Question

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

ANTONY - Good friends, sweet friends, let me not stir you up To such a flood of mutiny. They that have done this deed are honourable:

1. How does Antony go on to compare himself with Brutus? How does Antony try to project himself to be simple and outright to the mob? Why does he do so? Does he really mean it when he says 'let me not stir you up"? (Analysis)
2. What does Antony show the people that incites them still further to mutiny and rage? What does it contain? (Recalling & Understanding)
3. What do the mob decide to do at the end of the scene? (Recalling)
4. Who enters after the mob has dispersed? What information does the person bring? (Recalling)
5. What shortcomings does Antony have as an orator according to himself? What would have happened had Antony and Brutus changed their places? (Understanding & Evaluation)

Answer 1

1. Antony says that, unlike Brutus, he is not a skilled orator but only a plain man who loved Caesar. He presents himself as simple and straightforward so that the mob will trust him more. He does not really mean ‘let me not stir you up’; he is actually provoking them while pretending not to do so.
2. Antony shows the people Caesar’s will. It states that Caesar has left seventy-five drachmas to every Roman citizen and has also given his private walks, orchards and gardens for public use. This makes the crowd even more emotional and angry.
3. At the end of the scene, the mob decides to take revenge on the conspirators. They rush away to burn their houses and create a violent uprising in Rome.
4. After the mob disperses, Octavius’ servant enters. He tells Antony that Octavius has arrived in Rome and is at Caesar’s house. He also informs him that Brutus and Cassius have fled from the city.
5. Antony claims that he lacks Brutus’ skill, eloquence, gestures and power of speech. He says that if he and Brutus had changed places, and Brutus were speaking over Caesar’s wounds, then Caesar’s wounds themselves would move the people to mutiny. In reality, Antony is being modest, because his speech proves that he is an extremely powerful and persuasive orator.