Thursday, February 25, 2010
Anthony
Review the character of Anthony as portrayed in Act 1, 2, and 3 of Julius Caesar. What picture does Shakespeare give us of this character and how does he change in importance to the play? As you read Act 4, what do you expect will happen because of some of the changes you have seen in Anthony?
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Anthony in the first three acts just seems like a pawn of Caesar. It doesn't really seem like he will do anything without first asking Caesar. As we started to read act 4, I was surprised to find that Anthony was actually part of the new triumvirate. I think the changes in Anthony will cause conflict between him and other leaders of Rome. Also I think the fact that Anthony is gaining will lead to a more bloody conflict between Anthony and Brutus and Cassius.
ReplyDeleteAntony in Act I, II, and III, is just another follower of Caesar. In Act IV, and kind of part III, he shows his true colors and stands up for Caesar and for Caesar's old follower.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare just shows Antony like any other guy but in one act you see his whole perspective change.
I expect will happen is that Antony is going to make it were everyone turns more against Brutus and Cassius, and try and get everyone to kill them. Either that or he will befriend them as a friend.
-Taylor
In Julius Caesar Antony in the first three acts shows himself as a true follower of caesar. Antony was often dependent upon Caesar and a good friend of his. He wanted Caesar to get the crown so that all conflicts could be avoided. After Brutus and the other followers have stabbed Caesar Antony is devastated. After the followers bathed their hands in Caesars blood Antony shows up and shakes all of their hands, collecting the blood from them. Brutus explained all the reasons why they decided to kill Caesar and said that even if he was his son then he would still be pleased. Brutus goes on to say that Caesar was to ambitious for Rome. When Everyone had left and it was just Antony and Caesar, he cried out for him. "Woe to the hands that shed this costly blood!" Antony spoke at Caesars funeral with the permission from Brutus. Antony says nothing bad about these "Honorable men" but asks questions and makes the crowd want to get revenge of Caesar. He is flipping his words making great dramatic irony. Antony shows them that in Caesars will he left seventy-five drachmas for every man. Antony shows his true colors in act four by not siding with Brutus and his followers but being true to Caesar.
ReplyDeleteCarlee
I expect Antony to stick up for Caesar til death. I think that Antony himself will get revenge or the people of the town will get revenge, that is if they dont change their minds again.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing we hear about Antony (or Anthony, I'm not exactly sure at this point) is that he is just a playboy and a great friend of Caesar. This means that in Acts I and II he has no real significance. In Act III though, we see his true significance: a manipulative orator bending the wills of the plebeians as he pleases. Since we can see the dark side of Antony, we know that someone is going to die. That's just the bottom line. I predict that he is going to make an attempt at ending the conspirators, especially Brutus's, lives. Along with that attempt, I think that the "wannabe" triumvirate will not last very long at all. I look forward to see what Antony's plan is in the final act.
ReplyDeleteDaniel Austin
In acts 1 and 2, Shakespeare portrays Antony as Caesar's lap dog. Basically, all he's there for is to worship Caesar, obey Caesar, and do things solely for Caesar's well-being. He is almost like a mindless servant that sees Caesar as his god. He is decidedly unimpressive.
ReplyDeleteAnd then we reach act 3. After Caesar's death, one would expect a lap dog to break down and become a useless waste of space, potentially following anyone that happens to pass by. And that's exactly what both Shakespeare and Antony want us to think. He comes crawling to Brutus with flattering words and a seemingly reasonable deal: to be told why Caesar was killed, and if it is a good reason, join Brutus and the other conspirators. His false cowardice is thoroughly convincing, as almost all of the conspirators (with the exception of Cassius) believe him and trust him. However, when left alone to soliloquize, we see that Antony is indeed no lap dog, but a wolf. He is fiercely loyal, but bloodthirsty. We can see his plan forming when Brutus gives him permission to speak at Caesar's funeral, adding another dimension to him. He is not only deceptive and convincing, but dangerously cunning.
His true cunning, however, does not come fully into play until Caesar's funeral. He addresses an agitated and fickle people, currently on the side of Caesar's killers. It seems that Antony has a rough path ahead of him. He acts humbly and follows all of the rules set for him by Brutus, gaining a bit of respect from the people. He constantly praises Brutus, making the people trust him more, but equally praises Caesar, making the people see from his point of view, even if they don't realize it. And then, he brings out Caesar's will, the turning point of the peoples' devotion. He reads the will to them, how they have been blessed by the great dead man. But, again, he praises Brutus and the other "honorable" men who killed him. He uses exactly the same words that he had in the beginning of his speech, but by twisting the words around them, he has brought the people over to his side, and they are now spitting at the very mention of Brutus. Antony literally tells them that he wants anything but a riot, and stupidly the people believe him, the humble and now honored Antony. It seems to me that Antony may not have succeeded in his plan if the people of Rome weren't a bunch of fickle idiots.
However, as the case is, they are fickle idiots, and Antony gets the riot he desires. In act 4, a few months later, he is seen with the two other members of the new triumvirate. We don't know what has happened within the time between the riot and now, but something has definitely happened. As Lepidus leaves, Antony expresses his disgust for Lepidus and regret at letting him into the group. Despite Octavius' attempt at a defense for Lepidus, the highest regard that Antony will give him is equal to that of his horse. This shows another side of Antony: the "Caesar" side. Antony's "Caesar" side is growing ever stronger, and at this point, he thinks the same way that Caesar did only months before. Look how well that worked out.
If I had to predict what would happen with Antony, I would have to say nothing good. His "Caesar" side will most likely grow even stronger, and soon he is going to want more power. Brutus and Cassius, however, didn't like Caesar much, so I don't think they'll take kindly to Antony's "Caesar" side. They will most likely want to deal with him the same way they dealt with the original, which can only mean one thing: somebody isn't getting out of this play alive.
-Kelsey Weems
In the first 2 acts, Shakespeare portrays Antony as an underling of Caesar. We dont hear him speak much so we dont really know much about him. But in act 3, after Caesars death, he was very angry and was planning to seek revenge against the conspiritors. He made a list of the people who did it by shaking their hands and saying their names before he shook their hands. In act 4 it is shown that he is one of the 3 new leaders of Rome. He has an attitude change and seems more angry and controlling than shown in acts 1-3. I think that in act 5, he and Brutus are going to have a big climactic battle and will both end up killing each other during the course of events that will take place.
ReplyDeleteIn Julius Caesar, Acts I and II, we see Antony as Caesar's pet. He is always following him, doing what he asks, basically worshiping the guy. He offered him the crown three times, but Caesar refused. But, in Act III, he changes a bit.. He isn't just one of the followers now. He is angry at Caesar's death and wants revenge. He makes a mental note of the names of the conspirators by shaking each other their bloody hands. (It kind of reminds me of Madame DeFarge in 'Tale of Two Cities' when she knits the names). Shakespere portrays Antony as an unimportant character until Act III. When we first started this play, I had no idea that Antony would become such an important character. But now he is a part of the new Triumvirate! He is very pursuasive I might add, even though the people of Rome are very fickle and easily triggered, he convinces them to be on his side. I expect in Act V that there will be a huge battle between Antony and Brutus' gang. Antony has changed a lot since the beginning of the play, and I expect he will triumph in the end. That, or Brutus and Antony will kill each other, since Shakespere likes everybody to die in his plays.
ReplyDelete-Jenae Hardcastle
ReplyDeleteAntony is just a follower in the first 3 acts. He wants to be safe and do what everyone else is doing. After Ceasure dies Antony realized that he truly loves him and needs to stick up for him. So then he talks at his funeral and that when it show his change to the public by speaking how he feels and what happen and how Brutus is lying and should be ashamed.
ReplyDeleteANTONY has a very impulsive nature. He is actually a friend of Caesar but he persuades the conspirators that he is on their side, thus gaining their leniency. Then he persuades the plebeians of the conspirators’ injustice, thus gaining masses of political support. He convinces Brutus to let him speak at Caesar’s funeral even though Cassius disagreed with Brutus on the matter. Unlike Brutus, who prides himself on acting solely with respect to virtue and blinding himself to his personal concerns, Antony never separates his private affairs from his public actions. Without Antony and his views we couldn’t see one person with views on either side of the argument. Instead of Antony standing behind Caesar and his rule, he has stepped up in act 4 as a leader of the people scheming to kill the conspirators. He is now not in the background but instead is taking control of what he believes in.
ReplyDeleteBeth Cummings
Antony was merely a playboy at the beginning of this play. he was just a friend of caesar's. this held true throughout the first two acts of this play. He did nothing. In Act III he finally stood up and was his own person. He slyly deals with the conspirators, and gives a fiery speech to arouse the crowd to kill them. He is taking charge. At the beginning of Act IV he has become part of the triumverate. He is now a leader and is planning on killing the conspirators
ReplyDeleteIn Acts 1,2, and 3 Antony is a playboy and does really whatever Caesar tells him. In Act 4 he began to gain power and stood up for what he believed since Caesar was dead and was one of the strongest. As the story progresses I believe his new power will cause fault between the triumvirate.
ReplyDeleteShea Beltran