Text 2 Friends, Romans, countrymen pages 98-99
Culture keys page 155
A) Warming up
1) Describe the picture and guess who the characters are
In the background, a man, wearing a toga, is standing over a corpse covered with a shroud.
He looks sad and must have just discovered the body. In the foreground, a crowd of
people is watching the scene. Their backs are turned to the camera so we can't see the
expressions on their faces. On reading the introduction, we understand that the man
mourning's friend must be Mark Antony and Caesar's body is lying at his feet.
B) Understanding the text= correction workbook pages 42-43
2) Sum up the passage
The scene follows Brutus’s speech. Brutus has just convinced the Roman crowd that
Julius Caesar had to be killed because he was ambitious and would have become a tyrant.
Mark Antony has been allowed to deliver a funeral oration over Caesar's body as long as
he does not criticise the conspirators. Mark Antony explains that he has just come to bury
his friend, Caesar, and has no intention of praising him. He pretends to support the
conspirators. He acknowledges the fact that Brutus wanted to rid Rome of an over
ambitious man. He asserts that he has no reason to believe that Brutus was wrong since
Brutus is an honourable man.
Actually, throughout his whole speech, Mark Antony reminds the Roman citizens of the
good Caesar did for Rome and of his friend’s qualities, thus questioning the fact that
Caesar was indeed ambitious. He's so eloquent that he manages to sway in his audience
and to turn the Romans against Brutus and the conspirators.)
C) Going further
3) What is Mark Antony’s aim in delivering his speech?
Mark Anthony's aim is to convince the Romans that Caesar was not as ambitious as the
dictator Brutus says he was and therefore that Brutus was wrong in killing him. His goal is to
prove Brutus was wrong without condemning him. But contrary to what he says at the
beginning of the speech, he doesn't praise his friend as he gives examples of the good deeds
Caesar did for the city. He succeeds in persuading the crowd that Brutus and the conspirators
were wrong to assassinate Caesar. Mark Antony’s aim is ultimately to revenge is dead friend.
His speech is actually a plea to the Romans for vengeance.
4) What arguments does he put forward to convince his listeners?
Mark Anthony uses several arguments to prove to the Romans that they have been taken in (deceived)
by the conspirators. First he declares that he speaks as Caesar’s friend: “he was my friend, faithful and
just to me” (line 25). The rest of his speech makes the crowd understand that he remained Caesar’s
friend to the end whereas Brutus said he loved him but murdered him. Then he gives several examples
to refute Brutus’s accusation that Caesar was ambitious:
- Thanks to the ransom paid for captives that Caesar brought to Rome, the city grew richer
- Caesar sympathised with the poor.
- He refused to become king three times.
Finally he accuses the Romans of being ungrateful and versatile and reminds them that they loved
Caesar in the past and that he was kind to them: “You all did love him once, not without cause.” (line
44)
5) Can you see any evidence of irony in his speech? Give examples
Mark Antony’s speech is ironical as he says one thing while expressing the contrary. He is sarcastic
indeed throughout his funeral oration:
-He asserts at the beginning of a speech that he did not come to praise Caesar but he praises him
throughout his speech.
-He repeats that Brutus is an honourable man four times and maintains that the conspirators are
honourable men (line 23) while proving them wrong.
-He also repeats, several times, that Brutus says Caesar was ambitious but each time gives arguments
to refute Brutus's allegation.
6) How does Mark Antony manage to speak his mind without criticizing the conspirators?
Mark Antony's rhetorical skill enables him to gain the citizen's trust. He masters the art of
rhetoric. He never calls the conspirators “traitors”, however his sarcastic repetitions as
well as his rhetorical questions “Did this in Caesar seem ambitious? (line 31) “Was this
ambition?” (line 38) “What cause withholds you then to mourn for him? (line 46) make
the crowd turn against the conspirators. So although Mark Antony speaks in verse
(contrary to Brutus’s speech, which was in prose) he easily succeeds in conveying the
message to the crowd.
7) Why does Mark Antony say he needs to pause at the end of his speech?
When he says: “My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar” (line 51), Mark Antony
appeals to the emotions of the audience. The crowd understands that Mark Antony stops
speaking because he needs time to weep. He mourns his friend’s death openly, making the
crowd feel pity for him and certainly guilty about their own ungratefulness.
8) Analyze the attitude of the crowd. Does Mark Antony reach his goal?
The crowd is depicted as versatile. Before Mark Antony starts speaking, the citizens are
convinced that the conspirators were right to get rid of Caesar because he was a tyrant:
“This Caesar was a tyrant.” (line 7) but after Mark Antony’s speech, when the first citizen
says: “Methinks there is much reason in his sayings.” (line 53) we understand that Mark
Antony has swayed the crowd. He has managed to convince the Roman citizens that the
conspirators were wrong. He definitely reaches his goal.
D) Writing time
Plutôt pour les classes littéraires
Discours page 177 et 178 à imprimer