Tuesday, June 13, 2017

What is Cassius' opinion of Antony after Caesar's death?

After the conspirators kill Caesar in Julius Caesar, their focus is on showing the people of Rome that what they did was right and noble and done to protect the Republic, not out of a grudge towards Caesar. In promoting this goal, they also know the importance of having Caesar's friend and ally Antony on their side. So when Antony's servant approaches Brutus saying Antony is a friend who wants to approach the capital...

After the conspirators kill Caesar in Julius Caesar, their focus is on showing the people of Rome that what they did was right and noble and done to protect the Republic, not out of a grudge towards Caesar. In promoting this goal, they also know the importance of having Caesar's friend and ally Antony on their side. So when Antony's servant approaches Brutus saying Antony is a friend who wants to approach the capital and to discuss Brutus' reasons for participating in the assassination of Caesar, the conspirators know this could be a good thing for their cause.


Still, Cassius, who is wary and suspicious of others, suspects Antony of dishonesty in his approach to Brutus. When Brutus says he knows Antony will be their friend, Cassius responds:


"I wish we may: but yet have I a mind
That fears him much; and my misgiving still
Falls shrewdly to the purpose" (Act III, scene ii)


Cassius would certainly know dishonesty, as he is a master manipulator himself, and nearly all the conversations we've seen him have include an ulterior motive. However, he isn't wrong. After making a great show of mourning over Caesar's corpse, Antony asks Brutus if he can speak at Caesar's funeral. Nothing about the conspirators, he assures Brutus, just how great Caesar was. Again Brutus agrees to this, Cassius isn't so sure, and the latter is right; Antony's funeral speech turns the people against the conspirators. 

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