Julius Caesar Act 3, Scene 2 Jayden, Ray and Dylann Summary Act III, Scene ii takes place at Caesar’s funeral. The funeral was organized by Brutus and the conspirators. Brutus spoke first at the funeral, with Mark Antony following him. Brutus reasons with the citizens of Rome, telling them that Caesar was ambitious, and claimed that he killed Caesar for the good of Rome. He also said that he loved Caesar as a dear friend, and he did not kill Caesar for personal reasons, citing his own honour as reasons for the crowd to believe him. The crowd was won over by Brutus and turned against Caesar. Mark Antony was the second, and final, speaker. Mark Antony put Brutus’ honour in doubt by reminding the crowd of all of Caesar’s good deeds and sarcastically calling Brutus and the conspirators honourable. Mark Antony also reads Caesar’s will, revealing Caesar left 75 drachmas to each citizen and left his private gardens to the people of Rome. The crowd turns on Brutus, and become an angry mob; they leave the funeral to search for conspirators. Language and Cultural References Mark Antony and Brutus use different language when addressing the masses. Brutus uses the words “Romans, countrymen, lovers” (III.ii.13) Brutus uses the word lovers to mean friends, but Mark Antony puts the word friends first. Mark Antony’s line, “lend me your ears” (III.ii.72) meaning, listen to me, has become integrated in the English language because of the play. The 75 drachmas Caesar gives to each Roman is approximate equivalent to 190 dollars today. The funeral speech was public because that was one of the few opportunities the public had to listen to Brutus and Antony speak. At the time, there were no press releases or television that the whole country to watch. In the play, four plebeians were used to represent the entire audience, and the country of Rome. New Story Elements This scene greatly advances the plot of Julius Caesar by setting up the civil war that is chronicled in the following acts. Before this scene, it looked like Brutus would be leader of Rome. Mark Antony and Brutus use different language when addressing the masses. What We Learned About the Characters We learned a lot about the character of Mark Antony in this scene. Before, the only character trait we knew of Mark Antony was that he was loyal to Caesar. Because of Antony’s speech, we learn that he is one of the most intelligent characters in the play. Brutus’ character remains static, as he is still honourable and makes a logical argument as to why he killed Caesar, just not as convincing as Antony’s combination of pathos and logos. We learn the crowd, as one character, is very easily swayed by both speakers. Quotations of the Scene “Romans, countrymen, and lovers, hear me for my cause” Brutus (III.ii.13­14) + “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!” Mark Antony (III.ii.72) These two quotes depict how Brutus and Mark Antony started their funeral speech. The difference between these two lines is the Mark Antony has described the citizens of Rome as friends, unlike Brutus, who did not mention them as friends. What Mark Antony is doing is connecting to the citizens on a friendly level, enticing them to join him. “As he was valiant, I honour him; but, a he was ambitious, I slew him.” Brutus (III.ii.25­26) This quote gave the citizens of Rome Brutus’ reason for killing Caesar. He claims that Caesar was ambitious and would have ruled the county a violent dictator, and must be stopped. He showed the citizens that Caesar was unfit to be a king, as he would become a ruthless dictator. “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” Mark Antony (III.ii.95­97) This quote is one of Mark Antony’s rebuttals to Brutus’. He is also mocking Brutus in way, implying that if he is an honourable man, why would he say such a ridiculous thing. This quote also shows that Caesar was a humble man, and in other parts of his speech, Mark Antony shows that Caesar is also generous and cares for his citizens. Discussion Questions ➢ Why do you think Brutus let Mark Antony speak at the funeral? ➢ Do you think Brutus did the right thing when killing Julius Caesar? ➢ What made Mark Antony’s speech persuasive? ➢ Should Brutus have spoken last?