Question

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

Antony: “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them, The good is oft interred with their bones...” So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus Hath told you Caesar was ambitious; If it were so, it was a grievous fault, And grievously hath Caesar answer’d it.  Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest - For Brutus is an honourable man; So are they all, all honourable men - Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral.

1. What does Antony say he is there for?
   What does he say he is not there for?
   What do you think he is actually there for?
2. What were the three conditions that Brutus had laid down before allowing Antony to speak to the citizens of Rome?
3. List the three arguments that Antony uses immediately after he has spoken these lines to prove conclusively that Julius Caesar was not ambitious.
4. Antony repeatedly uses certain words in his speech to describe Brutus. What are they? Why does he do this?
5. What one argument of Antony do you think had the greatest impact on his listeners? Give a reason to support your answer.
   What were the citizens’ feelings towards Antony before he began his speech?
   How do their feelings towards him change at the end of his speech?

Answer 1

1. Antony says that he has come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. In reality, he has come to defend Caesar’s reputation, expose the conspirators and turn the citizens against them.
2. Brutus allows Antony to speak on three conditions:
   • Antony must not blame the conspirators.
   • He must speak only after Brutus has addressed the citizens.
   • He must say that he is speaking with the conspirators’ permission.
3. Antony gives three arguments to prove that Caesar was not ambitious:
   • Caesar brought many captives to Rome whose ransoms filled the public treasury.
   • Caesar wept when he saw the poor suffering.
   • At the feast of Lupercal, Caesar refused the crown three times.
4. Antony repeatedly calls Brutus an ‘honourable man’. At first the words appear respectful, but through repetition they become ironic. Antony gradually makes the citizens question whether Brutus and the other conspirators are truly honourable.
5. Antony’s strongest argument is Caesar’s refusal of the crown three times because it directly challenges Brutus’ claim that Caesar was ambitious. Before Antony speaks, the citizens support Brutus and believe that Caesar deserved to die. By the end of Antony’s speech, they are filled with sympathy for Caesar and anger against the conspirators.