Politics

The Theme in the Work

In Act I, Scene 1, the tribunes disperse the craftsmen celebrating Caesar's triumph and accuse them of forgetting Pompey, whom they had hailed before: the crowd changes its hero according to the day. In Act II, Scene 1, the conspirators treat the act as a public cause: Brutus refuses the oath, excludes Cicero from the conspiracy, prevents Antony from being killed, and agrees that Decius will lead Caesar to the Capitol.

In Act III, Scene 1, after the blow, Antony pretends alliance and obtains Brutus's permission to speak at the funeral, against Cassius's advice. In Act III, Scene 2, the two address the same crowd in the Forum: Brutus, in prose, justifies the crime by his love for Rome and is acclaimed; Antony, in verse, shows the torn cloak and reads the will, and the crowd leaves to burn the conspirators' houses.

In Act IV, Scene 1, in Rome, Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus mark who must die, and Lepidus and Antony each agree to include a relative: Lepidus's brother and Antony's nephew. In Act IV, Scene 3, news of the proscriptions reaches the camp, and the letters from Brutus and Messala disagree about the number of the dead.

In Act I, Scene 2, Brutus says he loves Caesar and at the same time fears that the people will make him king: affection for a man and fear of what he may become coexist in him before any plan. In Act II, Scene 1, alone in the orchard, he says he has no personal grievance against Caesar and condemns him for what he might become; soon after the conspirators leave, Portia interrupts him and demands to know the secret, in the name of marriage, showing the wound she made in her thigh as proof of her firmness, and Brutus promises to tell her. In Act II, Scene 2, Calpurnia kneels and begs that Caesar not leave the house; he gives in, but changes his mind when Decius says the senators will call him afraid. In Act II, Scene 4, Portia, anxious, nearly lets the secret slip to the servant Lucius. In Act III, Scene 2, Brutus explains to the people that he loved Caesar but loved Rome more, and says he keeps the same dagger for himself should Rome need Caesar's death; Antony answers with personal grief, the torn cloak, and a will that gives money to every citizen, and the crowd leaves to burn the conspirators' houses. In Act IV, Scene 2, Brutus carries his quarrel with Cassius into the tent, with the entrance guarded, so that the soldiers do not see the division between the leaders; in Act IV, Scene 3, he tells Cassius that Portia is dead and, shortly after, asks Messala whether the letters bring news of her, and only on hearing the confirmation says he accepts the loss like a Roman.

The play puts the same question to two addresses: what Brutus owes to Rome and what he owes to those who live with him. In the Forum he chooses Rome out loud and says he loved Caesar no less but Rome more; at home, he promises Portia to tell the secret, and the play does not show him keeping the promise. The price of this order of priorities appears at the end, when he reports his wife's death with the same restraint with which he explained Caesar's death to the people.

The play shows three politics side by side: that of the people, which applauds whoever speaks last; that of the conspirators, who treat the republic as a pure cause and forget to calculate what the people will do; and that of the three who remain, who treat it as a list of names. Brutus's moral purity loses at both ends.

Where It Appears

• Act I, Scene 1: The tribunes Flavius and Marullus drive the craftsmen celebrating Caesar's triumph from the streets and accuse them of forgetting Pompey, whom they had hailed before.
• Act II, Scene 1: Brutus refuses the conspirators' oath, excludes Cicero from the conspiracy, and prevents Antony from being killed, and the conspirators agree that Decius will lead Caesar to the Capitol.
• Act III, Scene 1: After the blow, Antony pretends alliance and obtains Brutus's permission to speak at the funeral, despite Cassius's fear.
• Act III, Scene 2: In the Forum, Brutus justifies the crime in prose and is acclaimed; Antony, in verse, shows the torn cloak and reads the will, and the crowd leaves to burn the conspirators' houses.
• Act IV, Scene 1: In Rome, Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus mark who must die, and Lepidus and Antony each agree to put one relative on the list: Lepidus's brother and Antony's nephew.
• Act IV, Scene 3: After Brutus reveals Portia's death, news of the proscriptions reaches the camp, and he persuades Cassius to march at once to Philippi.
• Act II, Scene 2: Calpurnia, who cried out in her dream that Caesar was being murdered, asks him not to leave the house; Caesar gives in, but Decius says the Senate will crown him and that people will say he is afraid, and he goes.
• Act II, Scene 4: Portia, anxious, sends Lucius to the Senate to see how Brutus is and nearly lets slip the cause of her distress; in an aside, she prays for her husband's success and feels faint.
• Act IV, Scene 2: Brutus takes his argument with Cassius into the tent and orders the entrance guarded, so that the soldiers of both sides do not see the division between the leaders.
• Act V, Scene 5: Standing over Brutus's body, Antony says he was the only conspirator moved by the common good, while the others acted out of envy of Caesar.

Passages

Antony opens the speech that turns the Forum:

Antony, alone with Caesar's body, foresees the war to come:

The new power in Rome treats its ally as a burden: