply by saying, "Old Cassius still" as if Cassius can't see beyond his own prejudice.
Octavius and Antony depart to prepare for battle. Cassius takes Messala aside and confides to him that the decision to fight at this place and time, risking everything on a single battle, is against his will. He even evokes the memory of the Senate's former champion, Pompey, who was also forced into an ill-advised battle. Furthermore, Cassius has suddenly come to accept the idea of omens and supernatural signs. He tells how two eagles had landed on the ensigns, symbols of power carried before the army, and stayed with the troops throughout their march. The eagles, representing courage and success in battle, have left and been replaced by kites and crows, birds of carrion, suggesting they will all die. This is hardly the frame of mind you want in your commanding officer, and Messala urges Cassius not to accept this supposed sign of defeat. Cassius at line 90 denies that he completely believes the worst and will meet all perils with a fresh spirit. But the seed of doubt has been planted.
Brutus and Cassius bide farewell before they go off to their perspective armies. Cassius raises the question of what Brutus intends to do if they lose the upcoming battle. At line 102 Brutus assures him he will not commit suicide, as his own father-in-law had done in similar circumstances; he finds that course of action "cowardly and vile." He would hope to meet his fate with a stoical acceptance. But when Cassius asks if he intends to be led through the streets of Rome as part of the triumph of their enemies, Brutus declares he will not let that happen: he "bears too great a mind" [line 112]. Instead Brutus observes that the battle "Must end the work the ides of March began" [line 113]. The two agree that this formal farewell is a good idea. As Cassius says at line 120, "If we do meet again, we'll smile indeed/ If not, 'tis true this parting was well made." In parting Brutus wishes at line 122, "that a man might know/ The end of this day's business ere it come!" This is ironic if you think about it. Cassius, having no idea of what will happen, speaks and acts as if he were already defeated. Brutus, having seen the ghost of Caesar, has a very good idea how things will end but chooses not to reveal his foreknowledge in his words or actions.
In the next short scene Shakespeare shows us the fluid motion of a battle. Brutus' troops have attacked, and Brutus sees that Octavius' army is reluctant to fight. He sends Messala with written orders to Cassius to bring his men up to attack and seize the initiative. [Act V, scene 2]
While the battle has gone well for Brutus, in scene 3 we see Cassius on the other side of the battlefield. Things don't go well. How has Shakespeare prepared us throughout the play for what happens to Cassius in this scene? [Act V, scene 3]
At the beginning we learn that Brutus has once again blundered in his actions. He attacked too soon, before Cassius' army was ready, and while Brutus drove Octavius' forces back, Antony's men have forced Cassius soldiers to retreat. When Cassius at line 3 finds one of his men carrying the ensign and fleeing from battle, he kills him. Titinius, Cassius' right-hand man, blames Brutus and says when his men forced Octavius to retreat, they stopped fighting and "fell to spoil," grabbing booty.
Word comes that Cassius' tents have been taken by the enemy. Seeing a group of soldiers in the distance, Cassius asks Titinius to ride out and determine if they are friends or enemies. While Titinius rides off, Cassius asks his personal slave Pindarus to climb a nearby hill and tell him what is happening. This allows Shakespeare to describe an off-stage action that he would have been hard-pressed to enact. Pindarus describes the strangers riding out to Titinius, catching him, and when he dismounts they surround him and cheer. Cassius and Pindarus both assume that Titinius has been captured by the enemy, because that is what the pessimistic Cassius assumed would happen. Even before Titinius is supposedly taken, Cassius declares at line 23: "This day I breathed my first. Time is come round,/ And where I did begin, there shall I end./ My life is run his compass." As soon as Pindarus tells him what he believes has happened, Cassius, sick over the needless sacrifice of his friend Titinius, once again plays the self-destruction card. Apparently when he took Pindarus as a slave years before, he promised him his freedom if he would kill Cassius when the time came. He gives Pindarus the same sword he used on Caesar, covers his face and has Pindarus stab him. Cassius dies addressing the spirit of Caesar: "Caesar, thou art revenged,/ Even with the sword that killed thee" [lines 45 -- 46]. Pindarus runs off, hoping the Romans won't discover his part in his master's death.
Of course, the approaching troops were Brutus' men, not Antony's. Titinius was not captured but hailed as a hero and given a laurel wreath to honor Cassius. Titinius returns with the happy news for Cassius, discovers his body and realizes what has happened. As it is late in the day, Titinius uses a conceit to express the significance of Cassius' death for their cause at line 60:
O setting sun,
As in thy red rays thou dost sink to night,
So in his red blood Cassius' day is set.
The sun of Rome is set. Our day is gone;
Clouds, dews, and dangers come; our deeds are done!
Mistrust of my success hath done this deed.
While Messala rides off to deliver the bad news to Brutus, Titinius stays behind to lament that Cassius had "misconstrued everything." Overcome with grief, Titinius places the laurel wreath on Cassius' head as a sign of honor and now takes Cassius sword and stabs himself at line 88: "By your leaves, gods. This is a Roman's part;/ Come, Cassius sword, and find Titinius' heart." I've talked about the interest in Shakespeare's time with the Roman custom of ritual suicide. More to the point Cassius' proclivity for self-destruction is infectious, and the fortunes of the conspirators' army fall as well.
When Brutus enters and finds the two bodies, he blurts out, "O Julius Caesar, thou are mighty yet./ Thy spirit walks abroad, and turns our swords/ In our own proper entrails" [lines 94 -- 96]. Brutus assures the men with him that he will mourn for Cassius, of whom he says, "It is impossible that ever Rome/ Should breed thy fellow." It is curious that Brutus seems here to express more genuine affection for Cassius than he ever did while he was alive. He tells his men "I owe mo[r]e tears/ To this dead man than you shall see me pay" at line 101, but right now he sends the body away from the battlefield , lest it discourage the troops. Calling his men around him by name, he sets out to continue the fight. Brutus inspires men by his example, unlike Cassius whose own fear was the primary cause of his defeat. In the army at that time the bond between leaders and their men was often highly personal, and men would sacrifice for their commander. But once he was dead, the troops lost all will to continue to fight.
We see this ability to inspire men to make the ultimate sacrifice in the effect Brutus' leadership has on his followers in the next scene. Why do Cato and Lucilius challenge the enemy soldiers single-handedly as they do? Why does Lucilius pretend to be Brutus? Why does Antony go to great pains to keep Lucilius alive and to honor him? [Act V, scene 4]
Things go badly for Brutus' army, and as the enemy closes in the noble warriors decide whether they will be taken alive and how they will die to protect their own honor. One of them, Portia's younger brother, Marcus Cato, publicly proclaims his name and takes on the enemy, dying as a "foe to tyrants and my country's friend" [line 5]. Another follower, Lucilius, proclaims that he is Brutus. When he surrounded, he surrenders, as he says, "Only I yield to die./ There is so much that thou wilt kill me straight./ Kill Brutus, and be honored in his death" [lines 12 --14]. In these wars of personal leadership, when enemy soldiers sought to kill the commander and end the resistance of the foe, one of the devices was to have men willing to sacrifice their lives pretend to be the commander in order to give the real leader a chance to escape. So Lucilius pretends to be Brutus and asks that the enemy soldiers kill him and, in effect, give Brutus a chance to get away. Fortunately for Lucilius, Antony has given orders not to kill the nobles. Thinking about the aftermath of this battle, Antony realizes he needs as many friends as he can get. So he spares Lucilius' life, honors him and declares at line 28, "I had rather have/ Such men my friends than enemies." Antony has learned quickly how to survive in Roman politics.
In the final scene notice that Brutus finally tells someone else about Caesar's ghost. Under what circumstances does he do this? Also notice how Brutus handles his own death and how he feels about his own life. [Act V, scene 5]
The end of the battle has not gone well for Brutus. The men who were so important in the command of the army are no where to be seen; they have undoubtedly been killed or captured. Brutus is has only four men with him, none of whom we've met before. It is as if Shakespeare is saying that no matter who comes in contact with Brutus, they are inspired by his example. Brutus will approach each of the four and ask for their help in ending his life. He begins with Clitus, making a little joke to cover his discomfort. He says, in effect, "Talking about killing, Clitus, it seems to be fashionable. Let me whisper something in your ear." When Clitus hears the request to help Brutus die, he says, "What, I, my lord? No, not for all the world!" at line 6. Dardanius is next to be asked, and he declares at line 7, "I'd rather kill myself." Clits and Dardanius compare notes, and that's how we find out what's going on. With the third person, Brutus tries a little fuller explanation and more personal plea for help. He tells Volumnius he has seen the ghost of Caesar twice, once in Sardis, which we already knew about, and again the night before the battle at Philippi. Brutus confirms at line 19 the significance of the ghost: "I know my hour is come." He tells Volumnius that their "enemies have beat us to the pit./ It is more worthy to leap in ourselves/ Than tarry till they push us" [line 23 -- 24]. I believe this is a reference to the pits which were used to bury the hundreds and thousands of men who were killed in battles like this. Brutus says, in effect, the armies of his foes have brought them to the edge of death; it is more honorable for them to leap in themselves. He reminds Volumnius they went to school together and are old friends. Surely he will hold the sword while Brutus runs upon it. This was apparently the preferred method of suicide for Roman soldiers, but as Volumnius points out, "It's not an office for a friend, my lord" [line 29]. The sounds of the approaching enemy force the men to prepare to flee again. Brutus bides farewell to all of them and tells them at line 33,
Countrymen,
My heart doth joy that yet in all my life
I found no man but he was true to me.
I shall have glory by this losing day
More than Octavius and Mark Antony
By this vile conquest shall attain unto.
Fare you well at once, for Brutus' tongue
Hath almost ended his life's history.
Night hangs upon mine eyes; my bones would rest,
That have but labored to attain this hour.
Let's examine Brutus' final declaration. He may have felt that everyone he met had treated him with truth and honesty. But we remember that Cassius chuckled at the ease with which he had manipulated him. And Mark Antony took full advantage of Brutus' lack of awareness at Caesar's funeral. Brutus claims that he will have glory although he loses the battle. In the context of the play, Brutus does emerge as a heroic figure. But in a larger historical context, which Shakespeare audience was fully aware of, Brutus' defeat and the triumph of Antony and Octavius will lead directly to the establishment of the Roman emperor in the future, when Octavius becomes the first and greatest of the Roman rulers, Augustus Caesar. At the end of his speech Brutus does welcome death, what he has labored all his life to attain, and given the series of disappointments and mistakes we have seen him make, he is undoubtedly glad it is over.
He turns to his last chance, Strato, a servant or slave, whom he prevails upon for some hint of honor in his previous life. Strato holds the sword, and Brutus dies, as did Cassius, acknowledging Caesar's vengeance at line 50: "Caesar, now be still;/ I killed not thee with half so good a will." As I had mentioned earlier the idea of Julius Caesar, what he represented as the strong leader, does triumph in the play, even though the flesh and man human perishes.
Octavius and Antony enter, along with some of Brutus' former soldiers. Strato points out at line 54 that Brutus is safe from the captivity that men like Messala and Lucilius are in; all the victors can do to him is burn his body. As Strato concludes, "For Brutus only overcame himself,/ And no man else hath honor by his death." There is a small consolation in denying his foes the honor of killing him. Lucilius at line 59 is appreciative that Brutus, as he had predicted in the previous scene, would overcome himself. Octavius offers to take under his patronage the men who served Brutus, like Messala and Strato; it's interesting how quickly these questions of revised allegiance are resolved on the battlefield.
It falls to Mark Antony to deliver Brutus' eulogy, beginning at line 68:
This was the noblest Roman of them all.
All the conspirators save only he
Did what they did in envy of great Caesar;
He, only in general honest thought
And common good to all, made one of them.
His life was gentle, and the elements
So mixed in him that Nature might stand up
And say to all the world, "This was a man!"
Antony is certainly accurate in his assessment of Brutus' motivation. Yes, Cassius and all the rest did hate Caesar because they envied him. Brutus joined the conspiracy out of his concern for the common good, and his killing of Caesar was without hatred or personal spite. He made have made mistakes and miscalculations that led to his own destruction, but his life was an example of nobility and decency. He was a model in his personal life for how all men should behave.
In plays like this which have a historical context, whoever gets the last word is important in showing us who will ultimately emerge as the next leader. So it is appropriate that Octavius, the emperor-in-training, gets the last lines, ordering that Brutus be given a honorable burial and allowing his body to lie in Octavius' tent. He gives the final tribute to Brutus as a great soldier and then commands that they depart to begin to divide up the spoils of victory. So assassination is punished, conspiracy is thwarted, but in the process we see an extraordinary human being bear his life out to the end with courage and dignity. The end of the tragedy of Brutus