Foundation first: three links from Act III to Act IV
Act IV makes sense only if you remember what Act III left behind.
- Why the triumvirs are strong. Antony turned the crowd against the conspirators. The mob rioted and chased Brutus and Cassius out of Rome. The triumvirs now hold the city.
- Why Brutus and Cassius are away from Rome. They "are rid like madmen through the gates", so they have gone to the east to raise armies.
- Why Antony talks about Caesar's will. In the Forum he used the will to win the people's love. In Act IV he treats it as a bag of money to be cut down.
Caesar was assassinated in the Capitol (III.1). In the Forum, Brutus explained the killing in a calm prose speech and was cheered; then Antony, in his great funeral speech, turned the people against the conspirators with irony, Caesar's will, his torn mantle and his bloody body (III.2). The mob rioted; Brutus and Cassius "are rid like madmen through the gates of Rome"; Octavius arrived; and the innocent Cinna the poet was killed for his name (III.3).
Worked examples
Example 1 (short answer, 3 marks). How did Antony turn the Roman crowd against the conspirators?
Model answer. Antony began by saying he had come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. He repeated that "Brutus is an honourable man", and with each repetition the words sounded more ironic. He reminded the people of Caesar's triumphs and of the crown Caesar had refused. Then he showed them Caesar's will, which left money to every citizen, and Caesar's torn and bloody mantle. The crowd became furious and went out to burn the conspirators' houses.
Why this scores: the key device (irony), two or three of Antony's proofs, and the result (the riot). The 2025 examiners' report notes that candidates lose marks when they do not name irony or sarcasm.
Example 2 (MCQ, 1 mark). After Antony's speech, the angry mob kills ______. (a) Cinna the conspirator (b) Cinna the poet (c) Decius Brutus (d) Cicero
Model answer. (b). The mob meets Cinna the poet and kills him because of his name. He had nothing to do with the plot. The conspirator is a different man with the same name.
Why this scores: the question tests whether you remember that the crowd's anger was blind. It is the best example of a mob acting without thinking.
Example 3 (short answer, 2 marks). Why is Antony's behaviour in Act IV a surprise after Act III?
Model answer. In Act III Antony seemed a loyal friend of Caesar who loved the people and wept for the dead. In Act IV he condemns his own nephew and plans to cut the people's legacies. His love of the people was only a tool.
Why this scores: one mark for each side of the contrast.
Doubts cleared
Q. Why did the mob kill Cinna the poet? They heard the name "Cinna" and wanted revenge on a conspirator named Cinna. When he said he was the poet, they said, "Tear him for his bad verses." They killed him all the same.
Q. Why did Brutus let Antony speak at the funeral? He trusted Antony and wanted to look fair. Cassius warned him, but Brutus overruled him. It was one of the mistakes that lead to Philippi (the first was sparing Antony; this was the second, and marching to Philippi was the last).
Q. Do Brutus and Cassius lose Rome for good? Yes. They never return to the city in the play. The rest of the story takes place in the eastern camp and on the battlefield.
Mistakes to avoid
- Saying the mob killed a conspirator. It killed Cinna the poet, an innocent man.
- Forgetting that Brutus's Forum speech was in prose and Antony's was in verse. Examiners can ask about the contrast.
Check yourself
- Which object did Antony wave before the crowd to win their love?
- Why did the mob kill Cinna the poet?
- Where did Brutus and Cassius go after the riot?
Answers: 1. Caesar's will. 2. They mistook him for Cinna the conspirator, because of his name. 3. They fled from Rome and went east to raise armies, and their camp is near Sardis.