Brutus and Antony

There is a sharp contrast between the funeral speeches of Brutus and Antony in Julius Caesar.
Antony's funeral oration differs from Brutus's in many ways. Brutus's speech to the crowd of
people is the speech of a philosopher while Antony's speech is emotional and is intended to stir
the feelings and passions of the listeners. Brutus's speech is cold, logical, and intellectual; while
Antony's speech is charged with feeling, and it is meant to excite the emotions of the listeners.
Brutus's speech appeals to the intelligence of the listeners, and it fails because the listeners in this
case are not intelligent enough.

the funeral speeches of Brutus and Antony

Brutus's speech is really an excellent specimen of reasoning. The logic behind the arguments in
this speech is perfectly clear. But logic is something which the common people do not
understand. This does not mean that Brutus is speaking to people who are utterly ignorant. The
point is that the people understand Brutus's reasoning only to a limited extent. As for the logic in
his speech, here is an example: "Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more". This
sentence is a simple enough and yet not so simple. There is certainly an element of complexity in
this sentence. Brutus tries to appeal to people's love of freedom. He tries to stir their hatred of
tyranny. But the does not realize that the people are not very enlightened and that that they do
not really understand this talk about freedom and slavery. In the starting scene, this mob has
already been depicted as admirers of Caesar, the conqueror. A love of freedom is far from their
thoughts. And yet they accepts Brutus's reasoning. But the crowd's ignorance comes out in their
declaring that Brutus should be given the title of Caesar. It is clear that the crowd does not
understand the principles for the sake of which Brutus had murdered a dear friend.

On the other hand, Antony knows the psychology of the mob. He appeals directly to this
psychology. He does not talk of the principal of freedom. He does not talk of evil of tyranny and
slavery. He speaks about the wounds which had been inflicted upon Caesar's body. He speaks
about the ingratitude of Brutus who was loved as a dear friend by Caesar. He speaks about
Caesar's will by the terms of which Caesar had left much of his property to the people in general.
Antony makes use of several rhetorical devices in the course of his speech. He makes use of
irony when he says again and again that Brutus is an honourable man.

However, we find another important difference in this respect. Brutus speaks to the mob in prose,
while Antony speaks in verse. Poetry is always more effective than prose. It is also always more
emotional than prose. Antony's speech makes use not only of rhetorical devices but also of poetic
devices. Antony's speech is an excellent combination of art, cunning, and sincerity. Besides,
Brutus speaks about abstract notions while Antony speaks in concrete terms. Brutus speaks of
freedom and slavery, while Antony speaks of his listeners feelings and passions.

Critical Analysis of Mark Antony's Funeral Speech

Categories: Julius CaesarMark Antony

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Of all Shakespeare’s works , Julius Caesar is a play that hinges upon rhetoric – both as the art of
persuasion and an artifice used to veil intent. The most striking of Shakespeare is his command
of language. In Mark Antony’s funeral oration for Caesar, we have not only one of
Shakespeare’s most recognizable opening lines but one of his finest examples of rhetorical irony
at work. The speech could serve as a thematic synopsis to Julius Caesar. One of the most
important and significant parts in the play is the funeral speech given by both Brutus and Mark
Antony.

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At first, the funeral speeches seem to have no true significant meaning. However in further
investigation it is established that the speeches ultimately serve as the basis for the final outcome
of the play. By exploring the speeches of both Brutus and Mark Antony we are able to focus on
the important details which alter one from the other. Through this analysis we are also able to
realize why Brutus’s speech becomes one of his justifications and explanations, while Antony’s
becomes one of manipulation and skill.

It is known that both Brutus and Antony desired to appeal to the common people.
However, the way in which each man went about it differs drastically. Not only did it influence
the outcome of the play, but each speech also offers a unique insight on each of the speakers.
Brutus’s speech Brutus’s speech becomes one of acquittal, not only for the people of Rome, but
for Brutus himself.

He uses his “honor and nobility” as a shield to defend and justify his actions to the crowd. Brutus
states that he has carried out this horrendous act because of his love for Rome, and for the good
of the people.

“This is my answer, not that I have loved Caesar less, but that I love Rome more… (3. 2. 21-22).
In his speech he requests that the people use their “reason” to judge him. Although this seduces
the crowd, it is not until after one of the common people cry “Let him be Caesar. ” (3. 2. 51) that
it is realized the speech is “merely too good for them. ” Brutus begins to realize that liberty is not
what the people wanted, but rather that they desire a powerful leader. Although his speech serves
the purpose for its practical effectiveness, Brutus later comes to discover that his lack of insight
of human nature aided in the apparent hopelessness of his cause.

In comparison Mark Antony fully understands human nature and uses his awareness of it in his
speech. Antony appeals to the passion and the grief of the people. What Brutus failed to
recognize in the people, Antony used to his best interest. He realized that the people of Rome
were completely incapable of acting with “reason” and he employed this inability to manipulate
and control their emotions and actions. By using Brutus’ own explanations for Caesar’s death to
begin his speech, Antony proves his validity to the crowd.

By questioning Caesar’s ambition, yet never actually humiliating the conspirators; He succeeds
in purposely leading the crowd away from any rational defense provided by Brutus. Antony uses
his own grief along with a series of lies to remove the sympathy of the people. Through his
powerful and honest speech he is able to cast a shadow of doubt into the minds of the people, and
the crowd begins to gaze at the true motive behind Caesar’s murder. Antony understands the
needs and wants of the people and uses this to prey upon their emotions and passions.

He dangles Caesar’s Will in front of the people and then quickly puts it away again, knowing
that the crowd will demand that it be read. Antony also recalls memories of the cloak Caesar now
wears, while revealing his bloodied body, fully aware of the havoc it will reek, but unrelenting in
his quest for revenge. Antony’s Speech Antony’s performance on the bully pulpit came as no
surprise. To be sure, Antony does not have it easy. He is already a man distrusted by the
conspirators for his friendship with Caesar.

Brutus lets him speak at Caesar’s funeral, but only after Brutus,a great orator in his own right,
has spoken first to “show the reason of our Caesar’s death”. Burtus makes it very clear that
Antony may speak whatever good he wishes of Caesar so long as he speaks no ill of the
conspirators. Obviously Antony has two advantages over Burtus: his subterfuge and his chance
to have the last word. It is safe to say that Antony makes the most of his opportunity. He even
mocks the senators and merely sets the table for dissent. He progressively hits upon the notes of
ambition and honourable in a cadence that soon calls both terms into question.

Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears; From a rhythmic perspective, the trochaic feel
of this opening immediately commands attention. The succession of hard stresses is also
Shakespeare’s way of using the verse to help Antony cut through the din of the crowd. Antonoy
also echoes the opening line that Brutus uses [“Romans, countrymen and lovers”],but
conspicuously rearranges it; where Brutus begins with “Romans” to reflect his appeal to their
reason, Antony begins with “friends”, which reflects the more emotional tact he will take
throughout the rest of his speech.

Remember also that Antony has entered the Forum with Caesar’s body in tow and will use
corpse as a prop throughout his oration. Antony follows with a line of straight iambic pentameter
punctuated with a feminine ending [ “I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him]. Here is the first
irony of Antony’s speech, in that he is unequivocally here to praise Caesar. Antony is, in fact,
lying. Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral,Antony returns to the actual predicate of his statement
with innocuous metrical regularity. The line is all but a throway; Antony doesn’t want the crowd
dwelling on the idea that he is speaking here by permission.

The preceding parenthetical insertion of Brutus and the rest being “honourable men” displace his
emphasis and lessens the impression that Brutus holds sway over him. In doing so, Antony
effectively obeys the letter of his agreement without yielding to its spirit. But Brutus says he was
ambitious; Antony contrasts his experience with what Brutus has said. The obvious implication
is that Brutus and Antony have different views of Caesar. The more subtle implication is that
since both men have claimed him as their friend, they have equal authority to speak on the
subject of Caesar’s disposition.

Antony, however, has the advantage of not needing to justify his actions. Instead, Antony can
focus on sawing the limb out from under Brutus’s argument. And Brutus is an honourable man.
At this point, Antony is still ostensibly speaking well of Brutus—at least to the crowd. A plebian
might think that at worst, perhaps, either Antony or Brutus has made an honest mistake in his
judgment of Caesar. On the other hand, the words says, ambitious, and honourable are becoming
impossible to miss. Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; This is the third time in this speech that
Antony utters this refrain.

Every time he says this, it draws Brutus in an increasingly harsher light. The recurring repetition
amplifies the question in the mind of the audience, There is a rather obscure rhetorical term for
this technique; it’s known as repotia, which describes using the same phrase with minor
variations in tone, diction, or style. My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, The regular
iambic rhythm of the line and the feminine ending both help soften this line’s tone, which
contrasts the high fervor of “O judgment! ” It’s a simple metaphor that holds up well four
centuries later.

To Antony’s credit, the sentiment is grounded in his love for Caesar; it’s also quite telling of the
character that he’s able to use this emotion in such a cynical enterprise. Throughout his speech
Antony calls the conspirators honorable men. He then says, “You [the crowd] all did love him
once, not without cause. What cause withholds you then to mourn for him? ” This question goes
against Brutus by questioning his speech when he betrayed Caesar. Now the crowd is starting to
turn against the conspirators and follow Antony.

Even though in his speech Antony never directly calls the conspirators traitors, he is able to call
them “honourable” in a sarcastic manner that the crowd is able to understand. He starts out by
citing that Caesar had thrice refused the crown, which refutes the conspirators’ main cause for
killing Caesar. He reminds them of Caesar’s kindness and love for all, humanizing Caesar as
innocent. Next he teases them with the will until they demand he read it, and he reveals Caesar’s
‘gift’ to the citizens. Finally, Mark Antony leaves them with the question, was there ever a
greater one than Caesar? which infuriates the crowd. He then turns and weeps.
Antony then teases the crowd with Caesar’s will, which they beg him to read, but he refuses.
Antony tells the crowd to “have patience” and expresses his feeling that he will “wrong the
honourable men whose daggers have stabbed Caesar” if he is to read the will. The crowd yells
out “they were traitors” and have at this time completely turned against the conspirators and are
inflamed about Caesar’s death. Antony uses the “Ceremonial” mode of persuasion in order to
convince his audience that Caesar is not worthy of honor and praise.

Antony must use “pathos” in order to appeal to the emotion of the audience. He must understand
the disposition of the audience in order to successfully persuade his audience that Caesar truly
was an ambitious man. “… Bear with me; / my heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, / And I
must pause till it come back to me. ” (JC III ii 47) Marc Antony’s speech at Caesar’s funeral was
so cunning and powerful that it caused the crowd’s loyalties to sway. Prior to Marc Antony’s
oration the crowd favored Brutus and the conspirators.

However, Marc Antony’s compelling discourse caused the plebeians to support him, and not
Brutus. Marc Antony used three literary devices during his funeral oration, rhetorical question,
sarcasm, and repetition, to successfully persuade the crowd. Although the crowd was supportive
of the conspirators after Brutus’s speech, Marc Antony’s use of sarcasm in his funeral oration
caused them to rethink who they should support. Conclusion Although both of Caesar’s funeral
speeches seem to serve the basic purpose of appealing to the people, their dissimilarity serves as
a great significance.

Brutus’ speech, which appeared to be, honest becomes a speech of symmetrical structure,
balanced sentences, ordered procedure, rhetorical questions and abstract subject matter, and
ultimately became a speech of utter dishonesty. This along with Brutus’ lack of human insight
aided in his inevitable downfall. Mark Antony’s speech on the other hand, for all its playing on
passions and all its lies, proved to be at the bottom a truly honest speech because of Antony’s
unconditional love for Caesar. To that extent Antony had truth on his side, making him concrete
and real rather then abstract, and with this aided in his successful victory.

Julius Caesar

"Friends, Romans, countrymen...."

Line Analysis | Readings Page | Home

In Mark Antony's funeral oration for Caesar, we have not only one of Shakespeare's most
recognizable opening lines but one of his finest examples of rhetorical irony at work. The speech
could serve as a thematic synopsis to Julius Caesar. Perhaps more than any other of
Shakespeare's works, Julius Caesar is a play that hinges upon rhetoric—both as the art of
persuasion and an artifice used to veil intent.

To be sure, Antony does not have it easy. He is already a man distrusted by the conspirators for
his friendship with Caesar. Brutus lets him speak at Caesar's funeral, but only after Brutus, a
great orator in his own right, has spoken first to "show the reason of our Caesar's death." Brutus
makes it clear that Antony may speak whatever good he wishes of Caesar so long as he speaks
no ill of the conspirators. But Antony has two advantages over Brutus: his subterfuge and his
chance to have the last word. It's safe to say that Antony makes the most of his opportunity.

Antony's performance on the bully pulpit should come as no surprise. It is obvious from his Act
III, sc. i meeting with the conspirators that he means something different in nearly everything he
says. He even subtly mocks the senators with his lines "My credit now stands on such slippery
ground/That one of two bad ways you must conceit me/Either a coward or a flatterer." Antony is
the picture of disingenuous. Brutus, ignoring the more sensible misgivings of Cassius, takes
Antony at his word. We, however, know what's in store when Antony in private utters, "O,
pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth/That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!"

Brutus is clearly overmatched at Caesar's funeral, both by Antony's duplicity and oration. Brutus
gives a reasoned prose speech that convinces the crowd Caesar had to die. Then, for reasons that
remain questionable even taking naiveté into account, Brutus not only yields to Antony but
leaves the Forum altogether. Antony will expend 137 lines of blank verse before he's done, using
rhetoric and calculated histrionics to incite the crowd into a mob frenzy. All quite masterful for a
man who denies any ability to "stir men's blood," as he puts it.

In the speech that follows, Antony merely sets the table for dissent. He progressively hits upon
the notes of ambition and honourable in a cadence that soon calls both terms into question.
Antony's prime weapons at the beginning are his conspicuous ambiguity regarding Caesar ("If it
were so, it was a grievous fault") and Brutus ("Yet Brutus says he was ambitious"), rhetorical
questions ("Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?") and feigned intent ("I speak not to disprove
what Brutus spoke"). More chilling, however, is Antony's cynical epilogue to the funeral speech
as the mob departs: "Now let it work: mischief, thou art afoot/Take thou what course thou wilt!"
As Antony exemplifies, the art of persuasion is not far removed in Julius Caesar from the craft of
manipulation.

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;

I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.

The evil that men do lives after them;

The good is oft interréd with their bones;

So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus

Hath told you Caesar was ambitious:

If it were so, it was a grievous fault,

And grievously hath Caesar answer'd it.

Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest—

For Brutus is an honourable man;

So are they all, all honourable men—

Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral.

He was my friend, faithful and just to me:

But Brutus says he was ambitious;

And Brutus is an honourable man.

He hath brought many captives home to Rome

Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill:

Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?

When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept:

Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;

And Brutus is an honourable man.

You all did see that on the Lupercal

I thrice presented him a kingly crown,

Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;

And, sure, he is an honourable man.

I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,

But here I am to speak what I do know.

You all did love him once, not without cause:

What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him?

O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,

And men have lost their reason. Bear with me;

My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,

And I must pause till it come back to me.

Summary

Brutus and Cassius enter the Forum, which is thronged with citizens demanding satisfaction.
They divide the crowd — Cassius leading off one portion to hear his argument, and Brutus
presenting reasons to those remaining behind at the Forum. Brutus asks the citizens to contain
their emotions until he has finished, to bear in mind that he is honorable, and to use their reason
in order to judge him. He then sets before them his reasons for the murder of Caesar and points
out that documentation exists in the Capitol that support his claims. The citizens are convinced
and at the end of his oration, cheer him with emotion. He then directs them to listen to Antony's
funeral oration.

Antony indicates that, like Brutus, he will deliver a reasoned oration. He refers to Brutus'
accusation that Caesar was ambitious, acknowledges that he speaks with "honorable" Brutus'
permission, and proceeds to counter all of Brutus' arguments. The crowd begins to be swayed by
his logic and his obvious sorrow over his friend's murder. They are ultimately turned into an
unruly mob calling for the blood of the conspirators by mention of Caesar's generosity in leaving
money and property to the people of Rome, and by the spectacle of Caesar's bleeding body,
which Antony unveils.

The mob leaves to cremate Caesar's body with due reverence, to burn the houses of the assassins,
and to wreak general destruction. Antony is content; he muses, "Mischief, thou art afoot, / Take
thou what course thou wilt!"

A servant enters and informs Antony that Octavius has arrived and is with Lepidus at Caesar's
house. Antony is pleased and decides to visit him immediately to plan to take advantage of the
chaos he has created. The servant reports that Brutus and Cassius have fled Rome, and Antony
suspects that they have heard of his rousing the people to madness.

Analysis

Brutus is blithely unaware of the danger that he has allowed to enter the scene. He speaks to the
people of Rome in order to make them understand what he has done and why, and with relatively
straightforward logic, lays out his rationale before the people and makes them believe that he
was right. He describes Caesar's great ambition and suggests to the plebeians that under Caesar's
rule they would have been enslaved. Again, the audience is given an understanding of the masses
as easily swayed — they do not seem able to form their own opinions but take on the coloration
of the most persuasive orator. They are necessary to the successful running of the state, yet they
are a dangerous bunch that could turn at any moment. Brutus convinces them of his cause by his
use of reason. Even his style is reasonable, here presented in evenhanded prose rather than the
rhetorical flourish of Antony's poetry.

Antony is a master of the theatrical. What more dramatic effect could there be than Antony
entering the forum bearing the body of the slain leader? No matter what Brutus says, and despite
the fact that the crowd is emphatically on his side, from this moment, all eyes are turned to Mark
Antony and the corpse he bears. In his trusting naïveté, Brutus leaves the stage to his opponent.
What follows is Antony's now-famous "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; / I
come to bury Caesar, not to praise him" funeral oration. Antony's rhetorical skill is impressive;
he instantly disarms any opposition in the crowd by saying "I come to bury Caesar, not to praise
him," but quickly follows this with a subtle turn of phrase that suggests Caesar was a good man
and that all that was good of him will go to the grave. He has turned his audience's attention from
the "evil ambition" of which Brutus spoke.

Look closely at the rhythms that Antony builds into his oration. Think of Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech, and the repeated emphasis in that speech on one phrase.
Antony does the same thing with the phrase "For Brutus is an honorable man, / So are they all,
all honorable men" or "But Brutus says he was ambitious, / And Brutus is an honorable man."
The phrase is repeated four times, in slightly variant forms, allowing Antony not only to counter
each of Brutus' arguments, but also question Brutus' honor simply by drawing so much attention
to it.

Finally, Antony incites the mob by suggesting that they have something to gain from Caesar's
will. By this means, he initiates desire but must then direct it. He begins to create the desire for
revenge and each time he does so, he strengthens that desire by reigning it in. Each time he holds
them back, he builds their desire until finally they are passionate enough to do what Antony
wants, seek out and kill the conspirators, and, consequently, leave him in power. As a finishing
touch, just as Antony created an impressive image by entering the Forum bearing the body of
Caesar, he draws his oration to a close by pointing to another image that will remain in the minds
of the people as they riot. He reveals Caesar's wounds. As Antony is fully aware, that image
speaks far better for his cause than any words possibly could.

Marc Antony's Funeral Speech

1152 Words 5 Pages

Show MoreYara Mneimneh

Mrs. Kate Bowler

English 10 A

12 December 2015

Analysis of Marc Antony’s Funeral Speech

In Act III Scene II, Marc Antony presents his famous speech that begins with “Friends, Romans,
Countrymen, I come to bury Caesar not to praise him”, this speech was able to change the minds
of the audience to turn against the conspirators. The purpose of Antony's speech was to show
tribute to his friend Caesar in a eulogy and to revolt the audience. Antony wanted the audience to
revolt for him to seek revenge on Caesar’s brutal murder. The purpose contributed to the
significance of the speech in the play. The speech was crucially significant because in Brutus’s
speech, it is claimed that the reason Caesar was killed was for the best interest …show more
content…

Firstly, Antony uses the stylistic choice of irony when the conspirators and Brutus were called
honourable men. Everytime Antony described Brutus as “honourable” he would use an
increasingly sarcastic tone, until the last time in the speech, it was felt as if the meaning was
changed. The last time Antony calls Brutus honourable, the speech hugely impacts the crowd to
changing the mindset of Brutus’s, which is that Caesar was killed for the better of Rome, to the
mindset that Brutus and the rest of the conspirators are traitors. The use of irony converted the
mood of the audience from accepting Caesar’s death, to feeling angry and in need to assassinate
Caesar’s killers. Additionally, the use of irony in the speech advocates the theme of fire and
blood, because Antony was trying to convey the message of assassinating Brutus and also, he
was smearing Caesar’s blood among all the conspirators. Secondly, Antony uses the stylistic
choice of rhetorical questions like “Does this in Caesar seem ambitious?” (III.II.90) to make the
audience reconsider the stereotype of Caesar being ambitious and also for Shakespeare to convey
Antony’s main argument. Linking back to the purpose, Antony uses a tone of frustration to
convey the fact that Caesar was rather not ambitious and evidence is used when the refusal of the
crown three times was refused. After this piece of evidence was …show more content…

It will start out with a little bit of an aggressive tone to reflect Antony’s frustration with the
audience being disruptive. Then the scene will continue with this tone until Antony starts to call
Brutus “honourable” here, a sarcastic tone will be used but it will be subtle at the same time, to
reflect how Antony is trying to send the opposite message to the audience, but he is trying to be
benign about it. The subtle tone will

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A Short Analysis of Mark Antony’s ‘Friends, Romans, countrymen’ Speech

Mark Antony’s ‘Friends, Romans, countrymen’ speech from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is a
masterclass of irony and the way rhetoric can be used to say one thing but imply something quite
different without ever naming it. Mark Antony delivers a funeral speech for Julius Caesar
following Caesar’s assassination at the hands of Brutus and the conspirators, but he is only
allowed to do so as long as he does not badmouth the conspirators for their role in Caesar’s
death. Antony’s references to Brutus as an honourable man subtly and ingeniously show that
Brutus is anything but honourable, while also serving to show that Caesar was not the ambitious
man Brutus has painted him to be.
The best way to analyse this key speech from the play is to go through it, summarising it section
by section.

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;

Immediately we see Mark Antony’s brilliant rhetorical skills, which he uses to get the crowd ‘on
side’. As David Daniell observes in his note to that opening line, ‘Friends, Romans, countrymen,
lend me your ears’, Mark Antony begins with the more intimate address ‘Friends’, before
moving from the personal to the national, a move that, for Daniell, is ‘reinforced by expansion’:
‘Friends’ (one syllable), ‘Romans’ (two syllables), ‘countrymen’ (three syllables). (See Julius
Caesar (The Arden Shakespeare); we thoroughly recommend this edition of Julius Caesar, by the
way).

I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.

Mark Antony has ‘read the room’ and knows the mood among the crowd: they still support the
assassination of Julius Caesar and so side with Brutus and the other conspirators. Mark Antony
treads carefully, brilliantly going against their expectations and reassuring him that he is simply
there to deliver a funeral oration, not to take the dead general’s side (it’s worth remembering that
Julius Caesar was a general, not an emperor: although he was called Caesar, he wasn’t ‘a’
Caesar, the name given to later emperors of Rome in his honour).

The evil that men do lives after them;

The good is oft interred with their bones;

Daniell notes helpfully that these lines, which have become much more famous thanks to
Shakespeare’s play, are proverbial and their sentiment (albeit with different wording) predate
Shakespeare.
The meaning is obvious enough: when people die, the bad things they did often stick in people’s
memories, while their good deeds are forgotten. As Antony goes on to say, ‘So let it be with
Caesar’. Immediately, then, he is cleverly saying that he is happy for everyone to focus on
Caesar’s bad points and forget the good the man did; but in referring to the latter, he is subtly
reminding them that Caesar did good as well as evil things. (By the way, a note on scansion or
metre: because Mark Antony is addressing the crowd using blank verse or unrhymed iambic
pentameter, ‘interred’ should be pronounced as three syllables, not two.)

So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus

Hath told you Caesar was ambitious:

If it were so, it was a grievous fault,

And grievously hath Caesar answer’d it.

Mark Antony now takes up Brutus’ words about Julius Caesar and responds to them. He doesn’t
contradict Brutus, but instead uses the subjunctive ‘If’: ‘If it were so’. He refuses to say that
Caesar was ambitious, but grants that if it were true, it was a terrible fault. The purpose of this is
to cast doubt on the very idea that Caesar was ambitious (supposedly the very reason for his
assassination), but in such a way that doesn’t rub the crowd (which still supports Brutus) up the
wrong way. He then goes on to point out, however, that if Caesar was ambitious, he’s now dead,
so has ‘answer’d’ or paid the penalty for his fault.

Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest–

(For Brutus is an honourable man;

So are they all, all honourable men)

Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral.

Mark Antony makes a performative gesture to Brutus’ supposed generosity in letting him, Mark
Antony, speak at Caesar’s funeral. He says that such generosity is a sign of Brutus’ honour: he,
and the rest of the conspirators, are ‘honourable men’.

He was my friend, faithful and just to me:

But Brutus says he was ambitious;

And Brutus is an honourable man.

Antony now slowly begins to ease in some praise for Caesar, but keeps it personal to him, rather
than making grand, universal statements about Caesar’s good qualities: he was his friend, and
faithful and just to him. But then, Brutus says Caesar was ambitious, and Brutus is honourable,
so ‘I guess I was wrong (but I know I’m not)’. Obviously this last bit is implied, not spoken
aloud – but that’s what Mark Antony is building towards.

He hath brought many captives home to Rome

Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill:

Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?

Let’s look at what Caesar did: he took many enemies prisoner and brought them here to Rome,
and these captives’ ransoms, when paid, helped to make Rome rich. Does this seem ‘ambitious’
behaviour to you?

When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept:

Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;

And Brutus is an honourable man.

When the poor of the city suffered, Caesar wept with pity for them. Hardly the actions of an
ambitious man, who should be harder-hearted than this! But Brutus says Caesar was ambitious,
and Brutus is honourable, so … it must be true … right? Note how Antony continues to sow the
seeds of doubt in the crowd’s mind.

You all did see that on the Lupercal

I thrice presented him a kingly crown,

Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;

And, sure, he is an honourable man.

Antony reminds the Romans that at the festival of Lupercalia (held in mid-February, around the
same time as our modern Valentine’s Day; so just a month before Caesar was assassinated), he
publicly presented Julius Caesar with a crown, but Caesar refused it three times (remember, he
was ‘just’ a general, a military leader: not an emperor). Again, Antony appeals to the crowd:
does this seem like the action of an ambitious man?

I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,

But here I am to speak what I do know.

Although he clearly is disproving what Brutus claimed of Caesar, Antony maintains that this
isn’t his aim: he’s merely telling the truth based on what he knows of Caesar.

You all did love him once, not without cause:

What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him?

Antony reminds the crowd of Romans that they all loved Caesar once too, and they had reasons
for doing so: Caesar was clearly a good leader. So why do they now not mourn for him in death?
(Note Antony’s skilful use of ‘cause’ twice here: they loved Caesar with good cause, but what
cause is responsible for their failure to shed a tear at his passing?)

O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts,

And men have lost their reason. Bear with me;

My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,

And I must pause till it come back to me.

Observe the clever pun on Brutus’ name in ‘brutish beasts’: Antony stops short of calling Brutus
a beast, but it’s clear enough that he thinks the crowd has been manipulated with violent thugs
and everyone has lost their ability to think rationally about Caesar. The mob spirit has been
fomented and everyone has made Caesar, even in death, the target of their hatred.

Mark Antony brings his ‘Friends, Romans, countrymen’ speech, a masterly piece of oratory, to a
rousing end with an appeal to personal emotion, claiming that seeing Rome so corrupted by
hatred and blinded by unreason has broken his heart. He concludes, however, with a final line
that offers a glimmer of hope, implying that if Rome would only recover itself, he would be all
right again.