I thought that Antony was plotting from the beginning, because he allowed his servant to call Brutus noble and many more nice words. In addition, he shook the hands of the conspirators, showing that he had a part in Caesar's death. It seemed as if he let the conspirators do the dirty work as he started to come up with a way to ride along with it. The thing that got me was that he was supposedly suppose to be loyal to Caesar, like he was from the beginning of the book. Now it just seems that everyone was after Caesar's power in the end, which Antony eventually gets when he joins Octavian. Caesar truly didn't have real friends, which just gets me very mad.
I agree with you, especially since Antony later interacts with Octavian. This shows that Antony might have known everything about the conspirators since the beginning of the story and was just waiting til he could act.
I think at least half the class agrees with your feelings for Caesar. However, if I had not known that Caesar had a plan of his own he could have possibly been my most pitied character. However, I do not think that Antony had a part in Caesar's death, because once Antony was alone with Caesar's corpse, he poured out his feelings to Caesar. Along with the fact that Antony told Caesar that he loved him and hated how he had to shake the hands of his enemies.
I think that Antony actually had planned something else for after Caesar's death. He had the opportunity to physically stop Caesar from being assassinated. Or maybe not ?
I don't think Antony knew, because later Trebonius tells the conspirators that he ran away. So Antony probably got his plan at that time. I don't think he was with the conspirators.
The worksheet that was given to us had a lot of literary elements. It also shows how cunning Antony was. In part 2, the very first line already shows his intention, "O mighty Caesar!..." Antony seems to be plotting and used words that fooled people. He shows tremendous respect throughout the acts. The original intention is to assassinate Caesar, taking all the power away from him. As I read the other sections of the worksheet, Antony does show extreme respect. In the third section, "Pardon me, Julius" may show Antony's "fake" friendship with Caesar. He uses "Pardon me" that expresses sincerity. However, by shaking hands with the fellow conspirators, which uses listing, gives the readers a sense "accomplishment" they achieved.
I also feel similarly, Kelly; Caesar really didn't have any friends. However, I don't think that it is possible for someone to be in such a high position as Caesar was and to have any friends. Humans are greedy by nature; power is something that is appealing and it is expected that people were jealous of Caesar. Perhaps one of Caesar's "tragic flaws" - if we are talking about him in terms of an epic hero - was that he was a bit naive.
Adding on to Sabrina, I also agree that Antony was not involved in Caesar's assassination. However, Antony is a cunning and ambitious character who like all the other characters in the play, was power-hungry. He certainly knew how to portray himself in a positive light. This idea is seen during his speech at Caesar's funeral. It does not appear that Antony is pointing blame to the conspirators because of his skillful use of rhetoric, but in fact, he actually is.
I agree and disagree with you, Erika. It is true that humans are greedy by nature. However, in the play Julius Caesar, Brutus was not jealous or greedy; instead he took action on behalf of the “people.” I say “people” like this because it was Cassius and the other conspirators that made Brutus think that the majority hated Caesar and wanted him dead. Caesar did have a friend, and that friend was Brutus. As readers we know that Brutus did not have any choice, but to kill Caesar. It is definitely true that Antony was not part of the assassination but he was part of the larger picture in taking over power. When Antony shook his hands with the conspirators, it was Caesar’s blood that was left on his hand as well. This signifies that Antony considered himself powerful in such a way that he was able to make the conspirators do him a favor by killing Caesar for him. He also takes this action to make the illusion that he is more of a friend than foe to the conspirators. This supports the fact that Kelly made “that Antony was plotting from the beginning” because right after Caesar was gone he took the conspirators out of the picture by evoking the public's’ emotion in order to kill the conspirators. But as we will find out by today, Antony did not have to do must to kill both Cassius and Brutus.
Antony is definitely portrayed as an ambitious character. He was one of Caesar's most trusted associates and during the speech, he shows that he too is a person that desires power. I think he should not be held responsible for Caesar's death but there is a lot he can gain from his death.
I agree with you James. Brutus does not suspect that Antony means to use his speech at Caesar’s funeral to turn the people against the conspirators because he does not believe in the idea of emotion overpowering logic or honor. Antony’s opening line demonstrates his tactic: to announce the opposite of his objective. Antony entitles the conspirators “honorable” because the public, at that moment, supported the conspirators. However, he slowly renders the term sarcastic by exemplifying their mistakes.
Now i'm starting to feel that Caesar isn't even the main charactar anymore. He is just a pawn, or small portion of the whole play. Even though The play is titled "The Tragedy of Julius Caesar", its actually more about the conspirators, and their story.
Maybe my view is a bit biased after having read the entire play, but I believe you have a point, Arif. Caesar seems to be a crucial part of setting up the plot, but in retrospect, the story seems to be more about Brutus and the events that ensue after Caesar's death.
So I suppose this begs the question: Despite the title of the play, could Brutus be the "main character," so to speak, instead?
I am starting to think that Brutus is the main character, but I would be glad to hear any other opinions.
I don't think brutus is the main character, in fact I think none of the charcaters are. They don't seem to show those characteristics. Also everything happens because one event happened, so mainly the story is revovled by past events.
I think that Caesar is the motive that drives the drama on. This is a major role but I would like to pint something out: lets forget that Caesar is a war hero. Caesar is the innocent victim of pitiful men (we must also fell bad for them) who cruelly murdered him, and whose death brings out more chaos.
I agree with Arif. I believe the play mostly focuses on the how the death of Caesar affects the conspirators. However, I disagree with Shajed and I believe the Brutus, here is the tragic hero. In my opinion, Shakespeare wants us to concentrate hoe Brutus's is easily manipulated, and how is flaw leads to now only the tragedy of Caesar, but perhaps the tragedy of Brutus as well.
I thought that Antony was plotting from the beginning, because he allowed his servant to call Brutus noble and many more nice words. In addition, he shook the hands of the conspirators, showing that he had a part in Caesar's death. It seemed as if he let the conspirators do the dirty work as he started to come up with a way to ride along with it. The thing that got me was that he was supposedly suppose to be loyal to Caesar, like he was from the beginning of the book. Now it just seems that everyone was after Caesar's power in the end, which Antony eventually gets when he joins Octavian. Caesar truly didn't have real friends, which just gets me very mad.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, especially since Antony later interacts with Octavian. This shows that Antony might have known everything about the conspirators since the beginning of the story and was just waiting til he could act.
DeleteI think at least half the class agrees with your feelings for Caesar. However, if I had not known that Caesar had a plan of his own he could have possibly been my most pitied character.
DeleteHowever, I do not think that Antony had a part in Caesar's death, because once Antony was alone with Caesar's corpse, he poured out his feelings to Caesar. Along with the fact that Antony told Caesar that he loved him and hated how he had to shake the hands of his enemies.
I think that Antony actually had planned something else for after Caesar's death. He had the opportunity to physically stop Caesar from being assassinated. Or maybe not ?
DeleteI don't think Antony knew, because later Trebonius tells the conspirators that he ran away. So Antony probably got his plan at that time. I don't think he was with the conspirators.
DeleteThe worksheet that was given to us had a lot of literary elements. It also shows how cunning Antony was. In part 2, the very first line already shows his intention, "O mighty Caesar!..." Antony seems to be plotting and used words that fooled people. He shows tremendous respect throughout the acts. The original intention is to assassinate Caesar, taking all the power away from him. As I read the other sections of the worksheet, Antony does show extreme respect. In the third section, "Pardon me, Julius" may show Antony's "fake" friendship with Caesar. He uses "Pardon me" that expresses sincerity. However, by shaking hands with the fellow conspirators, which uses listing, gives the readers a sense "accomplishment" they achieved.
ReplyDeleteI also feel similarly, Kelly; Caesar really didn't have any friends. However, I don't think that it is possible for someone to be in such a high position as Caesar was and to have any friends. Humans are greedy by nature; power is something that is appealing and it is expected that people were jealous of Caesar. Perhaps one of Caesar's "tragic flaws" - if we are talking about him in terms of an epic hero - was that he was a bit naive.
ReplyDeleteAdding on to Sabrina, I also agree that Antony was not involved in Caesar's assassination. However, Antony is a cunning and ambitious character who like all the other characters in the play, was power-hungry. He certainly knew how to portray himself in a positive light. This idea is seen during his speech at Caesar's funeral. It does not appear that Antony is pointing blame to the conspirators because of his skillful use of rhetoric, but in fact, he actually is.
I agree and disagree with you, Erika. It is true that humans are greedy by nature. However, in the play Julius Caesar, Brutus was not jealous or greedy; instead he took action on behalf of the “people.” I say “people” like this because it was Cassius and the other conspirators that made Brutus think that the majority hated Caesar and wanted him dead. Caesar did have a friend, and that friend was Brutus. As readers we know that Brutus did not have any choice, but to kill Caesar.
DeleteIt is definitely true that Antony was not part of the assassination but he was part of the larger picture in taking over power. When Antony shook his hands with the conspirators, it was Caesar’s blood that was left on his hand as well. This signifies that Antony considered himself powerful in such a way that he was able to make the conspirators do him a favor by killing Caesar for him. He also takes this action to make the illusion that he is more of a friend than foe to the conspirators. This supports the fact that Kelly made “that Antony was plotting from the beginning” because right after Caesar was gone he took the conspirators out of the picture by evoking the public's’ emotion in order to kill the conspirators. But as we will find out by today, Antony did not have to do must to kill both Cassius and Brutus.
Antony is definitely portrayed as an ambitious character. He was one of Caesar's most trusted associates and during the speech, he shows that he too is a person that desires power. I think he should not be held responsible for Caesar's death but there is a lot he can gain from his death.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you James. Brutus does not suspect that Antony means to use his speech at Caesar’s funeral to turn the people against the conspirators because he does not believe in the idea of emotion overpowering logic or honor. Antony’s opening line demonstrates his tactic: to announce the opposite of his objective. Antony entitles the conspirators “honorable” because the public, at that moment, supported the conspirators. However, he slowly renders the term sarcastic by exemplifying their mistakes.
DeleteI agree with Bilal and I think Antony gets what he deserves when he loses against Octavian.
DeleteNow i'm starting to feel that Caesar isn't even the main charactar anymore. He is just a pawn, or small portion of the whole play. Even though The play is titled "The Tragedy of Julius Caesar", its actually more about the conspirators, and their story.
ReplyDeleteMaybe my view is a bit biased after having read the entire play, but I believe you have a point, Arif. Caesar seems to be a crucial part of setting up the plot, but in retrospect, the story seems to be more about Brutus and the events that ensue after Caesar's death.
DeleteSo I suppose this begs the question: Despite the title of the play, could Brutus be the "main character," so to speak, instead?
I am starting to think that Brutus is the main character, but I would be glad to hear any other opinions.
I don't think brutus is the main character, in fact I think none of the charcaters are. They don't seem to show those characteristics. Also everything happens because one event happened, so mainly the story is revovled by past events.
DeleteI think that Caesar is the motive that drives the drama on. This is a major role but I would like to pint something out: lets forget that Caesar is a war hero. Caesar is the innocent victim of pitiful men (we must also fell bad for them) who cruelly murdered him, and whose death brings out more chaos.
DeleteI agree with Arif. I believe the play mostly focuses on the how the death of Caesar affects the conspirators. However, I disagree with Shajed and I believe the Brutus, here is the tragic hero. In my opinion, Shakespeare wants us to concentrate hoe Brutus's is easily manipulated, and how is flaw leads to now only the tragedy of Caesar, but perhaps the tragedy of Brutus as well.
Delete