Julius Caesar — Act III, Scenes 2 and 3: Section by section

Section 1 — The citizens and Brutus's speech

• What happens: the crowd demands reasons; Cassius takes some away; Brutus speaks in prose.
• Key lines explained:
  • "Romans, countrymen, and lovers!" — lovers = dear friends. Brutus places "Romans" first: he appeals to them as citizens of the Republic.
  • "believe me for mine honour" — Brutus asks to be trusted because of his reputation; he relies on ethos (his own character) rather than evidence.
  • "Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more." — antithesis: the love of country outweighs love of a friend.
  • "As Caesar loved me, I weep for him … but, as he was ambitious, I slew him." — a carefully balanced series; the final clause is the turn.
  • "Who is here so base that would be a bondman?" — base = low; bondman = slave. Three rhetorical questions that no one can answer "yes" without shame.
  • "I pause for a reply." — a confident challenge; the crowd answers, "None, Brutus, none."
• Exam focus: compare with Antony's method (2027 specimen Q2 asks about Antony's arguments).

Section 2 — Brutus's triumph and departure

• What happens: Antony brings in the body; Brutus offers to die by the same dagger if Rome needs it; the crowd cheers and wants to crown him; Brutus leaves Antony to speak.
• Key lines explained:
  • "I have the same dagger for myself, when it shall please my country to need my death." — a noble, dramatic gesture; also foreshadowing, since Brutus will die on his own sword at Philippi.
  • "Let him be Caesar. / Caesar's better parts / Shall be crown'd in Brutus." — dramatic irony: the crowd wants a new Caesar, which is exactly what Brutus killed to prevent.
  • "Good countrymen, let me depart alone, / And, for my sake, stay here with Antony" — Brutus's fatal over-confidence: he leaves the field to Antony.

Section 3 — The opening of Antony's speech

• What happens: Antony faces a hostile crowd and begins carefully.
• Key lines explained:
  • "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears" — "Friends" comes first: Antony appeals to warmth and friendship. Lend me your ears = listen to me (metonymy).
  • "I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him." — he seems to obey Brutus and calm the crowd; in fact he will praise Caesar throughout. (2027 specimen Q2(i))
  • "The evil that men do lives after them; / The good is oft interred with their bones" — people remember a man's wrongs and forget his good deeds. (2027 specimen Q2(v))
  • "If it were so, it was a grievous fault, / And grievously hath Caesar answer'd it" — the "if" casts doubt; Caesar has paid heavily (with his life).
  • "For Brutus is an honourable man; / So are they all, all honourable men" — at first respectful; by repetition it becomes sarcastic (verbal irony).

Section 4 — The three arguments

• What happens: Antony disproves the charge of ambition with evidence.
• Key lines explained:
  • "He hath brought many captives home to Rome / Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill" — the ransom money went into the public treasury.
  • "When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept: / Ambition should be made of sterner stuff" — a truly ambitious man would be harder.
  • "I thrice presented him a kingly crown, / Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?" — the crowd saw it with their own eyes at the feast of the Lupercal.
  • "I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke, / But here I am to speak what I do know" — irony: he is disproving Brutus point by point.
  • "O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts, / And men have lost their reason" — apostrophe; good sense seems to have left human beings.
  • "My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, / And I must pause till it come back to me" — a moving metaphor; also a skilful pause.
• Exam focus: 2027 specimen Q2(iii) (any two arguments and their impact) and Q2(iv) (which argument had the greatest impact).

Section 5 — The will as bait

• What happens: Antony mentions the will, refuses to read it, and makes the crowd beg.
• Key lines explained:
  • "But yesterday the word of Caesar might / Have stood against the world; now lies he there, / And none so poor to do him reverence" — contrast between yesterday's power and today's helplessness; even the poorest man will not honour him.
  • "You are not wood, you are not stones, but men" — he flatters their humanity and feelings.
  • "'Tis good you know not that you are his heirs" — reverse psychology: by "not telling", he tells them they are the heirs.
  • "They were traitors: honourable men!" (a citizen) — the irony has done its work; "honourable" is now a sneer.

Section 6 — The mantle and the body

• What happens: Antony descends, shows the cloak, the wounds and finally the body.
• Key lines explained:
  • "If you have tears, prepare to shed them now." — a direct emotional appeal.
  • "That day he overcame the Nervii" — reminds them of Caesar's service to Rome.
  • "See what a rent the envious Casca made" — rent = tear; "envious" = full of malice.
  • "This was the most unkindest cut of all" — double superlative; Brutus's blow was the cruellest because he was Caesar's beloved friend ("Caesar's angel").
  • "Ingratitude, more strong than traitors' arms, / Quite vanquish'd him" — personification: ingratitude, not daggers, killed Caesar.
  • "O, what a fall was there, my countrymen!" — Caesar's fall is the fall of every Roman.
  • "Here is himself, marr'd, as you see, with traitors." — he reveals the body; the conspirators are now openly "traitors".

Section 7 — "I am no orator"; the will read

• What happens: Antony pretends to calm the crowd, claims he is no speaker, then reads the will.
• Key lines explained:
  • "I am no orator, as Brutus is; / But … a plain blunt man, / That love my friend" — false modesty and irony.
  • "put a tongue / In every wound of Caesar that should move / The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny" — metaphor: each wound becomes a mouth crying for revenge; even stones would rebel.
  • "seventy-five drachmas" to each citizen; walks, arbours and orchards as public parks — an appeal to self-interest.
  • "Here was a Caesar! when comes such another?" — exclamation and rhetorical question; the crowd's answer: "Never, never."

Section 8 — "Mischief, thou art afoot"; Scene 3

• What happens: the mob riots; Antony is satisfied; Octavius has arrived; Brutus and Cassius have fled; Cinna the poet is murdered.
• Key lines explained:
  • "Now let it work. Mischief, thou art afoot, / Take thou what course thou wilt!" — apostrophe to "Mischief"; Antony's cold indifference to the violence he has started.
  • "Fortune is merry" — Antony sees luck turning his way.
  • "Brutus and Cassius / Are rid like madmen through the gates of Rome" — rid = ridden; they have fled in panic.
  • "I am Cinna the poet" / "Tear him for his bad verses" / "It is no matter, his name's Cinna" — mob madness; dark irony and cruel humour.
• Exam focus: 2027 specimen Q1(v) (the death of Cinna the poet: tragic and unnecessary).